Winter Species to Spot in the Woods

Winter Species to Spot in the Woods

(C) Mark Hamblin/ 2020VISION

There's still plenty of wild things to see during the winter months, we've put together a little guide for what you might be able to find around our nature reserves during winter!

With cold temperatures and gusty winds, it can be tempting to stay indoors with hot water bottles and large mugs of hot chocolates! But there’s nothing quite like a walk in the woodland, even during the coldest of months. We’ve made a list of some species you might be able to find when out and about, especially if you are visiting any of our nature reserves!

Maybe you might take a visit to Lea Wood, our semi-natural ancient woodland located in the Derwent Valley in Cromford, which has so much to see from weird and wonderful fungi to plenty of bird activity. Or maybe a visit to Ladybower Wood in the Peak District, which is a great place to find lichens and mountain hares! So this winter why not wrap up warm, put your walking boots on and head out to the woodlands to see what you can find!

Top Winter Species to See in the Woods

Birds

Whilst taking a stroll around the woods, look up to the trees and you might be able to see flocks of long-tailed tits who might join up with other flocks of birds at this time of year such as great tits, blue tits and coal tits. You might often see the odd nuthatch, with their distinctive bandit-like mask across their eyes and scaling head first down the tree trunks, joining these flocks too as they search for food in the woodland. If you're visiting our Lea Wood reserve, you might be lucky enough to see a great-spotted woodpecker up in the trees.

Great spotted woodpecker

(c) Bob Coyle / great spotted woodpecker

Winter tree ID

Although many of the trees have lost their leaves, now is a great time to have a go at winter tree identification! You can begin to tell the difference between the different bark textures and without their leaves you can find it easier to study the buds. One species that still has its leaves is the Holly tree, which is a familiar evergreen tree with its glossy spiky leaves. Its juicy red berries are a favourite for Christmas decorations, but most importantly they are a perfect food source for wildlife during the cold months.

Holly

(c) Scott Petrek / Holly 

Fungi

This winter keep an eye out for jelly ear fungus which, just like its name suggests, resembles an ear-like rubbery flesh growing on decaying tree branches. Another fungi to spot this season is the birch polypore, which is a type of bracket fungus that only grows on birch trees. It’s got a brownish coffee-stained colour cap, that’s smooth and rounded. You might also start to see the brightly coloured scarlet elf cup fungus, which can be spotted amongst damp spots in woodlands and beneath leaf litter.

Jelly ear fungus

(c) Chris Lawrence / Jelly ear fungus

Moths

There are only a few moth species that are active in their adult stage over winter and they are able to cope with the freezing cold temperatures! If your out and about in the evening, make sure you bring a torch as these moths are attracted to light sources.  Moth species you might be lucky to see are, the November moth, winter moth and December moth.

November moth

(c) Andy Crory / Ulster Wildlife Trust

December moth

(c) Fern Elias-Stagg / Wild Paths Trainee for Avon Wildlife Trust

There’s plenty of wonderful things to see in nature during winter, whether that be around one of our nature reserves, in your own back garden or around your local green spaces. We’ve got some downloadable spotting sheets below for you to use as a checklist when out and about searching for winter species. We've also added in a festive wildlife detective sheet if you want to explore beyond the woodlands!