2012 has started with a buzz literally as we have had a few reports of bees being seen already as well as butterflies. Despite the stormy conditions experienced across much of the UK, it seems the relatively mild winter so far for parts of the UK is disrupting the natural world. Have you seen any creatures out in winter so far that should really be tucked up hibernating, let us know if so!

We are gearing up for the Big…

From all of us here in the wildlife team (including the forum moderators!) we would like to wish everyone out there a very Happy Christmas and best wishes for the new year!

Here is just a little something from the RSPB images site that I thought was appropriate!

Ben Hall (rspb-images.com)

Best wishes

The forecast is looking pretty grim for much of the UK over the next few day's at least, some parts have already been taking a pummelling. Heres a few of the questions we are getting asked at the moment and our answers, we hope this will help you help your garden birds through the worst of it!

 How do the wild birds cope with extreme weather? Birds are tough and adaptable creatures and most have ways of coping, after…

Here in wildlife enquiries we occasionally get sent some rather interesting finds including pictures of unsual garden visitors, feathers and occasionally dead birds. We are more than happy to take a look at feathers and pictures but we are not too keen on the dead birds, they don't travel well in the post and rarely arrive in one piece and make for a pretty unpleasant surprise first thing in the morning!!! So if you come…

Now that most of the leaves have fallen or soon will be, we are able to see much more clearly into hedges and shrubs, revealing the winter larder of berries. It seems to have been a mixed season with hawthorn and rowan trees in this part of the world having quite a good crop whilst the sloes on blackthorn don't seem that prolific. Many apple trees seem to have done really well which will hopefully keep our wild birds…

As the leaves are falling and the temperatures are dropping, this November is the perfect time to get out and about to see and encourage wildlife. We are getting a number of enquiries about this so take the plunge and join them!

If you prefer to do your bit closer to home then grab your coat and gloves and get busy in the garden, here are a few ideas that can help wildlife this autumn;

1. Put up a nesting box (starling…

Some spooky goings on in the wildlife enquiries team today with a series of calls about bats. Some turning up in peoples houses and others wanting to know more about them and how to encourage them. Most bats are going to be looking for safe places to hibernate over the cold winter months over the next few weeks, mild autumn weather enables them to stay active through October and into November. I was watching two bats hunting…

With dropping temperatures, high winds, showers and the threat of snow over high ground, winter is definitely on its way! With our winter migrants making landfall and spreading out across the UK, and with Feed The Birds Day on October 29, now is the perfect opportunity for a quick checklist on the essentials to keep wintering birds happy!

• Water - birds need to drink on a daily basis and keeping their feathers clean…

Lots going on so far this month, continuing on from a very busy end to September. We have had a recent spell of people reporting escapee cage birds from the commonly kept such as zebra finches and cockatiels to the unusual in the form of lilac-breasted roller, as you can see from the link,  a very exotic bird to find in the UK and a first for us here in wildlife enquiries! In situations where likely zoo or aviary escapees…

We occasionally get asked the question 'why do we never see baby pigeons?' Well if the last few weeks are anything to go by, most people have now got the answer, you have to wait until September before they are out and about, or thats what it feels like as we have been inundated with queries about baby doves and pigeons (illustration of a juvenile woodpigeon below).

 Many people have been tempted to take them in…

A busy start to the month for us in wildlife enquiries with plenty of unusual birds for us to help identify as well as the continued stream of reports about avian pox.

Of the many bird sighting queries we have been having in the last couple of weeks, the wryneck has perhaps been the most intrigueing. This cryptically camouflaged member of the woodpecker family, see below illustration (RSPB images), is a passage visitor…

Here are a few suggestions, tips and hints for things to do and see during August;

• Go wader watching, many migrant waders are turning up around inland and coastal wetland sites giving a good chance to brush up on your identification skills. Our wetland reserves are great places for this, have a look here for your nearest.
• Pond maintenance, if your pond is looking a little choked and needs some TLC, this is the time…

This is a question we always get asked at this time of the year and its one with a few possible answers!

Firstly, for many birds we are coming to the end of a hectic breeding season. After all of the battling for territory, courting mates, finding nesting material, gathering food for young and chasing off predators, it is no surprise that some of the birds are looking a little worse for wear. Late summer is the time…

We have been speaking to a number of people recently about house martins. It has been a case of either love them or hate them with many people not too happy to be sharing their homes with house martins, balanced out by many concerned individuals who have not seen as many this year and are wondering where they are and how to encourage them back. We have been fighting the corner of these plucky little birds as they need all…

Now July is upon us we are getting lots of queries about gulls. At this time of year the parents are being very vocal and protective of their offspring. Most of them will be within a few weeks of taking to the air and will be spending more time moving around and will stray from the nest. Unfortunately for roof nesting gulls this can often result in a fall. Parent gulls will continue to feed them on the ground if they…

We've had a rush of ID queries in over the last few days, it's that time of year again!!! With lots of baby birds finding their independence and turning up at garden feeders. The juvenile great-spotted woodpeckers are doing a fine job of causing much confusion by themselves. With their bright red crowns, many people who have not seen them before can be forgiven for mistaking them for middle spotted woodpeckers (which…

Much of our time over the last week has been spent advising people who have come across young birds that have got into trouble, here are a few of the regular problems being encountered!

Window collisions

The reflection of the sky or garden in windows can fool many birds into thinking they can fly straight through, often with disastrous consequences. At this time of year when there are many juveniles around making their…

What do crows, buzzards and gulls have in common at this time of year?

These species are all carefully watching over their youngsters during June. Buzzard and crow chicks are approaching fledging if they have not already made the big jump into the big wide world, where as gull chicks are at a variety of stages of development, causing mischief from a few days old, often wandering away from the nest and tumbling down to…

Like babies that take a while before they take their first few steps, young fledglings often cannot fly on leaving the nest, much to the dismay of many of our callers this week. Popping fledgling blue tits back into the nest box, will only result in these young jumping back out again - these little bundles of joy (and feathers) WANT to leave home! Given a few days these young Starlings, House sparrows and Blue tits will…

May is one of the busiest months for us here in Wildlife enquiries, what with baby birds, the community upgrade, the run up to Springwatch and the unusually dry spring generating lots of enquiries. A few topics that have been featuring heavily recently may be of interest!

You found a nest where?

Some of our feathered friends have been causing some puzzled reactions across the UK this month with some rather unconventional…

As the warm weather continues and the winds hopefully die down don’t forget to look out for the return of one of our favourite summer migrants, the swift. Many birds return to the breeding grounds in the spring, some will remain in Africa. Swifts are migratory throughout their range. They arrive in the UK in the last week of April or early May, and stay only long enough to breed. Swifts feed almost exclusively…

The last couple of weeks have been quite sensational for April with warm and sunny conditions for most people in the UK. In this mini heat wave many birds will be finding it difficult to find worms and other soil dwelling prey. It is a good idea to offer a range of food at the moment that includes some seed, some live food like mealworms and maybe some addtional treats like grated cheese or soaked sultanas. Make sure you…

Quacking up
Plenty of 'cute fluffy' ducklings around this week getting themselves into the usual fun and games. Mallards are known for their unusual nesting habits, 1st floor balconies, hanging baskets to name but a few, but we had a report this week of a Mallard nesting 15 foot up a tree - needless to say there was concern about the ducklings survival - parachutes at the ready. Ducklings are amazingly robust and…

BGBW
The Birdwatch results were released this week.... Wow! Over 600,000 of you took part in this year's Big Garden Birdwatch. Thank you. Not only does that make 2011 a record-breaking year for the number of people watching their garden birds, but your counts also revealed some exciting news about our smaller birds.

Nesting ducks
Mallards are starting to nest now and as usual, some of them are picking awkward sites on…

Lots of interesting behaviours being observed around the UK at this time of year and here in Wildlife Enquiries we have been hearing about all kinds of things, here are some of the interesting ones to look out for.

Nocturnal Song

The sound of bird song through the winter nights is a curious behaviour. Although we are hearing many birds singing already, the dawn chorus is not yet at full volume (in a few weeks summer…