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in the Isle of Wight. I can’t match any of these (not a ‘real’ lepidopterist I suppose). But my heart went all aflutter 10 days ago when I saw a small tortoiseshell.It’s a bright and pretty species, for sure, but it’s also arguably Britain’s commonest and most

are getting ready for the big planting session after half-term.There are precious few bugs about still. A small cloud of diaphanous winter gnats flutters above the shed but all else is quiet, until I pull up a small groundsel plant. There, wriggling

I'm on my way through the old city of Strasbourg, and gardens here are vanishingly small. The occasional secret courtyard houses a giant ginkgo or has its walls swathed in lobelia and Virginia creeper. The breakfast patio at the Hotel du Dragon has

I was in Peckham Rye Park on Monday and saw a wagtail strutting about by the small stream that runs past. They're not rare birds, but I watched it for some time thinking I had not seen one in ages. Although maybe not really a suburban garden bird

on the broad leaves, Fallopia is more or less sterile when it comes to wildlife. But this may be about to change. I notice that there are rumours of importing a small but pretty Japanese insect, the psyllid bug Aphalara idatori, to try and control the knotweed

-escape balcony, over the block of back gardens, to see if I can spot any life anywhere. And with perfect timing, announced by a series of metallic ‘tsit tsit tsit’ notes, a small gang of titmice comes bobbing over the hedges and lands in next-door’s cherry tree

knocking into too many other promenaders, I decide to head for the picnic tables near the Anoplotherium herd for an early lunch. Or is it a late second breakfast?Tucking in to our home-made quiche, and carrot cake, I notice a small bird flickering about

My 2010 garden tally of butterfly species is now up to six. We've had single visits from large white, comma, peacock and small tortoiseshell. They obviously didn't find much of interest in my garden, so dipped down, bustled about one circuit

and it varies greatly in quality. A lot of cheaper brands use filler grains such as barley, to bulk out the more expensive ingredients. Barley contains a lot of starch, which – like bread – fills up small birds, but doesn't provide them with as much energy

I parked in a side street in Forest Hill last week and walking down to the Horniman Museum I noticed something odd with a small Norway maple, Acer platanoides, growing in a rather untidy hedge. Some of the leaves were dappled with the pale blotches