As the weather gets milder, gardens become very busy places.  Birds and bees start to nest and some species of insects such as moths are...

Pink Waxcap 'The Ballerina' I have been away in a hot place, Oman, so these notes will have to be brief. On my departure the winter...

Water forget-me-not Myosotis scorpioides Temperatures in March can still fall below zero so March can be difficult time for garden...

Raven Spring Hill and Burnt Wood continue to be rich in bird life. The golden plover, fieldfares, redwings and skylarks are all present...

As I write, the first aconites are appearing on lawns and in the churchyard, a cheerful little flower appearing at a time of year when we...

Golden plovers January has been a great month for sightings, particularly up on Spring Hill. Our resident group of over one hundred...

Despite the early signs of Spring, February can be a very cold and wet month, so it’s really important to keep looking after the wildlife...

Once the shortest day has passed and the days start to get longer, we can start to think of Spring.  January, however, can be a tough...

A new species has arrived in the area but not a welcome one. A demon shrimp, Dicterogammarus haemobophes , was found by riverfly monitors...

One of the special sightings this month was to see sparrowhawk racing along just above the river before surprising a group of pigeons...

The autumn, though very wet during September and October, remained more or less frost-free before mid November, and so many tall trees...

November has been a great month for autumn sightings. The flock of golden plover has continued to increase, while we now also have the...

The series of warm, dry Septembers we have enjoyed lately ended this year with thunderous deluges lasting for days. If autumn has come...

Meteorological summer has now ended, and the morning autumn mists are already starting. The departure of the swallows and house martins...

Winter is now truly upon us and there are lots of things that will make a difference to the wildlife in your garden. Helping frogs in the...

Everyone knows the white foam of cow parsley or ‘keck’ that borders the lanes in May. But there are many similar flowers which are less...

The swifts have already left, a little earlier than usual. Many of us learned more about these amazing birds at Ailsa Claiborne’s swift...

All the rain this spring and summer has had at least two noticeable outcomes. One is the sheer luxuriance of the vegetation. River weeds,...

I am grateful to Peter and Margaret for most of the sightings this month, and some of them have been very special. On the track to...

In late summer there are still plenty of things you can do in your garden to help wildlife.  Even the smallest things can make a big...