As most of us bask in the glorious sunshine predicted for the weekend, spare a thought for your garden birds.
Birds need water for both drinking and bathing. So with temperatures set to stay warm for most of us this weekend, don't forget to keep your bird baths topped up.
And even if you're having less than great weather, birds still need to bathe and drink every day.
Now is also a good time to give water baths a good clean.
Enjoy your weekend all!
With the promise of an Indian summer this week, I'm looking forward to warm days and beautiful sunsets.
I'm hoping for something as atmospheric as this image by David Osborn!
As well as looking out your window, you'll also find beautiful sunsets on RSPB Images.
I don’t know about you, but at this time of year my house starts getting overrun with ladybirds searching for a quiet spot to hibernate. I find them huddled in little groups on window frames, in pot plants, even in my bathroom! I can’t for the life of me imagine how they manage to get in, but manage it they do!
Now don’t get me wrong, I love ladybirds (and especially their aphid-munching qualities!), but I’d hate for them to meet their end squashed by a closing window, sucked up the Hoover or, even worse – in the case of the intrepid group that found their way into my bathroom – washed down the plughole. And it’s not just that, although you’d think spending the winter in a cosy, centrally heated house would be great for ladybirds, it actually does more harm than good.In their natural environment, ladybirds select a site to hibernate in the autumn (usually in hollow twigs, tree bark or crevices in walls), snuggle down and remain fairly inactive until spring. However, the warm, dry environment of a house wakes them up prematurely. If they wake up in the depths of winter and there are no aphids for them to eat, they simply starve to death.
So I’ve decided that I need to make my temporary house guests a home of their own - I’m planning on following the instructions for making a ladybird house here.
I love any excuse to wield a saw or some power tools, but you can make your ladybird house as simple or elaborate as you like – ladybirds and other bugs will appreciate a bunch of hollow twigs, or short bamboo canes tied together and hung in a sheltered place just as much as a fancy, all-singing-all-dancing bug box.
We’ve got lots of advice about making and siting insect hotels on our website, but if you don’t fancy a bit of DIY you can buy ready made versions at most garden centres, as well as on our online shop.
Once my creation is ready, I’ll coax my little guests out of all the nooks and crannies they’ve discovered (I’m told a soft paintbrush is the best way to do this!) and introduce them to their new home.
Fingers crossed they’ll like it, and I’m still in possession of all my fingers after my attempts at DIY!
There are two species of seal that breed in the UK – the common seal and the grey seal. They might look awkward on land, lolling on beaches and flapping their flippers, but in the water these animals are like ballerinas, gracefully twisting, turning and dancing through bubbles. Here are six scintillating seal facts...
1. They've got flexible spines which help them twist and turn.
2. Female grey seals gather together in autumn to have their pups at 'rookeries'
3. Common seals don't chew their food – they just tear off chunks or even swallow it whole!
4. The Latin name for grey seal means ‘hook-nosed sea pig’.
5. Half the world's population of grey seals is found on Britain's coasts.
6. Seals have a layer of blubber under their skin, which not only keeps them warm but also helps them float, stores energy and protects their organs.
So now you know the facts, it's time to go seal watching! You’ve got one month left to visit our free Greatham Creek Date With Nature. Enjoy the sight of grey seals frolicking in the River Tees or snoozing on the mud. If you can’t make it to Greatham Creek, check out the Saltholme blog instead, which has videos of the Greatham Creek seals leaping through the water and playing with a plastic pipe!
There are also several RSPB nature reserves where you can see seals – check this list to see if there's a reserve with seals near you.
Finally, if you want to 'seal' a better deal for these gorgeous animals, sign our marine petition to ask the Government to protect sealife.
Autumn's here which means apples, berries, pears – and some rather drunk animals. Here we look at the wildlife that benefits from this season's fruit crop.
The hedgerows are bursting with berries now, providing food for both people and animals. Blackberries give energy to animals such as mice and badgers. But the real berry-eaters are the birds (in case you're wondering, apparently the woodpigeon in this picture did manage to swallow this berry in the end!).
Purple poo
Birds and berries rely on each other for survival. Song and mistle thrushes, blackbirds, redwings and fieldfares need berries throughout the winter. They are a good option when the ground is too frozen to hunt for snails and worms, and insects are scarce.
Birds don't digest berry seeds, which pass through the gut and come out the other end. Berry eaters often deposit the seeds far away from where they ate them, helping to spread the plants far and wide.
You know when birds have started snacking on berries because you start to see purple bird poo. There is even a Facebook group dedicated to the phenomenon!
Apples and pears
These fruits – ripe right now in an orchard near you - make good food for wildlife, too. Bees, butterflies, moths and hoverflies feast on fallen fruit. Great spotted woodpeckers peck at apples in search of the grubs inside.
Birds will happily tuck into soft or bruised apples and pears. So if you're lucky enough to have a fruit tree in your garden, you can enjoy the perfect ones and leave the rest for your birds. If you have a surplus of apples, you could consider making apple bird feeders.
Boozy birds
The only problem with all this fruit is that after a while it starts to ferment. Birds, fruit flies and even hedgehogs can get drunk after indulging themselves. Waxwings have been reported flying into windows after getting drunk on fermenting berries.
It must be horrible to find a waxwing that's crash-landed, but imagine being this chap in Sweden, who found an enormous, drunk elk stuck in his neighbour's apple tree!
Home sweet home
If you're keen on helping wildlife by planting fruit trees, crab apples are a fantastic option for you and nature. The colourful flowers are pretty in spring and great for bees. The fruits add autumn colour to your garden whilst feeding birds such as robins, starlings, greenfinches and thrushes. The native crab apple is also home to up to 90 different insect species. It really is a sweet home!