Considered to be an early sign of spring, the song of the cuckoo sounds the same as its name: ‘cuck-oo’. It can be heard in woodlands and grasslands. Cuckoos famously lay their eggs in the nests…

One of the most colourful fish in UK seas, the cuckoo wrasse looks like it belongs in the tropics. Don't be fooled though, it's very much a native species.

It’s easy to identify this distinctive skate from the black and yellow marbled eye spots on each wing.

The distinctive spiky, or 'bearded', green flower heads of wall barley appear from June to July and are easy to spot in an urban environment as they push their way up through pavements…

Often found basking on tall grasses, or buzzing between stems, the small skipper is a small, orange butterfly. It prefers rough grassland, verges and woodland edges.

The umbrella-like clusters of white, frothy flowers of cow parsley are a familiar sight along roadsides, hedgerows and woodland edges.

The small white is a common garden visitor. It is smaller than the similar large white, and has less black on its wingtips.

The small heath is the smallest of our brown butterflies and has a fluttering flight. It favours heathlands, as its name suggests, as well as other sunny habitats.

A prickly, tall plant, the Small teasel is closely related to the Common teasel, but has much smaller, more rounded flower heads. It prefers damp, open woodlands.

The small copper lives up to its name in both colour and size! Look out for it from April onwards in dry, sunny habitats like heathland, downland and woodland. It can be spotted in gardens, too.…