Amphibians are some of our most primitive land animals to own a backbone. Unfortunately for them one of their primitive traits is an inability to regulate body temperature which means that in the UK they have to take action before it gets freezing cold!

The best way to do this is to hibernate or ‘go dormant’ through the cold months.

Many frogs swim to the bottom of ponds and partially bury themselves in…

There are stag's horns and stinkhorns, waxy caps and rosy bonnets. You might even find an Amethyst deceiver or come face to face with a chicken of the woods.

What am I talking about?

Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of toadstools and mushrooms.

This is a great time of year to go on a fungi foray as these fascinating organisms add a splash of colour to a woodland walk.

Even with all those great names to…

If you're a jay, one of our most beautiful birds, this is a busy time of year. Jays keep themselves to themselves for a large portion of the time, but now that nature has provided them with a glut of plant food, they have to make the most of it.

I've been seeing a lot of jays flying around with beakfuls of acorns lately. It's certainly been a bumper season for those. And have you seen many of these around?…

The past few days have seen the arrival of the first Bewick's swans of the season. They migrate here all the way from Siberia and come to enjoy the comfort of our relatively-warm winters!

This beautiful photo was captured by David Kjaer and is part of our RSPB Images photo library.

I’m a fan of a good tree. Any tree that draws attention will do, but a few nice ones are forest beech - smooth barked and massive, common oak - the classic ancient tree (a saying goes ‘they take 300 years to grow, 300 years to live and 300 years to die’) and scots pine - towering over UK woodland and evoking a vibe of primeval forest.

But my favourite is the humble birch (in particular silver-birch, …

Maybe I watched too many cartoons as a kid but when I saw this I immediately imagined the fungus snapping off and the squirrel running in the air - Wile E Coyote style - before plummeting to an explosive landing. Anyone else? 

What I really wanted to focus on was the fungi itself! These vital members of our forest ecosystems can sometimes be edible, but indiscriminate harvesting might be damaging their future prospects…

Did you notice the connection to nature report released this week?

You know, the one that showed just one in five UK children have a realistic ‘connection to nature’. That’s bad, don’t you think? But what can we actually do about it, and what about adults too?

I think back to when I was a kid. I vividly remember my first trip to Minsmere nature reserve. I was seven. As we drove up the entrance…

'No, it can't live here'

'That's too exotic-looking for the UK'. These are just a couple of comments from non-wildlife enthusiasts when I show them a picture of a bearded tit.

Despite the wind and rain I managed to get out and see some good wildlife this weekend. Amongst the birds I saw were two parties of bearded tits, with their distinctive 'ping' call, stunning orange colour and males with…

At this time of year it's difficult to spend longer than 5mins in your garden without seeing an amazing spider's web.

Every morning and evening for the last couple of weeks getting my bike into or out of my shed, I've passed a beauty. I have no idea how the industrious little dude or dudette managed to span the 3ft gap between the shed and the fence post. Quite the grand design...

It's my last week here…

In the last few warm days of the year, dragonflies are making the most of it. Here are two common darters, but what are they doing? 

That's the brightly-coloured male on the right, followed by the female. When they're mating, he seizes her by the back of the head, and after the deed they fly around like a tiny helicopter tandem. They fly together as she flicks her tail into the water to deposit the fertilised eggs.…

After a few days in the cool lush foothills of the Sierra Nevada, Southern Spain, the coastal park of Cabo de Gata felt like a hostile place to be. It is what’s called a semi-arid environment, not as dry as the Sahara, but still a desert.

The only crops that can grow without a greenhouse or intensive irrigation here are prickly pear cactuses (my attempts to eat them resulted in hands coated in tiny spines with…

Last week I was in the closest thing Europe has to a desert. This already feels like a distant memory, but being hit in the face by a relative of this guy - the desert locust - was not a forgettable experience.

This image wasn’t taken in the desert but in Norfolk! Given that these creatures are infamous for devouring crops this is probably an unwelcome visit from this non-native species, but a great shot nonetheless…

Want something with a touch of the exotic to brighten up your Monday?

Who doesn't?! Well, today I bring you the humble jay. With its pinky/purpley body feathers, dazzling blue wing patch and pristine white rump, jays ought to stick out a mile. Yet I always hear that they hide away through winter, spring and summer, becoming more obvious in autumn. Now why's that?

Nuts. There's your answer - nuts. The UK's most…

Summer's over! For humans, that means the end of BBQ season and the start of searching for your favourite woolly scarf.

But if you're a bird, northern Europe might be losing its appeal in a much more important way, and it's time to get out before all your food disappears.

Bird migration is pretty amazing. A range of species, from swallows, robins and house martins to hobbies, some warblers, ducks and

Recently, my RSS feed has been filled with examples of graffiti from around the world. I don't know why the sudden fascination in sharing these drawings on walls, but I'm not going to complain as I've seen some absolutely fantastic artwork - and much of it inspired by nature.

The first to pique my interest was news about the largest mural in the world, painted across three blocks of flats in Berlin:

The…

Today is a rather damp day here at The Lodge as rain steadily falls from a uniform grey sky with not much sign of let-up.

But while I faff around putting an umbrella up and down every time I need to go outside there are plenty of other creatures who positively thrive in the rain.

I'm looking at you, snails!

For more great snail photos check out RSPB Images.

Returning to landlocked Bedfordshire after a week on Dream Island was a bit of a shock.

'Dream Island' isn't a far-flung Caribbean location, but the name given to Skokholm, off the coast of Pembrokeshire in Wales, by the naturalist Ronald Lockley. And that's where I met the mysterious Mother Carey's chickens...

Skokholm is small but beautiful, measuring roughly 1 mile long and half a mile wide…

Meet the storm petrel, a tiny bird with an amazing lifestyle. They nest in rocky crevices around parts of our western coasts at this time of year, but spend the rest of their year far out to sea, their feet pattering across the waves while they peck at plankton. 

This beautiful photo is by Chris Gomersall, and part of our RSPB Images library.

Although I’m sure they play a vital role in our habitats, I must admit to not being a fan of the ordinary, homing-in-on-your-jam-sandwich kind of wasp. 

But donning the classic colours that scream ‘danger!’ to would be predators, the aptly named wasp spider holds much greater appeal.

It’s only been in the UK since the 1930’s and hails from a warm spot by the Mediterranean. Its spread Nor…

Whether you visit a sandy cove, rocky shore or seaside town, there’s always something to look out for at the seaside.

However, there’s more to the beach than sandcastles, ice cream and deckchairs – here’s my top ten wildlife highlights. Plus there’s a bonus number 11 as well...

Gulls

Gulls don’t just nick your chips – they’re a quintessential part of our seaside heritage. Whilst black…

I wandered to the canteen this morning. Nothing odd in that - probably millions of people across the country did the very same thing, hunting for a brew to start the working week.

However, something caught my eye as listened to my colleagues regaling tales of this weekend's Birdfair - an yellow, black and chestnut bullet zipped past and landed a few metres from me. It looked all the world like a hornet.

But even…

In my opinion, nature at night doesn't get celebrated enough (Big Wild Sleepout, aside).

I guess that with our limited ability to see much in detail once the sun sets, it can be easy to fall into the trap that not much happens.

But even taking some time out to appreciate a setting sun can reap rewards and result in some truly beautiful skies. You might even get lucky and hear the dusk chorus! 

There are loads…

Have you enjoyed the sunshine we've had lately? Our butterflies certainly have, and it's great to see them making a comeback after an atrocious time last year.

Our friends at Butterfly Conservation are running their Big Butterfly Count survey until 11 August, so there's still plenty of time for you to take part.

This is a silver-washed fritillary, a big orange beastie which loves to nectar on thistles…

Wild swimming (any swimming not in an artificial pool), is an exhilarating and unique way to experience our natural places. 

You have to know your limits and take precautions (see this article on the UK’s Wild Swimming website). But, some rare incidents aside, there are millions who enjoy our seas, lakes and water ways during the brief British summer for a quick dip. 

This was the video a friend of mine made of our…

Forever influenced by the weather, this week's magic moment comes from my sun fueled daydreams of being by the sea side.

Although our native otter usually stays near fresh water, these tracks tell the story of one that just found the ocean too inviting to refuse, and who can blame it?

This picture was taken in the Shetland Islands in June by Chris Gomersall. Why not take a look at our images archive (rspb-images…