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It’s easy to forget that you don’t have to travel halfway around the world, to somewhere like the Serengeti, to see an amazing wildlife spectacle. At this time of year, there is little to rival the raucous clamour of a breeding seabird colony - and the UK plays host to some of the world’s...

This Sunday is International Dawn Chorus Day , an annual celebration of the beauty of birdsong. To mark the occasion we’re running lots of special guided dawn chorus events at our reserves up and down the country. To get the full effect you’ll need to set your alarm alarmingly early, but...

There are lots of eggs about at the moment. Lots of chocolate eggs, painted eggs and those random bits of eggshells you find in your garden or on the street. What are they doing there? Why would a bird leave an eggshell lying around? Empty shells at the nest could attract the attention of predators...

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...

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...

I always remember one Easter when I stayed at a friend’s house. We used to stay in their conservatory that had a telly and a sofa bed - the weather was fabulous that year. They were marvellous hosts - toast in the mornings, dinner on the table, enough blankets and duvets to keep us warm and our...

As Mark mentioned in his recent blog post , the breeding season is over, migrants are preparing to leave the country and the birds around us are a-changing. Well, most birds. A pair of woodpigeons at The Lodge are bucking the trend. From our office window, we can see them flying about carrying twigs...

We’ve seen them around the reserve , with their flirtatious behaviour, making strange noises in bushes and open displays of affection. No, I’m not discussing the lunchtime behaviour of The Lodge staff (I doubt I’d be able to write about that!), but actually the behaviour of a couple...

She perched on the edge of her stick nest and called repeatedly. Suddenly, the male appeared in view, flew in and landed directly on her back. They mated - it lasted a few seconds - and then he flew off again without even pausing. Talk about wham, bam, thankyou Ma'am! Yes, it's that time of...

Momentarily panicked by the words ‘Mother’s Day – don’t forget’ scribed on the calendar in menacing red ink, it came as a relief to see I wouldn’t be receiving a black mark from my mother for missing the big day! The arrival of a pair of collared doves on the fence...