Look for the Yellow water-lily in still and slow-moving water, such as ponds, ditches, lakes and canals. Its lily pads and cupped, yellow flowers float at the water's surface.

The yellow wagtail can be spotted running about, chasing insects on lowland damp marshes and meadows during summer. As its name suggests, it does wag its tail!

The pretty-in-purple amethyst deceiver can be seen growing in the leaf litter of our woodlands during late summer and autumn. Although edible, it looks similar to the poisonous Lilac fibrecap.

The Banded demoiselle can be seen flitting around slow-moving rivers, ponds and lakes. The males are metallic blue, with a distinctive dark band across their wings, and the females are a shiny…

The common shieldbug was once restricted to Southern England, but has since been moving northwards and is now quite widespread. It can be found in all kinds of habitats from gardens to farms.

The common pond skater can be seen 'skating' over the surface of ponds, lakes, ditches and slow-moving rivers. It is predatory, feeding on small insects by detecting vibrations in the…

Heather is also called 'ling'. Look for it on our heaths, moors and bogs, where its delicate, loosely arranged pink flowers attract all kinds of nectar-loving insects.

The lesser-black backed gull can be spotted around the coast in summer, with the biggest colony on Walney Island, Cumbria. Look for it over fields, landfill sites and reservoirs during winter.

Found around our coasts during the breeding season, the large Sandwich tern can be spotted diving into the sea for fish such as sandeels. It nests in colonies on sand and shingle beaches, and…

With its fluffy-looking, light blue flower heads, sheep's-bit is a pretty plant of dry grassland, heaths and clifftops. Sometimes carpeting an area, it is popular with nectar-loving insects…

Forming mats of straight, bright green stems, Common spike-rush does, indeed, look like lots of tightly clustered 'spikes' near the water's edge of our wetland habitats.

With its prominent, wavy crest, the great crested newt, also known as the 'warty newt', looks like a mini dinosaur! This protected species favours clean ponds during the breeding season…