The winter wildlife to look out for during the festive season
It’s December: the advent calendars are out and Christmas will soon be upon us. Whilst it’s lovely to snuggle up by the fireside, it’s also great to play in the snow, maybe even spotting some elusive wintertime visitors. Here is your guide to the top five winter wildlife to look out for!
Short-eared owls
Owls are commonly associated with winter – mainly because it’s dark earlier, and so you’re more likely to hear them before bedtime. There are five major species of owl in the UK: the barn owl, tawny owl, little owl, long-eared owl and short-eared owl. Short-eared owls are mainly winter visitors, so that’s why I’m focusing on them.
Short-eared owls are known for their bright yellow eyes, mottled brown bodies and pale wings. Interestingly, they are one of the largest owl species in England. Their summer roost is in the cold coniferous forests of Scandinavia. They like to feast on small mammals such as voles and shrews and have a UK conservation status of amber. (Find out more about the UK conservation system here.)
Spotting short-eared owls:
It’s easiest to go looking for short-eared owls just after dusk. You’ll usually find them hunting and roosting in coastal marshes and wetlands, and they have a distinct ‘eeya’ call. A successful breeding year will mean there’s around 2000 breeding pairs. However, due to global warming and ‘the Beast from the East’, owls had a very bad breeding year, so you can expect around 1000 breeding pairs.
Partridge
If you have been thinking about Christmas wildlife this year, you will probably have listened to the song ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ for some inspiration. One of the most prominent birds in it is the partridge, which is a very interesting bird.
Partridges are ground birds, so you won’t find one in your local pear tree! They’re mainly grey, with a very unmistakable orange face. They dine on an exciting diet of leaves, seeds and insects. However this once-common bird has been put on the red conservation list, due to devastating habitat loss.
Spotting partridges:
Partridges are mainly spotted in fertile lowland. Mainly residents of Eastern Britain, they can also be found hidden away in the North Pennines. Their call is a 'craaa-ack’, usually heard calling over the fields. There are roughly 43,000 partridge territories in the UK.
Fox
If you haven’t been exploring in your local area much, or haven’t had any opportunities to show off your tracking skills, why don’t you try tracking a fox; it’s a great way to improve your field craft! Foxes are commonly seen messing around in the snow, and the snow also makes paw prints easier to spot - you can see their droppings too.
Foxes have reddish-brown fur, a large, bushy tail and a pale underbelly. They are very common in Britain, in you can find a large number in any local town or city park. They will eat most things, making them a very successful species. Fox families have an interesting hierarchy, usually with one male (dog) and one female (vixen), along with the cubs and a few female helpers from a previous litter.
Tracking foxes:
Foxes are shy creatures, but you can easily track them. To start with, have a look to see if you can find any evidence of them. This may be a scrap of red fur, paw prints, or droppings. If you find one of the latter two, there should be some paw prints near it, so follow them. You may come across a fox den, a live fox, or a completely different animal! Alternatively, you could leave a bit of food out in your local park each night. Foxes are scavengers, and will usually eat most things (just make sure the food you leave isn’t poisonous for foxes!). Once you know something is eating your scraps, pop down there one night after you’ve laid the bait. You should, at some point, see a fox appear!
Reindeer
When Christmas is mentioned, you may think to Father Christmas and the magical flying reindeer that pull his sleigh, led by none other than the infamous Rudolf! However, as far as my knowledge of flying reindeer extends, there are no flying reindeer in Britain - but if you fancy your chances of seeing a normal reindeer, read on!
Reindeer are usually dark or light grey, with large antlers and a big muzzle. They live in snowy areas in Northern Europe. Fortunately for these furry animals, their population is very secure and they won’t go extinct any time soon (although global warming may start to have an effect on their habitat soon).
How to spot reindeer:
Reindeer don’t really live in the UK; however there is one free-roaming herd in the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland. So, if you want to see them, first you’ll have to persuade your parents to take you to Scotland. Reindeer will eat most vegetation, so you could catch them nibbling on a mountain shrub.
Robin
The humble robin is a well-known Christmas bird, always shown flying around in the snow. Seen at most feeders, this bird is one of my favourite Christmas wildlife.
Robins have a bright red breast and can be seen at most feeders. They sing all year round, and despite their cute looks they are very territorial and are quick to drive out intruders. They feast on worms, insects, seeds and invertebrates.
Spotting robins:
Usually, you can look outside at your bird feeder to see a robin singing, eating, or chasing away other robins. They are very common as they have been put on the conservation green list. You can see them in every part of Britain.
Alfie Lovett, Year 8
Short-eared owls
Owls are commonly associated with winter – mainly because it’s dark earlier, and so you’re more likely to hear them before bedtime. There are five major species of owl in the UK: the barn owl, tawny owl, little owl, long-eared owl and short-eared owl. Short-eared owls are mainly winter visitors, so that’s why I’m focusing on them.
Short-eared owls are known for their bright yellow eyes, mottled brown bodies and pale wings. Interestingly, they are one of the largest owl species in England. Their summer roost is in the cold coniferous forests of Scandinavia. They like to feast on small mammals such as voles and shrews and have a UK conservation status of amber. (Find out more about the UK conservation system here.)
Spotting short-eared owls:
It’s easiest to go looking for short-eared owls just after dusk. You’ll usually find them hunting and roosting in coastal marshes and wetlands, and they have a distinct ‘eeya’ call. A successful breeding year will mean there’s around 2000 breeding pairs. However, due to global warming and ‘the Beast from the East’, owls had a very bad breeding year, so you can expect around 1000 breeding pairs.
Partridge
If you have been thinking about Christmas wildlife this year, you will probably have listened to the song ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ for some inspiration. One of the most prominent birds in it is the partridge, which is a very interesting bird.
Partridges are ground birds, so you won’t find one in your local pear tree! They’re mainly grey, with a very unmistakable orange face. They dine on an exciting diet of leaves, seeds and insects. However this once-common bird has been put on the red conservation list, due to devastating habitat loss.
Spotting partridges:
Partridges are mainly spotted in fertile lowland. Mainly residents of Eastern Britain, they can also be found hidden away in the North Pennines. Their call is a 'craaa-ack’, usually heard calling over the fields. There are roughly 43,000 partridge territories in the UK.
Fox
If you haven’t been exploring in your local area much, or haven’t had any opportunities to show off your tracking skills, why don’t you try tracking a fox; it’s a great way to improve your field craft! Foxes are commonly seen messing around in the snow, and the snow also makes paw prints easier to spot - you can see their droppings too.
Foxes have reddish-brown fur, a large, bushy tail and a pale underbelly. They are very common in Britain, in you can find a large number in any local town or city park. They will eat most things, making them a very successful species. Fox families have an interesting hierarchy, usually with one male (dog) and one female (vixen), along with the cubs and a few female helpers from a previous litter.
Tracking foxes:
Foxes are shy creatures, but you can easily track them. To start with, have a look to see if you can find any evidence of them. This may be a scrap of red fur, paw prints, or droppings. If you find one of the latter two, there should be some paw prints near it, so follow them. You may come across a fox den, a live fox, or a completely different animal! Alternatively, you could leave a bit of food out in your local park each night. Foxes are scavengers, and will usually eat most things (just make sure the food you leave isn’t poisonous for foxes!). Once you know something is eating your scraps, pop down there one night after you’ve laid the bait. You should, at some point, see a fox appear!
Reindeer
When Christmas is mentioned, you may think to Father Christmas and the magical flying reindeer that pull his sleigh, led by none other than the infamous Rudolf! However, as far as my knowledge of flying reindeer extends, there are no flying reindeer in Britain - but if you fancy your chances of seeing a normal reindeer, read on!
Reindeer are usually dark or light grey, with large antlers and a big muzzle. They live in snowy areas in Northern Europe. Fortunately for these furry animals, their population is very secure and they won’t go extinct any time soon (although global warming may start to have an effect on their habitat soon).
How to spot reindeer:
Reindeer don’t really live in the UK; however there is one free-roaming herd in the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland. So, if you want to see them, first you’ll have to persuade your parents to take you to Scotland. Reindeer will eat most vegetation, so you could catch them nibbling on a mountain shrub.
Robin
The humble robin is a well-known Christmas bird, always shown flying around in the snow. Seen at most feeders, this bird is one of my favourite Christmas wildlife.
Robins have a bright red breast and can be seen at most feeders. They sing all year round, and despite their cute looks they are very territorial and are quick to drive out intruders. They feast on worms, insects, seeds and invertebrates.
Spotting robins:
Usually, you can look outside at your bird feeder to see a robin singing, eating, or chasing away other robins. They are very common as they have been put on the conservation green list. You can see them in every part of Britain.
Alfie Lovett, Year 8