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resist picking one up if I see it. They make the perfect adornment to my hat.

, and could not make out the distinctive shape of this pretty bird. Of course they are renowned for playing hide-and-seek with observers, hopping round to the other side of the trunk if they see they are being watched. Some years ago I was able to see one very

away, and the blackbirds and robins scurrying around below.However, birds must have a supply of water, too, so whenever I boil myself a kettle to make a cup of tea I always pop outside with the remaining boiling water to pour onto ice in the bird bath

to death (they weren't the healthiest of specimens to start with). But, despite these hiccups, I'm happy to share my garden with them. Some of the patterns they make on leaves are quite beautiful – I like to think of them as nature's graffiti.As well

in old mouse burrows in the countryside. Nowadays, bumblebees more commonly nest in gardens. This makes wax moth a bit more of a problem than it used to be, when there were plenty of mouse holes in hedgerows to nest in.The female wax moth stakes out

, caterpillars and chrysalises don't end up on the compost heap. Now autumn is on its way, many of us will be thinking of tidying our gardens, composting spent perennials and making leaf mulch.Remember that caterpillars overwinter in leaf piles and plant debris

spread aflatoxin, a fungal infection that can be lethal to birds. Check the pack before you buy to make sure the nuts have been tested for aflatoxin. Whatever you do, never put out nuts intended for human consumption, because they contain dangerous levels

After writing an article on how and why to keep a garden wildlife diary for BBC Gardener's World Magazine, I've been invited to go electronic and turn it into a blog. My handwriting is atrocious so maybe this will be a good way of keeping the diary

't grow cabbages so I'm not too worried. The caterpillars sometimes make a mess of the nasturtiums, but the plants are so vigorous by now that not even a mass attack could do much damage. I had a quick look and sure enough several leaves have clusters

protein resource to waste after all), I could not quite see how the spider was manipulating it in its jaws. When the spider reached the web's perimeter, it paused for a moment, making some final adjustment, then cut the last strand and bobbed violently