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80 colonies of the Duke of Burgundy butterfly are now thought to exist...
Bird Watching
You don’t need to sit in a hide all weekend to enjoy watching birds. Our experts reveal everything you need to know to get great views of wild birds and understand their behaviour.
© Paul Shaw
February sees winter’s surviving birds on the move in search of food, while the fittest flaunt their superiority with courtship displays.
Hidden beneath the barn owl's graceful, ghostly exterior is one of nature’s most finely tuned killing machines.
January brings the first signs of spring – if you listen out you may hear the beginnings of the dawn chorus – but the drama of winter survival for birds continues to be played out on the bird table.
The magpie has the worst reputation of any British bird. But, says Derek Niemann, the case against our piebald corvid is far from black and white.
August is a quiet month with most birds' energy being used to renew their feathers, but there's some strange behaviour in the garden and a summer glut to watch - both involve ants.
In July, the year's first broods have only just dispersed, but second attempts are already underway. For most garden birds this is nearly impossible, but some are better able to exploit this summer's bounty.
The pint-sized little owl is our fiercest bird of prey – but does it belong in the UK? Derek Niemann charts the changing fortunes of a plucky immigrant.
Hyperactive hummers can hover, loop the loop, fly upside down and reverse in midair. Jonathan Elphick is entranced by a family of bejewelled birds that live life in the fast lane.
In June, parent birds encourage reluctant youngsters to leave the safety of the nest, while keen-eyed predators with their own hungry mouths to feed watch the newly fledged with anticipation, writes Dominic Couzens.
The birds keep a low profile this month as they settle down to the challenge of raising young. But should the weather turn, death is never far away. The late-arriving swifts have a clever solution, writes Dominic Couzens.
