Despite its name, the "common" skate is not so common anymore. In fact, they are Critically Endangered.

The colourful and delightful chaffinch is a regular garden visitor across the UK. Look out for it hopping about on the ground under birdtables and hedges.

Flitting about the house in summer, the gangly, brown daddy longlegs is familiar to many of us. They are a valuable food source for many birds.

The fearsome common backswimmer hunts insects, tadpoles and fish. It uses its oar-like legs to swim upside-down under the water's surface where unsuspecting prey can be found.

Hornwrack is often found washed up on our beaches, with many believing that it is dried seaweed. In fact, it is a colony of animals!

The sparrowhawk is a small bird of prey that can be found in all kinds of habitats and often visits gardens looking for its prey - small birds like finches, tits and sparrows.

The melodious song of the nightingale is the most likely sign of this bird being about. Shy and secretive, it sings from dense scrub and woodland, day and night.

The gudgeon is a bottom-dwelling fish, similar to the stone loach, but with only two whisker-like barbels near its mouth. These sensory organs help it to find its prey in the sand and gravel of…

The shy dunnock can be seen hopping about under hedges as its other name, 'hedge sparrow', suggests. It inhabits gardens, woodlands, hedgerows and parks.

The streamlined red-breasted merganser is a handsome bird and a great fisher - its long, serrated bill helps it to catch and hold its slippery fish prey. It is most commonly spotted around the…