SVEN-ERIK ARNDT/ARTERRA/UNIVERSAL/GETTY ● There was a mallard duck ...

St Valentine’s month may be bitterly cold, but the capricious charms of Vanellus vanellus never fail to warm the heart, says John Lewis-Stempel

Red kites, great spotted woodpeckers and pink-footed geese are only a few of the birds doing brilliantly in the British Isles right now. Mark Cocker celebrates their success stories and looks at what might be learnt from them

Karen Youngs is on the lookout for nature’s collectibles during a sunny spring walk

AMELIA arrives home from her half-day at work. She has the week’s shopping and quickly squirrels everything away, leaving just her children’s magazines on the kitchen table. Seeing she only has three-

IT began as an unremarkable day. Leaves falling into mud on the riverbank, the sun shy behind ink splodged clouds. Jays screeching in the oakwood. I stopped. Mammal tracks drew my eyes. I knelt. These