BBC Wildlife Magazine

BBC Wildlife Magazine is a celebration of the natural world, featuring all the latest discoveries, news and views on wildlife, conservation and environmental issues. With strong broadcasting links, authoritative journalism and award-winning photography, BBC Wildlife Magazine is essential reading for anyone with a passion for wildlife who wants to understand, experience and enjoy nature more.

How to help your garden wildlife in a heatwave

Watching the wildlife on your local patch

BBC Wildlife

Every month, only in BBC Wildlife

wild TIMES • What’s happening right now

When two become one • Damselflies are pairing up on ponds and lakes across the country

“I’m lucky to live close to nature”

Catch the rodent of the moment • Now’s the time to head to the river and marvel at the star of a conservation success story

Finding Fernanda • The ‘fantastic giant tortoise’ of the Galápagos is back from the dead

Avian flu is killing thousands of UK birds • An outbreak of avian flu could have a potentially devastating impact on Britain’s wild birds, especially globally important seabird populations

A poo form of defence • Take a peek into stinging nettle patches this month to discover the caterpillar that mimics bird droppings

Vast grass

It’s time to say hello to yarrow • This wildflower will be sitting pretty well after the others fade away

An amblypygid’s jaws

GILLIAN BURKE • “Mount Kilimanjaro has stood the test of time and will watch over”

A GROWING FAMILY

10 onomatopoeic animal names • Many animal species take their names from the sound they make. Here’s a selection of some of our favourites:

Teeth tell the truth

Ian White • A fascination with hazel dormice led to exciting species-saving conservation work in Lancashire

Head bangers • Fossil evidence suggests that giraffes’ long necks may have evolved for more than reaching high branches

Lamarckdromia beagle

Sweet nothings

Lost & Found VAGRANT SPECIES DIARY • Eleonora’s falcon

In the red

WEE WIGGLERS

Singing a new song • An exotic bird’s arrival may mark a key change for the dawn chorus

A gam of porpoises

Standing tall • With its sausage-shaped seed heads, reedmace is an iconic sight in the wetlands

UP/DOWN

FEMALE OF THE SPECIES WARRAMABA VIRGO • Lucy Cooke on the female army that captured Australia by giving up sex

Gorse of action • This summer bloomer is a haven on the heath

Wild boar

MARK CARWARDINE OPINION • “The Maasai must be included in conservation planning”

Three-legged birds • How parrots turned their beak into an extra limb

Not so Dumbo

SWAY WITH ME BASKING SHARKS • Summer signals the arrival of these gentle giants, wending their way through British waters

TOP FIVE PLACES

LOOK CLOSER

I WANT TO BREAK FREE BAGWORM • Rare moth caterpillars that escape their camouflaged cases once they’ve found a mate

Nice threads

GRAB YOUR BAG

CHARGE • Galápagos sealions are usually solitary hunters, but recently they have been seen hunting as a tight-knit team with deadly precision

Seal or sealion? • Look out for these characteristics to tell the different pinniped families apart

Equatorial edge

HORROR ON THE HEATH • Don’t be fooled by the idyllic beauty of a Dorset heathland. Among the swaying grass stems, myriad misdeeds are taking place.

HEATHLANDS TO VISIT

The gentler side of the heath • The brutal world of parasitoids isn’t the only story on the heathlands. Look out for these remarkable animals and plants.

CAUGHT ON THE HOP •...