The puffin. A bird with one of the most expressive faces on UK shores. Forever sorrowful, which is no surprise since, in recent years, their supply of tasty sand eels seems to have dwindled leading to the birds being marked as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. 

And this little puffin is no different. 

Please sir, can I have some more? (Photo courtesy of Nature's Home reader Sophie Cockburn)

Sophie took this amazing…

Seabird colonies are getting into full swing around the UK coast, so it is perfect timing for featuring one of the many superb shots of gannets that have been winging their way into the Nature's Home magazine inbox in the last couple of weeks.

Nature's Home reader Stephen Bowden cleverly captioned his photo as "gannet that stood on a lego brick with bare feet". Know the feeling? I know I do. Ouch!

Congratulations…

Dippers are the birds that go where other birds dare not: fast-flowing rapids of icy cold water in our rivers and streams.

They obtain much of their aquatic prey by swimming underwater and walking along the riverbed and the confident stride of this dapper dipper sent in by Nature's Home reader Paul Fisher shows just how it's done.

Thanks for sharing Paul - your shot is the Nature's Home photo of the week…

It’s spring, and it’s the time of year when birds start to become more vocal. With the longer days and the warmer weather comes a hive of activity – migrating, territory defending and, of course, breeding. And with all this action comes a tidal wave of sound. Every morning, the air is filled with the sound of birdsong – this is the dawn chorus. Among all the many varied and wondrous bird sounds, there are some that stand…

As winter gives way to spring, our wildlife starts to switch gears. With the longer days and the warmer weather comes a hive of activity – migrating, territory defending and, of course, breeding. And with all this action comes a tidal wave of sound. Every morning, the air is filled with the sound of birdsong – this is the dawn chorus. Here are our top 10 reserves for experiencing the day chorus.

I’m hoping that you’ve heard the news that the RSPB is making a bid to get into the pop charts. I know! Who would have thought it possible?!

Our track is pure birdsong and is called Let Nature Sing. Its aim is simple: firstly, it celebrates nature’s ‘music’, featuring favourites such as the blackbird and robin. But secondly, in doing so, we can draw attention – in an unusual and headline…

This week, Susanna O'Neil from the RSPB Bempton Cliffs office picks her photo of the week from the Nature's Home inbox.

With fewer than 100 breeding pairs in the UK, Veronica Richardson was lucky to catch this beautiful picture of a black redstart during a visit to Shingle Street in Suffolk. A self-confessed novice with a camera, we would have to say Veronica has caught a rare and wonderful shot of this bird in…

This week, Susanna O'Neill from the RSPB Bempton Cliffs office picks her photo of the week from the Nature's Home inbox.

Thanks to our Nature’s Home reader Janice Thompson, from Manchester, who snapped this delightful image of a flutter of fluffed up sparrows having a splash. Water is an amazingly important feature in any garden and birds use it not just for drinking, but also to dampen their feathers to…

This week, Susanna O'Neill from the RSPB Bempton Cliffs office picks her photo of the week from the Nature's Home inbox.

This fabulous photo was taken by Nature’s Home reader Ron Cooper while he was taking a walk in his local park in Cheltenham. Denying the unfortunate perch chance to even enjoy its last meal, the heron has a bonus two for one in this lucky shot, its dagger-like beak and beady eye highlighted…

This fabulous toad was snapped by Nature's Home reader Roger Cope.

"This toad popped out of the undergrowth as I was gardening; I had time for one snap at eye level before it hopped off!"

And what a snap it is. An opportunity well and truly seized to capture the character of this warty wetland wonder in our photo of the week.

Dangling from a leaf on a fine silk thread, a chrysalis sways and spins in the warm morning breeze. Inside, a butterfly is about to emerge. It has spent the last few days metamorphosing from a caterpillar – hidden from our gaze, its whole body restructuring itself for a new phase of life. But what actually happens inside a chrysalis?

Around 12% of the world's blanket bog is found in the UK. These special wetlands are valuable carbon sinks, holding as much carbon as half of the Earth's atmospheric levels. Blanket bogs are a vital resource in the fight against climate change, and yet they're becoming increasingly rare. So what is blanket bog exactly, why is it so crucial in the fight against climate change and what can we do to save i

Famed for their elaborate courtship "dance", great crested grebes are one of the most striking and recognisable waterbirds in the UK. From their piercing eyes to their elaborate head plumage, enhanced during courtship, you can't fail to be impressed by these birds.

While this pair, snapped by Nature's Home reader, Mark Sweeney, at RSPB Loch Leven, are not fully immersed in their courtship ritual just…

Over recent weeks we have seen an emergence of some wonderful butterfly species. From the brimstone to the red admiral, UK butterflies had an early start this year. Now we enter late March we'll see even more of our fluttery friends. 

Jackie Hillen managed to get this brilliant shot of a somewhat tatty comma butterfly on some holly leaves. 

It had been a tough year for Colin the comma, and his wings told the tale of…

Whilst it may not be the most numerous bird in your garden, the robin is undoubtedly one of the nation's most loved. Voted Britain's first 'national bird' back in 2015, they are popular all year round, their friendly demeanour and loud, cheery song meaning they are seen and heard in gardens and beyond, up and down the country.

So what could be better than seeing a young robin 'couple' nesting, feeding and…

This great grey shrike by reader Colin Mayes really caught my eye when it arrived in the Nature's Home inbox.These scarce winter visitors to the UK, famed for impaling their small mammal and bird prey on thorns, are often distant, mobile and can be surprisingly elusive (for a bird that the books tell you sit in full view on the tops of trees and bushes). I was intrigued how he got such a stunning shot. Here's how…

As the shorter, colder days of January become a distant memory during an unseasonably warm February, the snowy verges and frost covered branches make way for daffodils and other shoots of life. Some birds are even starting to nest now, remarkably early and perhaps a sign that our seasonal "norms" are shifting.

Maybe that is where this robin is off to in such a hurry, beginning its nest-building preparations…

The strangely warm weather for February has brought swallows, sand martins and house martins to our shores far sooner than usual. In fact their arrival in 2018 was nearly a month later than this year. As we question why these passerine birds have rocked up to the party early, we should also consider the long journey they have taken. All the way from South Africa to the UK these visitors travel around 200 miles a day! 

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As the winter begins to thaw and new life breaks through, life for our wildlife becomes easier. Birds will be off the meagre diets of seeds and nuts that has lasted them through the winter and back on to juicy insects, fruit and, later in summer, berries. Eating a mixed and varied diet might seem normal for us, but for wildlife it can often require some pretty major changes. Did you know that some birds even undergo…

This coastline crow with it's bright red bill is, in my opinion, the most striking of the corvid family. The chough is often known for it's Cornish roots, standing proud on the counties coat of arms. But in 1947 a pair of these handsome birds nested for the last time for many decades to come. It wasn't until 1960 that a pair of choughs took to the Cornish cliffs once more. But sadly in 1967, one of the pair…

You may not have noticed lichens and mosses. They seep into a landscape, growing on walls, trees, even gravestones, but these amazing organisms are actually extremely complex, and hugely beneficial to our environment. Nature’s Home columnist Nicola Chester tells us all about lichens.

This morning I was stirred by the chirping, chirruping and tweeting of birds around the estate. It was not the alarm clock I was expecting on a Monday morning but I spent 5 minutes enjoying the dawn chorus before hitting the snooze button on my brain and returning to my slumber.

With Valentine's day a few weeks behind me, the dawn chorus reminded me of the reason we celebrate the day with the theme of love.

An origin…

For many birds, winter can be a tough time. Big or small, countryside or urban dwellers, finding food, warmth and shelter can be hard work during the colder, shorter days of winter.  But that doesn't seem to bother this little blue tit, who looks pretty relaxed hanging out on this branch.

Hey guys, do you like my impression of a bat? (photo courtesy of Nature's Home reader Mark Glenister)

We've got some tips on…

It’s Valentine’s Day this week and love is all around… But this year, can you spare a little bit of love for our wonderful natural world? Show your love for nature, where a green heart and cut down your carbon footprint with these four easy steps.

I like to practice what I preach, so I checked back in on the current issue of Nature’s Home to see what species I’d picked out for the Wild about month-by-month pages as “must-sees”. You must remember that when Anna and the rest of the team ask me to supply these, it is back in the autumn, so there's a little bit of forward-thinking required.

Keep your Nature's Home handy for wildlife-watching…