Author: Shona Howes

The surrounding birdsong floats to the forefront in joyous harmony with the happy chirps of children exploring bird houses, bug hotels, hogilos and frogilos at our bustling Nature Café at Wroxham Barns. At this time of year, swallows are the star act, with their mesmeric and energetic song; they are most definitely the guest of honour at the café.

Thankfully swallows are not a threatened…

Author: Rachael Murray

Unless you have been living under a rock, you won’t have failed to have noticed the electronic phenomenon that is Pokémon GO. The premise, in case you have been cave dwelling, is that you move about your local neighbourhood eyes firmly fixed on your mobile phone, searching for virtual monsters going by names like Spearow, Beedrill and Sandshrew. The make believe beasts that feel…

It’s pretty hard to see things in the dark, and that’s most probably why some of our incredible night time wildlife goes unnoticed as it hops, snuffles and flaps around our neighbourhoods.

I love to snuggle up cosily of an evening. As dusk empties our skies of colour, blue fading slowly to black, I can invariably be found closing curtains, shutting blinds and allowing the cheerful glow of lamps and…

Author: Rachael Murray, RSPB Communications Officer

The first ever BBC Springwatch was beamed live into our living rooms back in 2005. 11 years later and it is stronger than ever, showing us the trials and tribulations of UK wildlife in high definition.

We’ve been really excited to welcome the BBC back with their cameras, cables and technological wizardry to once again shine a spotlight on some of the amazing…

Author: Sarah Osborn

Sunday the 8th May was World Migratory Bird Day, an annual celebration highlighting the beauty and wonder of migratory species, as well as the unique challenges we face in protecting them.

As the old saying goes, ‘one swallow does not make a summer’, however for me, the first sighting of summer migrants in our skies is always exciting. I draw hope from the birds’ regular annual arrival…

Author: David White, Visitor Experience Officer, Lakenham Fen

Here in Cambridgeshire and the surrounding Fens we are lucky enough to provide a home to a wide variety of rare nesting birds. Thanks to fantastic conservation work across the county, our reedbeds are famed for their bitterns, marsh harriers and bearded tits; the UK’s fast disappearing turtle dove population continues to hang on thanks to wildlife friendly…

Author: Lizzie Bruce, Warden, The Lodge nature reserve

On a warm spring evening whilst out on the heath here at The Lodge Nature Reserve you may be lucky enough to hear the strange rasping croak of the natterjack toad.

Today they are Britain’s rarest amphibian but this has not always been the case as highlighted in Janet Browne’s biography of well known English naturalist, Charles Darwin.

‘We had a very…

Author: Gemma Wells, RSPB Community Engagement Officer

The song of the skylark has inspired artists for generations. In 1881, English writer George Meredith penned The Lark Ascending, a soaring, lilting poem that imitates the rising flight and continuous trilling of a male skylark’s song.

He rises and begins to round,

He drops the silver chain of sound

Of many links without a break,

In chirrup, whistle, slur…

Author: Rachael Murray, Communications Officer, Eastern England Regional Office (EERO)

Everyone is taken by a different aspect of nature. Some quest to see as much of it as they can, ticking off myriad species as they go. Others are wedded to particular creatures, developing a strong allegiance in the form of sponsorships, cuddly toys, perhaps even taking a once in a lifetime adventure to spot them. I know people enraptured…

Author: Rupert Masefield, Communications Officer, Eastern England Regional Office (EERO)

Last month in this column I wrote about the urban dawn chorus I enjoyed one morning as I made my way through the city to work. This month I find myself irresistibly drawn back to the subject of feathered songsters, this time to shed some light on nature’s sopranos, tenors and baritones.

The dawn chorus may sound like a…

Author: Rachael Murray, Communications Officer, Eastern England Regional Office (EERO)

I don't know about you but I love this time of year, when the grey skies give way to a more confident blue and I get the growing feeling that spring has settled in, and summer truly could be a possibility! It’s around about now that we welcome well known summer migrants back to our shores, including screaming tangles of soot black swifts…

Author: Rupert Masefield, Communications Officer, Eastern England Regional Office (EERO)

Some of my most vivid memories from my childhood are of seemingly endless hours and days spent playing in and exploring nature in the garden at my grandparents’ house. Here, together with my younger brother and assorted cousins and friends, I had many of my first encounters with all kinds of creatures in what, to my young eyes…

Author: Sarah Osborn

At first glance, frogspawn floating in a pond can have a slightly alien appearance. But looking closer at the black dots suspended in clear gelatinous orbs, soon to emerge as wriggling tadpoles, I can’t help but smile at how amazing nature is.

Whilst most people are familiar with the lifecycle of a frog, watching it unfold right in front of your eyes is enthralling. There is something magical…

Author: Gemma Wells, Community Engagement Officer, Ouse Washes

Last month, I had a brilliant day taking students from Lionel Walden Primary School out into the open Fens to experience firsthand the fantastic work of a nature friendly farm in Cambridgeshire.

Andy and Sarah Coulson, who own and manage Englands and Eatons Charity Farm near Wimblington, hosted 26 inquisitive Year 4 students on the sunny day that kicked…

Author: Rachael Murray, Communications Officer, Eastern England Regional Office (EERO)

On a short walk during my lunch break last week, I was delighted to spot my first bumblebee of the season. Not only is it such a joy to watch their unfeasible flight, all big furry body and tiny wings, they are usually one of the first insects to appear in spring, reminding us that, just as our patience is wearing thin with this interminable…

Author: Heather Coath, RSPB Titchwell Marsh Volunteer

Recent research carried out by Persil came to the startling conclusion last week that British children are among the most housebound and screen addicted in the world.

This is pretty shocking stuff, and as someone who had the good fortune to enjoy many a wild yomp as a child, it makes me wonder if, as a nation, we have inherently lost our love of nature and the outdoors…

Author: Rupert Masefield, Communications Officer, Eastern England Regional Office (EERO)

I don’t think I’d be courting controversy by saying that people have a mixed reaction to waking up early in the morning. In my household, this difference in individuals’ circadian rhythms can be the source of friction that threatens our otherwise harmonious coexistence. Some people, I have learned, don’t like to be woken up hours…

Author: Shona Howe, Community Volunteer and Development Officer

After visiting the local school in Cantley to share my passion for Norfolk wildlife last week, I sneaked a quick breather down a picturesque lane to gaze over the marshes before heading on my way. As I took in the crisp air and marvelled at the dramatic backdrop of hazy pinks and blues in the sky over the river Yare, I was transported back to childhood adventures…

Author: Rachael Murray, Communications Officer, Eastern England Regional Office (EERO)

Recently I was lucky enough to visit the RSPB’s Berney Marshes nature reserve, found tucked away off the beaten track on the edge of Halvergate Marshes in the Norfolk Broads.

My presence there was instigated by a welcome visit from a BBC Countryfile film crew, who were keen to document some of the great work we are doing in partnership…

Author: Clare Whitelegg, Schools Outreach Project Officer

In 2015, thanks to generous funding from ALDI, the RSPB launched a programme of free outreach to primary schools across the UK.

I’m Clare, the Schools Outreach Project Officer for Norwich and the Broads. Since starting last September, I have worked with hundreds of children, helping them to explore the great outdoors and discover nature.

It’s truly a privilege…

Giving Nature a Home poll

Over 1,800 people answered our recent Giving Nature a Home poll, including questions about theirs and their neighbours garden. A brilliant 75% of participants agreed it is important to encourage wildlife into their gardens, but a surprising 73% hadn't spoken to their neighours in the past six months about how they can help wildlife in their garden! 

Grey squirrels are commonplace in East…

Bishop's House Garden throwing open gates to welcome wildlife and people

On Sunday 13^th September, Norwich’s ‘Bishop’s House Garden’ will be throwing open its gates to the public for a fun packed fundraising ‘garden party’ in aid of wildlife at the RSPB’s Strumpshaw Fen, who are the organizers. Children, families and people of all ages are given a rare opportunity to explore…

This blog post originally appeared as an article in Cambridge News.

By Rebecca Green, RSPB Community Engagement Officer

Pollinators and their many forms

If you’ve been out exploring the local countryside this summer, you’ll have noticed that it is is abuzz with pollinating insects. While some of us have been lucky enough to relax on our holidays, these hard working invertebrates haven’t stopped!

This blog post originally appeared as an article in the Eastern Daily Press weekend magazine.

By Vicky Boorman

Pond dipping at Strumpshaw Fen

We had such a brilliant time the other day, pond dipping at our local RSPB nature reserve, Strumpshaw Fen just outside Norwich. Who knew that ponds were so full of life! We borrowed nets from the reserve and my children loved scooping them through the water, then pulling them…

This blog post originally appeared as an article in the East Anglian Daily Times Environment supplement, sponsored by Anglian Water.

The iconic wildlife of Suffolk's only island

Havergate Island is famed not only as Suffolk’s only island but for its near mythical role in the history of some of the county’s- and the country’s- most iconic wildlife. Not least amongst these is the long-standing emblem of the RSPB…