May is one of  my favourite months of the year - spring is in full swing, 50% of the weekends have an extra day in them, and the days are getting noticeably warmer and longer. For wildlife-friendly farmers, it's a great opportunity to see and hear the benefits of their hard work as birds start to breed and take advantage of the habitat and food resources that their careful management provides.

Skylark: Andy Hay…

Montagu’s harriers, the UK’s rarest breeding birds of prey, have started arriving back in the country for the summer after spending the winter months in tropical Senegal in West Africa, and the RSPB is asking farmers and members of the public to report any sightings of the birds to help identify new areas where they might be nesting.

Image: Roger Wyatt

Just seven pairs of Montagu’s harriers, known affectionately…

This year, the RSPB celebrates 50 years of giving nature a home on the Balranald reserve in North Uist. Bringing together an important partnership between crofting and conservation, read more from RSPB Scotland's Stuart Taylor here 

Machair habitat on RSPB Balranald (image: Chris Gomersall, rspb-images.com)