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bit of gardening. I've just had another look at the RSPB Homes for Wildlife web pages and see that September is the best month for clearing some blanket weed off of the garden pond. How apposite, I'd noticed the pond was looking rather green and cloudy

's not large, and is very typical of suburban gardens with its lawn, flowery borders and hedged boundaries. I'm fascinated that such a rare insect should turn up there, but not really surprised. It's actually one of a series of strange and peculiar things

these wonderful creatures in my back garden. South London is now about the only place in the UK where you can regularly see these awesome monsters. My supposition is that when the housing boom spread across the area 100 to 150 years ago, it was one of the most

couple of weeks had been moth heaven in East Dulwich. During the day the Jersey tigers had competed with the butterflies in colours and numbers and it was almost impossible to walk in the garden, or up the street, without being batted by one on its mad

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

, solid bright apple green thorax and broad strong tail stripes (green in female, blue in male). This is a bit early for one of the large hawker dragonflies, which normally start to fly from mid-June onwards. I'm guessing it came from a small garden pond

.We are not the only ones on the road, but even 100 kilometres from Calais, it seems that we are the only nationality on large stretches of the French motorway system. With the leisurely ease of Le Shuttle, and endless ferries plying the Channel, it is no surprise

overfed garden spiders, Araneus diadematus, are sitting in stately plumpness in the centres.Several of the webs already have dead wasps stored in them, all spun around with silk. I am always slightly amazed that spiders are able to subdue such large

In the Horniman Museum Gardens earlier today and a brightly coloured butterfly caught my eye as it visited a low dandelion flower. I skulk up to it and discover a painted lady, Cynthia cardui. This is only the third I have seen this year.A native

It's two years now since the ring-necked parakeets started screeching over the garden. The tallest trees around here are the Lombardy poplars a few doors down. I don't think they are nesting in them though, they don't look old enough to have