Despite its name, Spurge laurel is not a laurel - it just looks like one! It has glossy, dark green leaves and black, poisonous berries, and can be found in woodlands in southern England, in…

The pyramidal orchid lives up to its name - look for a bright pinky-purple, densely packed pyramid of flowers atop a green stem. It likes chalk grassland, sand dunes, roadside verges and quarries…

One of our largest ducks, the shelduck is a handsome creature with a dark green head, red bill and chestnut-brown band across its white body. Look out for it around most of our coastline,…

The Early purple orchid is one of the first orchids to pop up in spring. Look for its pinkish-purple flowers from April, when bluebells still carpet our woodland floors. Its leaves are dark green…

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.

As the bluebells fade, yellow archangel takes its turn to impress, with golden-yellow flowers carpeting our ancient woodlands.

This snowy white moth is easily mistaken for the similar brown-tail, until it lifts its abdomen to reveal a burst of golden-yellow.

The whimbrel is very similar to the curlew, but a little smaller and with a striking face pattern. Its eerie call is a series of seven whistles; listen out for it around the coast as its passes…

The Bird's-nest orchid gets its name from its nest-like tangle of roots. Unlike other green plants, it doesn’t get its energy from sunlight. Instead, it grows as a parasite on tree roots, so…

This grass-green seaweed is sometimes known as Grass Kelp and grows on pretty much every shore in the UK.

The Carline thistle produces distinctive brown-and-golden flower heads that look like a seeded thistle. These flowers are attractive to a wide range of butterflies, including the very rare Large…