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streamlined birds as the perfect herald of summer and I wondered why there were fewer this year. But on Wednesday there they were, a large group of maybe 20 swooping way up high.There must be a huge volume of aerial plankton up there. Every sudden dart aside

-east.If your local wine store doesn't have any spare crates, buy some extra timber and make one instead.Attracting wildlife and insects to your gardenBuilding a bat boxConstructing a bird boxMaking a stag beetle bucketBrowse plants that are attractive

.Elsewhere gardeners fret over a superabundance of magpies, or sparrowhawks, choosing not to celebrate these wonderful birds’ beauty, poise or cunning, instead blaming them for decimating the local populations of blue tits and goldfinches. Yet further afield deer seem

This summer I’ve been a little preoccupied by cuckoos. They’re not strictly a garden species, but it’s possible to listen to a cuckoo’s distinctive call from the garden if you live in a rural area. And, while we won't get them visiting our bird

It's cold, there's snow on the ground, and all is quiet in the garden. But I've just been outside feeding the wildlife. In my case that does not mean putting up nut-filled bird feeders or hanging fat balls, it means tipping the kitchen waste

It's really exciting! Now the sunshine has finally arrived and we're having our lunches outside. Bliss: open air, sun on my back… and no table to wipe down nor carpet to vacuum afterwards (the birds take over external chores and get a free snack

Walking back from the Horniman Museum last week took me past a large oaktree growing just inside a front garden. The tree looks like an old pollardand must pre-date the early 20th century houses hereabouts. What caught myattention were all

earlier.We regularly get a pair in the garden, or sitting on the fence. There were four earlier this year, and I’m guessing this represented two generations. We don’t have large enough trees in our garden, so the nest must be in one of the Lombardy poplars

Last year I wrote a blog about cuckoo spit, in which I documented the fauna that had appeared in my garden after I had transformed it from a paved courtyard. I celebrated the arrival of butterflies, birds, froghopper nymphs and moths, but was less

It's ten to nine on a weekday morning and the start of the last week of school. It's only a short walk to school and there is always the opportunity of peering over fences and hedges to see what else is going on in other people's gardens