Ever wondered what a sandwich tern eats for lunch? Wait for it…. Here comes the punchline… sandeels, sprats and whiting.

Sorry about that. You were probably expecting something funny but instead I just told a fact. But this amazing photo of a sandwich tern catching its lunch will definitely make up for my failed joke.

Personally, I prefer tuna mayo (photo courtesy of Nature’s Home reader Andy Leonard…

We hope you’re enjoying the new issue of Nature’s Home, currently reaching homes across the UK. It’s packed full of things to see and do this season - here’s just a small selection of creatures to look out for in the coming weeks. 

Winter waders at their summery best

Catch a dunlin in its summer plumage. (Photo: Mike Langman, rspb-images.com)

Early-returning Arctic waders are still in their…

If your lawn is anything like mine, it probably resembles a desert at the moment, both in its sandy colour and in dryness. I can’t recall such a long, hot dry spell for many years and there is no doubt that it’s starting to make life tough for some of our wildlife. Jack and I discovered a fire here at RSPB The Lodge on Friday due to a discarded cigarette, so be super careful as it is unbelievably dry in places…

You may remember that I’m a sucker for a cute baby animal from my photo of the week choice back in April of two baby ducks. And I’m back with an even stronger contender for, in my opinion, cutest photo of the week ever.

Check out this tiny baby lapwing. It almost doesn’t look real it’s that cute!

Bird ringer: “I want the cute!” Baby lapwing: “You can’t handle the cute!” (Photo courtesy of Nature…

Summer is synonymous with butterflies and from bright brimstones to dappled fritillaries, the UK has 59 fantastic species to see. Here are some star species to look out for, and where to find them.

MARBLED WHITE

On the wing: June-August

The marbled white is actually a member of the "browns" subfamily. Photo: Richard Bowler (rspb-images.com)

What to look for: Like slivers of Bakewell tart icing, you’re…

It's a great time to visit RSPB HQ here at The Lodge in Sandy Bedfordshire.

There's no need to take my word for it though - here, hot off the press are some of the great sightings I had on the reserve yesterday during my lunchbreak. It may be a quiet time for birds in our woods, but there really is a tremendous amount of other species to see in the sunny weather.

It is an excellent summer for purple hairstreaks…

The village I live in has one of the best pubs in the world. It might have a limited beer selection and few seats, but what it lacks in this area it makes up for in owls. On many a single evening, I have seen a barn owl quartering a field, a little owl perched on a wire, and a tawny owl observing me from a tall tree - all from the comfort of an outdoor table with a beer. On evenings like the ones we've had recently, does…

Look what’s landed on my desk this morning! It’s always an exciting moment when the first copies of the new issue arrive in the office. In the next couple of weeks, Nature’s Home will be winging its way to RSPB members across the UK. 

As you can see, we have a beautiful corncrake on the cover - an emblem of a successful scheme with farmers in the Outer Hebrides. In our cover feature the RSPB’s Jess…

One of my favourite days of the year comes at the halfway point, when variable June slips into the scorching days of July and things are starting to look a little parched. On that special day each year, I head deep into the woods in search of purple emperors. Not just one, or two, but as many as I can get. The purple emperor is that sort of beast - you just can't get enough as the hundreds of fellow fans will testify…

The white satin moth, a pristine and elegant specimen that I would happily consider the Marilyn Monroe of the insect realm. A stunning white satin dress and a fur coat to boot, perhaps the “purist” of flying insects. But this beauty of a moth didn’t start out that way.

Once emerged from its egg, the caterpillar of the white satin moth may well be seen as a black, red, white and spiky warning sign to…

"Hello, what are you looking at?"... The perfect conservation conversation opener! (Photo: Eleanor Bentall, rspb-images.com)

There are many ways of helping nature, but perhaps one of the most powerful – and free – ways of doing so is simply to talk about it. 

In the summer issue of Nature’s Home, David Lindo’s regular column talks about how nature can bring people together; how it becomes…

There’s nothing like a blank canvas when it comes to creating the ideal home for wildlife. Friends of mine have a new house and a good plot of land in its infancy as a garden that happens to be about 300 metres from two nationally-important heathland nature reserves. Dropping in the fact they can hear nightjars churring from their bedroom window turned me rather green with envy!

I was glad to make myself useful…

Sprinting to the photo of the week finishing line (or is it itching intensely - what do you think?) is this stunning photo of the UK’s tuftiest mammal, the red squirrel, kindly sent in by Nature’s Home reader Lynne Donovan. Isn’t it gorgeous?

I vividly remember the first time I saw a red squirrel. Having heard and read about them for years, learning various facts and that they only live in the north…

What's swooping around your eaves this summer? (Photo: Ben Andrew, rspb-images.com)

Alongside recent reports of dwindling numbers of butterflies and other insects this season, social media has been discussing a drop in swift numbers, too. Some people haven’t spotted any this year. 

I’m comparatively lucky, as there are two in my attic right now and I’ve counted 7 other regulars in the colony. But last year…

In part three of my orchid-finding guide, it’s the turn of four of our more widespread, but most beautiful orchids to be put in the spotlight. They are all probably flowering not too far from you at the moment, so I hope you get inspired to have a try for them. I've also slipped in a rarity at the end, because who doesn't like a rare?!

Getting the butterflies
First up is a ghostly beauty – the greater butterfly…

Here’s a real stunner. June is the peak flight time for the swallowtail butterfly, which is only found in open fen habitat typically in East Anglia, so if you’re headed to somewhere like the Norfolk Broads - or the fantastic Strumpshaw Fen - this weekend, keep your eyes peeled. The swallowtail’s larval food plant is milk parsley, which is a cow parsley lookalike and a member of the carrot family. Find…

In our Summer issue of Nature’s Home, our star letter extolled the virtues of seeing wildlife by kayak. Blogger Rupert Kirkwood of The Lone Kayaker has paddled around 19,000 miles around the UK’s coastlines over the past 15 years, seeing and interacting with the best of our marine wildlife, from dolphins and whales to hunting peregrines and swimming badgers!

It’s one of many wonderful ways to get quietly…

If you’re a keen gardener, this time of year can feel like a bit of a battle. Early summer storms and showers followed by a heat wave, and before you know it the garden resembles the Amazon basin. The battle between keeping the garden tidy but also great for wildlife is challenging, and the hundred mows war with the lawn can feel particularly arduous. But it doesn’t have to be like that!

Let it grow has changed…

Looking like a reedbed super hero, the bearded tit is up there in the list of best birds. This noisy, sociable bird can be seen and heard all year round in the UK, but there's not loads of them so you have to know where to look. The first time I saw a bearded tit was at RSPB Dungeness in Kent. I'd be up early every day to check predator fence batteries and the grazing livestock, and often hear their pinging call or…

Our readers can’t have missed the ‘Hidden worlds’ feature in our current (Summer) issue. 

Entomologist Ross Piper reveals some of the smallest species on RSPB reserves in full colour, double-page glory. It truly is a celebration of all creatures bright and small - not to mention some of their bizarre habits. 

Enter a whole new world and get face-to-face with some very important little creatures, like…

It’s always great when something in Nature’s Home magazine prompts a flurry of emails, letters and comments. The current, Summer issue, seems to have struck a chord and none more so than our “Behind the scenes” article on the fantastic St Aidan’s reserve not far from Leeds city centre.

Black-necked grebes are absolute stunners in breeding plumage (Dave Ward rspb-images.com)

I’ve only visited…

I might be a bit behind with this but just yesterday I saw my first dragonfly of the year. It was a hairy dragonfly and the excitement for summer set in. Though the weather muggy and somewhat grey, our winged invertebrate friends, be they damsel or dragon, have escaped from their underwater lairs to emerge from their larval cases or exuviae.

Damselflies and dragonflies spend most of their lives underwater, a few years in…

There’s a few days left of half term, and a great weather forecast for most of us… so once again it’s a great opportunity to enjoy nature with the younger generations. 

In the current issue of Nature’s Home (Summer 2018), Nicola Chester shares some family-friendly ways to boost your nature knowledge - learning about and engaging with the wildlife that’s currently in a picturesque frenzy all around…

The orchid season is well and truly upon us, so why not get hunting for these fabulous flowers?

There are more than 50 species of wild orchid growing in the UK and late May through June is one of the very best times for seeing both numbers and diversity. I always think that sites where orchids grow are very special places and to see them is a privilege, so make sure you tread carefully when out looking. I’ve caught the…

Seabird breeding season is upon us and razorbills are laying their eggs around much of the UK coastline. The medium-sized auk is also the rarest globally with just 1 million pairs. But they’re very handsome don’t you think?

Awks auk (photo courtesy of Nature’s Home reader Alan Spencer)

This photo stopped me in my tracks, I thought to myself “what are you looking at little razorbill?”. He’s got a…