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  • Editor's Choice
  • New Gear & Tech
    • New compact binoculars from SWAROVSKI OPTIK released for those looking for a lightweight travel companion
    • Learn more about Digiscoping and Phonescoping wildlife
    • SWAROVSKI OPTIK offers new accessories for customers with the launch of their gear collection
    • SWAROVSKI OPTIK announces largest objective module ever made for wildlife watchers
    • OXAZ unveils OVERCAP - the World's first rigid, all-weather removable hood for wildlife watchers
    • SWAROVSKI OPTIK announces new NL Pure binoculars - bringing new levels of performance and comfort for wildlife watchers
    • Experience wildlife in fabulous detail with your whole family using these Kowa garden sets
    • The lowdown on Kowa's BDII-HD wide angle binoculars
    • SWAROVSKI OPTIK changes the game of animal identification with release of their digital guide and mammals ID app
    • Canon launches two new practical pairs of binoculars including the world's lightest binoculars with image stabilisation technology
    • SWAROVSKI OPTIK have released an updated version of their popular digiscoping adapter for iPhone 8 owners
  • News & Features
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      • Are bats spreading the coronavirus? This and other similar questions debunked by industry expert
      • 7 simple tips on how to improve your gardens for hedgehogs safety and wellbeing
      • New ‘wild’ home learning hub helps parents be fun science teachers
      • Online nature activities to help you get through Covid-19 lockdown
      • Birds of a feather get hot in this weather
      • 30 Days Wild returns for a fabulous fifth year
      • Proof that feeding garden birds has led to population increases in over 30 species since the 1970's
      • Five of our favourite springtime wildlife sights and sounds
      • Five essential things to look for when choosing a nest box for outside your home or garden
      • Top tips to help your garden birds survive winter
    • Nature Reserves >
      • Good news! The Wildlife Trusts are to receive nearly £2 million to restore land for nature and tackle climate change
      • WWT to re-open 6 wetland centres in England after Covid-19 crisis
      • Start 2019 in style with a trip to one of these famous five nature reserves
      • The annual ‘swanfall’ at WWT Slimbridge has started with a flurry of Bewick’s swans arriving for the winter
      • Where can you watch owls in the UK? Plan your trip with Wildlife24/7's six best places to watch owls this winter
      • A starling spectacular!
      • Eels at WWT reserve being microchipped to track movements of a species on the brink
      • Endangered beetle hides out at WWT Welney
    • Bugs
    • Birds >
      • >> Birding247.co.uk
      • BTO ask British public to participate in a national study of Tawny Owls and their calling behaviour this autumn and winter
      • The prestigious Bird Photographer of the Year (BPOTY) competition has announced the 2018 winners
    • Mammals >
      • One of Britain's rarest mammals returns to Forest of Dean
    • Marine >
      • Easing of Covid restrictions in 2020 produced once in a lifetime wildlife watching opportunities for UK's population
      • Get ready to dive into National Marine Week 2019!
      • Shoresearch: new project launches to help count marine life on UK shores
    • Travel >
      • Safari
      • Islands
      • Oceans
      • Europe
      • South America
      • UK & Ireland
      • Survival & Awareness
  • Conservation
    • HS2 - new report details vast scale of destruction and impact to nature
    • New film from Sir David Attenborough and The Wildlife Trusts calls for nature’s recovery
    • UK's wildlife continues to decline according to new state of nature report
    • UK Government considering badger cull in new areas
    • Wetnose Day Announce Amanda Holden as the Animal Loving Celebrity for Wetnose Day 2019!
    • Stars speak up for wildlife in new film trailer hitting cinemas this weekend
    • Swifts are in need of our help as numbers halve in just 20 years
    • The Wildlife Trusts condemn HS2 phase 2B draft environmental statement - impact on wild plants and animals will be devastating
    • It could become legal to kill wild barnacle geese in the UK in the near future, if a proposal by Norway to the EU is adopted
    • Major project to safeguard Orkney’s internationally important native wildlife wins National Lottery and LIFE support
    • Kate Humble becomes new President of WWT
  • Photography & Video
    • Equipment Reviews >
      • Gitzo's new 2 way fluid tripod head for wildlife observers using medium-sized scopes and camera lenses up to 200mm
    • Technique & Insights >
      • Chris Fallows: Ocean, Earth and Air - in his own words
    • Contests >
      • The Wall Of Fame 2019 Wildlife Photography Competition - Winner
      • Wall OF Fame 2019 Powered by SWAROVSKI OPTIK
      • Celebrate the magic of the UK’s wildlife with the new Back from the Brink Film and Photography Competition
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five of our favourite springtime wildlife sights and sounds


21 March 2019
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Swifts returning from Africa by Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)
After what can seem like a long winter, springtime generally provides a welcome lift for everyone. New shoots burst through the soil and an eruption of animals 'waking up' provides wildlife enthusiasts ample viewing enjoyment and photographic opportunities.

1. The return of migrant birds 🦅
In mid-April you will hear a distinctive, bright chirruping call and see a bold flicker of black and white dive in over your garden and swoop up to the round mud nests tucked under our house eaves. Yes, the house martins are back from their stay in Africa! Astonishingly clever birds, house martins build their nests using more than 1,000 beak-sized pellets of mud that can take them around 10 days to do, although the birds aren't adverse to doing home repairs and reusing old nests. You can help out these little lodgers by having areas of damp mud in your garden, if you have a nearby building with eaves or an overhang.

Other noteworthy spring arrivals that do the same include wheatears, swallows and cuckoos. Swifts are one of the last summer migrants to arrive and are in need of our help at the moment. UK cuckoo numbers have plummeted in recent decades as-well and in an effort to understand why, the British Trust for Ornithology has been satellite-tracking cuckoos since 2011. You can follow cuckoo movements on their website.  

2. A buzz in the air with emerging bumblebees 🐝
Spring is a time when the air once again starts to fill with the happy hum of emerging queen bumblebees. The buff-tailed bumblebee queen, the largest UK species Bombus terrestris, is usually the first bee to emerge, often at the end of February. Queens and workers will already be busy on the Mahonia bushes and Hebes. In much of England this bee now has active nests throughout the winter. Interesting fact - there are over 250 species of bee in the UK and a staggering 25,000 globally. One for the pub quiz...

3. Beetles and butterflies 🦋🐞
It only needs a few sunny days to tempt the first beetles out of hibernation. On a warm afternoon in late winter, the "aerial plankton" of small flying beetles such as rove beetles and ladybirds can be strikingly diverse, picked out by the setting Sun. Some of the first beetles to emerge for the new season are flightless however. The large, glossy-black oil beetles and bloody-nosed beetles can be found lumbering along coastal footpaths or chalky hillsides from the end of February.
You will be able to enjoy early sightings of adult butterflies coming out of hibernation at this time of year as-well, when we have the odd warm day or two. Brimstones, peacocks, small tortoiseshells, red admirals and commas.

4. Bats in feast mode 🦇 
There are eighteen bat species living in the wild in the UK and the increasing abundance of insects in the spring is appreciated by all of them. Most UK bat species have spent the winter in hibernation, tucked away in places like caves to escape the harsh winter weather and survive through months of little available prey. By springtime they will have used up their fat reserves and are hungry, particularly the pregnant females as mating season was in autumn. So as the weather improves, expect to see them out and about on any warm evening, hoovering up any available insects they can find. Keep an eye out over lakes, ponds and rivers on warm evenings and you might spot a bat gleaning insects over the water.

5. Frog spawn and amphibian action 🐸
When people think of ponds in spring, seeing frogspawn may be the first thing that 'springs' to mind (sorry). However, frogs are not the only amphibians using ponds at this time of year. The UK's three native newt species will have spent the winter tucked away in hibernacula, perhaps under old log piles or in-between rocks and stones. But when springtime is here - there is only one thing on their minds. Although newts spend most of their lives hunting on land, they mate and lay their eggs in ponds. In male newts, spring prompts the production of extravagant physical features such as crests, huge tails with bright silver flashes and, in the case of the palmate newt, gigantic back feet. Meanwhile the females will be searching for the perfect leaf to safely wrap their individually laid eggs. Toads also often wrap their spawn in submerged vegetation, but they lay it in long strings. Frogspawn is what you see in clumps.

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  • Editor's Choice
  • New Gear & Tech
    • New compact binoculars from SWAROVSKI OPTIK released for those looking for a lightweight travel companion
    • Learn more about Digiscoping and Phonescoping wildlife
    • SWAROVSKI OPTIK offers new accessories for customers with the launch of their gear collection
    • SWAROVSKI OPTIK announces largest objective module ever made for wildlife watchers
    • OXAZ unveils OVERCAP - the World's first rigid, all-weather removable hood for wildlife watchers
    • SWAROVSKI OPTIK announces new NL Pure binoculars - bringing new levels of performance and comfort for wildlife watchers
    • Experience wildlife in fabulous detail with your whole family using these Kowa garden sets
    • The lowdown on Kowa's BDII-HD wide angle binoculars
    • SWAROVSKI OPTIK changes the game of animal identification with release of their digital guide and mammals ID app
    • Canon launches two new practical pairs of binoculars including the world's lightest binoculars with image stabilisation technology
    • SWAROVSKI OPTIK have released an updated version of their popular digiscoping adapter for iPhone 8 owners
  • News & Features
    • In Your Garden >
      • Walk for wildlife this autumn!
      • Are bats spreading the coronavirus? This and other similar questions debunked by industry expert
      • 7 simple tips on how to improve your gardens for hedgehogs safety and wellbeing
      • New ‘wild’ home learning hub helps parents be fun science teachers
      • Online nature activities to help you get through Covid-19 lockdown
      • Birds of a feather get hot in this weather
      • 30 Days Wild returns for a fabulous fifth year
      • Proof that feeding garden birds has led to population increases in over 30 species since the 1970's
      • Five of our favourite springtime wildlife sights and sounds
      • Five essential things to look for when choosing a nest box for outside your home or garden
      • Top tips to help your garden birds survive winter
    • Nature Reserves >
      • Good news! The Wildlife Trusts are to receive nearly £2 million to restore land for nature and tackle climate change
      • WWT to re-open 6 wetland centres in England after Covid-19 crisis
      • Start 2019 in style with a trip to one of these famous five nature reserves
      • The annual ‘swanfall’ at WWT Slimbridge has started with a flurry of Bewick’s swans arriving for the winter
      • Where can you watch owls in the UK? Plan your trip with Wildlife24/7's six best places to watch owls this winter
      • A starling spectacular!
      • Eels at WWT reserve being microchipped to track movements of a species on the brink
      • Endangered beetle hides out at WWT Welney
    • Bugs
    • Birds >
      • >> Birding247.co.uk
      • BTO ask British public to participate in a national study of Tawny Owls and their calling behaviour this autumn and winter
      • The prestigious Bird Photographer of the Year (BPOTY) competition has announced the 2018 winners
    • Mammals >
      • One of Britain's rarest mammals returns to Forest of Dean
    • Marine >
      • Easing of Covid restrictions in 2020 produced once in a lifetime wildlife watching opportunities for UK's population
      • Get ready to dive into National Marine Week 2019!
      • Shoresearch: new project launches to help count marine life on UK shores
    • Travel >
      • Safari
      • Islands
      • Oceans
      • Europe
      • South America
      • UK & Ireland
      • Survival & Awareness
  • Conservation
    • HS2 - new report details vast scale of destruction and impact to nature
    • New film from Sir David Attenborough and The Wildlife Trusts calls for nature’s recovery
    • UK's wildlife continues to decline according to new state of nature report
    • UK Government considering badger cull in new areas
    • Wetnose Day Announce Amanda Holden as the Animal Loving Celebrity for Wetnose Day 2019!
    • Stars speak up for wildlife in new film trailer hitting cinemas this weekend
    • Swifts are in need of our help as numbers halve in just 20 years
    • The Wildlife Trusts condemn HS2 phase 2B draft environmental statement - impact on wild plants and animals will be devastating
    • It could become legal to kill wild barnacle geese in the UK in the near future, if a proposal by Norway to the EU is adopted
    • Major project to safeguard Orkney’s internationally important native wildlife wins National Lottery and LIFE support
    • Kate Humble becomes new President of WWT
  • Photography & Video
    • Equipment Reviews >
      • Gitzo's new 2 way fluid tripod head for wildlife observers using medium-sized scopes and camera lenses up to 200mm
    • Technique & Insights >
      • Chris Fallows: Ocean, Earth and Air - in his own words
    • Contests >
      • The Wall Of Fame 2019 Wildlife Photography Competition - Winner
      • Wall OF Fame 2019 Powered by SWAROVSKI OPTIK
      • Celebrate the magic of the UK’s wildlife with the new Back from the Brink Film and Photography Competition