Last call for curlews

With a ‘butterfly emergency’ in the UK, conservationists are gearing up for this year’s Big Butterfly Count. But what has happened to these insects? And can they – on a wing and a prayer – ever bounce back?

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

POPULATION TRENDS

How to admire and protect our wonderful waterways in the UK

30-minute birder Amanda Tuke investigates the impact of feeding wild birds, and whether it’s a factor behind the decline of a woodland specialist

The first small tortoiseshell I’ve seen this year has just fluttered past – and my heart soared. This is one of those iconic common and widespread butterfly beauties that reminds me of my childhood ro