Author: Emily Kench

Warm summer days, alfresco living, bees buzzing on the flowers, beetles crawling across the lawn... The scene in gardens up and down the country. Yet, if like me you reside in a terraced townhouse in the city, you may lack the confidence to recreate this vision in your own concrete jungle.

Photo credit:  Jesper Mattias

Photo credit: Eleanor Bentall

My own patch of paving meets the concrete…

Author: Emily Kench

One of the UK’s rarest seabirds, the little tern has suffered serious declines over the past 25 years. The tiny chattering birds travel a 6,000 mile round trip each year to breed on the beaches of the British Isles, but their numbers have been declining as they struggle to find safe beaches to nest and feed their young, free from predators and human disturbance.

The East Anglian coast is home…

Author: Carrie Carey. This blog post originally appeared as a feature in the Eastern Daily Press Weekend magazine on 25 February 2017.

I recently took the grandchildren to a local farm park and despite the enticement of tractor rides and sheep racing, they wanted to stay by the pig pen where a family of hogs were enjoying a very messy mud bath. My youngest granddaughter looked at me knowing and said “They’re really happy…

The snow may have vanished as quickly as it appeared but the cold, dark days of winter have lingered on. This being said, do not become too accustomed to these seemingly bare days, because if you look a bit closer you might just find the tiny green buds flourishing on our trees and the overzealous shoots ready to blossom at any second. Then take a second to listen to the increasing trills of bird song and inhale a deep…

Author: Emily Kench

Deep in the heart of the East Anglian countryside, a loving purr whistles through a hedgerow. Amongst tight-knit leaves, one set of orange eyes burning with love, stares into the eyes of another. After a long and testing journey this male turtle dove has found his love: his one and only, his mate for life.

He has traveled 11,000 km from his wintering grounds in West Africa to find her, and the journey…

Written by Sharon Barker. This blog post originally appeared as a feature in the Eastern Daily Press Weekend magazine on 14 January 2017.

Putting out food for our birds is a great way to add movement and colourful interest to the winter garden when viewed through the window.  It will also help to ensure that the birds are in good physical condition in the spring and set them up for a successful breeding season.  Getting…

The North Norfolk coast comes alive with thousands of wildfowl throughout the winter months, bringing with it numerous wildlife spectacles. Titchwell Marsh and nearby Snettisham are ideal locations for a wintery walk surrounded by this wonderful wildlife.

RSPB Titchwell Marsh:

During the winter months, thousands of ducks and geese will winter in North Norfolk, including teal, wigeon, gadwall, shoveler, pintails and…

If you're looking for a day out along the beautiful Suffolk coast with a variety of routes to choose from then why not visit RSPB North Warren. Or if you're after a more remote and challenging walk then nearby Dingle Marshes is perfect for you.

RSPB North Warren  

Near the picturesque coastal town of Aldeburgh, here you can stroll around the beautiful coastal wetlands, woodland and heathland, as well as the variety…

If a walk in the wilderness is what you're looking for this winter, the Wallasea Island Wild Coast project will give you just that.

Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project is a collaboration with Crossrail to combat the threats from climate change and coastal flooding by recreating the ancient wetland landscape of mudflats and saltmarsh, lagoons and pasture. With 101 pairs of breeding avocets this year, RSPB Wallasea Island…

A firm favourite with families and wildlife enthusiasts alike, RSPB Strumpshaw Fen nestled in the broads and part of the Mid-Yare National Nature Reserve has an array of fascinating wildlife and plenty of activities for everyone to enjoy.

Walk around the reedbeds, woodlands and meadows, look out for shy wetland species including the resident bitterns and bearded tits, or the distinctive blue flash of a kingfisher hunting…

Are you a ‘tidy it to within an inch of its life and then I won’t have to think about it again until spring’, or a ‘leave it completely alone and never venture into it except to walk down the path to the car’ type of person when it comes to your garden in the winter? Hopefully most of us are somewhere in between, doing a bit for wildlife and storing up our rewards as gardeners for next season too. There’s always a little…

Our upcoming blogs will highlight a series of walks, perfect for a nice winters day in the Eastern Region. 

If you're looking for an easy stroll or a walk that everyone in the family will be up for, then Minsmere nature reserve is for you. Made famous due to its appearances on Springwatch, Minsmere has a vast array of species to see throughout the year. There is a choice of three short circular trails to choose from…

Author: Clare Whitelegg, edited by Emily McParland

“What’s your favourite bird?” This is a question Clare Whitelegg, our Schools Outreach Officer, is regularly asked by school pupils. It’s a tough question, but as part of the ‘Big Schools' Birdwatch’ sessions we've been running in local schools this term, many children are discovering their favourite bird for the first time.…

Author: Martin Rendle, edited by Emily McParland

Santa runs may be a common sight at this time of year, however at the RSPB we want to celebrate the festive season with Britain's favourite bird instead, the robin.

The RSPB have launched the first annual Winter Robin Fun Run, to be held in the beautiful Norfolk Broads. We want to put the 'fun' into fun run, so whole families are welcome and actively encouraged…

Author: Carrie Carey

Over a thousand miles to the north of Britain lies a sparsely populated island in the north Atlantic Ocean. Forged from the Ice Age, the landscape is a mixture of jagged ravines, hot springs and roaring rivers. Glacial ridges contrast with black volcanic beaches and at first sight this formidable terrain might seem to have little to offer wildlife, but here amongst Iceland’s highlands and lowlands…

Author: Rachael Murray

The Suffolk coast is famed for its winter wildlife wonderlands. It’s a well trodden route for nature enthusiasts the world over and famed for the part it plays in the protection of so many special species. Chris Packham once famously called Suffolk Coast nature reserve, RSPB Minsmere, the ‘Disneyworld of wildlife’. I can only imagine he meant Disneyworld, Paris, because stroll…

Author: Mark Brandon

To quote Keats, now that the ‘season of mist and mellow fruitfulness’ is upon us, it is a great time to see mushrooms and toadstools in our colourful autumnal countryside. The Lodge nature reserve, just over the Cambridgeshire border, is a great hunting ground for fungi. Over 600 different species have been recorded there!

The stunning fly agaric, often depicted in illustrations…

Author: Lee Cozens, RSPB Strumpshaw Fen

 Picture credit: Phil Barnes Photography

It’s the time of year when the shops are brimming with plastic spiders, cobwebs, bats and a whole host of other Halloween goodies.

This all serves to get us in the mood for sugar-fuelled, trick-or –treat outings, but with all the excitement about costumes and treats it’s easy to overlook the more compelling Halloween story happening…

Author: Chris Andrews, RSPB Frampton Marsh

Picture Credit: Andy Hay

In the days of Alfred the Great, the coast of Lincolnshire was the landing ground for roving parties from the North. They came to these shores looking for easy pickings, or a way to escape the harsh conditions in Scandinavia. Well, it is still happening today, but instead of boat loads of bearded Vikings, thankfully we are just talking birds!

Today, alongside many of our conservation partners here in the East, we are calling for more to be done to help the region’s wildlife.  Why? Today, the State of Nature 2016 report is being launched by Sir David Attenborough and UK conservation and research organisations in London.

Following on from the groundbreaking State of Nature report in 2013, leading professionals from 53 wildlife organisations have pooled…

Author: Sharon Barker, Flatford Wildlife Garden

Now that we’re well into August, the spotlight at the wildlife garden has subtly moved away from the birds and towards the bees and butterflies as they make the most of the current wave of flowers on display. However, our butterflies have put in a late showing this year, probably due to the dull, wet weather at the start of the season, and they are not so plentiful now…

Author: David White, RSPB Lakenheath Fen Nature Reserve

Last year, Lakenheath Fen celebrated its twentieth birthday. Back in 1995, the first spade entered what had been a carrot field, found on the border of Cambridgeshire, to begin the creation of a new wetland nature reserve.

This month, we are celebrating another birthday. Twenty years ago this month, the very first reed was planted. This single fluffy frond marked…

Author: Emily Neville, Fen Drayton Lakes nature reserve

Marsh harriers are fast becoming my favourite birds. I had never even seen a marsh harrier before working at Fen Drayton Lakes but having spent so much time watching them from the welcome shelter this year, I am now fascinated by these incredible creatures.

Over the past six months I have seen our large rust brown birds of prey elegantly sky dancing, making impressive…

Author: Izzy Knights

My family owns a 500 hectare arable farm near Bury St Edmunds and I feel lucky to come from an agricultural background. When I was young I spent my days exploring the farm, searching for wildlife and often trying to save any injured animals I came across. I think this played a large role in my decision to study Zoology at University. I'm fascinated by the idea of my two biggest interests, farming…

Author: Lyndsey Record, RSPB Warden

I am fortunate enough to look after the wildlife on Suffolk’s only island, found in the beautiful River Ore. Havergate Island is a peaceful haven made up of saltmarsh, shingle and saline lagoons which support a wealth of wildlife. For those of us that think variety is the spice of life, the wonderful thing about Havergate is that it changes throughout the seasons, offering a different…