Winter wildlife

Winter silhouette

Winter silhouette - David Tipling 2020Vision

where to see wildlife

Winter wildlife

Natural winter wonders

Some say winter is lifeless. It’s anything but. Many birds that fought each other off all spring and summer now gather together in enormous numbers, and starlings fill the skies with the incredible patterns of their murmurations. Arctic visitors make the coasts their winter home, while seal colonies haul themselves onto our beaches to noisily stake out their territory. It’s the toughest time of year, but even at this, the darkest, coldest and least promising time of year, life goes on.

A quarry area now overgrown with vegetation, trees and other larger plants, but still with large bare patches of ground. To the left there is a steep rockface, with grasses growing everywhere. To the right hills and woodlands rise up to enclose the area. In the very far left background a town can be seen, along with fields fading into the horizon and meeting the clouds.

Minera Quarry nature reserve © Simon Mills

Rocky places

Barn owl

Barn owl - Margaret Holland

Barn owls

Marsh harrier

Marsh harrier - Donald Sutherland

Birds of prey

Estuary

Estuary at low tide and in evening light_Chris Gomersall 2020Vision

Salt marshes and estuaries