Birds:

Along the coastline, in tidal estuaries and on coastal wetlands you can see huge flocks of over-wintering wildfowl that feed on tiny worms and shellfish, especially at low tide. Look out for geese, swans, ducks and waders such as black-tailed godwits, knot and redshank.

Larger waterbodies provide feeding and resting areas for ducks and geese.  Bewick and Whooper swans and the pink-footed geese return each winter to the same areas, notably Martin Mere managed by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. They feed on root vegetables and winter wheat.

On lakes and reservoirs you stand a good chance of seeing birds in courtship behaviour, as well as the mallards and Canada geese, look out for great crested grebes with their head bobbing shaking and how they list out of the water, bodies touching to form a heart shape & then tread water in a very moving display.

Starlings create a particularly dramatic and noisy display as they flock in vast numbers that appear to be in perfect synchrony. They form large flocks because with lots of eyes each bird in the flock can spend less time looking out for predators and more time feeding.

Waxwings can be seen foraging for berries such as hawthorn in the countryside but also on cotoneaster, berberis and pyracatha in gardens and even supermarket car parks! Also look out for flocks of redwings and fieldfares in the fields and hedgerows.

On sunny days birds such as song thrush, blackbird, greenfinch, skylark and blue, coal and great tits may be heard singing.

Some birds are starting to form pairs, look out for robins, wrens, rooks and hedge sparrows.

Snow may be falling this month but blue tits are already getting ready for the breeding season ahead, visiting gardens in searching of food and seeking out possible nesting sites. Good food supplies are very important so make sure you keep your bird feeders topped up with nuts or seeds to help our garden birds make it through the winter. Female birds need to keep their body weight up to be in good breeding condition ready for the spring and males need to keep their plumage in good condition to attract the females.

Mammals:

January marks the start of the foxes breeding season. The females make blood-curdling screams that can sound like a person being murdered, whilst the males make a series of short dry barks.

Trees and shrubs:

Hazel catkins, also called “lamb’s tails” start to hang from hazel bushes like wisps of partially unravelled yellow wool. These are the male flowers but it will be February before they shed their pollen to fertilise the female flowers.

Plants:

Most plants are dormant and flowers are rare but look out for the first flowers coming into bloom in the new year, including snowdrops, heliotropes and lesser celandines, which is a type of buttercup but has 8 yellow petals instead of the usual 4.  Snowdrops belong to the lily family. You may also find others such as dandelion, groundsel and chickweed.

Several ferns persist throughout the winter months, including the hart’s tongue fern.

Amphibians And Reptiles:

Frogs and toads are hibernating but may wake for short spells if the temperature rises. In mild years, newts can be caught heading for their breeding sites while frogspawn can even be found in some ponds.

Invertebrates:

Small tortoiseshell butterflies often hibernate in garages, outhouses and garden sheds. They sometimes wake from hibernation on sunny winter days and can be seen fluttering against windowpanes. Their mottled brown undersides make them hard to spot until they open their wings, which are bright orange and black with a row of blue crescents around the edges of the wings.

One of the best places to look for signs of life during January is in your local pond because water retains heat much better than air. Two species to look out for while pond dipping are damselfly and mayfly nymphs. Damselfly nymphs have a long slender body and three leaf-shaped “tails”, which are actually flattened gills. Mayfly nymphs have three hair-like tails with their gills along the sides of their body.

Fungi And Lichens:

Whilst the trees are bare is a good time to search for some of the 1,500 different species of Lichens in Great Britain. Lichens are a fungus and an alga living together with the alga releasing sugars, which allow the fungus to grow and reproduce, whereas the fungus provides protection for the alga so it can live in environments in which it could not survive without the fungal partner!

Look out for any fungi that are still bright and fresh, for example the slimy orange capped fungus.