Fancy a try at the ancient art of crossing finches with canaries? PADDY DUNNE sets out the basic techniques EVEN though most canary fanciers will specialise in a single breed, it is never a bad thing to create some additional interest…
Above: The victim: buzzards habitually use posts or poles as vantage points to watch for prey For all the conservation successes, Britain’s raptors are still routinely persecuted – and this is a systematic campaign that isn’t dying out. GRAHAM…
Above: Don’s first clutch from the single-factor blue blackbirds: four chicks in total, three blues and one surviving satinette. Photo: Don Turner DON TURNER continues his account of how he switched from hardbills to softbills, with a focus on…
Photo: Berry raider: redwings often visit gardens to gorge on fruit early in the morning, then slip away as soon as the curtains are opened Bill Naylor hails that cracking little thrush, the redwing, which swarms to Britain every…
Photo: Cock of the rock: mossy boulders like this are well received by aviary jays Like many other species of crow, the jay is a plausible mimic, which adds entertainment to the company of captive individuals. Bill Naylor shares…
Photo: white-throated dipper: found in hilly locations across the UK including Wales, Ireland, Cornwall, Scotland and the Lake District Dippers don’t merely dip, they plunge, walk and even fly under water. Bill Naylor guides us around the life of…
Photo: © Shutterstock.com/Neil Bromhall. Adult swift with two chicks. Swifts usually nest in holes and cavities in building roofs, but new construction methods have made these in short supply After Tony Tilford saw how edible-nest swiftlet numbers have been boosted in…
Photo: © Shutterstock.com/Piotr Krzeslak Jarrod Cotter turns his attention to the cuckoo, whose characteristic call that once announced the arrival of spring is now rarely heard in the British countryside THE cuckoo is a dove-sized bird with ash-grey upperparts,…
Photo: © Shutterstock.com/iliuta goean. Northern or common wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) pair: note the female’s light brown plumage (left) in comparison to the male’s black mask and wings Often travelling thousands of miles from its winter home to summer breeding…
Photo: During the breeding season, male yellowhammers have vibrant plumage; bright yellow on the head and belly, as well as red-brown feathers streaked with black Few native birds are as cheering to the eye or the ear as the…