Alexandrine and Ring-necked Parakeets on the feeders with Starlings. The differences between the 2 Parakeet species are very striking. Shortly joined by a pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers .... but not on this clip!

A Blue Tit struggling with the heat!!

No Mow May & June - we have the choice - wildflowers, a cost-effective attractive landscape, & biodiversity plus more benefits - or not....... You decide what you want. We pay for this and can, if we choose, improve biodiversity a little at a time!

More on 'No Mow May' Just easing off on the mowing for a few weeks can turn a green desert into a rich pollinator plot...... This is just a neighbour's short-grass front lawn. Not a bad result & it is attractive too!!

No Mow May - reaping the benefits. This is my first post on 'No Mow May' impacts & opportunities with more to follow in due course on my blog 'ianonthewildside'. There's plenty of good stuff happening but still too many missed opportunities, & we are paying for these too!

This Great Spotted Woodpecker is costing a small fortune in suet bars - which will increase even more when it brings the rest of the family ........

Female House Sparrow feeding a hungry fledgling with its typical yellow gape .....

More antics from the same individual....

It is that time of year again - when the Grey Squirrels are 'in the mood'. This female was pursued relentlessly by a would-be amorous male. She leapt into & through the pond, & then straight through the herbaceous border, up the fence & onto the roof....... then away!!

Blue Tit feeding on the hanging suet bars.

The young Starlings are learning to feed for themselves by copying their parents - not always with the greatest success!

Spectacular Alexandrine Parakeets in the wildlife garden. I realise that not everyone approves of these exotic additions to our avifauna - but they are stunning! Considerably larger and brighter than their cousins the Ring-necks. Amazing plumage and bright red beak.....

Male Bullfinch visiting the sunflower hearts. I have heard them calling close-by for a few weeks now but the Bullfinches are often quite secretive. This male seems spoilt for choice of which feeder to choose!

Great Spotted Woodpeckers enjoying the suet bars and sunflower hearts! Today, both male and female together as well.

No Mow May Meadows ........ join the upcoming conference youtube.com/shorts/sVr4M...

And more of the baby Starlings!

This year's baby Starlings arrive to feast on the mealworms - & they are demanding & greedy!

‘WallFest 26: 'Charles Waterton - naturalist & pioneering environmentalist’ - free talk, open to all, just turn-up! Part of a celebration of the pioneering naturalist & conservationist who inspired others from Charles Darwin to Sir David Attenborough. Sat. 16th May, 4 pm

'Meadows, Scrub & the Urban Wild' - how ecotone edge habitat is often the missing 'glue' in the biodiversity system... Join the debate!! youtube.com/shorts/tqHfj...

Hedgerows and scrub - join the big debate at this year's May conference in Sheffield. youtube.com/shorts/0eLNt...

This drake Mallard's mate was hidden behind in the vegetation. Very pleased with himself, he was preening and showing off after they had just copulated ......

A Jack Pike waits patiently below the water surface....... Meanwhile the canal is teeming with young tadpoles and shoals of fish, possibly Dace or Chub. A Kingfisher is spotted nearby.

Tadpole bonanza at Cromford Canal, Derbyshire.

Friendly Robin, Cromford Canal, Matlock, Derbyshire. I'm guessing this was the male bird with a second individual perched on a branch nearby. Maybe the latter was singing and this less vocal bird, was the female. At home, in Norton, we had an adult feeding a very plump youngster!

One of the magnificent ancient Oaks in Studley Royal Deer Park - near Ripon, North Yorkshire.

Visiting Britain's oldest Cherry Tree!! At Studley Royal Deer Park near Ripon in North Yorkshire.

All you ever needed to know about scrub - for our upcoming conference - 'Creating and Managing Meadows & Scrub, May 2026'. Still chance to book your place! www.ukeconet.org/conferences_... youtube.com/shorts/DcIaD...

Springtime butterflies in the garden:

My garden Siskins are stealing the show with two or maybe three pairs still visiting. Might they nest nearby I wonder??

Hungry Blue Tits feasting on the suet bars!! The male faces a demanding time especially if feeding an incubating female in the nest-box close-by, and then maybe 10 or so youngsters!

Goldfinches feasting!

AFFECTIONATE FERAL PIGEONS - not everyone's favourite bird but a true urban survivor!

Goldcrest responding to its own reflection! By Amanda Glaves-Wheatley of Shireoaks near Worksop.

The local Jackdaw steals the show on the suet bar feeder.

Woodpeckers still coming to the feeders.......

Wilder Visions & the Urban Wild - Creating and Managing Meadows and Scrub Conference this May www.facebook.com/reel/2273715...

A busy time in the wildlife garden!

Secret South Yorkshire - Sheffield’s hidden fig forest thrives - BBC Sounds www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Blue tits are still flocking to the wildlife garden - with Coal Tits, Great Tits, and Long-tailed Tits in abundance.

Springtime Siskins are still feasting in the wildlife garden. Meanwhile, today I heard the first Chiffchaff singing and saw my first butterflies of the year - magnificent Brimstones and some Peacocks.

Garden birds arrive.......

Spring is in the air.......

My Blackbirds love the 'spiked' windfall apples!! A good, low-cost way to feed the birds.....

A nocturnal visitor hoovering up excess bird-food!!

Little wonder that a flock of Goldfinches is 'A Charm'. As well as visiting the sunflower heart feeders, they gather during the late winter afternoons in the uppermost branches of local trees - the chattering noise is incredibly loud! A delight ..... visually & audially!!

The Ring-necked Parakeets have paired up & feed on apples, suet bars, & sunflower hearts. Not everyone approves of these exotic birds but so far I don't see aggression or undue competition with other birds in my wildlife garden. Maybe that will come in the future, but for now, all seems well.

What a great year for the Long-tailed Tits - one of my favourite garden birds and doing rather well!!

The welcome return of the Greenfinches! After an absence of around 10 years, the last 5 years have seen numbers gradually build in my wildlife garden. Welcome back!!!

Some thoughts on BATTLESCAPES youtu.be/3-4kWim9Kb0

Some thoughts on BATTLESCAPES youtu.be/3-4kWim9Kb0