A delicate wader, Red-necked phalaropes are as comfortable swimming as they are on land. Unusually for birds, the females are more brightly coloured than the males.

Shepherd's purse is often considered a 'weed'. It produces a lot of seeds and can be found on cultivated and disturbed land, such as arable fields, tracks and gardens.

The streamlined black-throated diver is a superb swimmer and diver, but not so graceful on land! During the summer, the distinctive black patch on its throat appears, heralding the breeding season…

As its name suggests, creeping bent runs along the ground before it bends and grows upright. It is a common grass of arable land, waste ground and grasslands.

The soft, downy look of Yorkshire-fog makes it an attractive plant, even if it is considered a weed of cultivated land! It is also attractive to the caterpillars of the Small Skipper butterfly as…