The UK hosts a small, but important, breeding population of ruff. The ruff is a large sandpiper that is so-called due to the large ruff of feathers around the males' neck. This is used in a…

Bog-myrtle, also known as sweet gale, is a small shrub that is native to wet heaths and bogs across the Northern Hemisphere.

The keeled skimmer is a dragonfly of heaths and commons with shallow pools. It has a skittish and weak flight, and is on the wing in summer and early autumn.

Look for the star-like, feathery, white flowers of Bogbean in ponds, fens, bogs and marshes. It is so-named because its leaves look like those of broad beans.

The rare natterjack toad is found at just a few coastal locations, where it prefers shallow pools on sand dunes, heaths and marshes.

The long-winged conehead is so-named for the angled shape of its head. It can be found in grasslands, heaths and woodland rides throughout summer.

The all-black rook is a sociable bird, so can be spotted in flocks or nesting colonies, known as 'rookeries'. Unlike the similar carrion crow, it has a grey bill and 'baggy trouser…

A plain-looking warbler, the garden warbler is a summer visitor to the UK. It is a shy bird and is most likely to be heard, rather than seen, in woodland and scrub habitats.

The common polypody is a hardy fern of damp, shady places in woodlands. It also makes a good garden fern. It has ladder-like, leathery foliage with pimply undersides - these spots are the spores…

The eider is a large seaduck, famed for its soft, downy feathers that are not only used by the bird to line and insulate its nest, but also by humans to stuff our quilts and pillows. It nests…