FEBRUARY WILDLIFE SIGHTING

February is another perfect month to look out for some beautiful wildlife in your area. Winter months can often get overlooked due to the duller, rainy and cold days and many of us just want to wrap up warm and stay at home.

However, this guide is specially designed to inspire your adventurous side and yearn for the great outdoors! With lockdown looming over us this month, it is vital that we still get outdoors and make the most of this stressful and uncertain time.

Bonding with people in your home or even going out to get some time alone – this guide is going to help you make some exciting discoveries of the winter world around you.

PLANTS:

Snowdrops (a.k.a. Galanthustranslated to ‘milk flower’) are beautiful, small, white flower bulbs that are grown in many private gardens throughout the UK. They are often the first to appear in this country after New Year’s and span over 2500 different varieties!

Primroses are a very popular flower in the UK and were voted the second favourite last year behind bluebells. They can often be found in woodland areas and are edible!

Violets are another great flower to keep an eye out for this month. They have been around since ancient Greece and also contain some nutritional value! Have a look for as many different varieties of violets as you can.

Hazel catkins are very common from December through to April. Each catkin is full of tiny pollen grains that contains millions of male hazel DNA! The tree also produces flowers, the female equivalent.

ANIMALS:

Many frogs begin to breed early in February so make sure to check ponds on your walk to see a few masses of jelly-like frog spawn! If you have a pond in your garden, try not to bring in any spawn yourself – wait until the frogs find it themselves for a better chance of a thriving frog community!

Toads will be breeding slightly later (towards spring), but it is likely that this month they will be returning to their breeding areas.

Grey herons and heronries will begin mating this month too. Their nests are usually located near bodies of water so if you find yourself near any on your outing, keep an eye out for a potential heron courtship dance!

Woodlarks are beautiful birds that often begin their singing very early on in the year. If bird watching is your thing – try and find them in lowland heathland areas.

Roe deer are medium in size with short antlers. Keep an eye out for them in and around woodland and forest areas and potentially farmland.

Many female red foxes are now looking for a place to give birth as their mating season comes to an end. Look out for any pregnant foxes making a den in your garden!