(c) Maurice Gordon
January is a fantastic time to dust of your binoculars, grab your bird guide and go bird watching.
Bird watching is one of life’s simple pleasures – and our avian friends are particularly industrious in January! The flashes of vivid colour brought by bullfinches, goldfinches, blue tits and starlings are also the perfect thing to brighten up the otherwise monochrome landscape.
WildNet - Amy Lewis
What’s more, you don’t have to travel far at all to enjoy the spectacle. Local parks, tree-lined cycle paths, and the most unassuming of gardens can all be bursting with colour and song.
(c) Danny Green
If you would like to welcome more birds to your home, however big or small, consider putting up a bird feeder. January is the best time to ensure your birdfeeder is well stocked as this is the time of year when birds can struggle to find enough food to see them through.
Winter means fewer insects, wild seeds and berries – so supplementary feeding is greatly appreciated! Feeders should have a thorough clean outdoors, with warm soapy water and rinse well to help prevent spread of diseases.
Goldfinch © Adrian Andruchiw 2019
The striking red crown, golden back, and bright yellow wings of the goldfinch make it one of our prettiest garden birds. It eats small seeds, especially from ragwort, dandelions and teasels (their long, pointed bills help them to extract the seeds), as well as invertebrates. During winter, goldfinches roam about in flocks of up to 100 birds, searching for food.
For the birdfeeder: Smaller birds like siskin, redpoll and goldfinch love smaller seeds like the little, black nyjer seeds. Make sure to get a suitable feeder as these little seeds flow easily through larger mesh holes.
Great and Blue Tit © Darren Ward 2020
Smaller than the great tit, blue tits are active feeders, hunting out insects and spiders among the smaller branches and leaves of trees in. In winter, they will form flocks with other tits, roaming the countryside and visiting gardens in groups. Blue tits have a trilling, 'tsee-tsee-tsee' song.
For the birdfeeder: Sunflower hearts and seeds are high in protein and healthy fats that provide vital nutrition for all sorts of birds. Greenfinches, tits and blackbirds are particularly fond of them.
(c) Mark Robinson
The starling is a familiar garden visitor that has a beautiful purple-and-green sheen to its black feathers. It is famous for its wintry aerial displays, known as murmurations. Massive flocks can be seen wheeling over towns, farmland and wetland nature reserves like Ripon City Wetlands and Potteric Carr.
For the birdfeeder: Peanuts are a favourite food of larger birds like woodpeckers and starlings, but tits will also happily gorge themselves. Make sure to put peanuts in a secure wire mesh nut and nibble feeder to avoid the risk of young birds choking on big pieces.
Singing robin © Neil Aldridge
Robins are one of our most common and unmistakable garden birds. They’re very friendly and sing all year round, and like high-up places to sign from. In the winter, it can sound wistful, although it strengthens in the post-Christmas period.
For the birdfeeder: Robins and thrushes love mealworms. Make sure to put these on a taller platform, away from the ground, as mealworms can be toxic to hedgehogs.
