This month look out for:
- Wader flocks on wetlands and estuaries
- Redwings, fieldfares and waxwings
- Surprises at the garden bird table
- Frogs returning to ponds
- Thrushes, robins and great tits singing for territories
Christmas is over and the new year celebrations are now a mere hangover. January and February are the core of winter, and Spring feels a long way off. Days are short, but can be crisp and bright. Early morning frosts leave pearls of ice on spiders webs, making them sparkle but, unfortunately for the spiders, useless for catching prey. Lasts year’s leaves also get a frosting, and lawns can be silvered with ice.
Most plants have disappeared to their over wintering form (such as bulbs, runners and seeds, or leafless above-ground branches), although one or two may be now tentatively poking through again. The list of winter bird species is very different from the summer one, as many species have migrated southwards to be in the warmth where food is easier to find – and if they are lucky they will have missed the hunters of the Mediterranean too! However geese, ducks and waders crowd the estuaries, feeding frenetically, and are a special attraction at this time of year. Fieldfares and redwings move in flocks through the countryside and can be heard at night flying over giving out high pitched calls, whilst many smaller birds come to garden bird tables to find enough food to survive.
Trees stand starkly in the fields and woodlands in winter, with buds poised to burst when spring finally arrives. They have a particular beauty in their bare form. Although it is perhaps more difficult to identify trees without their leaves it is rewarding and certainly worth the effort. One way to cheat is to look for fallen leaves below a tree and see if it is possible to identify it that way. However if you look carefully many species, particularly oak, ash and silver birch for instance, they have a very specific shape, bark texture and twig\bud form. Any good tree guide should point out what features to look out for.
As the month progresses, the song thrush, with its strident repeated notes, starts to proclaim its territory. On sunny days blackbirds, greenfinches and great tits also sing. In woodlands you may be lucky enough to hear a great spotted woodpecker drumming against a tree. At certain sites during winter bird flocks gather to roost in their tens of thousands. This provides a moving spectacle and quite a din. Starlings, for instance, flock in wetlands such the Somerset levels, and cover the reed beds like black, chattering locusts.
Habitats and species
Parks and gardens: The parks and gardens are largely bare, with only a few hardy bedding plants and perennials showing any colour. However the first shoots of the spring bulbs are likely to emerge. In addition, it is heartening to see the delicate looking snowdrops emerging with flowers opening in January onwards. By now you may have been feeding garden birds and putting out water for a number of months. If not it is never too late and you can make a real difference to bird survival. Flocks of wintering thrushes (redwings and fieldfares) move around together in search of berries and other food. At night they can be heard calling to one another with a distinctive metallic chack noise or a high pitched whistle. Remember that blue and great tits will now be scouting around for nest boxes for Spring, so you need to have them in place as soon as possible. In winter the seemingly bare parks redirect your focus on the more common spectacles of nature normally overlooked, such a spider’s web made useless by frost or dew. The occasional butterfly can emerge in mild weather such as small tortoiseshell butterfly. Maybe it will return to its hibernation when the cold returns.
Birds: Along with the birds mentioned here under various habitats above, one winter delight is the sight of waxwings. Named after the waxy tips to some of their feathers these beautiful pinkish birds can be found even in cities. They have a particular liking for the berry laden trees and bushes of some supermarket car parks and are certainly worth making a special trip to hunt out! In Britain the uncommon Cetti’s warbler and the extremely rare and localised Dartford warbler are the stars of their type as they do not migrate and are scarce enough to excite. However (perhaps?) increasingly blackcaps and chiffchaffs can be found in Britain at this time of the year and their presence is a pleasant reminder of summer. Things are starting to liven up in the rookery at this time; rooks tend to keep close to their nesting area through out the year, but are now evident around the nests once more. Pairs may be seen together repairing and rebuilding the nests for the new season ahead.
Amphibians & Reptiles: All species hibernate during winter. Newts for instance may be unintentionally discovered under logs and in stone work, but should not be disturbed during hibernation. However January sees the emergence of some species with first newts moving towards their breeding ponds. In the south western counties, were it is on average warmer and that bit more temperate, the first of the common frog spawn can be found in ponds.
Plants: January is really a low point in terms of plant hunting. However there are some signs of things to come and on New Years day many botanists do a flowering plant hunt, which they report to the BSBI. Precocious dandelions may flower as may other common wayside plants. The first of the hazel catkins are stretching out into golden tassels.Lichens are easily found at all times, and it is worth venturing into graveyards, for instance, where the air is not too polluted to discover these fascinating organisms. Lichens are an association between algal and fungal species, which benefit from each other in a way that enables them to survive the most adverse of conditions.
Liverworts are always present throughout the year, growing where there is constant moisture. These relatively simple plants require high humidity levels to prevent drying out and to enable them to reproduce.
Ferns too provide a diversion as many can still be seen in winter. The common hart’s tongue fern can be found growing abundantly in many damp woods and hedges.
Insects: Insects are few and far between. Occasionally in the winter sunshine swarms of gnats make an appearance, with the males dancing in mid air to attract a female. Some butterflies migrate but many over winter as a pupa or adult. Peacock butterflies are often to be found in sheds and attics where the temperature is fairly constant and the air is moist.