Wildlife calendar January

The new year can bring the coldest winter weather and the highest chance of snow, but there are still great opportunities for wildlife-watching in the New Forest.

Snowfall or a hard frost offers the chance to look for tracks, trails and signs of mammals: see if you can spot the double slot tracks of deer, or the prints of fox, badger or rabbit.  Winter, even without snow, is the best time to find both tracks and trails as they show up well on mud and soft ground and there are fewer plants to obscure them.

Lakes and wetlands take on a particular atmosphere, with mists over the water and a chill in the air.  Winter is the best season to watch ducks, geese and swans because they are present in their highest numbers; also the drakes (males) are in their brightest and best plumage of the year. The inland pools and the coastal marshes of the national park are wonderful places for bird-watching.  Low-lying meadows may be flooded following a rainy period and these attract gulls and ducks.

Other wintering birds to look out for are redwings and fieldfares. They are members of the thrush family and move around in flocks in search of berries and other food.  Sometimes there are also large numbers of visiting waxwings: these eye-catching, pinkish birds are worth looking out for.

Squirrels are frisky this month and you might see and hear them courting in the treetops. The female emits an irresistible scent and is hotly pursued by several  noisy, chattering males. The fittest male mates with her and the babies are born six weeks later.

January is a low time for plant-hunting but lichens and liverworts are present throughout the year. Lichens, an association between fungal and algal species,  grow where the air is not too polluted.  Liverworts thrive where there is constant moisture. Look out as well for ferns such as the common hart’s tongue in damp woods and hedges.