Just off the north coast of Northern Ireland, Rathlin Island is famed for its birdlife. It hosts a spectacular seabird colony, ravens, peregrines and corncrakes. It’s also home to some very unusual mammals: golden hares. There are usually a small number of these living among the island’s hare population.

This photo of one of the hares was taken by Nature’s Home reader James McDowell,…

https://youtu.be/YnPEWSY50Vw

RSPB Chief Executive Beccy Speight discusses the charity's Revive our World campaign with Jamie Wyver from the RSPB's Notes on Nature team. Beccy outlines three crucial things that need to happen now to save nature.

The more of us who add our voice to Revive our World (66,000+ so far!), the more we can show the UK's political leaders the strength of the public's call for action.…

As the temperature drops, garden birds, which for many of us have been absent for several weeks, will start returning to feeders. 

Mike Bevans sent us this photo of a moment of drama around the sunflower hearts! Here, the goldfinch on the left is backing off as the larger great spotted woodpecker asserts its claim to those energy packed seeds. 

Goldfinch and great spotted woodpecker - image by Nature's Home reader…

Mutating trees, parasite danger, unwanted lodgers and every other generation 100% female – welcome to the bizarre world of the knopper gall wasp!

Photo courtesy of Nature's Home reader Ann Collier 

Nearly all the oaks in the area where Nature’s Home reader Ann Collier took this photo were covered in these galls.

Galls are formed from plant tissue transformed by chemicals added by gall wasps. They come…

Photo courtesy of Nature's Home reader Charles Kinsey

It’s always a delight to see a photo of jays because they are usually very shy, especially, it seems, when there’s a camera around!

This photograph was taken earlier in the year by RSPB member Charles Kinsey who says “During my almost daily walks on the Clifton Downs (Bristol) in these last four months of lock-down, I have occasionally seen a jay…

Our Local Groups quickly adapted to life in lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic. By using email and social media and getting creative in trying out new ways of connecting with members remotely, many have managed to keep their meetings and talks going, and support their members during this complicated time.

Many groups have started regular lockdown email bulletins and blogs to keep members updated…

Adrian Thomas is our resident wildlife gardening expert, you can follow his blog here - it really is excellent, and too good not to share, which is why we thought you might like a little sampling to whet your appetite. This week Adrian tells us about some of the changes that are likely to happen in our gardens over the coming years due to climate change, and how best to adapt to them...

On 4 July this year, 101.8mm of rain…

Wow, what a year so far... I don't think there's a soul on earth who could have predicted quite how 2020 would have played out, but there's been plenty of positives when it comes to nature, more aptly in the way that you have been celebrating it! We've put together some of our favourite reader photos from the last few months as a way of sharing a little happiness and unity in these otherwise uncertain times. Hope you…

Luke Phillips is usually busy promoting all the amazing things you can see and do on RSPB reserves, but during lockdown he took the time to get to know the busy bees that were keeping his veg patch going...Fast forward two months and whilst his garden might look different, the bounty of bees is still plentiful!

"Here we are in mid-July and my earlier suspicions about having an abundance of courgette and tomatoes has come…

As I sat writing one of our blogs today, a little wren flew through the open door, and perched on some shelves nearby. She stared at me, I stared back, and hoped to god that she made it out of the kitchen unscathed. In that moment, nothing else mattered - I felt my heart beating and the world stop. It made me realise that nature is the beating heart of all life around us, and when the outside world comes in, it forces…

We thought a little update was in order for this particular blog, as much like in our world now - the avian world is ever-changing and our garden birds are well into raising their second brood with many of their now 'tweetnagers' thinking they still rule the roost! If this is your first time looking at this blog (first published in May) our aim is help you tell if baby birds are around, and if you are lucky enough…

Straight off the back of National Insect Week, we've been sent in some fantastic photographs by Nature's Home reader, Mark Rutter - one of our favourites being this white admiral feeding on a bramble flower. This is one of our rarer butterfly species, and one of the most threatened too. You may well be familiar with the red admiral, with its striking red flash on black wings, but as the name suggests - white…

We might all live different lives, but for the last few weeks, we’ve been brought together by the strange, shared experiences of lockdown. Things have been very difficult, and many have found it overwhelming at times. But there have been positives too, as the restrictions have forced us all to slow down, and really notice the world around us...

Our gardens and greenspaces have become more important…

What's the twist I hear you cry? Well... this week's Photo of the week is a video sent in by Nature's Home reader, Josh Richardson. We decided to share this with you instead of the usual photo format as its captivating nature not only gives a very real glimpse at what it's like visiting RSPB Bempton Cliffs, for us, it was just nice to still our minds for 2 minutes and remember why it is we do this work…

Did you know that this Friday (19 June) happens to be the world's first World Albatross Day? Join us and people from around the globe in celebrating the first ever WAD and find out what the RSPB and its partners are doing to keep these amazing birds safe. Nina DaRocha tells us more...

As you may or may not know, the RSPB does quite a lot of albatross work already, in fact it was one of the RSPB's very own seabird biologists…

Once you’ve filled your feeders, it’s time to sit back, and see who stops by for a bite to eat. As well as their colours and shape, where and the way birds feed can help you work out who your dinner guests are. But don’t worry if you can’t tell your sparrow from your starling – it’s easier than you think to identify garden birds and our top tips will make you a whizz in no time! Let’s introduce you...…

Luke Phillips is usually busy promoting all the amazing things you can see and do on RSPB reserves, but during lockdown he's taken the time to get to know the busy bees that are keeping his veg patch going...

"This spring I’ve gone plant crazy. I’ve got far too many tomato plants, peppers coming out of my ears and I’m probably going to be eating courgettes for the entire autumn, but all this gardening has got me bigging…

This week's Photo of the week accolade goes to Nature's Home reader, Robert Kitchen for his submission of this stunning whitethroat. Robert captured this image on a local lockdown walk, and was surprised to find a wealth of wildlife only a stone's throw from his front door - a welcome reminder to us all that nature is there to be enjoyed, if only we remember to look for it.

Robert says:

"I love the Nature's…

In Autumn last year, we brought you a fantastic spread in Nature's Home magazine called 'People Power'. We want to revisit this again and bring it to our online audience to shine a light on the value individual actions can have when it comes to improving the fortunes of nature. We hear from six amazing members who prove beyond doubt the difference just one person can make - imagine what we could all achieve…

Made any plans for the weekend yet? Need something fun to do with the kids? We've got just the thing - join us for Big Wild Sleepout: The Lockdown Edition and put a little wild back into your world this Saturday from 4-8pm. There's a full line up of events with highlights such as: Gardenwatch with wildlife presenter, Iolo Williams, campfire stories with children's TV presenter, Rory Crawford and a whole host…

It's May and spring has most definitely sprung. Flowers erupt from dormancy, dazzling us with their infinite beauty. Insects fill the air with an electric buzz. And our birdy friends are busy  tending to the next generation of dawn callers. But as they’re so good at keeping their nests hidden, how can you tell if baby birds are around? And if you are lucky enough to spot one, how can you tell what it is?  

Our featured reserve in the Summer issue of Nature's Home took a behind the scenes look at one of our most-loved reserves situated in the heart of Wales - Ynys-hir. The article proved to be a big hit with our readers, so we asked Site Manager, David Anning to delve deeper into the history of the reserve and bring you a first-hand account of what it's really like to work here 50 years on...

It’s early May, the…

It appears to be the week for sending us your photos of birds taking a bath; this chap in particular loves nothing more than a good old scrub in the dog's water bowl reports Nature's Home Reader, Jill Gathercole. And, thanks to our nifty Giving Nature a Home App, you've been busy telling us how your 'Build a bird bath' projects are coming along too, the Caverly family from Cheadle, Cheshire tell us more…

As we are all spending a lot more time indoors and with many of us having limited or no access to green spaces or a garden - we are interested in how nature can reach us, inspire us, and be part of our lives even when we are inside. Please let us know how you're managing to stay connected to nature during the lockdown and feel free to try some (or all) of the ideas in our 'Connecting to nature' calendar...…

Sunday 3 May is International Dawn Chorus Day and the RSPB and our supporters are listening out and enjoying this magical experience all week. In the Summer 2019 issue of Nature’s Home, Adrian Thomas delved into the wonderful world of the dawn chorus and this week we’re re-reading this lovely feature. Who would’ve thought that when we published this last year, we’d get birdsong into the top 20 of the UK charts…