Springwatch is almost here and I'm being left home alone next week as my girlfriend swaps my stimulating company for the delights of RSPB Ynys-hir in Wales - the home of Springwatch.
Part of Laura's job, as RSPB PR Project Manager, is to work with the BBC and to help things run smoothly for the annual TV extravaganza.
I know that lots of Birds readers enjoyed the 'Springwatch - behind the scenes' feature in the Summer 2012 issue of Birds, out now, so you might well enjoy this film of the Ynys-hir team, including Warden Russell Jones and Visitor Centre Manager Caroline de Carle, who you might have seen in the Birds feature.
I'll be watching the show next week, but while Laura and the guys at Ynys-hir are making me jealous with such delights such as redstarts, pied flycatchers and snakes (and she'll probably take great delight in telling me what she's seen...), I've decided to see what I can see in my garden while I'm home alone in Cambridgeshire and posting how I get on. Springwatch always say they can't promise live badgers on the show, but I'm pretty confident I might do alright on that front. I'll keep you posted.
Enjoy the show - it starts on Monday at 8 pm on BBC2.