Claire Stares

Chichester harbour, Hampshire: I witness a battle of wills as this magnificent raptor attempts to fuel up on sea bass, before it heads south on migration

Langstone, Hampshire: My garden is full of Victoria plums, but they’re not supposed to be crunchy inside

Calshot, Hampshire: Underwater meadows are vanishingly rare habitats, so I join a group who are gathering eelgrass seed to help restore them

Langstone, Hampshire: Tree bumblebees are generally placid, but they’re not keen on someone prodding their home with the end of a bamboo cane

Portsmouth, Hampshire: A huge conservation effort is under way to restore native oysters to the Solent, and I was on hand to help give them a pre-release spa day

Staunton Country Park, Havant: Against my black fleece, this arachnid is startlingly vivid. In the fresh green of the beech canopy, it disappears

Langstone, Hampshire: Solitary bees, albeit hundreds of them, are hovering low to the ground, hoping to mate before nightfall

Langstone, Hampshire: A glistening raft of jelly is a promising sign of a frog resurgence after newts dominated for a decade

Langstone, Hampshire: It’s the time of year when dog foxes shadow receptive females – who only have the briefest of windows to mate

Whiteley, Hampshire: It’s a remarkably mundane place for a large communal roost, but these birds are here for good reason

Hayling Island, Hampshire: Piles of goose barnacles are stranded on the beach after a long journey hitched on a barrel. They’re fascinating creatures, but they won’t survive long

Winkworth Arboretum, Surrey: This song is not the same as the full-throated spring version, and it’s impossible not to reply to

Langstone, Hampshire: A singing skylark isn’t unusual this time of year, and is testament to its adaptability in a changing landscape

Langstone, Hampshire: It’s always breeding season for feral pigeons, and the colony on the roof opposite are certainly playing their part in the web of life

Langstone, Hampshire: An investigation in my neighbour’s garden introduces me to a striking insect that is absent from my field guides – the alder leaf beetle

Hayling Island, Hampshire: A profusion of sea kale on the beach has attracted the attention of three small whites – two males competing for the attention of a female

Langstone, Hampshire: These living fossils are rarely seen, but this one has fallen on my arm – and has likely been feasting on the booming aphids

Hayling Island, Hampshire: While out sea swimming, I encounter Sandwich terns, unperturbed by my presence and on the hunt for glittering sand eels

Langstone, Hampshire: She’s brought in clematis, moss and cat fur to build the nest. Soon, surely, the egg-laying will begin

Langstone, Hampshire: Four years after hearing about a local pair nesting nearby, I dash out to see if I can finally get a sighting