Birds and other
wildlife recorded in February 2026
Birds: A
Pheasant was heard occasionally – a species originally introduced in the Middle
Ages or possible in Roman times! Red Kites were regular passers by and an
occasional Buzzard was noted. Stock Doves and Woodpigeons were regularly heard
and seen – but nobody spotted a Collared Dove. Both Green and Great-spotted
Woodpeckers were about, the latter now often heard drumming, a territorial
indication. Skylarks were heard, usually
from the fields to the west and north. Dunnocks do not make themselves obvious
but there are plenty about, and also plenty of often-singing Robins. Song
Thrushes were heard with their repeated but variable songs, and Blackbirds were
commonly reported. Redwings were also seen – (but no Fieldfares?)
The
small attractive Goldcrests were fairly frequent – 4 were recorded on one
birdwatcher’s walk. Wrens were common. Of the tit family there were regular
records of Great Tit, Blue Tit and the conifer-loving Coal Tit; the unrelated
Long-tailed Tit was also quite regularly seen and heard, often still in small
flocks at this time of year. Nuthatches and the hard-to-spot Treecreeper were
about.
In
the corvid group there were frequent records of Carrion Crow, Magpie, Jay and
Jackdaw, but this month nobody spotted or heard a Rook – a bird which was once
a common and regular breeder in the wood. Starlings were fairly common, and in
the finch family there were sightings of Goldfinches, Siskin, Chaffinch and the
increasingly rare Bullfinch.
Mammals: Grey
Squirrel of course! Rabbit and some deer marks – maybe Roe, maybe Muntjac, both
of which are seen fairly regularly.
Butterflies: The
only butterfly recorded this month was Brimstone but keep looking as the spring
begins to approach.
Amphibians: Common
Frogs and spawn were seen towards the end of the month.
Please
keep looking and send in all your sightings. It may not be a rarity but we do
need to know what is living in the wood!
