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to the serenity of the place.So I was very pleased to see a pair of goldfinches this morning. I'm not a birdwatcher, but even I know the unmistakable red face, white sideburns and yellow wing flash of these pretty creatures. They were not in my 'wildlife haven

I'm called to the end of the garden by the 10-year-old. "Daddy, is that a hornet?" she asks, pointing to a big brown insect sitting on a leaf near the swing. What a wonderful thing if it is, I think. But no, it's not a hornet, it's a hornet-mimicking hoverfly.This has got to be o...

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, it was quite at home in the orn...

Monday morning and a jay visited the kitchen window. I always think these are incredibly handsome birds and the small blue wing feathers still give me a childish thrill when I find one dropped. I can't resist picking it up to stick in my hat. The jay was not interested in the kit...

The woodpigeons are back. Not that they had gone away, just that I’ve noticed them a lot over the last week. I love the way they strut their plump bodies about on the lawn, peering intently into the wet grass as if looking for something they lost earlier.We regularly get a pair i...

I dug a hole in the garden on Sunday, not for any gardening purpose; the hamster had died and we were having a short funeral ceremony. Digging deep holes in my East Dulwich garden is always a problem. About 25 cm down I usually meet rubble where some previous owner has thoughtful...

The loose bark on old logs is one of the most important hibernating sites for all manner of insects. Here they can remain sheltered from predators, and also from their main enemies during winter: frost and damp. This week they will be sorely tested by the snow.I regularly find qu...

A few years ago I got a terrible swingeing letter from a gardener complaining at my lack of concern over the damage caused by Palomena prasina, the common green shieldbug. I love this clunky green beast, with its clockwork waddle and marzipan scent.I had quite happily (and rather...

Sunday, and the spring sunshine hit East Dulwich with a blast of warmth that has got everything moving again. The blue sky was almost painful to the eyes, after so much grey recently. Our south-facing fence, covered with ivy, was alive with sunbathing beasts: shieldbugs, spiders,...

The first bumblebee of the year flies past like an animated boot brush. It's a huge queen of the buff-tailed bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, looking as big as a mouse as it drones about the allotment. It comes and goes several times as we're digging, but I can never quite see where...