Here's a special guest Christmas post from RSPB Chief Executive, Mike Clarke...

This year has been a tough one, for many different reasons. But despite that, we've achieved a lot for nature during 2016...

...And it’s all thanks to people like you

Now is a good time to celebrate our successes with you, so I’ve picked a few highlights to share. Why not grab yourself a mince pie or two, a glass of your favourite…

“Before this weekend I rarely spent a prolonged period of time watching the birds in our garden. It was a revelation to see who visited and I am now ‘hooked’!”

We get messages like this from thousands of people every year after Big Garden Birdwatch. Once people have started doing it, they just can’t stop!

Is this your first Big Garden Birdwatch, or have you done it lots of times before…

Registration for the 2017 Big Garden Birdwatch is officially OPEN! We can't wait for the big event! Sign up now, and we’ll send you a FREE Big Garden Birdwatch pack, stuffed with goodies to help you make the most of your Birdwatch.

What's in the pack?

• Garden bird identification sheet – this full-colour guide will show you 15 of the birds you’re most likely to see on the big day. It includes details…

Guest blog by Jamie Wyver.

Waxwings are my absolute favourite birds. They’re little bundles of festive joy. They have a call that sounds like sleigh bells, a tendency for seasonal over-indulgence and a striking, exotic appearance.

These hungry visitors fly here from the forests of north east Europe in winter. In some years large numbers arrive on the east coast in search of their favourite food, red berries…

As December started we’ve seen our first proper frosts here at the lodge. As the temperature has dropped our feathered friends have found feeding opportunities rarer and rarer forcing those that are often elusive out into the open.

Over the last few days I’ve had some of the best views of buzzards I’ve ever seen, with them regularly perched at eye level on posts or in the branches of leafless trees.…

We all know that Christmas is a time for feasting and fattening up and the same is true for our garden birds.

But, as with any dinner guest, it's essential to adhere to their dietary requirements - and that doesn't include turkey fat!

Keeping warm for winter

In winter, birds need high-energy food to keep themselves warm. And with insects and natural food sources in short supply, laying on a festive spread…

Every morning, I'm cheered up by the bright yellow leaves on the silver birch tree outside my window. When they're lit up against a blue sky, they're especially gorgeous. But with this weather, I'm not sure for how much longer they'll still be on the tree. Never mind - I'll make the most of them while they're there.

My view isn't quite as glamorous as this one, captured at Llyn Padarn in…

Happy Stir-up Sunday! This is the traditional day to start making your Christmas cake and pudding in preparation for the big day. But why not start getting prepared for another big day – Big Garden Birdwatch – by making some cakes for your birds too?

Your robins, blue tits, chaffinches and more will love this quick and simple recipe:

www.youtube.com/watch

The earlier you start preparing for your Big Garden…

Guest blog by Jenny Shelton, Assistant Media Officer

You don’t need to be Newt Scamander or attend a Care of Magical Creatures class at Hogwarts to come face to face with fantastic beasts and birds.

Our towns, cities and countryside are full of fascinating, mysterious creatures – from spellbinding eagles to tiny but mighty stag beetles. They may not be strictly magical, but they certainly hold a certain magical…

For today's Monday Moment, I bring you a regal golden eagle.

Just look at it sat there, peering over the snow saying: 'I'm in charge here'. 

This image is taken by Mark Hamblin and is from RSPB Images, our online library of photos. Take a look and find something to make you smile.

The amazing staff in our Wildlife Enquiries team have received a fair few calls recently about a proliferation of ladybirds.

And our callers certainly aren't wrong; there have been a lot more than usual around - on social media and in the flesh - this autumn.

Higher than average numbers of the iconic insects have even prompted comment from the great and the good, with Match of the Day host Gary Lineker recently…

While all around us people are going batty for pumpkins, I was more excited for something else orange today.

A really pleasant sight met my eyes this morning as the tree at the bottom of my garden transformed overnight into a fantastic firework of orange leaves, meaning Autumn is well underway.

Autumn is one of my favourite seasons as it means Fungi hunts, rutting deer and incredible starling murmurations.

In case…

Nature’s cleverest tricksters and masters of disguise – revealed!

Today, children the UK-over will be donning scary costumes and indulging in a little trick-or-treating for Halloween. But for the natural world, tricks and disguises are part of every day survival.

Perfect pranksters
Cuckoos are the ultimate tricksters, laying their eggs in the nests of other birds so that the foster parent will bring up…

It’s the time of year when lots of people think about having a bonfire – whether it’s to burn garden waste, to mark Bonfire Night or just to enjoy the dancing flames and sticky marshmallows.

To a hedgehog, a big pile of branches, leaves, bits of wood and other garden debris looks like the perfect place to spend the winter!

If you’re planning a bonfire, the best way to avoid harming hedgehogs is to…

There's been lots of excitement among some birdwatchers in the past week, as the UK's very first Siberian accentor landed on Shetland. As the name suggests, it's a small songbird which has come all the way from northern Siberia. Recent winds from the east have brought an unlikely selection of feathered waifs and strays to the UK.

(The bird's rarity value was soon diminished somewhat, as the UK's first sighting…

Bit of a chill in the air this morning, wasn't there?

It certainly had me reaching for the jumpers. Sadly I've moved house during the summer, and it took me a while to remember where they were! Regardless, it means that autumn is now in full swing.

For our oak trees, it's time to drop their acorns. They may be hoping that, similar to my jumper situation, a forgetful squirrel will bury them and a tiny acorn will…

Most of us have grown up with Kermit the Frog and Kenneth Grahame’s unforgettable Mr Toad – but how much do you actually know about these awesome amphibians in real life?

As our own Adrian Thomas points out in his excellent blog on Gardening for wildlife, autumn is a great time to think about whether you’ve got enough suitable spots for both to bed down for the winter.

But how exactly do you tell if…

You may have seen our TV advert over the summer? It featured several of our nature stars, people like you who make their garden a wildlife-friendly zone. But just why are they nature stars?

We asked some of them just how their family was giving nature a home. And here's what they said:

Bethany

We try our best to provide homes for a variety of wildlife. We have several bird boxes, but the birds also nest in our…

Last week I enjoyed some special Monday moments at Titchwell Marsh nature reserve, on the north Norfolk coast. The scrapes and marshes were filled with birds, and the beach - which I had virtually to myself - was littered with thousands (maybe millions?) of razor clam shells. 

At the water's edge, a beautiful black-bellied grey plover picked at the sand, while oystercatchers and godwits probed for shellfish and…

September is a month of great change for wildlife. As summer begins to make way for autumn the nature around us adapts to its changing surroundings. We’ve got some great ways for you to discover more of the wildlife close to you this month. No matter your budget, there’s nature waiting out there for you.

The Great British Wildlife Hunt

Accept the challenge and discover wildlife across the UK. Score points…

As anybody who has seen Blue Planet can attest, there are few things more fascinating than the underwater world.

But these wonders aren't confined to the tropical seas and oceans, there are incredible ecosystems at work right in your back yard.

If you haven't already, give making a pond in your back garden a go, it can bring all sorts of benefits to wildlife,

But the best bit about any pond, is the little creatures…

I’ve always felt that butterflies were show-offs, or maybe even a bit mad!

When nearly all other flying insects try to keep a low profile, with a nice plain appearance and speedy movements, butterflies seem to waltz around doing the exact opposite. Like bits of brightly coloured paper caught in a breeze, fluttering about chaotically in all directions.

They have crazily big wings for their bodies - unnecessarily…

I went bats on Saturday night. At a friend's birthday BBQ, the partygoers stopped feeding their faces with burgers, kebabs and sausages to marvel at the pipistrelles swooping silently around the garden.

Soon we spotted where the bats had made their home: in the roof space of the house next-door. It was fascinating to watch the tiny creatures fluttering above our heads, hunting for moths and other small flying insects…

Everyone loves owls, right?

Well, I guess mice, voles and the other creatures owls call prey might disagree, but generally owls are pretty well liked.

Last weekend, we asked you to become a night owl (minus the eating mice bit) and spend a night under the stars as part of Big Wild Sleepout. I hope you joined in!

You can let us know if you did, but what wildlife did you see, or hear? Owls can be pretty noisy, so perhaps…

Harry Potter puns? They can Slytherin to any conversation...

It’s been five long years since the last Potter film came out. Nine since the last book. But lately fans were granted a longed-for invitation back to the wizarding world thanks to The Cursed Child, a new West End play based on an original story by J.K Rowling.

Set 19 years after Harry, Ron and Hermione left Hogwarts, it follows a new generation as they…