January’s wildlife highlights
PUBLISHED ON: 10 JANUARY 2025January 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 and frost offer the chance to look for tracks, trails and signs of mammals: see if you can spot the double, pointed slot tracks of deer, or the dog-like prints of fox, the five-clawed prints of badger or the ‘two-plus-two’ tracks of a hopping rabbit. Soft mud is often good for finding tracks.
Lakes and wetlands take on a particular atmosphere, with mists over the water and a chill in the air. Ducks, geese and swans are here in their highest numbers and the drakes (males) are in their brightest and best plumage of the year. The inland pools and coastal marshes of the New Forest National Park are wonderful places for bird-watching, and low-lying areas flooded following a rainy period often attract gulls and ducks.
Away from water, look for wintering redwings and fieldfares. They’re members of the thrush family and move around in flocks in search of berries and then soil invertebrates. You may see small, streaky finches called siskins (main photo) feeding on peanuts, sunflower hearts or Niger seed in gardens, or you could find a brambling (like a chaffinch with a white rump) or reed bunting (look for the white outer tail feathers) among ground-feeding finches.
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. She will have a second litter in the summer.
January is a low time for plant-hunting but lichens and liverworts can be seen throughout the year. Lichens, an association between fungal and algal species, grow where the air is not too polluted, so they do very well in the New Forest both inland and along the coast. Liverworts are small, flower-less plants that thrive where there’s constant moisture. Look out as well for mosses, and ferns such as the common hart’s tongue, in damp woods and hedges — these are at their best before trees cast their shade in spring.
Big Garden Birdwatch is the world’s largest garden wildlife survey, and this year it’s happening between 24 and 26 January. Every year, hundreds of thousands of nature lovers take part, helping to build a picture of how garden birds are faring. Take part at Big Garden Birdwatch
Last but not least, winter is a great time to volunteer your time and energy; many outdoor practical tasks are best done when birds are not nesting and when tree branches are bare. There’s no better place to find volunteering opportunities than at the New Forest Volunteer Fair.
