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Some people go away for Christmas, others stay at home. Ever wondered what birds do during winter? 'On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me... two turtle doves ...' An extravagant gift by anyone's standards, especially when you take into account the gold rings and...

As we head deeper into autumn, the natural spectacle that is migration really gets going. We'll be visited by thousands of birds looking to take advantage of our winter weather. There will be fieldfares , redwings , knots , maybe also some waxwings , as well as plenty of geese . I love the...

Now the breeding season is all but over, small, sociable birds club together to roam around in a flock. Long-tailed tits , blue tits and great tits are some of the more common flock-formers. These flocks serve to provide safety in numbers, of course, but they can also mean that food sources can be...

Of course, Aristotle said 'one swallow does not make a summer' , but I think a swallow could make your weekend. They've already been seen as far north as Orkney , so your local ones are bound to be back soon. They're coming to a barn, shed or garage near you! Five swallow facts...

Though winter is a tough time for birds, it's perhaps the most rewarding season for us to feed them . You're virtually guaranteed to have a decent number of hungry visitors to your garden, even if all you do is chuck a bit of seed outside. But have you ever pondered where the birds are from?...

We all know that birds and windows aren't a very good combination. Though here at The Lodge we've got stickers on our office windows to break up the reflections from outdoors, it's not uncommon for us to hear a thud as a bird - usually a chaffinch - crashes into a pane. Usually they...

Crunchy leaves. Weird toadstools. Wild geese in the skies... are you enjoying autumn? I am! And you won't miss out if you try some of my top 10 ideas for things to do this season... Acorn eaters For most of the year, jays are shy. You might hear a harsh squawk or see a pink bird flying away...

'We have had a wonderful summer watching a pair of spotted flycatchers nesting in the climbing rose next to our house, followed by the feeding of their two chicks, and now the surprisingly noisy teaching of the young to learn their fly catching skills. When you realise these sparrow-sized birds...

Here's a tip for tonight: go and stand outside in the dark, and listen. We're in the middle of that wonderful phenomenon that is bird migration. This morning, a few local birdwatchers went to stand on a hill near RSPB HQ in Bedfordshire (yes, Bedfordshire does have a few hills). They started...

We saw burly great skuas powering their way through the stiff breeze. Snow-white gannets sliced the air and tickled the waves with their wingtips. Pilot whales appeared from the depths, a jet of spray came from a sperm whale and a pod of common dolphins joined us to surf our bow wave! I saw lots of...

I love to make the most of the weekend. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy working for the RSPB, but you can't beat that feeling of coming in to work on a Monday morning knowing that I got out and about at the weekend, - preferably having been somewhere fabulous and seen something to keep me smiling...

It felt, and smelt, like autumn as I walked to the bus stop this morning. The sky was a beautiful bright blue, but there was a chill in the wind that had swung overnight to the north-east. I’d been optimistic choosing a T-shirt, but I’m loathe to put on an extra layer until I really have...

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...

One of the sites I check on a regular basis is a few miles away from The Lodge. Croydon Hill (in Cambridgeshire) is located at the site of a deserted medieval village called Clopton. This was once a thriving settlement that is mentioned in the Domesday Book, until, it is thought, it was deserted...

If you were out and about over the weekend, maybe you'll have noticed something unusual going on. No, I wasn't thinking of the unusually good bank holiday weekend weather that many of us enjoyed (though that was nice). Or the resulting sunburned humans. I'm talking butterflies on the move...

I’m going to declare it officially summer. Why? I know the first test has started, but surely it’s too cold? Well, it is still a bit cold (just ask the West Indians wearing several jumpers at Lord’s), but swifts are back! So, in my mind, it must be summer. Although, judging by the comments...

So our brief summer has been and gone (yes, sorry guys, that was it) and it's edging ever closer to that dreaded page in your diary that says 'British Summer Time Ends'. Great! But it's not all doom and gloo m... Autumn is without a doubt my favourite time of year. Along with the change...

There was a delicate, apricot light as we arrived at Gibraltar Point, where Lincolnshire dips its toes into The Wash. There was a wisp of mist hanging over the dunes but the sun saw through it and lit the saltmarsh from the east. We explored the dunes, watching for signs of life. It was early morning...

As we enjoy our summer holidays, spare a thought for those birds that are setting off on their travels too. Have you looked up into the skies recently? Notice something missing? The swifts have gone. No longer are they racing around in flocks over our homes, showing an impressive turn of speed and ‘screaming’...

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...

Nature sometimes has this amazing way of just being there, right when you’re least looking for it. It just appears and takes your breath away for a split second. Take the other day with me, for example. Now, I’ve previously blogged about how trains are a great place to view wildlife from...

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...

It’s all too easy to take some birds for granted. It could be robins , starlings , chaffinches , blue tits , dunnocks - whatever it is that you see all the time. Then, something happens that makes you think ‘oh! Perhaps I should look a bit more carefully next time I see one’. Recently...

Walking around The Lodge at lunchtime, there was a rustle and then the sound of powerfully whirring wings. A fat, brown bird flew from the crispy leaves in the sweet chestnut woodland and away up the hill from us. It made me jump! For a split second, I thought, 'what on earth was that?' but then...