Winter is an excellent time of year for wildlife watching. Cold weather brings many animals out into the open in search of food, and bare branches on trees make birds easier to see.
Spotting some of our winter-visiting bird species is a highlight for many wildlife watchers. Redwings, fieldfares and siskins are all fairly easy to catch a glimpse of in gardens or the countryside – but some of our winter visitors are quite rare, and seeing them is a real treat.
Last year, waxwings in their thousands arrived along the Monsal Trail near Hassop station. These beautiful, colourful birds don’t often visit Derbyshire – they’re usually only spotted in the far north of the UK. Last year we had what’s known as a ‘waxwing winter’, with thousands of birds seen across the UK, as far south as London.
A waxwing winter occurs when large numbers of migrating birds are forced south by lack of food in their resident areas across Russia and Scandinavia. Last winter’s bumper hawthorn berry crop may have been what tempted them to the UK – the waxwings along the Monsal Trail certainly seemed to be enjoying the berries!
Could 2024 be a waxwing winter? There have already been some sightings of waxwings in Northumberland and parts of Yorkshire, so it’s possible they could also make it further south to the Peak District.
Look out for some of our rarer resident bird species too. Hawfinches live in a few parts of the UK all year – but they’re easier to see in winter when the resident population is boosted by visitors from continental Europe. Hawfinches are elusive birds, and particularly hard to spot during the summer nesting season – but they become more visible during winter as they search for food.
The hawfinch is the UK’s largest finch – it weighs twice as much as a chaffinch – and it has a big, powerful bill that it uses to crack cherry stones and beech seeds. Hawfinches are sometimes seen at Carsington Water; churchyards and woodlands are also good places to look out for them.
Murmuration
One winter wildlife spectacle that is worth looking out for is a starling murmuration. These breathtaking aerial displays – often involving thousands of birds – are more frequent in winter, when resident populations of starlings are joined by many more birds migrating here from Scandinavia.
A murmuration – the collective noun for a group of starlings – creates enormous, swirling, cloud-like shapes as the birds swoop and dive in coordinated patterns.
Murmuration displays often occur at dusk, just before the birds roost overnight. Roosting provides them with safety in numbers, as well as warmth. As so many birds arrive in the same place at once, they can be vulnerable to predators – but by flying together in the sky, creating a moving mass of birds, the starlings can confuse potential predatory species and make it harder for them to pick off individual birds.
To catch a glimpse of a murmuration, check Starlings in the UK (www.starlingsintheuk.co.uk) which offers updates on the latest sightings. The interactive map on this website includes a couple of possible murmuration sites in the Peak District, including Cavendish Mill, at Stoney Middleton, where flocks of starlings have been known to roost in the reed beds.
Helping threatened species
Hawfinches have a ‘Red’ conservation status, which means they have suffered a severe population decline in recent years, with the number of breeding pairs steadily falling since the 1980s.
Starlings are also a threatened species on the Red list, due to their declining numbers, which have fallen by 54% since 1995.
But there are ways you can help birds like these. Starlings are regular garden visitors, so creating a bird-friendly garden is a good start.
Starlings – as well as other birds such as thrushes, blackbirds and robins – forage for invertebrates in the soil. Having a combination of long and short grass helps insect-feeding birds – the short grass makes it easier for them to forage, while the longer grass encourages higher insect populations.
Choosing the right plants for your garden can help birds too. Nectar-rich planting attracts insects, which in turn helps insect-eating birds – as well as other creatures such as bats and hedgehogs.
Provide fresh drinking water for birds and other wildlife. This is important in hot weather, but also necessary in winter, as natural water sources may be frozen over.
A shallow container, such as a birdbath or large plant pot saucer is best. If your water container is deeper, or you have a pond, make sure there are access and exit points – a gentle slope or some large stones placed near the edge – so small animals don’t get trapped in the water.
Starlings and other birds need places to nest and roost – and putting up a nesting box is one of the easiest ways to help wild birds in gardens and community green spaces.
Different-sized birds need different-sized nest boxes. The size of the access hole to the box will also change, depending on which bird you’re planning to provide a home for – it needs to be big enough for a bird to get in and out easily, but small enough to keep out predators.
Starlings are fairly big birds, so they need a box with a 45mm entrance hole. You can make your own box, or buy one. Nest boxes can be placed on a wall, fence, tree or building.
Some vegetation nearby provides birds with cover as they enter and exit the box – holly, ivy, pyracantha and cotoneaster are ideal. These plants also provide nectar-rich blossoms in spring, which will boost insect numbers, as well as berries in autumn that are a good source of food for all sorts of birds.
The nest box should be positioned out of direct sunlight, to prevent young birds from overheating, and at least 1.5m above the ground, to keep the inhabitants safe from predators such as cats.
The RSPB (www.rspb.org.uk) has lots of ideas for helping birds and other wildlife in winter – including detailed information about choosing, building and siting bird nesting boxes. Or visit Little Green Space’s website, or the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust at www.derbyshirewildlifetrust.org.uk, for wildlife gardening inspiration.
Penny Bunting
www.littlegreenspace. org.uk
Bluesky @lgspace.bsky.social
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