The common dandelion is a most familiar flower: counting down the 'clock', while blowing the fluffy seeds from its head, is a favourite childhood game. Dandelions are an important early…

The sanderling scampers about the waves looking for marine crustaceans, fish and even jellyfish to eat. It visits the UK in winter from its Arctic breeding grounds, but can also be seen as it…

This brightly-coloured beetle is often found feeding on flowers on warm days in late spring and summer.

A common moth across most of the UK. The large, hairy caterpillars are often seen in late summer.

A delicate wader, Red-necked phalaropes are as comfortable swimming as they are on land. Unusually for birds, the females are more brightly coloured than the males.

The Early purple orchid is one of the first orchids to pop up in spring. Look for its pinkish-purple flowers from April, when bluebells still carpet our woodland floors. Its leaves are dark green…

Often a lone figure on a windswept mountainside or heath, the rowan tree can stand for up to 200 years. It is well known for its masses of red berries that attract all kinds of birds, including…