Woodcocks are a whiter shade of pale

These waders sport the whitest feathers known to science - but they like to keep them under wraps

RISING FROM THE RUINS

Remnants of our built heritage can nurture thriving biodiversity - even in the most unlikely, desolate-looking locations. Here are 10 UK sites where human history meets the wild.

BACK IN BLACK

Rearing and releasing black-tailed godwits has given the rare wader a much-needed boost

There's the grub

Biologists have finally identified the 'worm' in mezcal bottles

Lost & Found

Smalltooth sand tiger shark, Hampshire

Songs from the reedbed

Visit a wetland to hear the chatter of a summer visitor

Great apes seek thrills by spinning

Ape behaviour gives clues to why humans chase mind-altering stimulation

Book a date with badgers

Now is the time to join an organised watch for the chance to see curious cubs

HS2 in firing line for wildlife impact

Conservationists rail project has got its say the company behind the calculations badly wrong

Lost & Found VAGRANT SPECIES DIARY

American herring gull, Cornwall

GILLIAN BURKE

\"Our beloved the interests bees are caught up in of the sugar industry\"

Appearances can be deceiving

The gypsy cuckoo bumblebee is a trickster and nest invader

Battle of the birds

A jay puts up a fight when it finds itself in the sight lines of a sparrowhawk

Sealed and delivered

Luck was the key ingredient for seeing a grey seal give birth

Fight or flight, freeze and fright

WHEN FACED WITH A THREAT, most animals can defend themselves or run away fight or flight

FINAL CALL

A relic of the distant past, the brave Djibouti spurfowl can still be heard in a disappearing African forest

Sounds cape

An emerging science is making waves in the world of conservation. Discover the exciting potential of ecoacoustics.

ONE YEAR 1000 PLANTS

Discover how Mike Dilger accomplished his lockdown-inspired botanical marathon

LAKE OF STARS AQUATIC

Lake Malawi is one of the world's largest and most biodiverse, home to hundreds of species of colourful, curious endemic cichlid fishes

Loud and proud

Secretive corncrakes with a scraping call arrive in the UK this month

Crackle and pop

Short-beaked echidnas avoid over-heating by blowing - and bursting - bubbles on their nose

Reading the signs

Humans can understand gestures of other great apes

Damselfish behaviour is influenced by rats

Loss of seabirds through rat predation affects reef fish hostility and could have wider impacts

WE BUILT THIS CITY

WOOD ANT NESTS - Discover a mini metropolis housing hundreds of thousands of social insects

Fight or flight

In one coastal Scottish village, a dispute rages between those who want to shoot wintering pink-footed geese and those who want to protect them

DEEP DIVE

Risso's dolphins are rare and little-known, but conservationists are trying to learn more about them off the Balearic Islands

ON CLOUD 9

High up in the cloud forests of Guatemala lives the breathtakingly beautiful national bird

THE DEER AND THE DEPARTED

Intimate photos of roe deer reveal insights into family life in England's graveyards

MARK CARWARDINE

“Hare coursing is a serious problem in many rural areas”

ART FOR CHANGE

Enjoy works from the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation Wildlife Artist of the Year competition, in association with BBC Wildlife