The coal tit is mainly found in coniferous woodland, but can also be spotted in gardens and parks. It is smaller than the great tit, but has a similar bicycle pump-like song.

This common hoverfly is often seen visiting flowers. It's named for its stripy thorax, which looks a bit like a football shirt.

The adder's-tongue fern is so-named because the tall stalk that bears its spores is thought to resemble a snake's tongue. An indicator of ancient meadows, it can be found mainly in…

As its name suggests, the common crossbill has a large bill that is crossed at the tip - perfect for picking the seeds out of pine cones. Look for it in conifer woodlands, mainly in the north and…

Mainly found in southern and eastern England, the common hornbeam is a tall tree of ancient woodlands. Its large catkins appear in spring, and its winged seeds are dispersed by the wind in autumn…

The green sandpiper is a very rare breeding bird in the UK, and is mainly seen on migration in autumn. Look out for it feeding around marshes, flooded gravel pits and rivers. It even likes sewage…

Dwarf milkwort is a rare plant of chalk and limestone grasslands with short turf; it can mainly be found in Kent, Yorkshire and Cumbria. It has bluish, sometimes pink, flowers atop its short stems…

The once-common pochard is now under threat because its populations are declining rapidly. The UK is an important winter destination for the pochard, with 48,000 birds visiting our wetlands and…