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 fluffy, white heads of common cotton-grass dot our brown, boggy moors and heaths as if a giant bag of cotton wool balls has been thrown across the landscape!

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…

A spindly tree of heathland and moorlands, and dry and sandy soils, the silver birch is well known for its paper-thin, white bark. It is a great coloniser and can quickly spread in an area.

The stock dove looks very much like the woodpigeon, but without the white neck and wing patches. It can be spotted in woodlands and parks, and on farmland in winter, but rarely visits our gardens…

Large scale drainage in the UK has seen a massive reduction in the range of this sensitive aquatic plant which now only occurs in around 50 sites in England.

A tall, domed tree of woodlands, hedgerows and parks, the introduced sycamore is familiar to many of us the 'helicopter' producing tree - its large, winged fruits appearing in autumn.…

Broom is a large shrub of heaths, open woodlands and coastal habitats. Like gorse, it has bright yellow flowers, but it doesn't have any spines and smells of vanilla.

The wild rock dove is the ancestor to what is probably our most familiar bird - the feral pigeon, which is often found in large numbers in our towns and cities.

The male whitethroat does, indeed, have a white throat! Arriving from Sub-Saharan Africa in April, it can be spotted on grassland and scrub, and along hedgerows. It is bigger than the lesser…

The rose-red breast, large black cap and thick bill make the bullfinch easy to identify. A plump-looking bird of woodlands, hedgerows and orchards, it also frequents gardens.

Common whitebeam is not a common tree, despite its name. It can be found growing wild in a variety of habitats, but is also planted in towns and gardens. Look for shiny, oval leaves with white…