This secretive bird is a member of the rail family, related to coots and moorhens. The breeding call, a rasping rattle, is given mostly at night, sometimes for hours on end.

Water mint grows in damp places and has aromatic leaves that can be used to flavour food and drink. Gathering wild food can be fun, but it's best to do it with an expert - come to a Wildlife…

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…

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.

Annual meadow-grass is a coarse, vigorous grass that can be found on waste ground, bare grassland and in lawns. In some situations, it can be considered a weed.