January 2026 Wildlife Update
Conservation Officer Sophie gives us a run down on the wildlife spotted in the Park during January.
The longest month of the year is almost over! January has been quite an exciting month in the park for wildlife, a little slow to start but some great records in the last couple of weeks.
Bird highlights:
- American Wigeon – this is a real highlight, and the first time this species has been recorded in the Park! These are a rare visitor to the UK, with only a few seen each year, mainly in the winter months. First spotted on Gunwade Lake by one of our regular birders on 24th January, it then moved to Heron Meadow where it spent a couple of days. It hasn’t been seen since 27th January, but that’s not to say it isn’t still on Heron Meadow somewhere, hiding behind a tussock.
- Common Scoter – generally a coastal duck, a good record for the park and a very infrequent visitor (by my records the last one to visit the park was in April 2023)
- Woodlark – spotted by an eagle-eyed birder, in with a flock of Skylarks, just to the west of Ferry Meadows. They have a patchy distribution in the UK, and classed as scarce by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), so another good record
- Siskin – small flocks have been spotted around, I watched a small flock on the alder on the north bank of Lynch Lake in the week. Image taken by our licenced bird ringer Alan Brimmell, back in October.
- Great White Egret – becoming more frequent each winter, 1 or sometimes 2 have been spotted quite frequently around Heron Meadow
- Tawny Owl – not been seen, but has been heard in Bluebell Wood a few times
Other wildife highlights:
- Snowdrops are in flower now around the park – my favourite spots for them are the garden area near the Visitor Centre, the footpath up Ham Lane, and the Hazel coppice near Milton Ferry Bridge
- Hazel catkins are starting to open, and if you look really, really closely at some of the buds, you might be lucky to see the tiny pink flower on the end of the bud
- Daffodil bulbs are pushing through around the park, especially at the top end of Ham Lane. A sure sign that spring is coming!
Take a look at our Winter Wildlife Walk video below for a bit more about the wildlife in the Park at this time of year.
