Horseshoe vetch is a member of the pea family, so displays bright yellow, pea-like flowers and seed pods. Look for this low-growing plant on chalk grasslands from May to July.

The silvery roach can be seen gathering in large shoals in lowland ponds, lakes and slow-flowing rivers. It is a member of the carp family and looks very similar to the dace, chub and rudd.

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…

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.

Another member of the echinoderm phylum, feather stars share some characteristics with true starfish, but also have their very own intriguing adaptations and behaviours, which make them a…

The fine, downcurved bill of the treecreeper makes this tit-sized bird unmistakeable. Look out for it in woodlands and parks, literally 'creeping' around tree trunks.

A pale member of the violet family sometimes known as ‘milk violet’, the fen violet has a delicate and unassuming appearance. A real specialist of the wetland habitat, this species has seen a…