How weird has August been?  The weather's loopy, lots of people are away on holiday, my garden seed feeders are being depleted as often as they are in deepest, coldest winter and despite the heavy downpours, wetlands remain dry.

Both our Rainham and Rye Meads reserves have struggled to maintain water levels. On the plus-side it means you can get closer to small wildlife, such as water voles, insects and the like.…

The swifts that danced over my house have gone. They'll be half way to Africa by now, but it gives me an opportunity to clean out my old swift box and try to fix it as high up my outside wall as my nerves and ladder will allow.

Hopefully, it will then be a bit more attractive to a passing swift next year.

I've also been humbled this week by a young teenager from Waltham Forest, who's cycling more than 200 miles…

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…

Rural Britain is devoid of colour as traditional hay meadows vanish.

A new report claims 97% of rural Britain's fields of buttercups, sorrel and clover with a variety of grasses have gone... and you know, I'm in full agreement.

Consumer demand and mechanisation of farming gave us the ability to intensify and purify the crops we could get from our green and pleasant pastures. That has helped make the good ship B…

A new report out this week says water voles are making a comeback after their population slumped 90%.

Just this last Wednesday I saw one - photo on the right - chewing on a fresh green leaf at our Rye Meads nature reserve in the Lee Valley. It was right by the path and didn't seem at all worried about the cooing crowd of a dozen of us straining against the handrail for a closer look.

I'd gone there expecting to see…

A pair of mating blue-tailed damselflies just flew in to my house through the open backdoor. Which is a bit of a surprise, given that I live in East London with no known ponds, streams, canals or water bodies of any sort within 100 metres. I always thought damselflies stayed pretty close to water. I guess I was wrong once again.

It's a reminder that we rarely know what's around us, which is precisely why this week…

Where are my swifts.

I'm seeing them wherever I go, but the ones that normally play in the sky over my house are simply absent.

I know we've a bit of a crisis looming with swifts, and that plans are afoot to try to resolve it... but where are my swifts.

With upheaval in the workplace, relationship breakdowns around me, global financial meltdowns and political uncertainty, I need the stability and familiarity of…

Not quite chocks away but ... Yes the season of peregrine chicks is upon us and soon London's skies will be full of these magnificent creatures swooping and diving and testing their flying skills.

Sadly not all of London's peregrines successfuly bred this year. Eggs were washed out on one nest and vanished from another site, but Scotland Yard's Wildlife Crime Officers are looking into that. The Tate Modern…

The election's passed and we'll have new faces in the Commons. Maybe we'll have other new visitors too, once the four eggs being incubated by peregrine falcons Beattie and Busby hatch... hopefully any moment now.

The peregrines you can see on our pere-cam are the pair that use the Palace of Westminster as a daytime roost, when they're not looking after their newly hatched chicks. Their nest site is on a secure…

If getting comedy right is all about timing,then my life's a tragedy.The day I go away on holiday I miss the peregrines on our webcam laying their first egg; they're presently sitting on four! Then on my holidays, a volcano erupts in Iceland, stranding my partner our three children and myself in Delhi.

All that aside. we've safely returned to the UK in time to watch the peregrine chicks hatch.... It could be election…

Woodpigeons are tops in Greater London's gardens.

Almost 24,000 Londoners contributed to our Big Garden Birdwatch survey, which took place in January, during one of the coldest, snowiest winters for years.. heck it isn't even over now at the start of April! 

Thanks to everyone who sent in their reposnes we are able to compare this year's results with those from previous years to give a snapshot of long-term changes…

A unique new project has been launched to monitor London's birds, particularly those migrating through, but also some of our favourites, like the peregrines and swifts.

Urban Birder David Lindo takes the credit for securing this unique partnership in the heart of the City. The owners of Tower 42, the City's tallest building have generously agreed to allow expert bird watchers on to their roof to look out for,…

I've had an influx of ladybirds and an enormous wasp exploring our house this week. In the garden, the daffs have unfurled their petals and leaves are forming on the trees. Spring has arrived.

That means lazy days in the sunshine can't be far behind and to help inspire you, what better place to be than at the British Leisure Show at Windsor Racecourse this weekend? You'll find our trailer and marquee in the Outdoor…

Herons. They look like dinosaur birds. Perched high up in the tree-tops on their badly built nests, their long pointy beaks swinging from side to side as though trying to follow some unheard melody . Actually, they're quite scary when viewed like that, but judge for yourself this weekend when we pitch our marquee in Battersea Park to enjoy the heronry.

There's another opportunity to enjoy herons when our team moves…

Picture the scene. A family of five squelching through muddy fields alongside the banks of the River Lugg in Herefordshire. There's blue sky, sunshine, low temperatures and snow dusting the ground. Wrapped up warm and with cold wellies we're constantly encouraging our youngest to walk just a wee bit further (another two miles to be precise, but don't tell her).

Then we spot a huddle of three sheep... they've…

Early UK emigrants liked familiar things and among their home comforts, took house sparrows with them as they boldly went to conquer new worlds. They effectively made the humble cockney sparra a global species. House sparrows are now common across most of the world, especially the America's, where they continue to flourish. Not so in the London grounds of the US Ambassador's home.

Winfield House, near London…

They're teasing me. The birds I've seen from the windows of the east London home that I share with my family, have been more varied and higher in number than is usual. This can mean just one thing. The Big Garden Birdwatch is imminent.

This week I've seen long-tailed tits (pictured, right), coal tits, blue tits, redwings, robins, blackbirds, ring necked parakeets, mistlethrush, crows, chaffinches and jays, with…

I think 2010 is going to be remembered for big changes.

China's economy is leading the world's financial recovery, signalling a major change in the global perception of China. The tragedy in Haiti is making us all look at the way we support those in need. And, the extreme's of weather here in the UK are forcing us to reconsider our apparent belief that we are immune from its impact. King Canute knew he couldn…

Whoosh, in it came. Fast and furious. Not an owl, not a peregrine falcon. Not even a bird. I'm talking about this year.

2010 has been frantic so far, and it's only just begun.

The snow and ice locked away food for birds and other wildlife. London was blanketed so birds have had to venture further afield to find tucker. Our sparrows, finches and tits need huge amounts of food to maintain energy levels and survive…

It's snowing. It's cold. I've got flu and someone's dismantled my bike trying to nick the rear gears.

But I'm happy.

I can see a proud crow through the window, stark black against the bleak cold whiteness of the day. There are several tits flitting across the open spaces between the shrubs. All this is idyllic, but it's not the source of my happiness.

What's giving me a warm glow is reflecting…

More than sixty thousand people, marched through London and Glasgow on Saturday as part of The Wave. Thank you to every one of you. This makes it the UK's biggest demo on climate change, sending a clear signal to our Government and world leaders.

In London, we set-off from Grosvenor Square and to the beat of drums, accompanied by trumpets, horns and whistles, surged on "wave" like through Berkley Square, Picadilly…