The delicate, tube-like, violet-blue flowers of Skullcap bloom from June to September in damp places, such as marshes, fens, riverbanks and pond margins.

The Marsh helleborine is a beautiful orchid of fens, wet grassland and dune slacks. Growing in profusion in places, look for reddish stems and white-and-pink flowers.

This glossy wading bird is a scarce visitor to the UK, though records have become more common in recent decades.

The Common mussel is a familiar sight on shores all around the UK and is a favourite food of people, seabirds and starfish alike.

The ragworm is highly common on our shores, though rarely seen except by the fishermen that dig them up for bait.

Look for the pretty, star-shaped, white flowers of Lesser stitchwort in woodlands and meadows, and along hedgerows and roadside verges in spring. Its flowers are smaller than those of Greater…

The most common wood ant is the southern wood Ant, or 'red wood ant', which is found in England and Wales. An aggressive predator, it plays a vital pest control role in our woodlands.…

Wood melick is a slender, drooping grass that grows in dense patches in ancient woodlands and along shady banks. It has nodding flower heads, with brown, egg-shaped spikelets that contain the…

This common hoverfly can be recognised by the dark markings behind its head, which often resemble the Batman logo.

The distinctive sight of a spoonbill is becoming increasingly common in the east and southwest of England, with colonies of breeding birds now established.

Despite its name, the great spider crab is actually smaller than the more common European spider crab.