Perhaps the first sign that spring is just around the corner is the snowdrop poking its way through the frosted soil of a woodland, churchyard or garden. From January, look for its famous nodding…

This slim fish is usually found on gravelly parts of the seabed, close to shore, but can turn up in rockpools.

As the bluebells fade, yellow archangel takes its turn to impress, with golden-yellow flowers carpeting our ancient woodlands.

The black-headed gull is actually a chocolate-brown headed gull! And for much of the year, it's head even turns white. Look out for it in large, noisy flocks on a variety of habitats.

An iconic tree, particularly in the south of the UK, the Common beech stands tall and proud in woodlands and parks. It turns beautiful golden-brown in autumn, strewing the floor with its '…

A lovely pale cream colour to begin with these stout mushrooms begin to turn a buff colour and the cap surface will crack as they age.

The black garden ant is the familiar and abundant small ant that lives in gardens, but also turns up indoors searching for sugary food. In summer, winged adults, or 'flying ants', swarm…

An uncommon tree of wet woodlands, riverbanks and heathlands, Alder buckthorn displays pale green flowers in spring, and red berries that turn purple in autumn.

The orange ladybird is pale orange with up to 16 cream spots on its wing cases. It feeds on mildew on trees like sycamore and ash, and hibernates in the leaf litter. It often turns up in moth…

Aspen is a slender poplar tree that can be spotted on heathland and in woodlands, particularly in Scotland. It displays hanging catkins in spring and its fluttering leaves turn vibrant yellow in…

Groundsel is a 'weed' of cultivated and disturbed ground like field edges, roadside verges and waste ground. It has clusters of yellow flowers that turn fluffy and white as the plant…