It’s been a spectacular wildlife winter so far, bringing huge influxes of wild geese and waxwings and record numbers of exotic rarities from all corners of the globe. With just a few weeks left of winter, it’s the perfect time to look back over a very exciting few months...
From Russia with loveWild geese are a feature of every winter, but it has been a particularly good one for one of our most attractive species – the white-fronted goose. These slimline geese are smaller and leaner than the familiar feral greylag geese most of us can see all year. Adult "Russian" white-fronts have beautiful black barring on their bellies and a ring of white around the base of their pink beaks. Their calls are lovely, like a pack of small dogs yapping away. During the long spell of easterly winds last October, many flocks made landfall along the east coast, pushed across the North Sea by the tail wind. Further arrivals took place as winter progressed, leading to flocks, hundreds-strong, appearing in unusual places in addition to those at traditional wintering sites. A flock of 19 are currently with the greylag geese at my local gravel pits. They often linger until March, so there’s time to catch up with some if you haven't done so yet.
White-fronted geese have been around in big numbers this winter (Mike Langman rspb-images.com)
Flock rewardsEveryone loves a rare bird, from the national press to those of us who love to catch up with them! This winter has proven that it is well worth keeping a beady eye on the blackbirds, song thrushes, redwings and fieldfares in your garden, or on your patch. Several rare thrushes have been uncovered lurking among them: a dusky thrush in the village of Beeley in the Peak District, several black-throated thrushes (including one in London) and a colourful male blue rock thrush hopping around the rooftops in Stow-on-the-Wold in the Cotswolds (a good substitute for the rocky crags where it likes to hang out) have all happily survived the winter.
Nature's Home reader, Ben Rumsby (aged 10) took this superb shot of the male blue rock thrush in Stow-on-the-Wold
Bunting huntingFlocks of yellowhammers, reed buntings and corn buntings gather where farmers have left stubble and spilled seed and following a record autumn arrival, rare pine buntings were found hiding among such flocks, as were smart little buntings.
Divers are magnificent birds and they can be seen around the UK coast in some numbers. They also turn up inland in winter bringing the chance to study them close-up. I’ve enjoyed seeing three great northern divers taking up temporary residence on Grafham Water, my local reservoir, but a splendid white-billed diver arrived on the River Witham in Lincolnshire. It’s massive pale bill earns it the nickname “Bananabill”. Check out the blog of top naturalist and Nature's Home feature writer, James Lowen to see why!
Black redstarts overwinter successfully here in the UK, but we have also had two absolutely stunning “eastern black redstarts”. Nature’s Home reader Janice Sutton sent me this photograph of the one at Skinningrove, Cleveland. I was lucky enough to see this bird myself during Christmas with the in-laws in Yorkshire. What a stunner!
Who says UK birds are all brown?! The eastern black redstart at Skinningrove on the Cleveland Coast by Nature's Home reader Janice SuttonPunks, brutes and ghostly gulls It's not all about the super rare birds though. many often scare birds have been more widely available this winter. Hopefully you have had the chance to see waxwings near you in what has been a classic “waxwing winter”. Several thousand of these plump, punk-crested beauties have been devouring our berries this winter. It’s been great to get several photographs and reports from Nature's Home readers– and to finally see some on the industrial estate close to RSPB HQ in Sandy, Beds.One of several thousand waxwings that have been in the UK this winter, by Ben Rumsby
Short-eared owls have been around in good numbers, quartering our fields and marshes and a big arrival of big, brutish, ghostly, glaucous gulls from the Arctic occurred after a bitter spell of northerly winds in January. I watched the rather grizzly sight of one of the brutes feasting on a dead herring gull at RSPB Titchwell Marsh. Another white bird, the cattle egret, has also arrived in large numbers, although one group in Oxfordshire preferred the company of pigs to cattle!
Keep an eye on your local cows - cattle egrets have arrived in big numbers this winter (Nick Upton rspb-images.com)A spell of cold weather in the week or so before Big Garden Birdwatch is always good news for those of us hoping to get a good count for the big event. That’s exactly what happened this year, so look out for the results and hopefully it will be the biggest and best Birdwatch ever.
Tell us about your winter sightingsSo, that was my whistle-stop tour, taking in just some of the delights on offer this winter, but how was it for you? Please let us know about your highlights of this special winter, anything I might have missed and if you have any memories from great winters past. We'll publish some of your sightings and photographs in Nature's Home magazine.