The male purple emperor is a stunning butterfly with a brilliant purple sheen. Look for it feeding around the treetops in woodlands, or on damp ground, animal droppings or even carrion in the…

An inconspicuous tree for much of the year, the Field maple comes to life in autumn when its lobed leaves turn golden-yellow and its winged fruits disperse in the wind. Look for it in hedges and…

These colourful little fish are a delight for snorkellers or shallow water divers to photograph, rarely being scared off by their presence!

The black-headed gull is actually a chocolate-brown headed gull! And for much of the year, it's head even turns white. Look out for it in large, noisy flocks on a variety of habitats.

The emperor dragonfly is an impressively large and colourful dragonfly of ponds, lakes, canals and flooded gravel pits. It flies between June and August and even eats its prey on the wing.

Swifts spend most of their lives flying – even sleeping, eating and drinking – only ever landing to nest. They like to nest in older buildings in small holes in roof spaces.

The dark-blue flowers of Common milkwort pepper our grasslands from May to September. It can also appear in pink and white forms.