These are you last couple of days to complete the Preparing for Winter survey. If you haven't already told us your results make sure you do it now.
Our January / February survey is called 'birds and their song'. This time of year is perfect for getting to know the birds in your local area. The lack of leaves on the trees makes them far easier to spot than in the summer. If you are putting out bird food you've also got a really good chance of seeing garden birds now, since they'll be flocking to an easy source of food.
It's also a brilliant time for you to start learning birdsong. Many species of bird sing at different times of year. In the winter months the noisiest birds are hear robins and great tits. Robins have winter territories which they let other birds now about through thier song. As the weather gets milder, other bird species start to sing more. They too are marking their territories and calling to attract mates. In January listen out for mistle thrushes singing, if there's a strong wind you'll see them sitting at the top of a tree calling into the wind (hence their old country name the Stormcock). Tawny owls will also start to make more noise as the weather gets warmer and they begin to mark their territories.
The early nesters such as dunnocks, wrens, blue tits and blackbirds start singing early in the season and then as the months progress into February and March they are joined by many other bird species until dawn and dusk are a veritable cacophony of birdsong. If you start listening now while there are fewer birds singing you've got a good chance of learning the song now and then being able to pick it out from all the other bird song later in the year. You've also got a good chance of actually seeing the bird singing in the tree, now that there's no leaves for them to hide behind. . Dunnocks, wrens and blue tits , blackbirds