Irene Lavington

📸The London Rivers Week Photography Competition 2026 is now open, inviting Londoners to capture the beauty, wildlife and community life of our city’s rivers, canals and wetlands. 🧵⬇️

Lawns don’t usually grow much over the winter but as we get into March many of us will be ready to tidy up our gardens. An early mow can benefit wildflowers hiding amongst the grass too. Before the first lawn cut of spring, you should make sure temperatures are at least 8-10 degrees, the lawn isn’t waterlogged, and there are signs of new growth in the grass. 🌱 Your first lawn cut is one of our ten indicators of spring. Tell us when you first get your lawnmower out this year! buff.ly/kiXgzac #SignsofSpring

Here're Mrs & Mr bullfinch having a morning bath, at Warburg Nature reserve last weekend. I had two males and one female visiting the pool several times during my visit. 🐂🐦🙂 #birds #birdphotography

In a cafe near the station (which had recently changed hands), I asked for a coffee & one of the £1 biscuits from a jar on the counter. The £1 biscuits were for dogs 🐶

EXCITING NEWS! The nation's favourite treasure hunt @BBC_ARoadshow is coming to Valentines Mansion this summer! Get the full details here vrcl.uk/3OSaDXR #bbcantiquesroadshow #redbridge #essex #eastlondon #ilford

The siskin of Spring! Green shoots and a male siskin at Warnham Local Nature Reserve yesterday 🙂🐦🪶 #birds #birdphotography

Happy World Wildlife Day! 💚 You don’t have to go far to see some amazing animals and there might be a larger variety of species in the UK than you knew… Did you know, the UK is home to approximately this many species of these familiar groups: 🦋 59 butterflies 🐾 90 mammals 🐝 270 bees 🐦‍⬛ 640 birds 🐛 2,500 moths 🪲 4,000 beetles 🐝 9,000 wasps From the iconic mammals to the often overlooked wasps, there is so much wildlife to learn about, and we’re here to help! Were any of these surprising?... #WorldWildlifeDay

Solo birdsong! You can never satisfy a spring blackbird. Distressed by the crow and woodpigeon who gatecrashed my previous post, the blackbird has requested an encore... #blackbird #birdsong #birdsong #gardenwildlife #urbanwildlife

Our plant of the month for March is the Iris. With a magical open form, striking colours, and great value for pollinators, the Iris is a superb early flowering plant that supports our green spaces in both their ecological diversity and radiant beauty! #thameschase @CommForests

BARRED BEAUTY - Did March come in like a Lion or a Lamb? It was quite cold however it was a nice sunny day. So sharp with a warm glow. When I walked out our backdoor & saw Varia, the Barred Owl, lit up by the Moon, I would say March came in like an Owl. #nature #inlikeanowl - BDG

@mortuarygem I just read your Wordpress piece. You might get some more readers if you put a post on Twitter. Perhaps not. But glad you are still in a job.

I highly recommend the animated film "Little Amélie". Don't read the reviews. Just seek out the sub-titled version & stay to the end of the credits. A joy.

Listening to my mother's (possibly illegal) taped radio recordings from the 1970's to the 1990's. The change in the announcers' English accents is astounding 📻

Here's a lovely redwing I met at Kelsey Park (Beckenham) this afternoon. There's a huge cotoneaster tree with a dozen or more redwings skulking about in it, occasionally popping out to eat a berry or two 🐦🔴🪶 #birds #birdphotography

Saw #GuessHowMuchILoveYou today and @RoyalCourt is now my new favourite theatre 📚🍫🎭

Scored a win at the charity shop by buying 10 vintage saucers and 9 cups to match my existing 3 saucers and 4 cups #Denby

If the Super Bowl isn’t your cup of tea, our tenth-annual photo collection of superb owls just might be. Take a look at these magnificent birds via @TheAtlPhoto: theatlantic.com/photography/20…

🌷 Look for the hidden colour 🍂 🎄 Noticing colour helps us see winter landscapes in a new way and reminds us that nature is full of life all year round. 🌈 Winter isn’t just grey. Look out for colour in nature — red berries, green moss, pale lichens, golden grasses or changing skies. 🎨 What colour caught your eye today?

If you’d like to own a lovely bookshop, please do consider this one in Oundle. (Like the Cotswolds, but in Northamptonshire)

A black cat jumped out of the shrubbery & did the winding-weaving dance around my legs 🐈‍⬛