Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis)These flowers are native to mainland Europe but have been naturalised in British woods for several centuries. Snowdrops are adapted to midwinter flowering: a sheath protects their flower stem as it pushes up through the hard, frosty ground. This is a kind of modified leaf, and its botanical name is a spathe. The structure gives snowdrops their alternative name of ‘snow-piercer.’
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Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris)Each winter, fieldfares descend on Britain and Ireland from northern and eastern Europe to scour the countryside for food.
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Barn OwlBarns owls appear to float through the air as they quarter rough grassland in search of voles. They fly in a sweet spot, roughly 2–3m above the ground, folding their long wings to drop like a stone the instant they hear the rustle of prey.
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NuthatchWhile sunflower hearts can be swallowed in one, the nuthatch’s signature winter feeding technique is to wedge acorns and hazelnuts into cracks in tree bark before hammering them to pieces, hence the species’ old names of ‘nut hack’ and ‘nut jobber’.
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Common FrogAmphibians such as the common frog rely on temperature as the cue to wake up from hibernation and start breeding. Warm spells can thus result in frogspawn as early as Christmas, and this has always been the case – though, with milder winters, such instances are on the rise.
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Weasel‘Live fast, die young’ could be the weasel’s motto. Of the seven mustelids found in Britain, it has the shortest lifespan – rarely over 12–18 months. Small size and an energetic hunting style mean it rapidly burns through energy reserves, and consumes about a third of its body weight every day in order to survive.
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Hazel catkinsHazel catkins were once known as lamb’s tails. partly for the obvious resemblance but also perhaps because both are welcome signs of the coming spring. Dangling from bare twigs, these pendulous flowers spikes-botanists would call them inflorescences-are covered in hard, golden scales and are entirely male.
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Great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)One of the first bird sounds to hint at the approach of spring isn’t a song or call, but the territorial tapping of great spotted woodpeckers. Their dagger-like bill makes contact up to 16 times a second.
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Winter Twigs - Become a nature detective!!The Shropshire Wildlife Trust has provided this handy twig identification page.... how many can you find?? To download it directly from their site, click here.
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Competition Time!! A photograph of a winter tree silhouetteTwo categories: Adults and U/16
(please give your age in the u/16 category) Submit by 28 February to [email protected] Prize information to follow shortly.... |
Photo by Amanda Hopwood
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