Graeme Rycyk got in touch to promote his really rather wonderful project. For just £2,500 of your Kickstarter backing he will produce a 6 part documentary filmed in Ultra HD on the UK's urban nature. A particular interesting twist is his intention to cover urban hunters and poachers - those people who are out to bag our city wildlife for their own pot. I can't say I'd even heard of that as a concept but I suppose it makes sense and it would be interesting to hear their perspective on our urban wildlife. If they're trying to catch these animals,... Continue reading

Thanks to regular correspondent David for these great photos from his visit to Martin Mere Wetland Centre in Lancashire. Coots, Moorhens, Water Rails and Crakes, along with many others around the world, are collectively known as "rails" or "rallidae" more officially. Here we see the ugly side of the family. Coot chicks, which you might easily think were Moorhen chicks given their colouration and that only a mother could love, frankly. Below, fighting moorhens, their greeny legs scrapping in the water. I saw Moorhens fighting like this just today at Wicken Fen - more on that trip another time! Continue reading

The BBC reports on recent studies into the power of bird song to lift the mood, aid concentration without distracting, stop you falling asleep after a big lunch and make you better appreciate petrol station toilets, amongst many other benefits. The potential effects of a birdsong background are really quite startling (or quite Starling perhaps) and it's a really interesting article. I can vouch for the restorative effects of a walk in the countryside with lots of birdsong, including the first cuckoo I'd heard this year at the weekend. Continue reading

Here's a genuinely interesting infographic (all the rage at the moment) about the birds in your garden and feeding them - courtesy of Anglian Home Improvements. Perhaps I should get them to extend my blog sideways so their massive infographic actually fits! This birdwatching infographic was created by Anglian Home Improvements, click on the image above to find out more about this infographic and its origins #birdwatching Continue reading

My 2 year old daughter spotted lots of these small, fuzzy orange bees on the newly dug soil in the garden. I identified them (by text message, having been sent the iPhone picture above at work) as Tawny mining bees. These are solitary bees, only about a centimetre long, that burrow in soil and raise their young underground. They are only to be seen March to May, hibernating the rest of the year in their tunnels. Completely harmless, I find them rather charming and it's fascinating the way many of them will suddenly descend on a small patch of soil... Continue reading

I went for a walk in the woods today, braving the April showers, and amid the not-quite-flowering-yet bluebell carpet, a couple of beautiful Snake's head fritillaries. I have these planted in my garden, but seeing them wild is so much more wonderful. Continue reading

As promised, here are more of David's fantastic pheasant photos, following on from the delectable close-ups of the first post. This time, before and after photos from a presumed fight. David tells it best: I use a bird hide at Threave Gardens a Scottish National Trust property nearby and had been admiring this Cock Pheasant and his three hens for some time and all was well one morning. Next time I was up, late afternoon on the same day this bedraggled pheasant appeared with only one hen. I was aware that there was another Cock Pheasant in the woods but... Continue reading

A family walk in the lovely Cassiobury Park, Watford, was much enhanced by seeing bats flying in broad daylight. It was the first hot day of the year, hitting 20c, and I wonder if that had anything to do with it, though I visit the park only rarely so for all I know they're out and about most days. The first was hunting in a clearing in the trees by the river, about 20-30 feet up. The second, unless it was in fact the same individual, was skimming low over the canal, patrolling a stretch of a couple of hundred... Continue reading

David from Castle Douglas sent in these wonderful close up pictures of pheasants, demonstrating the exotic glories to be found in the UK. He was able to get such wonderfully detailed shots as these pheasants are relatively bold mixing it with the chickens to take advantage of their food. You'll notice some variation in the look of these two males (and others) - for instance the white ring present only on the second. According to Wikipedia this is because there are various subspecies, as a result of interbreeding down the years. More of David's wonderful pheasants in a subsequent post,... Continue reading

Here's a sign of our confused climate - a Xmassy image of a robin in the snow, as we near April. This lovely picture is courtesy of Jenny from a "very snowy Castle Douglas". Thanks Jenny. There's also snow in the UKNB garden here in Hertfordshire, and it's been interesting to see so much bird life in the garden, grateful for the feeders, and much easier to see against a white backdrop and with no leaves on the trees. Mostly it has been chaffinches, goldfinches, great tits, blue tits and plenty of robins. Continue reading

Spring is trying to spring, and I've noticed plenty going on out there. Magpies and rooks are particularly noticeable collecting material for their nests. Tits are creeping along tree branches picking at the buds looking for insects. Birds are singing lustily. It remains extremely damp pretty much everywhere. I bet there's a hosepipe ban within a month! Herons are nesting in the park. Continue reading

Spring may not have sprung but some count the start of March as the start of Spring. Personally I'd say it's thinking about it but isn't sure which coat to wear or whether it needs a hat and gloves. Something's stirring though. Today I saw a Red Kite and a Buzzard circling over my garden as well as a fox legging it through it and over the fence to next door. Green things are poking their heads up and some daffs have even dared to flower. Roll on double digit temperatures! Continue reading

This post isn't about Saturday night in the town centre! This article is contributed by Sarah Oxley, who thinks everyone should come and live in the city of Leeds because it has great birdlife and lots of green space, and also because she's an estate agent so it's in her professional interest. It's a lovely insight into one person's experience of watching birds in the garden. Birds of Leeds It was the 34th annual Big Garden Birdwatch of the RSPB this year, and while the results are being counted, I thought it might be interesting to share some of the... Continue reading

Reader Fiona sent in this picture of a rabbit she saw in the wild. However she wonders if it is in fact an escaped pet rabbit, given its unusual colouration. Maybe it's even a second generation pet/wild cross? Are there any rabbit experts out there that can offer an opinion? Maybe it's even your escaped rabbit! Continue reading

Thanks to regular correspondent Bob for this great picture of a Large birch sawfly larva, that he found in Devon after felling a Silver birch tree. This isn't a caterpillar, though obviously it could easily be mistaken for one. It turns into a Large birch sawfly (picture of the adult on that page), a type of sawfly - which is a bit like a wasp but with a fatter waist. Continue reading

We can tell that winter has finally arrived because: It's extremely cold out Pools and puddles of water have taken on a hard, shiny appearance Winterwatch has been on tele, though sadly I've mostly missed it Snow has happened, with more promised for tomorrow This blog has been hibernating, but fear not, the occasional flurry of activity will occur The hits for the Fox prints in the snow post have gone through the roof, as they do every winter. Continue reading