To view a different period, click on the appropriate link in the table below.

Look out for in:
Jan/Feb	March	April	May	Jun/Jul	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec

Interesting Features to be seen in January and February

In early January the forest appears to be sleeping but there is quiet activity going on beneath the ground. The shoots of snowdrops, ramsons (wild garlic), and bluebells are already making an appearance, and badgers are clearing out earth from their setts. In the forest trees, grey squirrels are active even on cold days, and fallow deer are feeding along the rides at night. Their slots (foot prints) can be seen in the mud on the rides. There are many mixed flocks of birds in the canopy. At night they keep warm by roosting in a group on a branch. Other small birds move around together. These include tree creeper, nuthatch, blue, great, marsh and coal tits, and the tiny goldcrest. Click on the link below for information on these species from the "British Trust for Ornithology" website at "www.bto.org". long tailed tit tree creeper nuthatch blue tit great tit marsh tit coal tit goldcrest Other birds to be looked for are green woodpecker (makes a loud ‘yaffle’ call), great spotted woodpecker (loud tapping on branches and a loud ‘yip’ call). There are lesser spotted woodpeckers too but they are hard to find until they start drumming on the branches from late January until April. The drumming is their territorial claim. Lesser spotted sound more like a purring or buzzing – a lighter and more rapid beat than the drumming of the greater spotted. [The green woodpecker does not drum very often]. For further information on these woodpeckers, use the links to the BTO website in the table below. green woodpecker great spotted woodpecker lesser spotted woodpecker Catkins are appearing on the hazel bushes. Catkins are the male flowers which allow their fine pollen to disperse on the wind through the leafless forest. The female flowers are very small with a red tuft emerging from a bud on the hazel stem. For an enlargement of this picture showing the female flower more clearly, (in practice, the flower is only 2 or 3 mm long, and would be seen in late February) click on the small picture. [This catkin picture, and the larger image seen by clicking on the smaller image, are brought to you from the 'Offwell Woodland and Wildlife Trust' web site. We have a link to this web site on our 'Contacts and Links' page.] By the end of February there may be some opening buds on the elder bushes. These appear to be distasteful to the deer and survive the browsing suffered by other shrubs. There is a lot of elder coming up in the coppiced blocks along the main ride. Lastly, watch out for winter migrant birds which are still around in the forest, including redwings, fieldfares, redpolls and siskins. Information on these birds is provided by the following links to the "Birds of Britain" web site on "http://www.birdsofbritain.co.uk" for the Redwing and Fieldfare, and to the BTO site listed earlier for the redpoll and siskin. red wing fieldfare redpoll siskin The quarry is very beautiful at this time of year, especially in the frost when the old man’s beard shows its tufted fruits to best advantage. Rabbits are active in the quarry all winter, sometimes resorting to nibbling bark. They do an important job in keeping the grass short and allowing the spring flowers to emerge with little competition.