Bill Oddie’s How to Watch Wildlife. Stephen Moss

in winter, and may be active all through the day.

      

Barn owls are mainly seen at dawn and dusk, in open farmland areas; they are often more common in marshy fields, especially in East Anglia.

       Bill's top tip

      _ Look out for hunting barn owls just after a prolonged spell of wet weather. Barn owls cannot hunt in the rain as it soaks their fine feathers, so as soon as it stops, they will be out and about, whatever the time of day.

      Things to do Regularly visit your local park

      If you have an hour or two to spare in the afternoon, or fancy a walk before breakfast, you could do a whole lot worse than pay a visit to your local park. Even in the heart of the city you may be surprised at what you might find.

      The great thing about wildlife in parks is that it is used to people. Joggers, dog walkers, courting couples, or children feeding the ducks are all part of the scenery: so after a while the wild creatures just get used to the noise and disturbance. That means that you can often get closer to some of our shyer species than you might think.

      Good examples of this are two species that hide acorns in autumn to see them through the cold weather: the jay and the grey squirrel. Jays are usually very shy birds, but though still wary, you will find that they often allow a close approach in a park; while squirrels are far bolder than they are in their natural woodland habitat. Foxes, too, may be out and about, especially at dawn and dusk, which are the best times to visit a park anyway.

      Parks often play host to flocks of wintering birds, attracted by plenty of food on offer. Tits, finches and sparrows are the most common species, though house sparrows have sadly declined in many of our cities in the past few years, vanishing completely from some urban areas. There are more exotic species too: winter thrushes such as fieldfare and redwing often gather on berry bushes to feed; while great spotted woodpeckers are much easier to see at this time of year when there are no leaves to spoil the view. Look out for green woodpeckers on the ground, especially early in the day.

      But the most impressive sight in your local park is probably the one that you are most likely to ignore: the ducks on the pond. Among the usual mallards and introduced, exotic varieties, you may be surprised to learn that there will be several birds that have come all the way from Siberia to winter in Britain. Look out for the tufted duck, pochard and shoveler, all of which are relatively scarce breeders here but winter in huge numbers.

       Stuff to take

      Binoculars, though you may not need a very powerful pair

      Food for the ducks and songbirds: peanuts and sunflower hearts are a good way to get tits and finches within close view

      Finally, even in January, look out for the first signs of spring: perhaps you’ll spot catkins on the willow trees, wild flower shoots coming through the soil, or singing birds: all encouraged by the ‘heat island’ effect of towns and cities.

      Look out for …

      

Pick a fine day and go on a woodland walk. Look out for the first wild flowers: usually snowdrops, which may appear early if it is a mild winter.

      

Listen for birdsong. Robins sing throughout the autumn and winter, but they may be joined by wrens, dunnocks, blackbirds and mistle and song thrushes if the weather is fine. Listen for high-pitched contact calls given by tit flocks, then try to track them down and check for unusual species such as coal or marsh tits, nuthatches or treecreepers. The highest-pitched call of all belongs to the tiny goldcrest, our smallest bird.

      

Look up as you walk: mistletoe is easy to see, high on its host trees.

      

Look for wintering birds in stubble fields. Flocks of finches, buntings and sparrows often gather to feed on leftover weed seeds; and may be joined by thrushes, crows and jackdaws.

      

Take a stroll down the tideline: you’ll be amazed at what the sea can wash up. As well as the usual junk from ships, you may find the corpse of a dolphin or porpoise, or dead seabirds washed ashore after winter storms: auks such as guillemots and razorbills are especially vulnerable as they spend the winter at sea.

       Bill's top tips

      _ Remember that you definitely won’t see certain birds at this time of year as they will have migrated far afield. It always strikes me as rather wonderful that the same swallows that swoop around the cows’ legs on a British farm in September are now doing the same thing among elephants and giraffes.

       _ Ideally, visit your park early or late in the day to avoid the crowds. But if you are on your own, make sure you consider your personal safety as urban parks can be dangerous places, especially after dark.

       B

      FEBRUARY

      Despite recent exceptionally mild winters, February is traditionally the coldest month of the year in Britain, bringing snow and ice to many parts of the country. So it’s a critical month for wildlife, which need to survive the winter so they can breed in the spring.

      In recent years we have seen a run of unusually mild winters, with temperatures in February sometimes more like what you would expect in April, especially in southern Britain. As a result, spring appears to be starting a month or so earlier than it used to. The wildlife certainly seems to think so: in a mild February, for example, butterflies begin to emerge, frogs and toads lay their spawn, and some of our wild flowers may appear – only to be killed off by an unexpected frost.

      Whatever the weather, February is an excellent month to see large groups of waders and wildfowl, which gather in spectacular flocks on our coastal estuaries and marshes. They come here because even in a hard winter they can find food.

      Towards the end of February, even during a normal winter, the first signs of spring usually appear: catkins and buds on the trees, snowdrops and celandines on the woodland floor. These may be modest little flowers, but they nevertheless herald the fact that spring is just around the corner.

      Where to go Coastal estuaries and marshes

      Considering our northerly latitude – Britain and Ireland are considerably nearer the North Pole than the Equator – we have a surprisingly mild and moderate winter climate. After all, on the same latitude across the Atlantic in Labrador there are regular sightings of polar bears. But thanks to the warming influence of the Gulf Stream, our coasts rarely freeze up, making them the ideal winter home for vast numbers of birds that breed in the high Arctic, such as ducks, geese, swans and waders. So the coast is the place to go if you want to see large numbers of birds.

       Bill's top tip

      _ Don’t try to identify every bird you see – the spectacle and experience are just as important. And make sure you listen too: there are few more evocative sounds than the clamour of ducks, geese and waders as they fly into roost.

      But timing is vital. Although there will always be something to see, by far the best time to visit a coastal marsh or estuary is two hours either side of high tide. As the tide comes in