It's a busy time for our friends at Butterfly Conservation. The big butterfly count has started!

You can take part anytime between now and 7 August. All you have to do is count butterflies for 15 minutes (dry, sunny weather is best), then send in details of what you've seen via the survey website or smartphone app. You could do the count in your garden, in a park, a wood or on one of our nature reserves - anywhere…

It has been a busy week at the home of Robin Hood, as plans begin to take shape for the proposed new visitor centre, I instead spent my week wandering the beaten trails taking in the dappled sunlight as summer properly emerged.

Hidden among the trees, I found myself surrounded by butterflies for the first time this year as they fluttered in the afternoon sun. Although they were mainly common species like meadow browns…

Last week I thought I’d found evidence that aliens existed. Walking round the gardens at The Lodge, at lunchtime, I came to a large pond where a number of people were gathered. They were peering at something at the water’s edge; some were taking pictures. Elbowing my way to the front, I saw something I’d never seen before. Clinging to a lily leaf was a bizarre, grey, alien-like creature. It was all legs, angles and…

Ever thought of swapping your 9-5 to become a hedgehog championer?

As reported in several news outlets last week, Suffolk Wildlife Trust is looking to recruit a ‘hedgehog officer’. As the ‘face of hedgehog conservation’, the chosen candidate will strive to make Ipswich – already a hog hotspot – the most hedgehog-friendly town in Britain.

How great does that sound?

There’s just…

As I left the house this morning, I was greeted by the sight of a small flock of butterflies! In the sunshine, six small tortoiseshells had found the red valerian growing in the garden.

Apparently, the name for a group of butterflies is actually a swarm. I haven't seen many butterflies yet this year - have you?

The butterfly in the photo above is feeding on thyme. When they flower, lots of our favourite herbs provide…

Morning all,

There's not too much of a story behind today's magic moment, other than it's a pretty awesome photo!

At this time of year, adult gannets are busily hunting their fishy prey, in an attempt to feed up their rapidly growing chicks. Watch out for their spectacular dive from height, as shown above. Fingers crossed they come up with a fish!

This image by Andrew Parkinson is one of thousands on…

A striking-looking creature has caused a stir on an RSPB nature reserve today.

It looks like a huge hornet, but on closer inspection - note the furry antennae, small eyes and chunky body - it's actually a moth. A lunar hornet moth, to be precise.

The magnificent moth was spotted at RSPB Exminster, part of the Exe Estuary reserve in Devon, by Visitor Experience Manager Sammy Fraser, who managed to take this great…

Today is the longest day of the year. Stonehenge steals all the media limelight, but what’s going on at the opposite end of the country?

Just like every other day, our team is hard at work on Shetland, managing our nature reserves to give nature a home. Keeping an eye out for ‘pirates’ as he goes, Patrick Cook is our assistant warden on Fetlar – our northernmost reserve...

My fieldwork can begin…

Bitterns, everybody knows them, some people have heard them boom and even fewer have caught a glimpse of these elusive birds.

Like many of you I’ve been caught up in Springwatch fever recently so rushed back to one of my favourite reserves, RSPB Minsmere. Here in the glorious sunshine me and the other eager visitors sat in the hide were treated to an absolutely fantastic display of wildlife. The purple heron that has…

Could this really be the start of summer?

It's the perfect time to give nature a home in your garden and you can have plenty of fun at the same time. How about growing flowers that bees love, building a bee B&B or giving your mower a rest? Fill in a few details and we'll give you a personal plan to help nature near you.

The fuzzy little fellas in this photo are common carder bees. It's a common species…

Now's the time to head down to a river, stream or pond near you and watch out for tiny, delicate jewels. Spring is the time when many of our damselflies and dragonflies can be seen.

How do you tell the difference between the two? Well, dragonflies are larger than damselflies, and rest with their wings held out to the side. Damselflies usually rest with their wings held in along their narrow bodies.

This is a female…

During a recent trip north to the stunning Malham Cove, I came (almost) face-to-face with one of nature's best fliers - the peregrine falcon.

Peregrines are famous for their aerial prowess - and for making a home on Malham's lofty limestone cliffs.

With the help of RSPB volunteers and a powerful scope or two, we were able to get clear shots of a pair of falcons living the high life and, even better, watch…

Last month, you may remember that we told you all about a pair of robins that had decided to build their nest inside the dashboard of a vintage Land Rover.

Well, like a proud father, I'm happy to report that the plucky pair successfully fledged five chicks from the interior of the fully-functional four-wheel drive.

Vehicle owner Dan Skinner, 43, a UX designer based at The Lodge, said: "I feel like a proud father…

After dumping snow on many parts of the country last week, it seems the weather had a change of heart this weekend by surprising us with a sudden blast of brilliant sunshine. Temperatures reached 27 degrees in London on Sunday – making it hotter than Ibiza.

Like many of you, I dug out last summer’s shorts, chucked on the sunnies and headed for the beach.

Bucket and spades aside, the coast is a fantastic…

Spring has sprung and life’s all aflutter as wildlife gets busy preparing for the breeding season.

You may have spotted birds in your garden flitting to and fro with nest material as they prepare for family life.

Some opt for a traditional-style home, weaving twigs and moss into a neat cup-like shape lined with mud and hair.

They include the robin, which often nests in trees but will take advantage of man-made…

Egg-citing news: the two most-famous ospreys in Britain – Loch Garten’s EJ and Odin – have laid three eggs this spring!

The pair have settled down to family life once again at RSPB Scotland’s Osprey Centre, and appear to have put last year’s Eastenders-like love triangle behind them.

The lovebird's long-running romance was interrupted in 2015, when an interloping male attempted to mate with…

Some people get all excited about bluebells (which are purple, for the record). For me, fresh, tender green leaves are the real beauties of spring. They're everywhere you look... I can't get enough of that bright lime green that newly-sprouting leaves have (I think hazel leaves are my favourite - what about you?).

As the leaves grow, the green gets deeper and loses its zingy, almost fluorescent quality, so make…

Does anyone else keep getting woken up at 5am by the birds at the moment?

When that feathered alarm clock goes off, it's tempting just to reach for the earplugs and try and snatch back a bit more sleep until the real one goes off. But somewhere deep down we know we're missing one of nature's greatest events. A chorus of wild, unseen voices heralding the morning sun in rare, mystical unison: what could be more magical…

When spring arrives, we all want to do our best to help the new life emerging around us.

By now, you might have blue tits occupying your nestbox, pigeons brooding in a nearby tree or a robin making itself at home in a garden shed (for some great nests in unusual places, see our latest Notes on Nature blog).

With all these mouths to feed, parent birds have a pretty busy time of it. Usually, both the male and female…

Blue. It's my favourite colour.

And at this time of year, it's carpeting our woodlands. Here at The Lodge, thousands of bluebells are covering the woodland floor, before the leaves above reappear on our trees. It's the same in the woodlands nearby too.

They've not quite reached their peak yet, but they're not far off it. How about near you?

Although they're well worth looking at in their own right…

Have you ever heard the mysterious bugling call of a common crane?

https://vimeo.com/80362459

It’s a noise that drifts across wetlands throughout northern Europe and, if you lived in the UK up until around 400 years ago, you probably would have heard it regularly.

In fact, crane might even have been on your menu  - Henry III's 1251 Christmas menu included an indigestion-inducing 115 cranes. Now that’s a Christmas…

Spring is here and thoughts have turned to love (sort of!) here at The Lodge.

Birdlife all over the reserve is busy preparing for the breeding season.

Blue tits are looking for food to fatten themselves up in preparation for the days ahead, a pair of red kites are regularly spotted eyeing each other overhead, and two mallards are wandering the manicured grounds as I write in search of a new family-sized home.

Tosh…

A local news story lately raised a chuckle in the RSPB office.

Colleague: ‘A Christmas tree in Kent apparently can’t be taken down because there’s a pregnant dove in it’.

Me: ‘Ha! Christmas.’

Colleague: ‘Yeah... Also, you can’t get a pregnant dove.’

It’s true, of course you can’t. I’d just never thought about it. Nor, it would seem, had that particular news site…

Happy Leap Day! 

In honour of today being a leap year, I scoured RSPB Images for a suitable leaping nature image. And I came up with this coot. It's a cracker, isn't it?

It's one of thousands on RSPB Images. Take a look for yourself and see if you can find the perfect image!

You've heard of the mad March hare, right?

You know, when the year swings into March and our fields up and down the country turn into battlegrounds. Fur is flying as female hares give the tiresome males a bop on the nose to tell them they’re getting too close. Not seen it for yourself? Check out our video below.

https://vimeo.com/155498149

It’s not just hares though. March sees Spring attempt to shake off…