So, while I may well be enjoying some nightlife this weekend, I'm also planning to join in the Big Garden Birdwatch's birthday bash and take in plenty of wildlife too!

It's really easy to get involved. All you have to do is spend an hour on Saturday 24th or Sunday 25th January surveying the birds in your garden or local park and submit the results to the RSPB. Visit www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch for more information.

So, what are you waiting for. Get your binoculars at the ready!

In the meantime, why not take up our bird call challenge and see if you can identify two of our most popular garden birds from the sound clips below.

Be really good to know how you get on. Post your answers using the form below.

Like many rivers my local, the Sirhowey river in Caerphilly, froze over creating strange formations and intricate ice patterns.

I spent a good few hours walking up the river taking it all in with just a hungry grey wagtail for company. As well as the visual transformation there's nothing quite like the sound of walking on ice for sheer enjoyment of the crunching and crackling that one gets.

The big freeze has meant that many birds are now coming to bird feeders looking for an easy meal. Birds that would usually stay away from gardens have been pouring in and it's been a real treat over the festive period to see a myriad of our feathered friends. These include a posse of long-tailed tits (that look like lollipops!), a Zorro-like nuthatch and even a woodpecker turned up.

Continuing the bird theme, be sure to check out the recent Natural World: Cuckoo programme on iPlayer. The cuckoo is one of nature's true hustlers and con-artists and this programme looks into tricks the cuckoo employs and the science behind it - magic.

Although winter can be a bit barren, it doesn't mean there aren't things going on out there in the wild. And with lemon and honey drink in one hand and binoculars in the other, I realised there was actually lots of activity happening just outside my window.

Among the garden birds feeding on the rotting apples on next door's trees, there were all the usual contenders such as blackbirds and a robin - but then I noticed a new addition with a gingery cap and pale breast.

However this female blackcap (actually identifiable by the gingery rather than black feathers on its head) had either decided to stick around or more probably was a visitor from colder climates in Europe.

There's a funny sort of merry-go-round in winter as some birds leave our shores for warmer weather while others arrive here through the wildlife revolving door from colder countries to the east.

This time of year also sees the papers doing their annual reviews, from lists of top albums and films to people and moments of 2008. This got me thinking about what would be among my moments of the year in wildlife terms.

Was it seeing a leatherback turtle in the Atlantic or experiencing the stunning beauty of the river Wye on a glorious spring evening. Seeing a badger in Bristol city centre recently was pretty strange while during Autumnwatch I developed a new found fondness of muntjac deer and ravens.

Let me know which wildlife moments made their mark on you in 2008.

They may be the pin-up bird of Christmas, but they can be very aggressive and attack other robins if they encroach on their territory. Not particularly festive spirited of them!

Adult male and female robins have the famous red patch on their breast which they puff out in territorial display. Robins have even been known to viciously attack stuffed red robins or even material that is red and a similar size to a bird.

So why was it singing at night? Well, the answer here may be that I have a street light outside my house - a source of light prompting the bird to sing. Robins rely heavily on their territory for survival and will work all hours to keep it!

In the festive spirit I'm loving this Breathing Places song. Nothing quite like seeing human mouths on animals!

Wildlife experts have been ranking suggestions from the public in order to compile a list of Britain's most amazing natural sights and sounds - and this got me thinking about what I might pick as my favourite wildlife wonder.

There are quite a few surprises on the top 40 list including less familiar wildlife sights such as glow worms and wood ants. But they all have several things in common - the ability to amaze and astound.

One of my most recent wildlife trips was to see the monarch butterflies roosting in Mexico. This was a truly spectacular event. However, equally moving on a different scale was seeing starlings roost on Aberystwyth pier a few years back.

I've been asked quite a few times what my favourite animal is and it probably comes down to (drum roll)...the mallard duck.

This is because it's one of the first birds I came into contact with and has a special place for that reason alone. But even more so because, in my mind, you simply can't get a better sound than a 'quack'. Whatever my mood, that 'quaking' noise never fails to bring a smile to my face.

So this leads me onto you. Which species among all our wildlife wonders do you rate most? Drop me a line using the form below to let me know what and why.

This is one of the few stages of salmon migration that you can actually witness for yourself. In Wales, a good place to see them right now is on the river Usk at Brecon promenade.

Large males can also be seen defending territories and seeing off would-be suitors. One thing I've also found interesting is the story of the aptly named 'precocious parr'.

Parr are small male juvenile salmon. They remain in freshwater for one to four years, feeding on insects before changing into 'smolts' and heading for the ocean during spring of their second, third or fourth year.

The 'precocious parr' have a cunning tactic of getting in with the females. Due to their small size and sneaky manoeuvres, they're able to dart unoticed under the much larger mature spawning salmon and fertilize some of the newly laid eggs.

Why not check out some salmon spawning for yourself this weekend? The Wye and Usk Foundation are hosting a river walk this Sunday to witness this event and there are still places available. Give them a ring to book.

You can also check out our amazing archive clips of leaping salmon on the river Dee.

So, where are the other hotspots across Wales for watching salmon? We'd love to hear from you if you've caught a glimpse of their amazing acrobatics this autumn so drop me a line with your recommendations using the comment form below.

With wildlife, mess is definitely more! In fact it's probably a good idea not to tidy your garden too much at all at this time of year because the leaves and debris makes an ideal hiding place for a whole range of animals.

Indeed, it doesn't just provide shelter but also a walk-in larder of bugs and insects for species like frogs, toads and hedgehogs to munch on while they're sheltered.

The fancy name for such a feature is a hibernacula but I prefer to call it a 'toad abode'. So if you're in the mood for some DIY, here are a few tips.

1. Collect some cut logs of various sizes and bits of timber. Some rubble and rocks are also useful. If you have any bark and dead wood this is perfect.

2. Dig a trench 10cm or more and put down a litter layer of deciduous bark and leaves, something that will give amphibians some insulation but also some moisture and will retain an even temperature.

3. The position of the toad abode can be anywhere but is good to have some shade and be out of direct sunlight. Being near a pond is also an advantage.

4. Position the rocks and logs, leaving gaps between them so that the creatures can get in and dig themselves down into the litter.

5. Cover the logs with some topsoil, turf and mulch to give a good covering.

6. You can also make the toad abode a feature in your garden, fashioning it into a bench perhaps. Cover it with moss and it'll develop into a great looking feature.

7. Stand back and see the toads and frogs come marching in.

Good luck - and remember to let me know how you get on!

Check out the links below for more ideas about attracting wildlife to your garden:

Wild About Nature - Things to do

BBC Gardening

Gardening with children

Wild About Your Garden

Breathing Places - Do One Thing

Environment Agency 's virtual garden for wildlife

Just being at the roost is a pretty amazing experience but it's the sound that gets you. As the ravens come into the roost the noise just keeps building and building.

Listening to the recordings you can pick out a variety of vocalisations, from 'qourks', to 'aarks'. It's amazing to listen in on the conversations and information exchanges happening all around you.

Here are some of Chris's recordings. See if you can you pick out the conversations?

Ravens are incredibly wary animals and super intelligent which makes for it being a tricky task to film them. This is probably because they have had many years of persecution so are wary of people and large dark objects such as the camera pointing at them!

Jamie McPherson had to take great steps to film the ravens feeding on the beach and even using a hide they were aware of even the slightest of movement from the camera including even the changes in angle and to focus!

You can see his photostory here.

To see the fallow deer at Petworth in the rutting season was magical. It was fascinating hearing the noises made by the bucks - their deep Barry White grunting sounds being a constant soundtrack to our visit!

The science behind it all is equally interesting and I caught up with expert Alan Mcelligott who told me about his studies into the fallow deer rut.

Click here to listen to what he had to say.

I also stepped up to the rather strange challenge of making plywood cut-outs of muntjac and roe deer so that presenter Simon King could illustrate the difference in their sizes. It was like something out of the Apprentice - I knew that I had to make them look good and to the right scale. I was absolutely terrified I'd end up making something that looked like a loch ness monster rather than a deer. But following a quick dash to some hardware stores, I eventually managed to produce something that resembled a good job. In fact the muntjac cut-out is now called Munty and has become a bit of a mascot in our edit van!

Indeed, Munty's also managed to cause quite a stir. An hour or so before Wednesday's live show there was a cry of "record, record" as someone glanced a muntjac on one of the monitors. A closer look revealed that it was a muntjac - but unfortunately one made of plywood!

Muntjacs seem to have really caught the public's imagination and we'd love to hear from you if you've been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of one where you live. Just drop me a line via the comment form below.

Fungi are really interesting to find and I'm always intrigued by the array of shapes and sizes they come in.

I recently found a whole lot of large fungi around a tree - which was pretty special.

To me, fungi seem to have an air of the fairytale about them and I half expect to see a fairy or pixie hanging about. Not very natural history, I know. (Don't worry I havn't been eating them!)

You can also eat them, of course. But you should be careful as some species are extremely poisonous.

Also with the recent trend in foraging for you own food, some fungi have been hit hard as people have unwittingly removed and potentially damaged fungi communities.

Check out some other fabulous fungi photos on the BBC Wales Nature Flickr group.

I'm currently on location near Petworth Deer Park as we prepare for the latest series of Autumnwatch which starts on BBC Two on Monday 27 October.

This is the week when the fallow deer start their rut and it's a great location in beautiful surroundings.

The park also hosts some other great wildlife to boot with many lizard species and bats present, I've been told.

Over the next few days we'll be filming the deer to see which males are going to be the head honchos of the group and the ones that will most likely end up with all the ladies.

Great science and story behind these beautiful deer. I'll keep you updated as to how we get on.

Only three days to transmission - yikes!

This year, presenter Simon King will be witnessing some truly amazing autumn spectacles and trying to unravel some great wildlife mysteries. Expect small ninja deer in surprising places and a gargantuan conger eel plus a few surprises in between.

In the mean time, I seem to have stumbled across a mystery of my own - which I'm hoping you might be able to help solve.

So what on earth could it be?

Well, according to my friend Brett Westwood, presenter of Radio 4's World on the Move and general wildlife guru, it could be a pretty strange find indeed.

Brett reckons it looks like something the Welsh used to call 'powdr ser' or star-slime.

"Medieval people thought it was the remains of fallen stars," he said.

"In fact, it's actually the oviducts of frogs which have been eaten by a predator, a polecat or mink maybe. There are some very odd algae and slime moulds to be had - but this does look like 'star-slime' to me."

I've also put the question to some other knowledgeable nature folk who thought it may be too early for frogs. The Wildlife Trust agreed that it was an odd time of year although frogs have been spotted in parts of Gloucestershire, Hereford and Powys.

So over to you. Any ideas at all about the glob of goo?

In fact, it would be good to hear about any of your weird or wacky wildlife sightings - especially with Halloween coming up. So, if you've spotted any strange or spooky goings on, drop us a line using the comment form below.

In the meantime you can listen to a clip from the Out of Doors programme on BBC Radio Scotland. They've been inundated over the past few weeks by listeners sharing their pictures and stories of a mysterious jelly like substance. It became more complicated and intriguing after listener Ronnie Leask told them about a journey he made in 2004 with geologist Bill Baird. Presenter Euan McIlwraith managed to track down Bill, and a fascinating story...

Unknown to me it had just made the journey all the way from the Sargasso Sea (south of Bermuda) and now it was in my hand, measuring only eight centimetres or so.

Eels are one of the truly great animal mysteries. No-one has ever witnessed or found them spawning. It's puzzled people for many years: Aristotle thought they came from rotting seaweed and even Sigmund Freud kept one to try to find out the answer.

It has been deduced that they spawn in the Sargasso Sea and make their way across the Atlantic as tiny creatures using the oceans currents such as the gulf stream.

They then travel up rivers, climbing weirs and other obstacles to make it to into the river system, an incredible effort for such a small fish.

They will spend most of their lives in fresh water and grow in size until it comes to the time when as an adult eels (now a pretty hefty creature) start heading downstream (and across land even) and head out into the ocean to start the journey back to the Sargasso Sea.

This will be one final journey to spawn and start the cycle again.

All epic stuff, and in an age of technological advances where people communicate each others' locations using a raft of devices, it's amazing to think that we still don't really know where the eel goes on its journey.

So why am I talking about them now? Well autumn is the time when the adults start their journey and start moving out from the rivers out to sea. It's dependent on rainfall and the stages of the lunar cycle but across the country they are starting their long and final swim.

On a more sober note over the last 20 years there has been a 90% reduction in the population abundance in Europe and this is serious news for our slivery tourists.

There are a number of factors involved: netting, fishing and barriers to migration, not to mention possible disruption from climate change to the currents that bring them across the Atlantic as young.

It is also sad to think not everyone likes eels. Another recollection I have was the attitude from a minority of anglers who took a dim view of eels and persecuted them for tangling their lines up. It's a practice I hope has stopped.

Like many things in wildlife they are inspirational and I'd like them to not go the same way as salmon and disappear from some of our rivers. Best of luck Eels - have a good trip.

And here's a sneak piece of information for you: we hopefully should be meeting some conger eels in this year's Autumnwatch, these huge sea creatures can reach up to three metres long - watch this space!

Muntjacs were originally brought all the way from China to deer parks such as Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire and subsequently escaped, quickly establishing successful feral populations in the wild.

Their tenacity and ability to breed all year round means they've spread to many parts of England and Wales. They can be found in surprising places and even in urban environments being spotted next to motorways and in parks.

They're pretty small - about the same size as a dog. The males have small antlers and a distinct 'v' shape on their faces. But the real funny feature of the muntjac is their tiny little tusks. They're kind of like a cross between a small deer and a warthog I suppose!

They're incredibly skittish and wary and you can understand how they've managed to survive simply by blending into the background. They're also solitary, so unlike other deer species you're not going to see huge herds of them.

We went filming them for the new Autumnwatch series that I'm working on at the moment. It was pretty tricky-going for our cameraman as they're such secretive animals. But finally, after many painstaking hours and a bit of good fortune he got some great footage of a male muntjac barking (as you an see from the video clip).

In this case it's probably barking or yapping to sound an alarm but they also do it to make a challenge and to sound their location to other deer.

So, for its secretive nature and unusual looks, the muntjac is definitely a favourite deer of mine. Also, I suppose the simple fact that you may be lucky enough to spot one in the countryside or even in you local parkland! So, have you ever seen any? Drop me a line using the comment form below.

Here's my pick of this week's wildlife web:
Big Cat Live comes to our screen soon all the way from the Masai Mara in Kenya but it's already started on the web! It looks great and my pal Chris is there to tell you what's going on in camp.

What's on:
Minibeast hunt in Newport

Some Halloween themed wildlife events happening on 28 October.

It's been an unusual week, to say the least. Saturday saw me on a rubbish dump waiting for seagulls to land. We were making a radio programme about seagulls that inhabit rubbish tips and were with some scientists who were using cannon netting in order to capture and ring them.

It's a humane process and the birds are quickly and efficiently gathered then measured and ringed before being freed.

We had it all set up and ready to go. But wildlife being wildlife, the seagulls were having it their own way, and remained circling high above for the remainder of the day. In hot weather, we were left waiting and waiting with only the sweet smells and sights of people's unwanted refuse to look at. Nice.

And yet it was an experience I reckon everyone should go through. It certainly makes you think, seeing society's unwanted stuff - tonnes of it - and it still piling up day by day.

Not that the seagulls minded. Indeed there were quite a few other birds about too. Seagulls of various types, jackdaws, crows, buzzards and even some enigmatic ravens.

Ravens are intriguing birds surrounded by stories and folklore. You can recognise ravens by their jet-black colour, deep beak and wedge-shaped tail. But when you're close to them, the most striking thing about ravens is their size. They're huge and must be at least the size of a buzzard.

On Tuesday I was fortunate enough to travel to a raven roost on Anglesey. It was also a bit of a treat as on the way there I passed through the village with the longest name in Europe - Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. Like many Welsh folk, I'm often asked for a pronounciation when people find out where I'm from - so it was nice to see the place for real.

Unfortunately, the ravens weren't there en masse as it was daytime - and that's when they're out foraging. But it was an enchanting place with a few individual birds squawking above us.

Often associated with death, ravens sometimes get bad press. They almost became extinct in the UK but after becoming protected their numbers have increased. In fact, Newborough on Anglesey plays host to one of the largest raven roots in the UK.

Being part of the corvid family, ravens are very intelligent creatures. Recent studies have suggested they actually recognise facial features. It's also believed that they are able to communicate the location of food sources to each other plus a whole host of other surprising skills and behaviours.

While we were there I was shown a raven food pellet. This is the material that they can't digest and so cough up in a ball. Depending on what the bird has eaten, the pellets can look quite different. The one we found looked a bit like a Weetabix which showed the raven had eaten lots of seeds and cereal-type foods.

So that's certainly one to look out for. If you see a Weetabix in the wild it's probably not someone's unwanted breakfast but a sign that ravens have been close by!

You can find out more about some the stories surrounding ravens here. Use the comment form below to let me know what you think.

In the meantime, here's my pick of this week's wildlife web:
Earth-touch

Picture by Ian Francis.

I did manage to catch a glimpse of the culprit, but it made a swift getaway leaving me unable to shout back, like a slapped kid to a bully: "What did you do that for?"

It was strange as I hadn't even realised it was there. But in Autumn, wasps are known to get a bit aggressive as their nests start to die off and they head out in search for food often "getting drunk and disorderly" on fermented food.

To be honest, wasps probably do get a bum deal. After all, this was the first time I'd ever been stung - which isn't bad going. Wasps, like most insects, play a key part in our ecosystem, breaking down matter and controlling other insects and garden pests. Without them we'd be up to our eyeballs in rubbish.

Plus I'd much rather be stung by a wasp than have ticks gorging themselves on me - which is whah happened while I was at a deer park last year. I was actually at a music festival at the time and I can tell you now that inspecting your body for ticks while in a festival portaloo is far from fun!

Now things are starting to change and Autumn is upon us. Although we haven't had a great summer you can really see the seasons changing. From the thuggish wasps to migrants on the move I also enjoy Autumn simply for the beautiful colours you get.

Now's also a good as a time as any to see 'daddy long legs' - or crane flies as they're also known. Like my Auntie Jean taught me as a kid, a good way to see them is on a damp night using a torch or garden light on the lawn. Here you'll be able to watch them hatching out from their larval stage into large gangly-legged adults. Gardeners may hate them, but it's a wildlife moment that has stayed with me for years.

You can find out more about all sorts of creepy crawlies on the Buglife website.

There's an opportunity to get your hands dirty during the Marine Conservation Society's (MCS) annual Beachwatch litter survey and clean-up, which is taking place at locations the length and breadth of our coastline this weekend, 20-21 September 2008. Register online http://www.adoptabeach.org.uk/ or call Gill Bell, MCS Wales, on 01989 566017/07889.

Other events coming up include a Forest Farm walk in Cardiff on 20 September and brown hairstreak butterfly surveys in Carmarthen, Ceredigion and Permbrokeshire.

In the meantime, why not drop me a line using the comments form below, to let me know what you like best about Autumn.