Look out bird nerds, Springwatch is back and this year it's as addictive as ever.
(If you don't live in the UK, Springwatch is a hugely popular and successful BBC TV show. Part of its appeal is the live-to-air excitement of crossing to various hidden cameras trained on the secret habitats of Britain's wildlife. We get an up-close look of chicks hatching, feeding and fledgling inside a coal tit's nestbox, and baby ospreys fighting for survival in Scotland. Seriously, the lives of swallows, blue tits and greenfinches have never been so gripping!)
Of course, I've been deeply sucked into the soap-opera-style narratives of newborn birds hatching, siblings cannabilising, and fathers committing infanticide. Apart from the harsh reminder that nature can be brutal, it's also very beautiful. (New discovery: newborn birds are all blind-eyeballs-and-throaty-beaks on toothpick necks.)
If you have a moment, check out the live webcams on the Springwatch website now.
Want to recreate your own version of Springwatch at home? Get kitted out with the slickest bird box and feeder designs. Here, my top picks from UK online garden specialists, The Urban Garden.
Mounted bird ball, £34, from the Urban Garden.
