The small, yellow flowers and woolly appearance of kidney vetch make this plant easy to spot. Look for it growing low to the ground on sand dunes, chalk grasslands and cliffs in summer.

A member of the buttercup family, Common water-crowfoot displays white, buttercup-like flowers with yellow centres. It can form mats in ponds, ditches and streams during spring and summer.

The Common walnut tree produces a large, brown nut that is familiar to so many of us. It is an introduced species in the UK, and can be seen in towns, gardens and parks.

Fat hen is a persistent 'weed' of fields and gardens, verges and hedgerows. But, like many of our weed species, it is a good food source for birds and insects.

Freshwater pearl mussels spend their adult lives anchored to the river bed, filtering water through their gills and improving the quality of the water for other species.

The Migrant hawker is not a particularly aggressive species, and may be seen feeding in large groups. It flies late into autumn and can be seen in gardens, grasslands and woodlands.

Bittersweet is a nightshade, so is toxic; its bright red berries may be tempting, but can cause serious illness. Found in hedgerows and gardens, it has purple flowers with yellow stamens.

The grass snake is our longest snake, but don't worry if you find one in the compost heap - it's harmless! Look out for this green and yellow beauty in grasslands and wetlands, too.

The turtle dove is the UK's fastest declining bird species and is on the brink of extinction. A small and pretty pigeon, it breeds in lowland England and winters in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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.

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 scorpion fly, as its name suggests, has a curved 'tail' that looks like a sting. It is, in fact, the males' claspers for mating. It is yellow and black, with a long 'beak…