As the UK’s tallest bird the common crane is instantly recognisable with the ruffle of tail feathers and very long legs. Their bugling call is also very distinctive.

Like many of our farmland birds, the yellowhammer has declined in number in recent years. Spot this bright yellow bird singing from the top of a bush or fence, or in a mixed-species flock in…

This funny-looking fish certainly won't be winning any beauty pageants, but it's a real contender for Father of the Year!

The white-fronted goose lives up to its name - look out for the white patch on its forehead and around its bill. It does not breed in the UK, but flies here from Greenland and Siberia for the…

The markings of the peacock are unmistakeable - big, blue 'eyes' just like a peacock's tail feathers. It can be seen feeding on flowers all year-round during warm spells, and…

Common cow-wheat is a delicate annual that brightens up the edges of acid woodland and heaths with deep golden flowers in the summer.

The UK hosts a small, but important, breeding population of ruff. The ruff is a large sandpiper that is so-called due to the large ruff of feathers around the males' neck. This is used in a…

The keeled skimmer is a dragonfly of heaths and commons with shallow pools. It has a skittish and weak flight, and is on the wing in summer and early autumn.

Look for the star-like, feathery, white flowers of Bogbean in ponds, fens, bogs and marshes. It is so-named because its leaves look like those of broad beans.

The rare natterjack toad is found at just a few coastal locations, where it prefers shallow pools on sand dunes, heaths and marshes.