Your wild winter

Your wild winter

The best of the season’s wildlife and where to enjoy it.

WINTER SPECTACLE

Beech woodlands

As autumn draws in, the leaves of broadleaf trees turn brilliant shades of orange, brown and yellow and eventually fall to the woodland floor. Later in the year, woodlands can seem bleak landscapes, with bare trunks and branches stark against the cold winter sky. Beech woodlands are some of the most striking of these habitats, as the smooth pale bark of the stately trees stands against the coppers and browns of the fallen leaves. Beech woods are important for wildlife, providing food, shelter and breeding habitat throughout the year. In winter, many creatures will be foraging for beechmast, the seeds of the beech tree. Nuthatches, bramblings and jays all make good use of this plentiful food source. Other species will be tucked away in the leaf litter, waiting it out until spring. The unique conditions provided by these woodlands also create a home for many rare species of lichen, fungi and invertebrates.

Sadly, these amazing habitats are particularly threatened by climate change. Beech trees are very susceptible to storms, droughts and flooding. By campaigning for strong action on climate change and investing in naturebased solutions that help tackle the climate crisis head-on, the Trust is protecting beech woodlands both inside and outside our nature reserves.

SEE THEM THIS WINTER

† Broughton Down Nature Reserve is fringed with beech and yew woodland; visit for a peaceful walk across the chalk downland site.

† Look out for unusual fungi nestled amongst the ash and beech woodland at Chappetts Copse Nature Reserve.

Thank you

Thanks to your support, we have been able to protect, create and maintain woodland habitats in our two counties. www.hiwwt.org.uk/habitats/ woodland

Sleeping through the cold

Some animals sleep out the worst of the weather over winter, entering a state of stasis called torpor. This state is similar to a long sleep, and animals use it to conserve energy. When in torpor, the creature will still occasionally forage for food, leaving its winter den. When in torpor, an animal’s body temperature, metabolic rate and heart rate all drop and their body will primarily be using the fat stores they built up over autumn to survive. Lots of species undergo torpor for periods in the winter, including amphibians and mammals, like the dormouse. Hibernation is like an even deeper sleep, and animals only very rarely wake during the winter if they are hibernating. Queen bumblebees and some species of bats undergo true hibernation in Britain.

When animals are in a state of torpor, their body temperature is very carefully regulated. If their core temperature drops too low, they may die, while if it creeps up, their body will begin using more energy and they may not last the winter. The core temperature of an animal is even lower, and the heart rate is slower during hibernation.

Climate change is causing problems for wildlife that undergo Topor or hibernation. Fluctuating weather patterns mean cold snaps, which prevent many species from finding food, come later in spring when these animals would be looking to put on weight and recover from their sleep. Wet and mild weather can also delay the onset of torpor, causing them to expend more energy.

You can help wildlife in your garden by leaving log, stone and leaf piles undisturbed, which they can tuck themselves away inside for the winter.

URBAN FIELDCRAFT

Duck identification

Many species of duck come to our shores for the winter, spending these months feeding on large lakes and wetlands. In some lights or from a distance these birds can look very similar, especially as they often sit on the water in large flocks. Males and females of the same species can also have different characteristics, making identification tricky. Key features to use to help on your waterfowl identification journey are the head markings, bill shape, and the presence of a crest on the back of their head. Their behaviour can also help narrow things down, as ducks can be split into dabblers or divers. Dabbling ducks can often be seen with bottoms aloft, feeding with their heads underwater. Mallards, teals and shoveler ducks are all dabblers and very common on wetlands in our two counties in winter. Diving ducks, as the name suggests, dive underwater in search of food. Tufted ducks, goldeneyes and pochards are all diving ducks to look out for this winter.

SEE THIS

Groups of roe deer feeding together in woodlands and field edges.

DO THIS

Empty and clean out bird boxes with hot water and a scrubbing brush.

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

Seasonal delights

Autumn is the time most associated with a diverse array of fungi appearing across all the different habitats in our landscapes. But some species wait until the depths of winter to emerge, popping up in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colours throughout the season.

This group have some of the most fantastic and descriptive names in the animal kingdom! From stinkhorns and devil’s fingers to hotlips and lemon disco, the scientists behind the names were certainly inventive.

Some of our winter fungi have suitably festive names for the time of year and one that can provide beautiful displays in December and January is the turkeytail fungus. This fan-shaped bracket fungi grows in tiers on dead wood in parks, gardens and woodland. It favours hardwood trees, such as oak and beech. Turkeytails break down deadwood, so they are an essential part of the woodland ecosystem, recycling nutrients back to the environment.

Remember, if you come across fungi while out and about, do not pick them. The visible fungus or mushroom is the fruiting body of the species. This is the part that produces spores and, therefore, the future generations of the fungi. Picking mushrooms means they cannot reproduce, and some species are already very specialised and rare, so please leave them where they are. Piles of rotting leaves and wood can help provide new habitats for fungi locally.

Top tips

3 SPECIES TO SPOT

Jelly ear

These mushrooms have a velvety covering and wobble just like jelly if you touch them. The ‘ears’ often grow in clusters, usually from dead or dying elder trees.

Herald of winter

This species is said to grow on the first frost - look for them under conifer trees. The top of the cap is wet and sticky to the touch, and the deep brown colour can easily be missed amongst dead leaves.

Scarlet elf cup

These pretty red or orange cups grow on decaying wood and leaf matter and provide a zing of colour in the winter landscape. Other species of elf cup come in different colours, including green.