Have You Seen Any Of These Winter Visitors?
Well although that does make wildlife more visible, the truth is we have a lot more Robins in the UK in the winter. Robins from central Europe migrate here because we have a warmer/milder winter than Europe’s continental climate.
Lots of birds visit here for our island winter climate; Redwings, Fieldfare and Brambling which nest in Norway, Scandinavia and the Arctic move south to us for warmer winters. The particularly tame Waxwings are another arctic circle breeder and winter visitor and their love of berries mean they are often seen at shopping centre carparks on trees; rowan or hawthorn and holly.
Many of our quarry staff will have seen influx of geese and ducks this time of year too; Pink feet, Pintail, Widgeon, Goldeneye, Goosander, all breed in the arctic and come to the UK for the milder weather. They often spend an hour or two on a quarry pond or in a restored wetland before moving off to the coast to feed on salt marsh and coastal farmland. These birds spend the winter moving between estuaries in the east and west, traveling from The Wash to the Forth of Firth and always flying in that classic aerodynamic V formation.
Image credit: Tim Melling