Largely confined to the north of the UK, the rare pine marten is mostly nocturnal and very hard to spot. Reintroductions are helping it make a comeback.

A beautiful, tiny fungus, green elf cup can be commonly found on the decomposing wood of deciduous trees in woods, parks and gardens.

From spring, look out for the beautiful, speckled gold-and-black breeding plumage of the golden plover. It can be found in its upland moorland breeding grounds from May to September, moving to…

Yellow corydalis is a familiar 'weed' of gardens, walls and rocky places. It is a garden escapee in the UK, so is not a native plant. Try choosing natives for your garden to prevent…

When threatened, the green tortoise beetle acts just like a tortoise, pulling its feet and antennae in and hunkering down, gripping the leaf it is on as tightly as possible. Look for it on white…

The green hairstreak is the UK's only green butterfly. Look out for the vibrant, metallic sheen of the undersides of its wings on grassland and moorland, and along woodland rides.

The green sandpiper is a very rare breeding bird in the UK, and is mainly seen on migration in autumn. Look out for it feeding around marshes, flooded gravel pits and rivers. It even likes sewage…

The common shieldbug was once restricted to Southern England, but has since been moving northwards and is now quite widespread. It can be found in all kinds of habitats from gardens to farms.