This month is No Mow May, when we are asked to leave our lawnmowers in the shed for a month to benefit the wildlife in and around our gardens. As the grass grows, the potential for pollination and shelter for many species increases, giving us lots of exciting wildlife spotting opportunities on our own doorstep! On 21^st May, all participants who have signed up on the Plantlife website will be asked to complete a simple…

It’s a busy time in the nest boxes at Flatford Wildlife Garden, with the cameras revealing all the comings and goings of the blue tits to our visitors. With 7 eggs laid in one and 9 in the other, we’re sure to see lots of activity! Blue tits have one of the largest clutch sizes of all birds and can lay up to 16 eggs, though most lay between 8 and 12. Once the penultimate egg has been laid, the female starts…

Although we’ve since been surprised by April snow, it was lovely to see so many butterflies emerging in the warm, sunny days of late March. Five UK species (Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral, Comma and Peacock) overwinter as adults in sheds, garages, hollow trees or between foliage, waking up as the temperatures rise. You may well have already spotted some of these enjoying the early sunshine.

Other species…

As spring is springing and we are out and about please be aware birds are nesting and some birds nest on or near the ground. You can protect them by sticking to the paths and keeping your dog on a lead.

Most are very well hidden for protection against crows and foxes but did you know there was a pheasant’s nest just outside the ladies toilets at Flatford a year or two ago, not the quietest place! We’ve also seen them…

Spring is just around the corner. Plants and wildlife are just starting to feel the warmth of the sun and wake up. It's time we start to think about our gardens for Spring and Summer, and how we can help wildlife to thrive. RSPB has helpful gardening advice for March. 

One of our favourite events at the garden is blue tits and great tits laying eggs and raising their young in our boxes that have a live camera feed…

Happy Valentine's Day!

Birds normally associated with Valentine's day are Lovebirds or Agapornis (an African parrot) or lovey-dovey doves but my favourite are these swans seen on the Stour at Flatford who come back year after year.

Have you been back to the wildlife garden yet? We are open until 27 February everyday for the Essex and Suffolk half terms and our Snowdrop weekends on 19/20 and 26/27 February. The…

Every year the RSPB asks people to take part in the Big Garden Bird Watch. It’s really good fun and as simple as counting the birds you see in your garden, from your balcony or in your local park for one hour between 28 and 30 January 2022. In 2021, more than one million people took part in Big Garden Birdwatch, all coming together to look out for birds and to find out how they are faring. Why not join in and be one in…

The team at the Flatford Wildlife Garden have enjoyed being involved with the Dedham Vale AONB led Hedgehog Friendly Village project with East Bergholt. Further information about the project can be found here. 

Earlier in the year we ran a free trail around the RSPB wildlife garden with information about hedgehogs to encourage helping them in our own gardens. The RSPB website also has lots of advice about helping hedgehogs.

As you may know…

 
 (Credit Aardman/Netflix).  

We’re delighted to be partnering with Netflix and Aardman on Robin Robin, a half-hour, stop-motion, festive story for the whole family, about a young robin trying to fit in. It’s debuting on Netflix on 24 November – get the date in your diary! 

To celebrate, we’re inviting you to join exclusive Robin Robin-themed adventure trails right here at the RSPB this Christmas season. 

Over 30…

Now that Halloween is here, it’s time to carve the pumpkin! But before you get set to cut out the classic pumpkin face, perhaps you’d like to try a new design this year? Group of three young girls birdwatching from viewing screen alongside seasonal pumpkin whilst enjoying special Halloween trail, RSPB Strumpshaw Fen Nature Reserve, Norfolk, October. Photo: Phil Barnes (rspb-images.com)

Take a look at these inspirational…

Bat Week runs from 24th - 31st October to raise awareness of these amazing nocturnal creatures we have little contact with. They are the only flying mammals, have good eyesight (contrary to belief) and can live for up to 30 years!

Horseshoe Bat: Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)

Bats are an important part of our eco system pollinating plants and spreading seed through their nutrient rich droppings, and they reduce the need for…

Thursday 14th October is World Sight Day, a global event bringing awareness to vision impairment, blindness and eye health. For humans, sight can be the sense we most strongly rely on to the extent that we perhaps may not give enough attention to the joy our other senses can bring to us. 

 Blue-tit on flowering honeysuckle: Ray Kennedy (rspb-images.com)

When we talk about gardens and especially wildlife gardens, we focus very…

Wednesday 6th October is National Badger Day, a day to celebrate, learn about and potentially help one of the British Isles, oldest native wildlife species.

Badger: Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)

They are our largest land-living carnivore that can live up to 14 years in the wild in a family group of 3 -14 individuals. Their setts can be quite extensive covering distances underground of anything from around 20 to 100 meters and…

As our autumn gardens change, so does the visiting wildlife. Pollinator numbers have diminished as they either dye off or prepare themselves for over wintering, amphibians become less visible as they seek out damp, dark shelters to hibernate in and even our birdlife changes. You may see more Jays about as they scavenge for acorns to feed on and store away for the winter. They can carry three or four at a time taking them…

We are familiar with the spring and autumn equinoxes. Our Autumn equinox occurred yesterday at about 8.20pm when the earth's equator in the northern hemisphere was directly below the centre of the sun making the length of daylight and darkness equal ... well, almost.

 Sunset over lagoon, Middleton Lakes RSPB reserve, Staffordshire. Photo: Colin Wilkinson (rspb-images.com)

The word  Equinox is derived from the Latin words…

The Great Big Green Week starts today Saturday 18^th September and runs all through next week.

It’s the largest event for climate and nature ever seen in the UK where thousands of events will take place across the country to highlight the urgency of climate change and get communities taking action towards preserving their green spaces. You can find the nearest events near you on the Big Green Week interactive map

Although we have had butterflies and moths fluttering about our gardens over the last 3/4 months or so, there are still some rather large caterpillars about. Have you ever encountered a Hawk-moth caterpillar?  

 Elephant hawk-moth caterpillar. Photo: Nancy Brown

They're quite spectacular and some are 9/10cm long; the Deaths head hawk-moth can grow as large as 12.5cm! but they are rarely seen as it's actually a migrant moth…

It's Organic September! a month long incentive to raise awareness of organic practices and products.

 photo: Rosemary Despres (rspb-images.com)

"Organic" refers to agricultural practices that actively work with nature as much as possible for environmentally friendly production using crop rotation, natural manures and embracing natural pest control. The concept avoids the use of artificial pesticides, fertilisers…

Autumn Dahlias are magnificent at this time of year, they are fantastic border fillers to put in gaps or areas of the garden where there is little colour or fading vegetation.

 Nancy Brown: Flatford Wildlife Garden Visitor Centre & Bishop of llandaff dahlias in bloom.

It is the Single-flowered Dahlias that are beneficial to our bees, butterflies and other garden pollinators because they expose the centre of the plant where…

So many of us were keen to experiment with wild-flower meadow areas in our gardens this year; allowing the grasses to grow long, sewing wild flower seeds, or seedlings ... but many of these areas are now past their best. In late summer, these wilder areas evolve to look somewhat brown and scraggly rather than fresh and vibrant! If like me, you still have some wild flowers blooming, it can feel a bit contradictory to cut the…

Although there's lots to see and do at the Flatford Wildlife Garden, there are of course many other Wildlife Gardens to visit throughout the UK.

 Photo: David Levenson (rspb-images.com)

Even though the early flourish of romantic summer wild flowers such as cuckoo flower, oxeye daisies, cowslips and campions may have bloomed and gone, there are many later flowering species to enjoy, still offering nectar for our garden pollinators…

Many of our early summer blooms have faded and can leave the garden looking untidy and browny-tinged spoiling all that lush green! It’s amazing how a bit of dead-heading and cutting down spent perennials can make everything look so much better but there are few plants we could hold back on that benefit our garden wildlife.

White tailed bumblebee on Cornflowers: Jenny Tweedie (rspb-images.com)

Sunflowers may look tatty…

What exactly is a herb? Is it simply a plant that we eat?

Hummingbird hawk moth on red valerian: Ernie Janes (rspb-images.com)

It’s actually more specific than that because vegetables, fruits and legumes are also plants that we eat; a herb is a plant with fragrant or flavoursome leaves that are also used for medicinal purposes. They are not usually the main dish, they tend to be added to dishes for flavour. Herbs also …

The Big Butterfly Count is the world’s biggest annual survey collecting numbers of UK butterflies and day flying moths.

 Speckled wood butterfly: Genevieve Leaper (Rspb images)

This year, it runs for three weeks from this Friday 16^th until Sunday 8^th August when participants are encouraged to spend just 15 minutes counting and recording their sightings online or with the app. The top five butterflies from last year…

Our native amphibians that we may come across in the garden are toads, frogs and newts but they are only likely to be spotted if there is water nearby.

 Common toad: Ray Kennedy (rspb-images.com)

The word Amphibian comes from the Greek word 'amphibious' which means to live a double life, in their case on land and in water. This is where they differ from our garden reptiles which only live on land.

Although amphibia…