I've said it before, but it's a sad fact London has more peregrine falcons that you'll find in some parts of their natural range in the UK's uplands.

Slaughter is a strong word, but it sums up what's going on in some parts of the countryside, including some parts of our protected and best-loved National Parks, such as the Yorkshire Dales, North York Moors and the Peak District.

If you map peregrine distribution…

A statistic from the U. S. of A. claims that the League of Conservative Voters has asked Whitehouse contenders 2,975 questions, but sadly only six of those questions have concerned climate change. Compare that with the twelve questions posed on UFO's and you'll get an idea of the importance placed on the subject!

Here in London the Mayoral election is very different but also highlights a lack of general concern…

A call I answered in the office brought one of those stories that proves there is a deep-rooted emotional anchor that binds us with the natural world.

A lady who'd planted some bulbs in her southeast London garden had left the box the bulbs arrived in on a garden seat. When she went to shift it a couple of weeks later she was startled when a robin shot out of the top. Carefully opening the cardboard flaps on top "I…

The starling is king in London's gardens, long live the king.

Our Big Garden Birdwatch results this year show no change in the top ten species. Starling is number one, followed by the house sparrow and woodpigeon. Fourth is the cheeky blue tit and fifth is the sonorous blackbird. Alarm bells are ringing though because the populations of our top two species are crashing around our ears. In fact, for the first time in…

A muffin-top waistline, greying hair and crepe skin. I'm not getting any younger but I was a bit saddened to hear my eldest daughter saying, "Dad's gone to seed." 

She was of course on the phone to her grandmother and I had misinterpreted what she'd meant. My spin on the statement was in light of the reflection that had greeted me in the bathroom mirror that morning. Subliminally, it was loitering in my…

Easter's fast approaching and I swear I've got some eggs in my birdbox. The resident blue tits don't seem to mind that a mere couple of metres away, the Stansted Express thunders past northwards bound.

A host of tits, finches and others have been criss-crossing the garden, busy carrying scraps of food and nesting material. Even the jays have been active, snatching food from the bird table.

Another heart-lifting…

My nine year old daughter loves puzzles. She's got a book full of them, including some of those where you have to follow a jumbled thread to see which bird eats which food. If life were like that, all we'd have to do is follow the thread to find our answers.

Yeh, but, no but - I hear you cry. Drop the false Essex accent and trust me when I say life can sometimes be that simple. We all get stuck in our bunkers or…

Do you find yourself gawping in wonder as birds swoop and dive effortlessly overhead. Somewhere deep in your psyche you want to be that bird speeding through the air.

The last time I flew anywhere I was herded like a cow through the airport, then squashed into an airplane seat in what appears to have been an attempt to invoke sympathy for tinned sardines! It was dehumanising. It means I can't see relatives without long…

Can you credit it, a hovering pigeon! Not only do I have to protect my feeders from marauding squirrels, I've a new challenge.

It's difficult to believe but this fit young, dark grey feral pigeon actually manages to hover at the feeder for at least 15 seconds, poking his head through the guardian cage and eating the seed meant for my friendly tribes of great tits, blue tits and chaffinches. it's extraordinary behaviour…

Aint it just typical! The day before I do my Big Garden Birdwatch my partner happily spots and enjoys the sight of a sparrowhawk perched on a fence post in our garden, wings slightly stretched, sunning itself. Have  I ever seen one in our garden? NO!

I realise I'm in danger of sounding like my younger children but if I want to stamp my feet, clench my fists and rage at the injustice of it all, then I will. But hey. It…

As I write, the sun's shining, the birds are singing and all's well with the world; as long as you ignore all the bad things.

Big Schools' Birdwatch launched on a wet and windy day so instead of spending an afternoon recording birds on a shrub-and-house-sparrow-filled patch of land with pupils from William Tyndell Primary in Islington, we spent an hour in the school hall instead. The children were brilliant;…

Catastrophic climate change looms and we've a well researched document to hammer home the point. At 507 pages, A Climatic Atlas of European Breeding Birds is not light reading and it weighs something in the region of 3 kg too, so it's a heavy book in every sense.

The headline finding is that by the end of this Century, many bird populations will be forced 550 km north east, squeezing suitable habitats towards the…

Feeders at the ready? ID chart by your side? Drinks and biscuits to hand? If you answered YES to any of these questions, then you're fully prepared for the Big Garden Birdwatch 2008.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, read on. Over the weekend of 26 and 27 of January we ask people to spare an hour of their time recording which birds, and how many, visit their gardens and open spaces. If you've never done anything…

Loins are girded and all that needs to be braced - is braced. Bring on 2008! Escapism isn't far from many people's minds so it's fitting out first event of the year will be the DESTINATIONS show at Earls Court.

While the holiday industry shows off its best we'll be sharing the experiences to be found at our reserves around the UK. Whether it's a one-to-one moment with nature you're looking for, or a great…

Barnacle geese (pictured), bean geese and white-fronted geese all dropped in to Rainham just before Christmas as a sort of early present and although it was only the 82 barnacle geese that stayed for the dog days of December, it was all very welcome.

Barnacle geese get their name from an old fable that they grew from barnacles, the small hard-shelled sea creatures that cling to boat hulls and rocks. Because of this, Catholics…

A call to arms to address inadequate national flood protection and a kingfisher takes up residence at Rainham.

I have been accused by co-workers of being the office scrooge this season and I do feel a bit scrooge-like. Beautifully wrapped presents but gosh, another pair of socks! Or, put another way, fine words on tackling flooding, but where's the action.

It would be easy for the UK government to pledge millions to…

We've been at the London Boat Show this past week with a stand all about our Albatross campaign and the work we're doing to convince the government of the need for a Marine Bill.

We're enjoying some success in saving the 19 species of albatross currently struggling to survive. We're not making as much progress with the Marine Bill. Despite cross-party support, we're still waiting for Gordon Brown to deliver on…

The sky was gun-metal grey but the sun had broken through a chink in the clouds turning Rainham Marshes' reedbeds and water meadows the colour of golden straw. If this vision was not enough to make you stop and stare then the swirling, shimmering flock of hundreds of lapwings certainly would. One minute you saw them, the next they merged with the sky as they turned their white wings away from the sun.
 
They were the…

Robins are all the rage in London this week. Believe me, I've spent so much time this week talking red breasts I'm hoarse.

We're urging people to put out food for robins now - to increase the likelihood of a Christmas day visit from these iconic birds. David Lindo, otherwise known as BBC TV's The Urban Birder, is supporting the plan and will be urging people to join us on THE ONE SHOW this week.

It's a simple…

Two beautiful jays appear to be spending a lot more time in my garden along with the tits, blackbirds, woodpigeons and robins.  Having moved from a house with no outdoor space it's a daily affirmation of life for me to witness their comings and goings and I feel truly privileged.

My mother-in-law is slightly less impressed, but then she's always had a garden to marvel at the birds and other wildlife that share these…

Are you prepared to drive within the speed limit? Are you prepared to put on another layer instead of turning up your heating? If you answered "yes" and "yes" then please write to your MP and to Gordon Brown asking them to “up” the target for CO2 emissions from 60% to 80%.

A new report compiled by the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr), WWF and the RSPB lays out the science showing…

London’s Hampstead Heath on a drizzly Saturday was buzzing with life: Coot, sparrowhawk, kestrel, cormorant, heron, shoveller, grebe, moorhen, mallard, starling, magpie, blackbird, tufted duck, parakeet, mute swan, black headed-gull, greater spotted woodpecker and lots of dogs!

My day started well, in that I managed to stumble out of bed before the BBC London radio car arrived to interview me in my scrappy garden…

We're fat and bureaucrats are to blame! That appeared to be the message from the Government report, Sleepwalking our way to obesity, stating we're heading for an early grave because of our sedentary lifestyles.

Reading the report you'd think we are all incapable of controlling what we eat or how we exercise. Are we really under the thrall of out TV's, play stations, computers and motorised transport to the extent…

I could have sworn someone said that gardening for wildlife was a lazy form of gardening. Something about not needing to prune, cut grass and weed as often? Pity they missed out the backbreaking bit involved in creating the garden in the first place.

I'm about eight-weeks into this project and six weeks overdue at the chiropractors. However. I am now the proud overseer of three raised vegetable beds (awaiting some manure…

There's no denying it, here it comes again, round like a circle in a spiral. Leaves on the ground, craneflies clinging to walls and windows, apple's falling silently through space and an alarming rise in the number of calls to the office about squirrels. Autumn's here.

Two weeks ago, I was enjoying a walk around Rainham Marshes, admiring the juicy blackberries, bursting with flavours of port and wine. Back…