What to spot in January
January is a strange month. While we see cold, dark and damp days, many species are already gearing up for spring. Breeding season is well underway for foxes, the females of which scream into the night to attract a mate; you’ll be familiar with her haunting call but do you know the male’s ‘hup-hup-hup’ response? Listen out also for the ‘tee-cher, tee-cher’ calls of great tits; many of them will have chosen their nest sites and could be roosting at night.
You may spot robins feeding each other, or pigeons and collared doves collecting nest materials. “It’s too early!” You may cry, but collared doves are known to nest throughout the year if conditions are mild. Spring is definitely in the air…
You may spot…
Long-tailed tit
The long-tailed tit has a pale pink belly, a white head with a black stripe over the eye, and black, white and pink wing feathers. It has a longer tail than its body and makes a glorious undulating flight. You’ll probably hear it before you see it – adults gather in large roving flocks of up to 20, and will call to each other continuously when moving between the trees: ‘deet deet deet deet’.
Gleaning insects and spiders from tree branches and leaves, it occasionally switches to eating seeds in autumn. It’s an RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch (BGBW) success story – once considered a rare sight at garden bird tables, the longtailed tit is now seen regularly, feeding on suet treats and peanuts, and consistently makes the top 10 in BGBW counts (turn the page for details of BGBW 2021).
Nests are made in early spring using moss, spider webs, lichens and feathers – often in the fork of a tree or a dense hedge. The female lays up to 12 eggs and she and the male feed the young, along with other adults that may help to raise the chicks as well.
Also look out for
Waxwings, which visit from Europe if there are food shortages. They feed on cotoneaster and pyracantha berries – could this year be a waxwing year?
Bumblebees roused early from hibernation. Grow mahonia, winter honeysuckle and winter clematis to supply them with pollen and nectar.
Red admiral butterflies, which may fly around and bask on sunny days, before returning to their hibernation spot.
Adult long-tailed tits call to each other continuously when moving between trees