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Wet weather could wipe out Britain’s rarest butterflies – but ours had a fantastic year

THREATENED: The wood white, above, and the high brown fritillary are among the species of butterfly that face extinction.

11:30am Tuesday 9th March 2010

County’s populations are on the rise again following two rain-drenched summers

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Take a walk on the wildside

10:02am Monday 22nd February 2010

YOUNG explorers can still experience an exciting new bug house and mini-beast trail at a historic property in Worcestershire.

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Schools choose wildlife

11:16am Tuesday 16th February 2010

WORCESTERSHIRE Wildlife Trust have begun their new season of school visits this week with a visit from Sytchampton Endowed First School.

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Wildlife News with Andrew Shepherd

9:29am Monday 15th June 2009

AT the RSPB, we know that you enjoy attracting wildlife into your gardens.

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Wildlife with Andrew Sheppard

10:11am Monday 20th April 2009

EASTER is usually symbolised by newness and birth.

Don't disturb nesting birds in the garden.

11:02am Tuesday 17th March 2009

RSPB hopes tidy gardeners will take heed

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Sharon Boardman - Wildlife - 21 February 2009

10:45am Monday 23rd February 2009

A LADY in Pershore rang me the other day and asked if it was possible that a nightingale was singing outside her window during the night.

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Sharon Boardman - Wildlife - 14 February 2009

9:58am Monday 16th February 2009

SEVERAL friends have been telling me that they are seeing ‘ghostly’ birds flying around when they commute to and from work.

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Sharon Boardman - Wildlife - 7 February 2009

10:13am Monday 9th February 2009

HAVE you noticed that the birds around you seem to be more vocal now than a month ago?

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Hundreds of children look out for birds

11:14am Monday 19th January 2009

Pupils will be peering from classroom windows

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Don't scare off the water birds

12:44pm Monday 12th January 2009

FOR the first time in more than a decade, conservationists are calling on birdwatchers, walkers and anglers in Worcestershire to minimise the disturbance of water birds.

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Sharon Boardman - Wildlife - 10, January

12:46pm Monday 12th January 2009

WINTER can bring some of the most beautiful, natural scenes you will ever experience.

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Sharon Boardman - Wildlife - 13 December, 2008

10:05am Monday 15th December 2008

THE next time you fill up that old peanut feeder and sit back in your chair to watch the birds descend, watch how they interact with each other

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Wildlife - Sharon Boardman December 6

9:31am Monday 8th December 2008

IS that my blackbird? Have you ever looked out of the window to see your regular garden blackbird coming and going from the feeding table?

SO, has watching Autumnwatch over the past couple of weeks made you wrap up warm and get out there to make your own wildlife discoveries? It has definitely given me lots of new inspiration for wildlife spectacles I want to see. I think the programme made one thing very clear – the colder months do not mean that everything is on standstill until next spring – there’s actually lots action all around us. Within the realm of birds, there is a lot going on, with huge flocks of birds arriving in these days to take advantage of our mild winter climate. Those that come over from Siberia and Scandinavia are very dependent on the right weather conditions; especially clear weather and strong easterly winds. I can almost imagine the sight of thousands of thrushes, geese and ducks in a line on the west coast of Sweden, waiting for just the right wind to take them across the North Sea. According to our friends at BirdTrack (a joint project between the British Trust for Ornithology, the RSPB and Birdwatch Ireland), we might be in for a real treat this winter – a so-called ‘waxwing’ winter. The waxwing is a stunning bird with a prominent crest, pinkish plumage, a small black mask round its eye and a yellow-tipped tail. They are so called because the tips of their wings look like they have been dipped in red wax. Waxwings are roughly the size of a small starling, a bird they can be mistaken for when they are in flight. They breed in Scandinavia and Siberia, where they feed on insects during the summer. In winter, they switch to feeding on berries, especially the soft juicy berries of rowan trees. Waxwings are annual winter visitors to Britain in small numbers. However, during some winters when the population in Scandinavia gets too big for the food available, they arrive in the UK in large numbers, called irruptions. The bird experts at BirdTrack predict that this may be one of those winters. During irruption years, they arrive on the east coast and will gradually work their way westwards as the food supplies dries up. If you have berry bushes or trees in your garden, such as rowan and hawthorn, there is a chance that a flock of hungry waxwings will drop in and help themselves to the berry smörgåsbord in your garden. Log onto rspb.org.uk to learn more about waxwings and all the other exciting winter visitors. ● Sharon Boardman is the people engagement officer for the RSPB.

Wildlife with Sharon Boardman - 15 December

9:52am Monday 24th November 2008

THE crow family (corvids) rouse intense passion – they are persecuted, revered and studied at the highest level.

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Wildlife with Sharon Boardman, November 1, 2008

11:11am Wednesday 12th November 2008

APPARENTLY it’s cool to be a birdwatcher these days.

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Wildlife with Sharon Boardman, October 18, 2008

11:15am Wednesday 12th November 2008

WINTER thrushes – coming to a berry laden hedgerow near you…

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Wildlife with Sharon Boardman, October 11, 2008

11:19am Wednesday 12th November 2008

THE nesting season is pretty much over and now is a good time to clean out your used nestboxes to make them ready for the next season.

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You can help wildlife in your garden this winter

11:24am Wednesday 12th November 2008

Nature-loving people are encouraged to sign up to project and feed the birds

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Worcester Barn Owl Conservation Group

10:30am Wednesday 12th November 2008

Together we can work to conserve our wildlife) Worcester Barn Owl Conservatin Group
Network Advisor to the Hawk and Owl Trust
Associate of World Owl Trust For further information contact: Roy Fowler on 01905 22968 or 07981 207 469

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Wildlife with Sharon Boardman, November 8, 2008

11:09am Wednesday 12th November 2008

NATURE in October is full of colour and action. This is the time of year when you can see deer rutting, with stags locking antlers in a dramatic head-to-head battle, and with hedgehogs busying about, stocking up on food before hibernation.