Staffordshire in Winter

Winter is a time of subtle beauty and hidden wild treasures to spot.

With leaves and foliage dormant, we can see the stark bare branches of trees, and maybe notice details previously hidden- the variety of texture and colour of tree bark and buds storing up energy for future blooms.

Migratory birds are frequent residents during winter months, and some birds even put on impressive displays called murmurations which help them to keep warm and confuse predators.

We have now waved goodbye to our high fliers, swallows, swifts and pied flycatchers as they take on their journeys to Europe and Africa. But we are welcoming our whole new foray of winter migratings birds! Redwing, fieldfare, waxwing, rambling, siskins and redpolls are just some of the birds we can expect to see in our gardens or your local nature reserves.

Our county is also great for wintering wildfowl, sites such as Croxall lakes, Tucklesholme and Doxey marshes are great places to spot these wildfowl. We are lucky to have visited such as wigeon, pochard, northern shovelers, goldeneyes and the water rail and smew on our reserves.
 

Even though we are landlocked we are often visited by Whooper swans and Bewick swans have been seen on Tucklesholme Nature Reserve as they are passing through to coastal areas. Even if we don't have these visitors, great white egrets are often seen towering over the little egrets on our wetlands. We also see bevy's of pink-footed or white-fronted geese flying over or in farmers' fields across Staffordshire.

With the days getting shorter and colder some mammals resort to hibernating through winter. During their deep sleep, a hibernating mammal’s body temperature drops well below the normal 37C, their heartbeat slows to as little as three or four beats per minute, and they breathe only every two minutes or so.

The hedgehog is one of the most well-known hibernators in the UK. In preparation for the dropping temperatures and scarcity of food, they fatten themselves up on slugs, snails and any other grubs they can get their paws on in the autumn, then spends the cold months curled up in a cosy nest of leaves and dry grass. A common misconception though is hedgehogs will sleep all winter. But actually on warmer days, they will awaken and scavenge for food or water.

Bats are also common hibernators, wrapping themselves in their wings deep inside a cave, barn or attic somewhere when the cold hits. Similar to hedgehogs, bats do not hibernate the entire winter, and will venture out to look for food if the temperature rises a little, before returning to their place of rest when the temperature drops again.

With less available light, and more animals hibernating, it may be harder to spot the usual mammal visitors. But with a little luck, and the right weather, you just might see evidence of their visits in the form of tracks on a snowy day.

If you would like to learn how to identify some common animal tracks, head to our dedicated page.