December 2009 started cold , then got colder still!, with temperatures as low as -16c and lots of snow at the end of the month - great for snowsports enthusiasts & very picturesque - but not great for getting around! The days are very short up here in December, with barely 7 hours of daylight. There is however, still plenty of wildlife to see, for those hardy enough to venture out. Bird day- lists remain in the 30's, and mammal list were steady at 5-9 depending on our luck.
Wildlife highlights included:
One 'plus' of the severe winter weather is that, as natural food becomes scarce, it tends to drive less common bird species into the gardens of those who put food (& water) out for them - so far I have had visits from 'garden rarities' such as Yellowhammers, Bullfinches, Redwings, Fieldfares & Bramblings (see pic). Numbers of more common garden visitors are also greatly increased and I think that it is really important for as many of us as possible to help our garden birds during the winter.
Local speciality bird species such as Dipper, Red Grouse, Black Grouse, Crested Tit, Red Deer , Red Squirrel, Mountain Hare etc continued to show well.
Winter wildfowl such as Whooper Swans, Greylag Geese, Teal, Wigeon etc showed well on local lochs & rivers early in the month, but the 'big freeze' at the end of the month saw them become harder to find.
Large mixed flocks of assorted finches & buntings were noted feeding in fields, taking advantage of the food put out for cattle and game birds.
Raptor sighting are easier and more numerous at this time of year, probably because they only have a limited amount of time for daylight hunting, especially when compared to mid-summer, when they have 20+ hours of opportunity.
A very close encounter with a marauding Sparrowhawk, which tried to catch a Chaffinch off my birdfeeding table whilst I was filling up a nearby feeder.
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