Nature

Spheres with tails: our enduring love affair with the thrush

These round songbirds have inspired not only some of our best poets, but have also sewn the seeds of the countryside around us.

Charity issues stark warning to the Government: Restore nature now or risk losing our butterflies

Results from the most recent Big Butterfly Count show an ecosystem in serious decline, according to nature charity Butterfly Conservation.

'Neither fish nor flesh': The beguiling world of the otter

A creature of bewitching contrasts, the otter is ‘an animal that might have been specifically designed to please a child’ and has captured our imaginations since first we encountered its bright-eyed gaze.

'Every month since June 2023 has now ranked as the planet’s hottest... we are challenging everything on which we rely — our weather, our health, our water and our food security'

The effects of climate change 'reach right down into every aspect of the planet’s life, from the spread of disease to the profound changes wrought by rising sea levels and intensive storms,' writes our columnist Agromenes.

The Legacy: Arthur Hobhouse and the creation of our national parks

Legendarily beautiful, Hobhouse chaired the committee that prepared the legislation to create national parks in 1949, with the first, the Peak District, established in 1951.

'There is no acceptable level of peat for use in horticulture' say campaigners amid call for total ban on peat sales

Peat bogs sequester huge amounts of carbon — yet peat is still being cut and sold across Britain. It's time for that to stop for good, say campaigners.

Britain has 763 different types of moss — and they're varied, distinctive and strikingly beautiful

As special as orchids, as beautiful as bluebells and as important as oaks, our ground-hugging mosses are worth a look down, says naturalist and author Mark Cocker.

Vote for your tree of the year and help save our 'Living Legends'

This year's theme is 'Magnificent Oaks', and the competition aims to spread awareness that trees have little legal protection, according to organisers the Woodland Trust.

Animals that trespass on our railways, ranked by how often they do it

We've all been delayed on or waiting for a train due to some nonsense on the line. Now, Network Rail have released a list of the culprits.

'It was Labour that ushered in chemical-driven agriculture: it must be Labour that puts that legacy to rights'

The countryside is supposed to be a mess. It's time to farm alongside nature, rather than against it, says Agromenes.

Leading landscape photographers share their secrets in latest Light & Land exhibition

Charlie Waite, Bill Ward, Astrid McGechan, Ed Rumble and Charlotte Bellamy are some of the many famous names who will be exhibiting at the Mall Galleries from September 3.

Rarer than pandas: Meet the native breeds that have a crucial role to play in food security and conservation

Some treasured native farm animals have fallen dangerously low in numbers. Kate Green meets the breeders keeping the flame alive.

Curious Questions: Why do so many animals have bright white bottoms?

Why do so many animals have such obviously flashy appendages, asks Laura Parker, as she examines scuts, rumps and rears.

Whistle while you work: why the sheepdog still owns the fields and hills of Britain

Sheepdog trials are mesmerising to watch, with one man and his dog speaking a language all of their own, but sheep welfare remains the ultimate goal.

There are 200 chalkstreams in the world, almost all are in England, and they're the most biodiverse freshwater habitat on the planet

Chalkstreams were forged millions of years ago when Europe was largely underwater and developed into unique and complex habitats that we must consider national treasures, says Charles Rangeley-Wilson.

'Water was coming in through the roof, the windows and the stone walls. It caused mushrooms to grow in the bedrooms, and sizeable bits of the ceiling to detach themselves without notice'

Water, water everywhere for Jonathan Self — especially in the places where you'd least want to have it.

Bay watch: Why laurel leaves have done everything from crown emperors and Olympic champions to flavouring stews

Not many plants can claim a place both on the haughty brow of an emperor and in the humble stew pot, says Ian Morton, as he looks at the laurel tree.

The 1930s eco-warrior who inspired David Attenborough and The Queen, only to be unmasked as a hoaxer and 'pretendian' — but his message still rings true

Martin Fone tells the astonishing story of Grey Owl, who became a household name in the 1930s with his pioneering calls to action to save the environment — using a false identity to do so.

Nightjars: The ventriloquist magicians of the bird world which sing 1,900 notes a minute

An early-morning foray in Dorset sees John Lewis-Stempel revelling in the antics of the nightjar or ‘fern owl’, the enigmatic crepuscular bird with a purr-like call.

'We are in the midst of a sewage scandal and the natural world is paying the cost'

Country Life's leader article takes aim at the mess in the water industry.