Brin Best

Wharfedale Naturalists’ Society

(wharfedale-nats.org.uk)

THE first proper cold snap of the winter has provided fresh opportunities for nature lovers to enjoy the delights of the season.

The spectacle of newly fallen snow is a majestic offering in itself. It intensifies the light, muffles sounds and enables keen-eyed observers to see the traces left by animals whose wanderings usually are hidden.

Frosty mornings provide the chance to find special treats, such as frozen spiders’ webs and impressive displays of icicles. On car windscreens random but beautiful frost patterns rival anything seen in the Tate Modern gallery of art.

During these cold spells it is vital to make sure that your garden bird table is well stocked, as many bird species are struggling to find enough food to see them through the night during the shortened daylight hours of the winter.

I have vivid memories of a bird table my dad made and set up in my suburban Manchester garden one winter, when I was 10. We stocked it up with seed and then is snowed heavily overnight. The next morning a beautiful male brambling, a colourful northern finch, was sitting on top of the bird table. It was the only time we ever saw this species, which tends to gather in beech woods during its winter stay in the UK, in our garden.

Birds will also appreciate access to unfrozen water for drinking and bathing during the cold months. We try to keep our birth bath ice-free by floating a tennis ball in it on frosty nights. Most days, a couple of blackbirds will visit the water and splash about excitedly for a few minutes.

During cold weather frozen lakes and ponds become challenging habitats for the denizens of these aquatic habitats. Birds that are usually hidden deep within reedbeds, such as the water rail, venture out on to the ice to find food, providing rare opportunities to see these usually shy birds in the open.

One winter a bittern set up residence in the unfrozen parts of the Otley Wetlands Nature Reserve. This rare, mysterious and usually very shy member of the heron family - which has amazingly cryptic plumage - could occasionally be seen walking around on the ice as it foraged for food.

Frosty nights also provide excellent conditions for looking at celestial events such as planetary conjunctions, when two or more planets occupy the same part of the sky, or the traversing International Space Station, complete with its temporary British resident.

If you’re really lucky, you may catch a glimpse of the ultimate spectacle of the northern lights, when the earth’s atmosphere becomes a multicoloured curtain that can stimulate gasps of wonder from those fortunate enough to see it.