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You are here: Home / Blog posts / Nature / January wildlife to spot in the UK

January wildlife to spot in the UK

January 9, 2023 Filed Under: Nature, Blog posts

Happy New Year! I hope 2023 is a fabulous year for everyone. I am deep into my assignment/dissertation/exam revision so my blog posts might be a little sparse this month. I am hoping to get at least 3 or 4 posts up this month though. I’m excited to share this January wildlife post because I have been doing so much birdwatching lately. My parents bought me a pair of binoculars for Christmas so I have been looking out the window into the garden all day. I have started keeping a daily log of the birds I see in our garden at home, and I will be adding butterflies once they start appearing. The butterfly conservation have said that the first sightings of Peacock, Red Admiral and Brimstone butterflies have been seen.

The Big Garden Birdwatch 2023 is on from the 27th-29th of January. Make sure you take part, if you sign up early you can get a free guide. Taking part is super easy, just watch birds for an hour and count how many birds land in your garden. Then submit your sightings online. I can’t wait to take part, I’m actually going home especially for it haha. Read on for my January wildlife to spot in the UK, which includes some garden birds.

Featured Photo by Mark Timberlake on Unsplash

Garden birds

Wren (Troglodyte troglodyte)

January wildlife: Wren bird
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on Unsplash

The wren is a small brown bird with its tail sticking up. Though it is a very small bird, it has quite a large call! I tend to see them on their own along the fence or in a bush going up all the branches. Their diet consists of insects and spiders, and can be seen in woodland, farmland, heathland, urban and suburban habitats. They are seen in all of the UK but are more scarce in Scotland and northern England, and can be spotted all year round. Some think the wren is a boring bird, but I think they are so cute and love to spot them!

Great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)

January wildlife: Great spotted woodpecker
Photo by Julian on Unsplash

I saw a Great spotted woodpecker in my garden at the end of December which I was very excited about! I’m pretty sure that I heard their drum-type call a few days ago too. Anyway, a great spotted woodpecker is roughly the same size as a blackbird. They have a black and white face, a white belly, black and white spotted back/wings, a red patch on their lower body and males have a red patch on the back of their head. They mainly eat seeds, nuts, and insects and will enjoy a peck from a suet block. Great spotted woodpeckers are seen in woodland, urban and suburban habitats, and are common in England and Wales.

Pied wagtail (Motacilla alba)

January wildlife: Pied wagtail
Photo by Heather Wilde on Unsplash

Sometimes I see pied wagtails in car parks, but they can also be spotted in gardens especially as the temperature drops and they need more food. Personally, I think that they look a little bit like mini magpies! They are black and white small birds with long tails and are quite lively. As they are seen in car parks, they prefer city locations and are seen in a variety of locations. These include farmland, grassland, wetland, marine & intertidal and urban & suburban. As I said before, they tend to only eat seeds in winter so their main source of food is insects. Pied Wagtails can be seen all year, in most of the UK apart from Northern Scotland in the winter.

Continue reading: January wildlife to spot in the UK

Blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)

January wildlife: Blue tit
Photo by Bob Brewer on Unsplash

The next January wildlife garden bird to spot is blue tits. They are sweet little birds that are often seen in gardens throughout the year. Blue tits are recognizable with a blue patch on the top of their head, white head, yellow breast and green and blue wings. Sometimes they are confused with great tits, but great tits have a much more prominent line on their breast and have a darker navy patch on their head. They are often together as a family, and will hang out with other tits as well. Their diet consists of insects, seeds, nuts and caterpillars and can be seen in woodland, farmland, urban and suburban habitats. They are common throughout the UK and can be seen all year.

Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)

Photo by Amee Fairbank-Brown on Unsplash
Photo by Walter Brunner on Unsplash

I often see 4 or 5 chaffinches in our garden every day which I love to see. Normally the male is sitting in the branches of a tree and the 4 females are finding food on the ground beneath the feeder. The male chaffinch has black, brown, grey and white back/tail feathers with a red/orange/brown coloured breast/head and the top of its head is grey. The female chaffinch has a brown breast, and the back/tail feathers are white, cream and grey coloured. Chaffinches are seen in woodland, farmland, grassland, heathland, urban and suburban habitats. You can spot them all year round up and down the UK.

Dunnock (Prunella modularis)

January wildlife: Dunnock
Photo by Simerpreet Cheema on Unsplash

The dunnock is a small bird with a grey breast, and brown and black wings. My neighbour has a bush that looks very similar to the one in the photo above and I sometimes see a dunnock there! They eat insects, spiders, worms and seeds and are normally seen on their own. You can spot them in woodland, farmland, grassland, urban and suburban areas. They are seen in England, Wales, Ireland all year round and Scotland in the winter.

Other garden birds seen in January:

  • Great tit
  • Goldfinch
  • Blackcap
  • Blackbird
  • Woodpigeon
  • Jay
  • Long-tailed tit
  • Coal tit
  • Starling
  • Sparrow
  • Greenfinch
  • Robin
  • Goldcrest
  • Waxwing
  • Bullfinch
  • Brambling
  • Nuthatch

Butterflies

As I mentioned earlier, there have been a few sightings of butterflies in the UK already this year! I think most butterflies are still hibernating, but if you are lucky you might spot one. Generally, the first butterflies out and about are Bristone butterflies which are relatively common in February. But Peacock, Red Admiral and Brimstone butterflies have already been seen. Every time I see a movement out of the corner of my eye when I’m outside, I am hoping it is a butterfly haha!

Continue reading: January wildlife to spot in the UK

Flowers

Daffodils

Although it is winter, daffodils will start to come out soon and I can’t wait to buy a bunch! I have my vases at the ready, and as soon as they come out I see it as a sign that spring is coming. And with spring, there are so many more beautiful flowers.

Amaryllis (Hippeastrum)

January wildlife: Amaryllis
Photo by Fredrik Solli Wandem on Unsplash

Amaryllis are very beautiful flowers grown from bulbs. My parents bought my siblings and me an amaryllis bulb for Christmas and mine has started to grow. I have it on my desk and I’m excited to see it grow every day! They come in lots of colours but are most well known for the gorgeous red.

There are quite a few other flowers blooming in January, but I won’t share them all or we would be here forever! Although it is a bit late, I hope you enjoyed reading January wildlife to spot in the UK blog post.

Which January wildlife are you looking forward to seeing?

Best wishes, Cx

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My 2022 round-up

About Caroline

Welcome to Enviroline Blog 💗
I blog to raise awareness about the environment and mental health - specifically eating disorder recovery.
I upload every Sunday and some Wednesdays.

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Comments

  1. JamieAdStories says

    January 9, 2023 at 7:05 pm

    That is really interesting. I would love to see a woodpecker. Happy New Year!

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      January 10, 2023 at 11:31 pm

      Thank you, you too!

      Reply
  2. Mind Beauty Simplicity says

    January 9, 2023 at 7:11 pm

    aww how precious! loved learning about these different types of birds & the beautiful flowers that bloom this time of year.

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      January 10, 2023 at 11:32 pm

      Thank you, glad you enjoyed it x

      Reply
  3. Lisa's Notebook says

    January 9, 2023 at 7:17 pm

    I’m planning on doing the Big Garden Birdwatch at the end of this month too – you’ve reminded me I need to dig out Alan’s binoculars, so thank you for that! Don’t think we’ve ever seen a dunnock in our garden though, that would be amazing to spot one of those. I’m looking forward to seeing (as well as hearing) all our frogs in due course 🙂

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      January 10, 2023 at 11:32 pm

      I was very impressed! Yes, and their croaks.

      Reply
  4. Lucy says

    January 9, 2023 at 9:36 pm

    I loved learning about the different birds and wildlife to spot during January! x

    Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      January 10, 2023 at 11:33 pm

      Thank you x

      Reply
  5. Corinne says

    January 9, 2023 at 11:49 pm

    Oh lovely! We’re going to the wildlife park at the weekend, wonder if we manage to spot any of these 🙂

    Corinne x

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      January 10, 2023 at 11:34 pm

      I hope you enjoy the wildlife x

      Reply
  6. Ali Duke says

    January 10, 2023 at 12:07 am

    I love these posts that you write, it is nice to know the wildlife that I can see around me at this time of year.

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      January 10, 2023 at 11:36 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  7. Wendy says

    January 10, 2023 at 2:44 am

    I love watching birds. I love these photos!

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      January 10, 2023 at 11:37 pm

      Me too x

      Reply
  8. Jessica says

    January 10, 2023 at 7:38 am

    I love this!! I often watch the birds in my back yard. It would be fun to write about them. I’m surprised there are so many birds!!

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      January 10, 2023 at 11:38 pm

      Definitely x

      Reply
  9. Jenny in Neverland says

    January 10, 2023 at 12:47 pm

    I love these posts from you, Caroline! All the birds are so beautiful. I’m seeing a lot of robins in my garden still. I’m not sure what else though!

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      January 10, 2023 at 11:39 pm

      Aw thank you Jenny! x

      Reply
  10. Riyah Speaks says

    January 10, 2023 at 3:14 pm

    I’ve never really learned about the different bird or butterfly species. This was super informative for me, plus the photos you have are so nice.

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      January 10, 2023 at 11:39 pm

      Thank you x

      Reply
  11. Pastor Natalie (ExamineThisMoment) says

    January 10, 2023 at 7:35 pm

    This is so lovely. Each bird you shared are so beautiful. Honestly enjoyed reading. Thank you for sharing. 🤗

    Pastor Natalie (ExamineThisMoment)
    Letstakeamoment.com

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      January 10, 2023 at 11:40 pm

      Thank you x

      Reply
  12. Lauren says

    January 10, 2023 at 9:31 pm

    I always enjoy reading this series on your blog. I always learn about new wildlife. Thank you for sharing. Happy New Year. I hope 2023 is a good year for you!

    Lauren x

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      January 10, 2023 at 11:41 pm

      Thank you, you too x

      Reply
  13. Basic With Life says

    January 10, 2023 at 10:16 pm

    A beautiful and refreshing blog post. I live pretty close to the city so I don’t see many birds other than pigeons. Lockdown was beautiful though from a nature point of view. We saw huge increase in bird and butterfly sightings. I’d love to see a woodpecker though.

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      January 10, 2023 at 11:42 pm

      Yes definitely x

      Reply
  14. According to Chren says

    January 10, 2023 at 10:57 pm

    It’s really cool to learn about UK wildlife. The Amaryllis flower is beautiful.

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      January 10, 2023 at 11:42 pm

      I agree 🙂

      Reply
  15. Michelle says

    January 18, 2023 at 12:30 pm

    Loved reading this post, and discovering your gorgeous blog! Just been reading through some older posts!

    My boyfriend and I have been amateur birdwatchers over the past year – we spot red kites and sparrowhawks on some of our weekend country walks locally. I’ll definitely be looking out for some of these garden birds. I’m certain I spotted a finch of some sort by our vegetable patch the other day.

    Michelle x /

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      March 24, 2023 at 9:50 pm

      amazing!!

      Reply

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Welcome To My Blog <3

Hello!

Welcome to Enviroline Blog. I’m Caroline and I am currently in my second year at Bournemouth University studying Environmental Science.

On my blog, I share tips & tricks on how to be more sustainable in your everyday life.

A few facts about me:

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  2. I love musicals
  3. I’m a vegetarian
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