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You get a call from the window, 'come quick, we've got long-tailed tits on the feeder again'. You rush over as fast as you can, but it always seems too late - they've flown off without giving you as much as a glimpse of their tails! If this sounds like your experience of 'watching'...

Are you enjoying nature's spectacle of vibrant colours and delicate flowers that are around at the moment? This beautiful photo by Sue Kennedy is just one of the many sights that you can catch a glimpse of in a park or garden near you. And if you want a real colour overload, there are plenty more...

Bluebells There are bluebells galore at over twenty of our reserves . Come and lose yourself in a fragrant purple haze. Lambs Did you know we manage an organic farm at Lake Vyrnwy in Powys? Come and meet our newborn lambs at special events on the farm. Alternatively, go to Saltholme in Cleveland and...

Now's a great time of year to take a walk in the woods. Trees are coming into leaf, blossom's busting out, there are lots of birds singing and nests being built. Spring's here - hooray! The early part of spring is also your only chance to hear something rather special. This is the time...

Long-tailed tits have to be some of our most popular garden birds. They've got it all - they're cute, fluffy, sociable, make funny noises, they're quite tame and quite common. It's also easy to encourage them into your garden by offering treats like fat or cheese. What's not to like...

The sun is shining, daffodils are starting to poke their yellow heads above the earth, and days are lengthening. This can surely only mean one thing - spring is sprung! So this weekend, hunt for signs of spring. It could be as simple as enjoying snowdrops in your garden, or visiting one our our...

A few weeks back, I suggested you listen (and look out) for birds starting to sing . My tip for this weekend is to look out for other signs of spring . With snowdrops poking their heads up and daffodil leaves breaking free of the soil, there's no doubt that spring is very nearly here. Hooray! ...

There seems to be lots of talk about at the moment over whether spring has finally sprung. The sun is shining through my window and temperatures are warm enough to think twice about the woolly hat. Now, I don’t want to run the risk of being too early, but I think spring might, just might be here...

This morning - grey, sleety and cold - I heard my first song thrush of the year as I drove to work. What a way to start the day. If I'd had time, I would have stopped to listen... it's one of my favourite bird songs. Yesterday I heard a wisp of half-hearted blackbird song, coming from high...

Coming into work this morning, I noticed a lone swallow perched on a wire by the side of the road. Although fairly impossible to tell what mood a bird is in, he looked a little lost and forlorn, and I imagined him sitting on the wire, wondering where all his mates had gone. I didn't have time...

I've been feeling funny lately, and I wasn't sure why. Then, after giving it much thought, I decided on a likely cause. The joys of spring. I first heard of 'the joys of spring' as a child when watching that well-known '80s cartoon, Willo the Wisp. The one with Kenneth Williams as...

The snow is thick on the ground and a hat, scarf and gloves are essential outdoor wear, but one step outside shows that spring is definitely on the way. The birds are finding their voices. It’s slow progress, but listen out and you’ll pick out more and more new songs as the days and weeks...

You either love early mornings or you hate 'em. It's a bit of both for me, I think. But Sunday was International Dawn Chorus Day - a great reason to get up early. Trust me, the hardest part is always when the alarm goes off and you think 'Mmmm, I think I'll just close my eyes for five...

I stepped out of the front door to begin my journey to work. It was a beautiful morning, with the vibrant, green young leaves of the horse chestnuts illuminated perfectly. And there they were, bickering for space to perch on the telegraph wire. Our next-door neighbours, the swallows , were back! Lots...

I’m sure that it’s supposed to be spring by now, the county cricket season has begun, the trees are beginning to green up, but still winter is hanging on, refusing to give up. I walked in this morning with a very cold breeze cutting right through me. It is springtime, isn’t it?! Here...

Here I sit on the last day of February, spring just around the corner. But who mourns the passing of winter? Time seems to be wished away and all you hear is how spring is nearly here, people and wildlife seem to be getting excited by new beginnings. In autumn you don’t see many people excited...