Despite its name, the large blue is a fairly small butterfly, but the largest of our blues. It was declared extinct in 1979, but reintroduced in the 1980s and now survives in southern England.

Holly is a much-loved evergreen tree - its shiny, spiky leaves and bright red berries being a favourite in Christmas decorations. Found in all kinds of habitats, it provides an important winter…

The distinctive rounded wings of the lapwing are displayed beautifully when it wheels around a winter sky in a massive flock. In spring, these flocks disperse and some birds breed in the UK.…

A common plant of disturbed ground like roadside verges and field edges, the spear thistle has purple, fluffy flower heads that appear in summer. Its flowers attract insects and its seeds feed…

The exotic and beautiful swallowtail is the UK's largest butterfly. A strong flier, residents can be spotted over wetlands in Norfolk during summer. Migrants occasionally appear in southern…

A scarce tree of central and southern England, in particular, the small-leaved lime can be found in ancient woodland. It is has sweet-smelling flowers in summer and nut-like fruits in autumn.

Standing proud and tall, the red deer is our largest deer. With its massive antlers, it is an unmistakeable icon of the Scottish Highlands, but can be seen in northwest and southern England, too…

An introduced species, the rhododendron leafhopper is a striking mix of green and red, with a black stripe across its face. It can be found feeding on rhododendrons (also introduced) in Southern…

The small blue's name is a little misleading: it is our smallest butterfly, but only shows a dusting of blue on brown wings. It is scarce, occurring on chalk grassland, mostly in southern…

The willow tit lives in wet woodland and willow carr in England, Wales and southern Scotland. It is very similar to the marsh tit, but has a distinctive pale panel on its wings.