We’ve waved farewell to the summer months and with it the visiting migratory birds like swifts and swallows. Watching them dive and twist and turn, like little bomber jets, really is one of the highlights of nature’s calendar. The thought of the upcoming winter months can feel dark, gloomy and a bit lacking in wild wonders, but fear not – winter is one of the most magical seasons for birds, even in the city!
Lots of different birds migrate from the north and east of the globe to the UK during Winter – for the milder weather and where food is easier to find. They include fieldfares, redwings, waxwings, bramblings, Bewick’s and whooper swans and many kinds of ducks, geese and wading birds. Even the blackbirds in your garden in January could well be winter visitors from Eastern Europe.
As part of the My Wild City project with thanks to the National Heritage Lottery Fund, Bristol residents have been out and about in Lawrence Weston, learning how to look for and record winter birds in a hidden nature haven next to the motorway. We tuned out from the hum of the cars and tucked ourselves into the most northerly remaining part of the Somerset levels, and within no time at all we’re tied up with call and song, flight and flap at Lawrence Weston Moor.