London's under attack.

Swarms of flying ants took to the skies this week as temperatures and humidity coincided to spark the annual emergence of queen ants intent on establishing new colonies.

Each year the queens' embark on their adventures, followed by armies of winged cousins. It's an anty-pasto delight for birds. Swifts, starlings and gulls all take to the air to gobble up the tiny six-legged bugs. Far…

The Thames is central to my world this week.

On Tuesday I'll be at our Rainham Marshes nature reserve downstream of central London at Purfleet, still within sight of Canary Wharf. Led by TV presenter and Londoner Bill Oddie, we'll be celebrating its tenth birthday as a nature reserve.

We, the RSPB, took over the site from the Ministry of Defence in 2000. It took some five years before it was deemed safe to allow…

If you tried to create something gorgeous, something captivating and mesmerizing, you'd probably end up with a kingfisher. They are simply stunning creations, see the attached photo. This was captured by Peter Hewitt, a visitor to our Rye Meads nature reserve, who's happy to share it.

Right now, you can see the kingfishers for yourselves at Rye Meads. The parents have just hatched their eggs in a man-made kingfisher…