All of a sudden, it seems the birds are everywhere. It’s hatching season, which, combined with the arrival of spring migrants like swifts and cuckoos, means that birds are more active and visible than at any other time in the year.

I’m a sucker for pomp and ceremony and two people getting married in the spring time is one of those timelessly happy things that people of all creeds, nations and wage-brackets should go on celebrating as long as there’s a sun in the sky.

With only three days to go until Thursday’s referendum on the alternative voting system (AV), experts say that London voters could play a crucial role in the result.

A reporter working for The Sun newspaper  posed as an undergraduate student at Goldsmiths in order to shadow Princess Beatrice during the first week of her degree at the university, it has been disclosed.

Where to find them: Parks, gardens and woods When to hear them: All year round Diet: Buds, shoots, seeds, nuts and berries The capital’s second most common bird is not a particularly popular one. However, the woodpigeon is a distinct species from its more urban cousin, the feral pigeon. While the feral variety is the [...]

Where to find them: Everywhere, especially gardens and rooftops When to hear them: All year round, most vocal March-June Diet: Insects, worms, berries

Where to find them: Gardens, streets, urban centres When to hear them: All year round Diet: Seeds, crumbs, scraps The great opportunist of the bird world, house sparrows flourished in London as the capital grew and grew in the 19th century. They fed on man’s leftovers and the chirping of the cockney sparrow soon became synonymous [...]

Where to find them: Almost anywhere When to hear them: All year round Diet: Seeds, cereals, crumbs Most people’s least favourite bird is, for better or worse, the most common in Tower Hamlets, and flourishing throughout London. The species is descended from domestic pigeons, which were in turn derived from wild rock doves, which are [...]

Where to find them: Parks, particularly around reed beds, gardens, urban centres When to hear them: All year round Diet: Insects, fruit The starling is a real urban success story, often more numerous in cities than in the countryside. They’re noisy little birds with a repetitive chirpy song, punctuated by distinctive “wolf whistles”. You should [...]

Where to find them: Gardens, parks, commons and hedges When to hear them: All year round Diet: Seeds, insects in summer These spectacular little songbirds are becoming more and more common in gardens along the East London Line. In Tower Hamlets, they were the fifth most common bird in the survey. This can only be [...]