The close-up photographs of insects from Prof Bill Amos of the Department of Zoology have given us a wonderful view we don’t usually see of the natural world. Scroll down for the latest batch from his insect photo diary. These beasties are beautiful with fascinating stories too – from wasp mimics to mayflies to an aphid giving birth on camera. Why not have a go … Continue reading An Insect a Day part 3
Roz Wade, Learning Officer at the Museum, writes: I do love all things aquatic, so watching of the wildlife in our garden pond has been a real treat. On warm afternoons, the newts have been active and almost posing for me in the middle of the pond. And there is exciting newt news this week: baby newts! They may be small but they are beautiful, … Continue reading Pondwatch Episode 5: Newt Babies
May 20th is World Bee Day. But why should we care about bees? Museum Research Assistant Matt Hayes explains why we should celebrate these amazing insects. Continue reading World Bee Day
We have something a little different for you for Wildlife From Your Window today: can you spot the British birds (and other animal) in these cryptic clues? This British Birds Crossword was created by Department of Zoology PhD student Tanmay Dixit, working on African cuckoos. Find out more on the African cuckoos research group website. Enjoy! You can find the answers here: Continue reading Bird Brainteaser
It’s been a treat every Friday to share with you some of the wonderful close-up photographs of insects from Prof Bill Amos of the Department of Zoology. Scroll down for the latest batch from his insect photo diary. These beasties have some pretty amazing stories to tell! Why not have a go yourself? We would love to see your photos of wildlife where you are. … Continue reading An Insect A Day continues
The Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines) is one of the most recognisable springtime butterflies. Over the last few weeks, many of you will have seen the males, with their distinctive orange wingtips, and the cloudy white females in your gardens. Now is a good time to see the start of the next generation of the butterflies, by searching for the butterfly’s beautiful amphora-shaped orange eggs on Garlic … Continue reading Butterfly Eggs
Academic in the Department of Zoology, and one of our visitor engagement volunteers in the Museum, Dr Tony Fulford writes: ‘Swallows don’t quite do it for me. Don’t get me wrong, they are wonderful birds, skimming the ponds and twittering in the sky, but it isn’t they who bring in spring. They are up there if you look but they don’t fill the air with … Continue reading The Ten Locally Breeding Warblers
Prof Bill Amos of the Department of Zoology has been keeping a photo diary of the lockdown, taking a picture of an insect every day. We shared the first set of photos with you last week. Scroll down and see how amazing our insects look close to with his latest batch of photos and captions. And why not try photographing an insect a day? Share … Continue reading An Insect A Day
You can fnd nature everywhere in your garden, and a wildlife hotspot you may not have explored is your compost heap. Join our Curator of Insects, Dr Ed Turner, as he goes in search of the amazing minibeasts living in his compost heap. Found something exciting in your garden? We would love to hear about it! You can comment below, post it on Twitter with … Continue reading Compost Creatures
Have you been woken early in the morning by birds calling outside? At this time of year, early risers are treated to one of nature’s wonders – the symphony of bird song we call the Dawn Chorus. It was International Dawn Chorus Day on Sunday (May 3rd), and to celebrate some of our team woke up early to capture these sounds of spring for you. … Continue reading Birds: The Dawn Chorus
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We’re noticing the wildlife around our homes, gardens and during our daily exercise more and more. As the seasons change there are many opportunities to see the creatures that live around us. This page is for our community and that includes you! We’ll be featuring your wildlife sightings, Crafty Creature makes and creations. Check back later for updates and see below for how you can … Continue reading Community Gallery
Roz Wade, Learning Officer at the Museum, writes: A couple of weeks ago I found that we had newts living in the garden pond. I have seen that we have at least five if not six living in there, and they have been showing some fascinating behaviour this week. We have some males in their breeding garb, with a wonderful crest along the back. They … Continue reading Pondwatch Episode 4: Dancing Newts
We have a treat this week in Wildlife From Your Window: a virtual postcard from a pre-lockdown Wicken Fen, written by Professor Nick Davies of the Department of Zoology. ‘Just before the lockdown, there was a final chance to visit Wicken Fen, still clothed in her winter’s coat of last year’s yellow reeds. Many birds were still in winter flocks. On the floods, there were … Continue reading Nature Postcard from Wicken Fen
Roz Wade, Learning Officer at the Museum, writes: We have exciting news on this episode of Pondwatch – newts in the garden pond! I’ve been watching them closely, and managed to capture them on camera when they came out from their hiding places. We also have some of the aquatic finds of other members of the Museum team, so lots to explore this week. There … Continue reading Pondwatch Episode 3: Newts!
Roz Wade, Learning Officer at the Museum of Zoology, writes: Welcome to our first Mammalwatch post in Wildlife from your Window. We thought what better way to start than with a post about that terror of the bird feeder – the grey squirrel. The grey squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis, is a familiar sight in our gardens. The body is around 25cm long, and the tail is … Continue reading Mammalwatch: Squirrels
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