Wetlands and woodlands offer the best of our early spring wildlife.

Listen out for the beginnings of birdsong amongst the still-bare trees  – robins, dunnocks and blackbirds can all be heard singing their hearts out as they move from establishing winter territories to finding a mate. Apps like Merlin Bird ID come into their own to help you learn and identify whose song is whose.

Woodpeckers have started to drum, and you might be lucky enough to spot the tail end of a deer bounding into the mists early in the morning. Although our woodland reserves are largely bare, they are very sculptural in late winter – and offer an unparalleled opportunity to enjoy some views across Yorkshire without the obstruction of the canopy. Enjoy the best view in England from Garbutt Wood nature reserve, or the rolling hills and dales from Grass Wood nature reserve on the other side of the county.

Families will love the circular trail around Moorlands in York, where there’s also a pond platform for spotting frogspawn - due to appear any day. Adel Dam in Leeds also has an accessible hide and frequent sightings of kingfishers darting across the larger lake, with neighbouring Golden Acre Park offering a longer walk.

Birds are found in abundance at our wetland reserves, glorious at this time of year. Watch geese, ducks and swans on reserves like Staveley, Wheldrake Ings and Potteric Carr, smoothing through mirror-like pools; lucky visitors might hear the booming noise of a bittern from the reedbed, which sounds like air being blown over the top of a bottle, or spot the swoop of a hunting barn owl in the low light.

Whether you spot anything more than our brightly coloured ducks or not, however, our wetlands are particularly lovely places just to wander and take in your surroundings; the rustle of the reeds in the wind, the huge, wide skies, and even the smatter of rain on the surface of the pools.

The Trust is running a range of events during half-term week; for those who fancy a breath of fresh air, head out on a shark egg hunt at Spurn, explore the fossils of Filey Brigg or do your bit as part of a Waves of Waste beach clean.

Those who prefer something a little craftier could try their hands at seaweed pressing and soap making, or creating needle-felted sea creatures – and of course, no February night would be complete without a tour of the night sky.

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