Chaos writes:

Living in suburban London, we are often oblivious to the wildlife that surrounds us, as the traffic rushes by, and we rush to school, late as ever!

8yo and I have been talking about wildlife a lot since we found out that the RSPCA have launched a new children’s short story competition – called Wild About Britain – as a celebration of British wildlife. Last week, I had a call from the school at lunchtime, to come and collect 8yo who was pale and poorly… we walked back home together, and away from the noisy main road he was rather reflective, and said ‘It’s so calm – with no car noise, and no-one around’ – so we walked quietly together listening to the songs of the birds, counting four different birds singing and chirping. As we walked into the house, and through to the back he was so delighted to see a fox, curled up asleep in the afternoon sun, on our shed roof!

(we opened the back door to take a photo, she saw us and scampered!… shame).

What is your best memory of Britain’s wildlife that you and your family have experienced together?

The RSPCA would like to encourage families to explore Britain’s wildlife. To inspire families to get involved, the RSPCA want to know what your favourite memories of Britain’s wildlife are. If you know a budding writer it’s their chance to put pen to paper and let their imaginations run wild.

From fascinating foxes and heroic hedgehogs to country lanes and woodlands, they want to hear about your experiences. All you need to do is add a comment to this post telling us about your favourite anecdote from Britain’s wildlife. And I’m giving away three RSPCA wildlife Bag for Life to my favourite posts.

Here are some weird and wonderful wildlife facts to get you thinking….

Have you ever seen a black fox? Fox cubs are often born blind and deaf with short back fur, they do not normally start to turn red until they are about five to six weeks old!

Have you heard a Robin singing in summer? Robins are actually one of the only UK birds to sing all year round. In autumn its song is more subdued and melancholy in tone compared with spring’s upbeat song.

Have you witnessed an owl climb? Tawny owlets are able to climb back up into the nest if they fall out. This hopping from perch to perch in trees is called ‘branching’.

Children under 16 can also enter their story into the Wild About Britain competition by visiting www.wildaboutbritain.org.uk and you can also tweet using the hashtag #wildaboutbritain.

Good luck!