Feathered friends!
You may have spent the previous months wondering what unseen bird that was you heard singing. Although bird song turns down a notch or two in winter, it is a perfect time to familiarise yourself with a few calls. Robins sing year-round, and wrens and blackbirds will be heard well into winter. As trees and shrubs lose their leaves, it’s easier to see the bird that is singing.

Winter migrants arrive on our shores, and members of the thrush family, in particular, are one of the highlights of winter. This includes the redwing and fieldfare (listen for its ‘tsak, tsak, tsuk’ call), birds of scrub and farmland, especially with good hedgerows for shelter. Berry-bearing trees and shrubs are magnets for these birds, and they will often forage in late afternoon around the edges of woodlands before moving deeper into the woods to roost.

Because of their importance for winter wildlife, the Trust manages its hedgerows carefully, cutting branches back only every few years in January or February, which allows for greater spring blossoms and more autumn berries and nuts. The Trust also continues to plant and extend its network of hedges, scrub and woodland across its estate each year. Many of the Trust’s Gateshead reserves are great places to see overwintering members of the thrush family, as they have hedges, scrub and grasslands, and woodland edges that provide perfect habitat. This year was a great one for hawthorn blossom and berries, so hopefully the thrushes will be plentiful too.

Mammal movements
Winter is a good time to keep an eye out for mammal footprints in the mud or snow. It is a while since we have had a prolonged period of snow, but mud is still in plentiful supply. Look for signs of badgers, deer, otters (on the banks of streams and ponds), foxes, mice and voles. Badgers do not truly hibernate, but may enter a state of torpor during very cold or snowy periods, staying in the sett, metabolising fat reserves, and reducing body temperature by up to 9˚C. Otherwise, they will remain active throughout the winter although their activity becomes unpredictable and sporadic. But as spring approaches, they begin making more of an appearance outside their setts.

If we do get a period of snow cover, it’s great for hunting out the runs of voles and mice, as they remain active under a protective white blanket. But, like long wet periods, it’s not so great for the barn owl, who will struggle to find prey hidden by snow. When this occurs, you may spot barn owls hunting by day over farmland and similar habitat, as at Bishop’s Fen and Low Barns. You may spot other owl species too. The short-eared owl will move from the uplands to the lowlands during winter, as well as winter migrant birds arriving from Northern Europe. They are daytime hunters and, if you are lucky, you may see a short-eared owl hunting across the landscape on a winter afternoon.

Winter gatherings
Over the last 18 months, the Trust has acquired land across a number of sites, from the North Pennines down to the Tees lowlands, and winter migrations link these sites. Altitudinal migrants flock from their spring and summer upland locations down to the lowlands in autumn and winter. Records from autumn surveys on the Skerne floodplain sites, including Bishop’s Fen, show large flocks of curlew, lapwing, dunlin and golden plover. With smaller numbers of redshank, greenshank and snipe. Several sightings of great white egret have also been reported.

With the winter influx of fowl including large numbers of geese, a winter ramble across the countryside between Bishop Middleham and Hardwick Park can provide a glimpse of winter wildlife at its best. The work the Trust will undertake in coming years to restore wetland sites around the River Skerne will see the winter bonanza grow even further.

Tips for the trip
Want to see more winter wildlife? It might be cold, but consider venturing out soon after sunrise to get good results. Many birds are most active early in the morning, feeding to replenish the energy they lost keeping warm overnight. Late afternoon works too, and Low Barns and Rainton Meadows can sometimes offer the backdrop of amazing sunsets illuminating murmurating starlings preparing to roost.

One final tip… your sightings make a world of difference. Please ensure you submit your wildlife sightings either to the Trust by using this form, a wildlife recording app, or to your local environmental records centre. This information enables the Trust to make the decisions that will help deliver nature’s recovery over the coming years.