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

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-

LETTERS

Mike’s local area has become a difficult place to watch gulls, but it makes up for their lack in other ways

The new Turner Prize (this time, for craftspeople) ...

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