Your birding month

The best rare birds seen all around Britain in May

The high summer month of August is fabulous for insects, says James Lowen

It may be the month of summer holidays in much of the country, but for birds, August is very much a time of return migration, with an autumnal feel. By the time of the Bank Holiday, late in the month, passage is starting to be in full swing. Here are five beautiful birds to enjoy.

SET A TARGET OF SEEING 200 BIRDS IN ONE YEAR!

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, says John Lewis-Stempel

Unhurried in flight and with a sideline in stolen goods, the handsome red kite is the gentleman thief of the raptor world