I was lucky enough to go twice this year to Skomer island off the coast of Pembrokeshire, and boy did it deliver. Magical island with more than atlantic puffins to see. I saw lots of wheatear, rock pipit, cough, razor bills, guillemot and lots more - but it is the feel of the place as much anything that leaves its impression on you. There are Iron Age settlement remains, and evidence of occupation dating back to the Neolithic period. I felt some intangible sense of the history as I walked...

We are a nation of animal lovers, and a huge percentage of the UK (12.5m homes) feed wild birds in the garden, myself included. It's a lovely thing to do and brings us all much joy. Garden feeders help wild birds during winter, and during nesting, but all the latest research points to a massive problem. Disease, not least of which is trichomonosis , is being spread through infected garden feeders with devastating effect. A review of the effect on the chaffinch population is alarming, in fact...

Poser! After years of wanting to go I finally got to RSPB Bempton Cliffs, a mere six and a half hour drive from the south coast. Worth...