A brief backward glance at January
After the coldest spell in about 30 years, perhaps I can be forgiven a brief backward glance at January? I hope you enjoyed close views of fieldfare and redwing as these winter thrushes descended on our gardens and stripped our ornamental trees and bushes of fruit and berries. No doubt many of them were avoiding the more severe conditions in central and northern Britain.
To watch video of a fieldfare eating apples in a Corfe Mullen garden click here and a redwing trying to eat rosehips in the same garden by clicking here
Fortunately, the snow cover was of short duration in Dorset and although some Dartford warblers must have perished, at least some can now be heard and seen at numerous heathlands within the county.
As soon as conditions improved just after mid-January, some of our resident birds responded to the irrepressible urge to set up territory and advertise for a mate by singing.
Great, blue and coal tits, song thrushes, skylarks, even tree creeper and woodlark were singing and chaffinches were making their first attempts at song.
Chaffinches playing cricket in February?
Early February is a good time to get familiar with the song of the chaffinch. It has often been likened to a bowler in a cricket match first a few slow steps, then quickening and finally an over-arm flourish as the ball leaves the hand!
For the first few days, the chaffinch only manages the initial run-up, but eventually he completes his full song. See if you can hear this progression in your garden or on a local walk.
Watch out for woody woodpecker!
Great spotted woodpeckers are also obvious at this time of year as a result of their penetrating ‘kick’ calls and because both sexes make a mechanical drumming sound on dead and suitably resonant pieces of timber.
Increasingly, they are coming to bird feeders in winter for nuts and suet. Given a good view the male, with a red patch at the back of the head, can be distinguished from the female which lacks this feature.
Catkins and tiny flowers
Although the grey squirrels stripped hazel bushes of their nuts several months ago, the cycle of renewal is about to begin again as dormant male hazel catkins or ‘lambstails’ now start to open up and shed their abundant pollen grains.
You will need to search hazel branches with care to spot the tiny female flowers which appear as little buds with bright red protruding styles but which eventually provide the next crop of nuts.
Have you seen sweet violet?
Although flowers are scarce this month, do look for patches of sweet violets by country paths, in scrub and in locations where they have escaped from cultivation. They tend to occur in patches and their deep blue-violet flowers set amongst green heart-shaped leaves are always a welcome sight.
Although fragrant, a second sniff may leave you thinking that the smell has disappeared, because one of the chemicals contributing to the fragrance (ionine), temporarily deadens your sense of smell!
Toads might be common this month
Common toads breed later than frogs, and last year I saw a female bloated with eggs in a pond in mid-February.
Unfortunately, we are often reminded that toads are migrating to their breeding ponds when we see individuals squashed on the road.However, if you get a good view of a live toad, notice the short hind legs more suitable for walking than jumping and the brown warty skin which has glands containing toxins designed to deter potential predators.
Toad spawn is laid in strings and by mid-June toadlets can appear in substantial numbers near ponds, particularly after rain.
Don't forget what's going on beneath our feet
Finally, although badgers are seen much less frequently above ground during the winter, particularly when the weather is severe, they don’t hibernate and many will be giving birth to cubs within their setts this month.
Each litter is usually 1-4 cubs and they will remain below ground for a couple of months and dependant on their mother’s milk for a total of 3-4 months.
To watch video of a badger foraging recently in a Dorset garden, along with some foxes and a very small woodmouse click here
Written by John Wright
Dorset Wildlife Trust Member & Volunteer
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