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Puffins and shearwaters, skuas and terns, gannets and gulls and guillemots and wings, these are a few of our favourite things (seabirds)From a heroic long-distance swimmer to a producer of spectacularly eerie sound effects, the seabirds seen swooping and diving over British waters have all manner of singular skills.
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The red kite is a soaraway success story, having escaped extinction to become a familiar sight in our skies againUnhurried in flight and with a sideline in stolen goods, the handsome red kite is the gentleman thief of the raptor world, writes Mark Cocker.
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‘This isn't just silver — it's a story of a man who fell in love with a woman who society deemed unworthy': The large silver sculpture of rutting stags that scandalised Victorian societyGeorge Harry Grey, the 7th Earl of Stamford, was shunned when he married a circus performer. This sculpture was his way of showing the world that he was a fighter — and it's now been acquired by the National Trust.
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What it's like to come face-to-face with a great white shark, with Dan Abbott of Netflix's All The SharksThe wildlife cinematographer Dan Abbott joined James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast.
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The life that thrives among the dead: How wildlife finds a home in the graveyards and churchyards of BritainHome to a veritable ‘Noah’s Ark of species’, thanks to never being ploughed, sprayed or fertilised, our churchyards offer a sacred haven for flora and fauna, says Laura Parker.
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Peregrine falcons went to the edge of extinction in the 1960s — today, there are more of them than at any time since the Middle AgesIn the latest instalment of Mark Cocker's 'Winging it' column, he looks at the peregrine, a bird of prey with astonishing speed and super strength.
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I lichen the look of you: A rare lichen-covered fingerpost that's been frozen in time and donated to the Natural History MuseumA fingerpost, covered in 12 different species of lichen, has been donated to the Natural History Museum by Exmoor National Park — but they had some trouble getting it there.
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Beyond Stonehenge: The ancient moorland megaliths and grand stone rings that you can enjoy without the tourist hordesWith their potent blend of wild looks and mystery, Britain’s ancient sites have an enduring magnetism — and there are far more of them than you might imagine.
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Hope from the ashes: This new generation of ash trees is more resistant to diebackWhen ash dieback first arrived in Britain, in 2012, an emergency COBRA meeting was formed. The disease has since spread rampantly across the countryside, but there is still hope.
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From the Country Life archive: The 19th century answer to SwingballEvery Monday, Melanie Bryan, delves into the hidden depths of Country Life's extraordinary archive to bring you a long-forgotten story, photograph or advert.
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'Fences have blocked wildlife corridors, causing the wildebeest migration to collapse from 140,000 individuals to fewer than 15,000': Is the opening of the Ritz-Carlton in Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve a cause for celebration or concern?In Kenya's iconic Masai Mara region tourism is an important and necessary part of the economy, but the arrival os several large hotel groups — including Ritz-Carlton — have some on edge.
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Listen up puffins, peregrines and seal pups — Big Brother is watching youThe Wildlife Trusts have installed more than 25 video cameras around the country that live stream activity from barn owl nests to popular puffin sites.
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The golden eagle: One of the Great British public's favourite birds of prey — but devilishly tricky to identifyWe are often so keen to encounter this animal that ambition overrides the accuracy of our observations, writes Mark Cocker.
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From turtles to pink sea fans: Why Mediterranean marine life is drifting into British watersBoth leatherback sea turtles and the soft corrals’ presence near our shores coincides with our warming seas, Lotte Brundle writes.
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Whatever floats your moat: Tower of London's former waterway receives help to adapt to the pressures of climate changeIt is one of five gardens across the globe that have been selected by the fund for aid in adapting to the growing pressures of climate change.
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It's a cruel summer to be a bee with up to 80% of swarms dying if they cannot find a safe place to settle — but here is how you can helpCurrently, swarms of bees are taking flight to search for new homes and up to 80% of these swarms will perish if they cannot find a safe place to settle, but we can all help, says the BBKA.
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'It’s not ironic that I really like wasps and that they nearly killed me. It’s simply a coincidence': What to do if you're stung by a waspAfter a close encounter with some wasps put him in hospital, William Kendall sought an unlikely remedy...
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Steve Backshall on sharks, quicksand, and getting his fingertips eaten by piranhasThe adventurer, broadcaster, scientist and writer Steve Backshall joins the Country Life podcast.
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Arthur Parkinson: When it comes to happy hens and yellow yolks, grass is kingDon't get too focused on the colour of an egg. If you provide your hens with a happy habitat, everything else will take care of itself.
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Merlins: Britain's smallest bird of prey is a 'swerving, zigzagging, 240mph weighted missile' that's gutsy enough to chase off a golden eagleSize doesn’t matter when it comes to the fighting spirit of the tiny merlin, a fierce parent and favoured hunting accessory of Mary, Queen of Scots.
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New vision for old Dartmoor: Prince of Wales leads ambitious plans for nature recovery in CornwallThe Vision outlines a set of guiding principles to inform the future environmental management of the Duchy’s Dartmoor estate.
