This dashing diving duck is a winter visitor to the UK's seas, coastal lakes and occasionally inland water bodies.

The marsh hair moss is the largest moss in the UK. Look out for it in damp woodland and on boggy heathlands where it forms large, green and spikey 'cushions'.

A tall and robust species of sedge, the Great fen-sedge has long leaves with sawtooth edges. It forms dense stands in lowland fens and around lakes.

The delightful fragrance of wild thyme can punctuate a summer walk over a chalk grassland. It forms low-growing mats with dense clusters of purple-pink flowers.

This small finch nests on moorlands and coastal crofts, spending the winter on the coast. The UK population has declined dramatically.

Sometimes called 'Marsh samphire', wild common glasswort is often gathered and eaten. It grows on saltmarshes and beaches, sometimes forming big, green, fleshy carpets.

Look for the small, pink, pea-shaped flowers of Common restharrow on chalk and limestone grasslands, and in coastal areas, during summer.

The common carp is a very large fish that is popular with anglers due to its size and fighting spirit. It frequents ponds, gravel pits and lakes, but is not native to the UK, being introduced in…

The herring gull is the typical 'seagull' of our seaside resorts, though our coastal populations have declined in recent decades.

Herb-robert is a low-growing plant, with small, pretty, pink flowers. Look for it in shady spots in woodland, hedgerows and coastal areas.