The best of Britain’s
natural world, mapped.

Otters easier to spot

Coldest months, December to February

Try WWT Arundel Wetland Centre or WWT Washington Wetland Centre

Hazel catkins

January to March, earliest in the south

Try Hayley Wood or Wyre Forest

Barn owls hunt by day

Hard frosts, mainly December to February

Try RSPB Pulborough Brooks or Havergate Island

Snowdrops

Late January to March, at their best in February

Try Welford Park or Cambo Gardens

Curlews return to the moors

From February

Try Geltsdale & Glendue Fells or Forest of Bowland

Frogspawn

January in the mild south-west, more usually February to March, later still in Scotland

Try WWT Slimbridge or Martin Mere, Burscough

Wild daffodils

Late February to March

Try Farndale Daffodil Walk or Kempley Daffodil Meadow

Sand martins return

Late March

Try WWT Washington Wetland Centre or WWT Arundel Wetland Centre

Adders emerge from hibernation

March, on the first warm days

Try Allerthorpe Common or Wealden Heaths

Bluebells

Mid-April into May, later further north

Try Hayley Wood or East Blean Woods

Snake's-head fritillaries

Mid to late April

Try North Meadow, Cricklade or Iffley Meadows

Lambing season

March to May in the uplands

Try Yorkshire Dales or Exmoor

Puffins return

Mid-April to late July, easiest May and June

Try Skomer Island or Bempton Cliffs

Orchid meadows

May

Try Marden Meadows or Noar Hill

Nightingales singing

Late April into May

Try East Blean Woods or Stodmarsh

Hay meadows in flower

June

Try Muker Meadows or Upper Teesdale

Chalk downland orchids

June and July

Try Old Winchester Hill or Noar Hill

Seabird cities

May to early August, peak June

Try Bass Rock or Bempton Cliffs

Basking sharks

May to September, peak July and August

Try Isle of Mull or Isle of Coll

Dolphins at Chanonry Point

All year, most reliable late May to September on a rising tide

Try Chanonry Point or Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre

Glow-worms

Late June and July

Try Noar Hill or Ketton Quarries

Heather in bloom

Late July to September, peak August

Try North York Moors or Peak District

The Perseids

Peak night of 12-13 August

Try Northumberland National Park or Exmoor

Heathland reptiles

Spring to autumn, best on warm summer mornings

Try Arne or New Forest

Pink-footed geese arrive

Late September into October, from Iceland and Greenland

Try Holkham or Martin Mere, Burscough

Salmon leaping upstream

May to September in the far north, September to November further south, best after rain

Try Falls of Shin or Stainforth Force

Autumn migration along the coast

Peaks in September

Try Spurn or Gibraltar Point

Red deer rut

September to November, peaking mid-October to mid-November

Try Richmond Park or Exmoor

Autumn colour

Mid-October to early November, earlier in Scotland

Try Westonbirt Arboretum or Glen Affric

Barnacle geese arrive

Late September through October, staying to March

Try Isle of Islay or WWT Caerlaverock

Grey seal pups

Pupping starts in Scotland from October, peaks in Norfolk and Lincolnshire in November and December

Try Isle of May or Donna Nook Seal Colony

Short-eared owls hunt by day

November to February, sometimes into March

Try Nene Washes or Bempton Cliffs

Whooper swans arrive

From October, numbers building through November

Try Welney Wetland Centre or WWT Caerlaverock

Starling murmurations

November to February, best on cold, still evenings

Try Westhay Moor or Shapwick Heath

Winter wader flocks

Autumn and winter, only on the highest tides

Try The Wash or Gibraltar Point