Big Garden Birdwatch, as quickly as it was here, it was gone again. Much like the wind beneath our photo of the week's feathers.

This amusing shot of a windswept nuthatch was taken during Barry Thomas' Big Garden Birdwatch last weekend. 

Batten down the (nut)hatches! (Photo courtesy of Nature's Home reader Barry Thomas)

Did you see any nuthatches on your Big Garden Birdwatch? Let us know in the comments below…

The Big Garden Birdwatch is over, but there’s still plenty more you can do to help your local wildlife this winter! Follow our step-by-step guide on what to do now that the Birdwatch has finished.

1. Submit your results

Don’t forget to submit your results to the RSPB. You have until 17 February to do this online. Even if you saw nothing, your results will help the RSPB build a picture of the current state of the…

The conversation soon turned to “What did you see then?” here at The Lodge this morning.

I certainly saw less than I expected and I couldn't help thinking this was linked to the garden bird declines I spoke about on BBC Look East on Friday when the crew came to The Lodge to film. I was very pleased that the birds were performing for them though on the feeders at the shop. The cameraman got some brilliant…

As a month, February is all about love. From the commercial romance of Valentines Day to the RSPB supported 'Show the Love' campaign from the Climate Coalition, caring, sharing and heart-wearing is the theme of the year's second month. And when it comes to sharing, the bird world doesn't come much more social than the long-tailed tit.

Often seen in large family groups, these lot are not only displaying…

The Big Garden Birdwatch is this weekend! Take part for one hour from 26th–28th January and let the RSPB know what wildlife you can see in your garden. As well as being a vital way for the RSPB to keep track of our garden wildlife, the world’s largest garden wildlife survey is also a great way to get to know the species in your garden. Here are just a few of the species you could see.

This magnificent bird is a true conservation success story and the fabulous flocks they form are one of winter’s finest sights.

Cranes returned to the UK in 1979, following hundreds of years of extinction as a breeding bird here, when three pioneering birds spent winter in the Norfolk Broads. I've always been fascinated by cranes and I wonder if the fact they they returned to the UK in the year I was born has something…

This week’s photo celebrates my favourite garden bird, the blackbird. A charming species that hops joyfully sweeping the garden for grubs and berries.

Blackbirds are often the first to start singing in the year and they have a repertoire of songs to choose from so make sure you listen out for their early morning song in the coming weeks.

Forget fight or flight, this blackbird's all about food or flight (Photo courtesy…

The Big Garden Birdwatch is the world’s largest garden wildlife survey, and the data it provides gives the RSPB with a valuable insight into the welfare of our garden wildlife. But that doesn’t mean you have to have a garden to take part. From 26th–28th January, you can spend an hour counting the birds and do your bit for nature, no matter how big or small your local patch.

Wildlife has a wonderful way of surprising us with something remarkable that makes you smile, gasp or just gives you a really warm glow. It doesn’t matter how long you have been enjoying nature, there are always new things to see, or familiar things doing new things or in different places. When they are on your doorstep, they become very special memories indeed. 

I was working from home last Friday and was on the…

The Big Garden Birdwatch takes place every year, and this year it is running from 26th–28th January. The largest garden wildlife survey in the world, this citizen science survey provides the RSPB with a picture of how our garden birds are faring. But it has massive benefits for you, too. Simon Barnes explains...

With Big Garden Bird Watch on the horizon, it's worth remembering that plenty of other wildlife can be seen in our gardens. Like this family of hares, the mum feeding three leverets in the garden of Nature's Home reader, Robert Reid, who said "This Hare gave birth to 3 leverets in our garden...the mother would come about the same time every night to feed them"

So remember, whilst you stock up your feeders…

I don’t know about you, but it had been rather quiet for birds visiting my garden up until Christmas. I kept my feeders and bird table topped up though with my usual combo of feeder mix and table mix, but it was very much the occasional bird dropping in rather than a steady stream of visitors.

Over the Christmas break, a pair of goldfinches turned up, which out a smile on our faces. A pair visits occasionally, so…

There's nothing like a bracing winter walk on the beach and this splendid shot of a sanderling dodging the incoming tide and breaking waves at Fleetwood transported me right there. I hope it works for you too!

Donald Bibby's fantastic image is the deserving winner of the Nature's Home photo of the week.

Sanderling by Nature's Home reader Donald Bibby 

The January issue of Nature's Home is out now, packed…

We're counting down the days until this year's Big Garden Birdwatch – the world's largest garden wildlife survey. You can take part between 26th–28th January 2019 by counting the birds in your garden and letting us know what you saw. Over the last 40 years we've learnt a lot from the data you've sent us. Take a look at some of our top stats...

What's better than one bird? Hundreds of birds! What's better than hundreds of birds? Thousands of birds! And what's better than thousands of birds? Thousands of birds shaped as one bird! This stunning photo of a knot murmuration was taken at our Snettisham reserve on the North Norfolk coast back in early November, by Nature's Home reader Dave Harrington.

A giant bird army assembles! (photo courtesy of…

The Big Garden Birdwatch is a nationwide RSPB citizen science project that anyone can join, and it’s on its way. As the Big Garden Birdwatch approaches, will be bringing you everything you need to know to prepare for the event.

More usually seen hovering over a motorway verge with eyes focused on its latest prey, kestrels are one of our most popular birds of prey despite recent declines in their population. So it's particularly nice to see one this close up, the beautiful spotted underside of its wings and breast and fanned tail clearly in view, as it comes in to land on an old bit of wood, eyes focused not on prey, but the landing spot.

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In the winter, the UK is home to vast numbers of resident and visiting waders. They flock to our shores, lasting out the water on our coastlines, but why? RSPB President Miranda Krestovnikoff shares what waders eat.

Wildlife can be thinner on the ground this time of year - or so it might seem.

Insects are few and far between and even birds are mainly quiet, localised and harder to pin down. This is certainly the case away from our bustling wetlands with woodlands, hedgerows and fields seeming eerily quiet at times.

However, this is the time to slow things down and zoom in on a world that’s easy to overlook among the riches of spring…

As the weather gets colder, it's important to keep your bird feeders stocked up. Especially if your garden birds are anything like this willow tit, who appears to want to fit as many sunflower seeds in its beak as possible!  

And to think they call me greedy down at the local birdbath (Photo courtesy of Nature's Home reader, Barry Thomas)

Many thanks to Barry Thomas for this picture of a hungry willow tit. Barry…

Christmas is coming, and it feels fantastic to have just sent our next issue to the printers’ - the last one of the year.  As the festivities fade, RSPB members will have a brand-new January issue of Nature’s Home to get stuck into &...

Welcome to the first in our series of blogs on seasonal species to look out for, with a few of our best tips for success thrown in. We’re kicking off with one of the very best birds winter has to offer: the wonderful waxwing.

This is one of those birds that has it all. It looks stunning with a punky crest, pink-hued plumage and, depending on age and sex, a beautiful combo of waxy-red, yellow and white on its wings…

The beginners struggle to get birds to your feeders is, for some, a tricky one. I thought that I had it nailed in early January of this year when the week before the Big Garden Birdwatch I had four beautiful jays ground-feeding in my garden, Mr & Mrs blackbird enjoying the veg patches, and some lovely blue tits on the feeder. One week later and all I could muster for the big weekend was two collared doves trying to…

Of all the bird species captured on cam' by our readers, kingfishers are undoubtedly one of the most popular. Brightly coloured, beautifully marked and often sitting perfectly still as they target their aquatic prey, they are perfectly suited to photography, exuding an air of regal superiority (hence the name?) and an almost serene calmness.

Unless you're these two, who appear to be a having a rather heated discussion…