February can be a turbulent month, as winter wanes and spring prepares to pounce.
Food supplies may be almost exhausted, and in chilly weather many birds spend almost their entire waking moments searching for food, to ensure they have enough reserves each night to survive the bitter cold. Your generous tables, feeders and titbits are incredibly important to our wildlife.
The best time to spot frogs is during the breeding season when adults lay frogspawn in ponds between February and March. Snowdrops are the first flowers to emerge after the winter, signalling that spring is on its way.
Download the robin picture to use as a monthly desktop calendar. (click on the orange link and then right click on the picture and select 'set as background'.)
www.northeastwildlife.co.uk
Waders at Coasts and Estuaries
Dunlin, Knot, Oystercatchers, Turnstone, Avocet
Over the winter, waders from northern Europe gather in large colonies around the UK’s estuaries.
Tip: At low tide the tide can go out for long distances in certain places and so do the birds, therefore going out at high tide may mean a better chance of spotting birds.
East of England: Horsey, Norfolk
Wessex: Brownsea Island, Dorset
South of England: Isle of Wight (Newtown), East Head, Chichester Harbour
Northern Ireland: Portstewart Strand, Barmouth & Grangemore, Crom Estate, Fermanagh
© Peter Brash
Winter lakes / freshwater
Wales: Stackpole Estate, Pembrokeshire
Bosherston Lakes (Stackpole Estate) currently has around ten species of duck around this time of year: goosander flock, mallard, teal, wigeon, gadwall, shoveler, pochard, tufted, occasional scaup
Herons / Little Egrets
Male herons have an impressive courtship dance where they extends their necks straight upwards and then progressively bend it back until their head touches their backs, the bill remaining vertical throughout. This display normally takes place near areas of water. The Little Egret is a small pure white heron, Brownsea Island is the only National Trust property where these birds nest.
Wales: Stackpole Estate, Pembrokeshire
Thames & Solent: Morden Hall Park, Morden
East of England: Houghton Mill, Cambridgeshire
West Midlands: Berrington, Herefordshire
Song Thrushes
Song thrushes have an amazing array of songs, so when you go out in to parks, woodlands and gardens listen out for these beautiful singers.
Wales: Bethllwyd Farm (Brecon)
Devon & Cornwall: Killerton, Devon
South East: Sissinghurst, Kent
© NTPL / Stephen Robson
Rooks
Bare, greyish-white face, thinner beak and peaked head make it distinguishable from the carrion crow.
Wessex: Below Crook Peak, Somerset
Kittiwakes
These birds live strictly on the coast where they come to the UK to breed. Unlike the herring gull they are not aggressive. (breeding season Feb-Aug)
Yorkshire & NE: Northumberland Coast
Northern Ireland: Carrick-A-Rede
© NTPL / Joe Cornish
Badgers
Badgers are the mammals to look out for this month, as their setts become hives of activity. Spring cleaning ensues; old bedding will be turfed out, and new collected and brought in. Below ground the sows (females) are giving birth to litters of one to five cubs, after suckling from their mothers they emerge from the earthy darkness in April or early May.
Amphibians
More and more frogs around the country will be making their way to water to spawn. Their globes of jelly crowd many ponds, and in only a couple of months it changes through wriggling tadpoles to jumping froglets.
Frogspawn can be found at the following places:
South East: Frensham Common, Surrey
North West: Sandscale Haws, North of Barrow, off A590 towards Roanhead. Cumbria
Wessex: Snowshill Manor Gardens, Gloucestershire. Tyntesfield, North Somerset
© Kay Haw
Plants / Snowdrops
Snowdrops and primroses join the evergreens to liven up the landscape. While the new green shoots of grasses and nettles will begin to brighten fields, lawns and verges, and in woodlands the first tips of bluebells, violets and dogs mercury will peek through the soil and leaf litter. Catkins of hazel, alder and aspen will be swaying in the February winds.
Snowdrops can be found at the following places:
West Midlands: Dudmaston, Shropshire
Thames & Solent: The Vyne, Hampshire
Wessex: Stourhead, Wiltshire. Kingston Lacy, Dorset
Wales: Plas-yn-Rhiw,Gwynedd. Chirk Castle, Wrexham
Yorkshire: Fountains Abbey
Insects
Those insects that have survived in hibernation over winter can sporadically be seen. The warmth of sunny days will entice them from their slumber, and they take to the wing in their search for the nectar of early blooming flowers. The most likely ones to see are beautiful red admiral, brimstone, peacock, comma, and small tortoiseshell butterflies, buzzing bumble and honey bees, winter gnats, and some hoverflies.
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