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flitting through the branches of a cherry laurel tree I looked twice. It was a goldcrest.I've never seen one hereabouts before. Apparently the recent spate of mild winters has helped their numbers increase. Who knows, maybe they'll be vying with the long

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

I used to see foxes all the time. Whenever I looked out of the window there was almost certainly one sniffing about in the garden or strolling nonchalantly down the street. Winter nights were alive with the unearthly yelps and screams of the males

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

For anyone who thought the cold winter might have been a bit harsh for wildlife, I hope the recent heatwave has been an eye-opener. I’ve certainly never seen so much insect life in April before. The garden has been awash with orange-tips, holly

Spring has sprung. All at once. The guinea pig and his hutch are back outside. Shieldbugs, in their purple-brown winter colours, are sunbathing on the fence. The first bumblebee of the year, a queen buff-tailed, floated past and a male feather

’re unlikely to have time to get another generation through to adulthood before the real winter arrives.Of course, they aren’t really consciously trying to do that. These are creatures of instinct, and they’re just reacting to one of the standard environmental

suffered from moisture and mould during the winter or their newly-founded embryo nests have fallen foul of bad weather at the key stage of development in April and May.There are definitely more wasps about this year so it was no surprise when an allotment

feared. The really sharp cold of last week had lifted slightly and the soil was not frozen solid. In fact it was nearly as friable as normal. We just don't get hard winters in London any more. As we lowered the small cardboard box, which previously held

she rested in the warm day, then off she buzzed. Lovely.This, for me then, is the end of winter.