Our winter WONDERS

Enjoy this season's fabulous flora and fauna

With less vegetative growth above ground level, our flora and fauna is more visible during the coldest season of the year.

Dormancy may rule in winter, but preparations for the season ahead are being made unobtrusively, slowly but surely.

Roots stretch their limbs underground to back up their resources, the buds of trees and shrubs gently swell in readiness to shake winter from their bones, and wildlife becomes more adventurous as it searches far and wide for food. It's a magical time to wrap up warmly, head out for a walk and spot treasures of the natural world.

Roots stretch

their limbs underground to back up their resources, the buds of trees and shrubs gently swell in readiness to shake winter from their bones, and wildlife becomes more adventurous as it searches far and wide for food. It's a magical time to wrap up warmly, head out for a walk and spot treasures of the natural world.

Robin redbreast Widely accepted as Britain's most companionable garden bird, robins boldly make themselves known if the soil is being turned during a gardening session. They are fiercely territorial birds and will fight intruders forcefully to keep them out of their patch, especially during the breeding season.

Unlike many other garden birds, robins are little powerhouses of song during the winter months, when they puff out their red breasts and sing melodious tunes.

Mammals on the move