Life's A Picnic

Beijing's cool youngsters emerge

China may not have intended it, but the Games are speeding up the pace of social change

What will the Olympics ever do for us?

The costs are huge and a spell under the international spotlight can be uncomfortable

China's rush to ruin at warp speed

Wild notebook: If only they had stopped to learn from what went wrong elsewhere

Good and bad, winners and losers - the Olympics need them all

Rumours of the death of the Games remain exaggerated. That's because we find disgrace just as compelling as triumph

Now that's what I call real biodiversity

There are giants and midgets, ogres and pixies, fighters and fleers. Diversity is what makes the Games so extraordinary

Wildlife in Beijing: watch out for cicadas

My bird count in the Chinese capital is up to five. But that's hardly surprising

Show’s over, now it’s all about sport

The world refuses to take China at its own valuation: nor should it. But now, at least, we can have some Games

What's wet, bony and looks like a plate?

It may look peculiar but the sunfish is as fine as anything in the sea

Sit down and enjoy the view in comfort

Wild Notebook

Insects are much weirder than we think

Wild Notebook

Badgers are like buses, you wait hours then...

Wild Notebook

An essential for kingfishers, and a basic right

If you have not had the pleasure of seeing a ripping blue arrow skate the surface of the water, you have been deprived

Raise a glass to the return of the tern

Wild Notebook: settle down in my special corner of southwest London... and enjoy the view

A sneaky regard for our alien invaders

I can't help feel admiration for the creatures that adapt to a different place and make it their own

Foxgloves: A pink and mauve miracle on spikes

Wild Notebook: These reborn blooms would have inspired Van Gogh

Broken rainforest crying to be healed

Wild Notebook: the Paraguayan forest is inhospitable and enchanting

Seagulls, nature's scavengers

Wild Notebook: Humans make life hardest for the species they admire most