In January, much life has drawn to a standstill. Swallows and swifts are thousands of miles away, winging their way through the African savannah. Those hardy species that are clinging on in the sub-zero temperatures are tucked away in the dense vegetation for warmth, or huddled around a bird feeder to glean some scarce nutrients. The leaves of orchids have shrivelled and withered to mere folds of dead cells. But soon the cogs of nature will begin to turn again, and soon these isles will spring to life once more. I'm going to give some hints and tips for experiencing top-ranking wildlife spectacles to see in early 2025, and tactics needed to succeed in your pursuits.
1.
An hour before dawn and the skies are painted a faint wash of green. Venus, the morning star, is creeping above the horizon like a last glowing ember to the west. The flat wetland plains around you are still, icy in the morning frost. All is silent; even the planet's course seems to have stopped dead in its tracks. Then a whinnying cry, a wince interrupts the peace. Then another. The air fills with a cacophony of calls. Soon black silhouettes appear against the advancing copper light, ethereal ink-black smudges phasing through the half-light. The sky is a blur - you can't count the thousands upon thousands of birds erupting from the fields. As the sun creeps over the horizon there is no escape from the incomprehensible mirage that now surrounds you.
Now THAT is what pink-footed geese do. I cannot recommend this experience highly enough, so this has to be at the top of my list. The greatest of winter thrills, there are only a handful of places in the world where you could encounter this whirlwind of birds, and one of them is right here on the North Norfolk coast. Tactics-wise, you would need to arrive at the layby where the A149 meets Burnham Thorpe Road (https://maps.app.goo.gl/Vx8nZpEiCTU2PWHY6) about an hour before sunrise between October and mid-March. This spot intercepts the flight path of around 70,000 pinkfeet moving from the Wells sand flats to feed in the nearby beet fields by day. It really is worth the early wakeup! Another brilliant spot for these birds is our very own Buckenham Marshes RSPB; the enticing thing about dawn flocks here is that there is the possibility of much rarer species, such as the esteeemed local Russian white-fronted geese. I spoke about these in my last blog, but a dawn visit to here or Cantley may produce brilliant encounters with the much wilder whitefronts from far-flung Siberian tundra. They are my favourite goose; that magnesium-spark on the face, the ash-scarring on the belly, a twinkling dark gem of an eye that has seen half the world every year. As you can probably see, once I start talking about whitefronts I really can't stop! As for pinkfoots, they are easily told from others by their fleshy-pink legs and bill, plus a dark umber head with a bright cinnamon patch on the neck.
2.
Ancient woodlands host a wide array of visual and sensual spectacles throughout the year, from the earthy smell of garlic plants to the wheeling display of purple emperor butterflies. But in spring is perhaps the most well-loved and quintessentially British of them all: snowdrop blooms. The endless view of a carpet of white flowers, heads bowed as if in prayer, is a delightful apparition that occurs only for a couple of weeks in late January or early February. As there is wide range in the emergence periods of the many species that occur in Britain, it is difficult to predict. This year, it seems early February is going to be productive. The best spot I know of is Walsingham Abbey, a few kilometers south of Wells. This hosts the greatest number of anywhere I know of, and also hosts some scarcer breeding birds (e.g. stock dove, goldcrest, song thrush, buzzard, treecreeper, great spotted woodpecker). I highly recommend the site to test out bird identification; there are often large numbers of common "garden" species present, and you'll require nothing more that binoculars as they can be quite tame. Bring a good ID guide, sit under the shade of the canopy and get birding! For non-birders it also has a fascinating history of architecture and reform.
Other good areas to search for snowdrops are: Grapes Hill in Norwich, East Ruston Old Vicarage, Dunston Wood, plus a few national trust sites such as Blickling and Felbrigg.
3.
There are quite a few birds that perform spectacular aerial feats, but none quite so arresting as starling murmurations. To lend an ear to the thrum of a thousand wings, as they whirr overhead at incomprehensible speeds, is nothing short of a miracle. However, miracles are hard to come by: murmurations in Norfolk only occur in years when starlings are driven south from northern Europe by weather or food shortage, and seek refuge here in the UK. Luckily this year there has been a considerable influx, and there is a large murmuration along the A47 near Breydon Water. You may be able to spot this event by driving down this bit of road (aptly named the Acle Straight) at dusk. If you're lucky enough to spot this amazing phenomenon, look for the different shapes the variable flicks make; if a flock is large enough then it may make the shape of an eagle or large raptor to scare off potential predators! I find this an unbelievably coordinated behaviour that I don't think I'd expect from these birds. The way they've devised to avoid predation has a complexity that I doubt even humans could evolve to carry out.
As for the starlings themselves, plumage is eye-catching, to say the least! Shrouded in a velvety-black cloak, but when the sunlight hits: a swirling oil-painting of glossy-greens, sunset-purples and sapphire-blues, speckled like a star-studded sky. I can say no more.
I wish you all the best of luck with your hopefully successful escapades. Appreciate all that nature throws your way this February and take every find as a victory. It will soon be spring!
All images and text provided by Oscar Lawrence.