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I recently had the pleasure of meeting Europe’s smallest bird. I would have expected such an occasion to take place in a pine forest or a large rural garden, but this chance encounter occurred on a scrubby piece of park just behind the Hackney Road, in Bethnal Green. Cars, buses ...

I hope you had a good Christmas and a break from your normal routine - maybe a little extra sleep and a lot of extra time in the garden or greenhouse. I’m enjoying the post-Christmas peace and quiet, and the chance to spot some winter birdlife. At this time of year, I make sure t...

I recently visited the home of Sue Kidger, a hedgehog carer from Twickenham. As far as I’m aware she’s the only hedgehog carer in the south London area. Sue’s transformed the top floor of her house into a rehabilitation centre-cum-hog hospital, which has 20 cages full of sick, in...

Last week, Butterfly Conservation published a report called The State of Britain's Larger Moths 2013. It makes a depressing read, demonstrating a marked decline in the number of our larger moths over the last 40 years. The survey, conducted

, and occasionally a frog will be sitting in it. As far as I know they have never bred there. But somewhere else, near at hand, hidden from my view, there must be other small garden ponds, more frog- and toad-friendly ponds, where successful spawning does take place

Sapphire Class at Ivydale Primary School are now experts on bumblebees. We did a workshop on climate change so I took in a tray of bumblebee specimens and we talked about the potential consequences for these well-known and much-loved insects.First we looked at a few basic aspects...

“I heard some growling from the shallow pond”, said the text message, from my mother. Frogs have been hiding under rocks and shrubbery in my mum's garden since she moved in nearly 17 years ago; but this is the first time there has been any 'growling'.I dug my mum her first pond 1...

Birds not only use water to drink, but they also bathe in it, helping them fluff up their feathers to insulate themselves against the cold. Experts have also found that clean birds are more streamlined, so can escape from predators quickly. Our bird bath is elevated, which will o...