Looking like a short Dandelion, but with a much rounder middle, Colt's-foot is a 'weed' of waste ground and field edges that brightens up early spring with its sunshine-yellow…

The common whelk is the largest sea snail found in UK seas, though you're more likely to find the dry balls of empty whelk egg capsules washed up in strandlines.

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.

The Yellow star-of-Bethlehem is a woodland plant that lives up to its name - it displays starry, gold flowers in an umbrella-like cluster in early spring.

In mild years, the spring-flowering primrose can appear as early as December. Look out for its pretty, creamy-yellow flowers in woodlands and grasslands.

The house sparrow is a familiar, streaky brown bird of towns, parks and gardens. Males sport a grey cap and black bib, the size of which indicates their status.

A scarce and declining bird, the tree sparrow can be spotted on farmland and in woodlands; it is not an urban bird in the UK. It has a brown cap and black cheek-spots, unlike the similar house…