Traditionally a small finch of woodland and scrub, it appears that the redpoll is now moving into our gardens. It has a streaky brown body, red forehead and black bib, and mostly feeds on seeds.…

The stock dove looks very much like the woodpigeon, but without the white neck and wing patches. It can be spotted in woodlands and parks, and on farmland in winter, but rarely visits our gardens…

These little critters are related to the woodlice you find in your garden and play a very important role on rocky shores.

A strikingly beautiful fish, it is not hard to see where the ‘red’ mullet gets its name from!

Their long narrow shells are a common sight on our shores, especially after storms, but the animals themselves live buried in the sand.

The angle shades can be well-hidden among the leaf litter - its pinky-brown markings and scalloped wings giving it the perfect camouflage. It is on the wing in gardens, woods and hedgerows from…

Living up to its name the Common blue damselfly is both very common and very blue. It regularly visits gardens - try digging a wildlife-friendly pond to attract damselflies and dragonflies.

The Lawson cypress is a large, conical-shaped, evergreen tree that has been introduced into the UK and widely planted in gardens and parks. It has also naturalised along damp banks and woodland…

The silver Y migrates to the UK in massive numbers each year - sometimes, an estimated 220 million can reach our shores in spring! Seen throughout the year, it is very common in gardens and…

Our most common hoverfly, the marmalade fly is orange with black bands across its body. It feeds on flowers like tansy, ragwort and cow parsley in gardens, hedgerows, parks and woodlands.

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.