Dreaming of a wild Christmas
It’s nearly December. The madness of Christmas is upon us, the light is hardly light at all, and the days are becoming apologetically short. The countryside seems to sleep under frost or gloom. Many nature lovers resign themselves dolefully to the indoors, assuming that there isn’t much to see, other than reindeer, holly and mistletoe (and robins wearing hats).
A year or two back, I felt the December doldrums approaching as usual, but then a thought struck me: is this month really so bad for wildlife watching, other than the odd starling roost? Is there anything that is at its best in the last month of the year? Is everything sleeping, hiding or laying low, or is it just wildlife watchers who do this?
Are there hidden riches in December, ones that we might not expect? What about rockpooling, for example? What might be hiding in fresh water? And how about fungi and mosses? There are always birds about, but what about mammals?
After some quick research and a
