The Purple hairstreak is an elusive butterfly with a brilliant purple sheen. It is entirely reliant on oak trees and can be spotted chasing around the treetops in woodlands and parks.

A summer visitor to the UK, the red-tailed redstart is a robin-sized bird that can be spotted in woodlands, parks and hedgerows, mainly in the north and west of the UK.

The glow-worm is not actually a worm, but a beetle. Males look like typical beetles, but the nightly glow of a female is unmistakeable - lighting up to attract a mate in the darkness of their…

If you have a garden pond, look out for the Large red damselfly resting at the water's edge. As the name suggests, males are bright red with a black thorax, but females may be almost entirely…

The UK hosts a small, but important, breeding population of ruff. The ruff is a large sandpiper that is so-called due to the large ruff of feathers around the males' neck. This is used in a…

The Speckled bush-cricket, as its name suggests, is covered in tiny, black speckles. It can be found in scrub, hedgerows and gardens throughout summer. Males rub their wings together to create a…

Often spotted in large flocks, the fieldfare is an attractive thrush. It is a winter visitor, enjoying the feast of seasonal berries the UK's hedgerows, woodlands and parks have to offer.

The Foxglove is a familiar, tall plant, with pink flower spikes and a deadly nature. In summer, it can be spotted in woodlands and gardens, and on moorlands, roadside verges and waste grounds.

The greenshank breeds on the boggy moors and ancient peatlands of Scotland. But it can be spotted elsewhere in the UK as it passes through on migration - look around lakes, marshes and the coast…

One of our most common butterflies, the meadow brown can be spotted on grasslands, and in gardens and parks, often in large numbers. There are four subspecies of meadow brown.

The hart's-tongue fern is a hardy fern of damp, shady places in woodlands. It also makes a good garden fern. It has simple, tongue-shaped, glossy, green leaves that have orange spores on…