Although I love all times of the year, winter is always special. Frost and snow transform the landscape, and the chill of the icy air catching the exposed bits of my face as I walk through a darkened wood once the sun has gone down brings a sense of connection that other seasons don’t seem to have. The other thing about the winter is that it brings birds that we rarely, if ever, see at any other time. I could see Crossbills at any time of the year, by going to the conifer forests that they inhabit. But, if I wait, Autumn brings them to our local woodland and in the depths of winter they start to appear in the trees close to our garden.
I was out with a production company yesterday, filming a DVD about the local nature reserve behind our house, the community group which is so passionate about it, our hopes for the future of the reserve and the importance of the industrial heritage of this area. At one point they asked me to describe the special wildlife of Choppington Woods, and I mentioned our wintering Crossbills. Less than 5 minutes later, as we were shooting a ‘walk and talk’ piece, a flock of 12 Crossbills landed in a tree next to us! It couldn’t have been scripted better.
This morning I looked out of the office window and there they were again , this time in my garden. Even before I lifted my binoculars I had a good idea what they were. They just had that ‘big’ look about them. After spending much of the day at a meeting about a series of activities we are organising for the nature reserve, I returned to the office and settled back to work. Just as dusk began to settle there was another shape in the tree, but this was too big to be a Crossbill, too slim for a thrush. Up went the bins and there was the unmistakeable spiky hairdo of a Waxwing. Another winter visitor from northern forests, and a cracking bird to find in the garden. Then it was away, presumably to roost in the most densely vegetated area of the wood. Yes, there’s lots to love about the winter.