Where to see winter wildlife

Silver birch tree covered in frost, the Wildlife Trusts

© Mark Hamblin/2020VISION

Where to see wildlife in the winter

Natural winter wonders

Some say winter is lifeless. It’s anything but. Many birds that fought each other off all spring and summer now gather together in enormous numbers, and starlings fill the skies with the incredible patterns of their murmurations. Arctic visitors make the coasts their winter home, while seal colonies haul themselves onto our beaches to noisily stake out their territory. It’s the toughest time of year, but even at this, the darkest, coldest and least promising time of year, life goes on.

Looking for things to do with the kids this winter? Download your family winter wildlife activities guide. 

Starling murmuration heading to roost at sunset, The Wildlife Trusts

© Danny Green/2020VISION

Starling murmurations

Experience
Barn Owl - David Tipling

David Tipling

Barn owls

Experience
Two otters play fighting in the water, The Wildlife Trusts

© Margaret Holland

Otters

Experience
Grey seal pup waving its flipper, the Wildlife Trusts

© Eleanor Stone

Seal pups

Experience
Pied wagtail

©Margaret Holland

Wagtails

Experience
Peregrine falcon in flight

©Bertie Gregory/2020VISION

Birds of prey

Experience
Dark-bellied brent goose migrating against an orange sky, The Wildlife Trusts

© Terry Whittaker/2020VISION

Brent geese

Experience
Tout quarry stone sculpture

©Mike Keene

Geology and fossils

Experience
Black-tailed Godwit in flight

©David Tipling/2020VISION

Arctic waders

Experience
Common crane, The Wildlife Trusts

© Neil Aldridge

Cranes

Experience
Mistletoe

©Zsuzsanna Bird

Mistletoe

Experience
Meathop Moss nature reserve, Cumbria Wildlife Trust

Meathop Moss nature reserve, Cumbria Wildlife Trust

Year round wildlife

Experience
Waxwing

©Jon Hawkins Surrey Hills Photography

Waxwings

Experience
Common gull

Common gull ©Tom Hibbert

Gull roosts

Experience
Hawfinch

Hawfinch ©John Bridges

Hawfinches

Experience