A wild walk with geese, gulls and more

Join me for a chilly wander to find the wildlife that sticks around for the very coldest months of the year.

Well, here we are – 2026! Temperatures have plunged, so I set out to see what was braving the frost.

I’d heard the flock of Greylags at one of my usual patches was harbouring some rare visiting geese. Russian White-Fronted Geese and Tundra Bean Geese, both of which would be lifers for me.

I arrived just as the Coots finished their morning meeting and scattered across the ice. The frozen water had forced the Greylags much closer to shore than usual – perfect.

Unfortunately, they were doing what geese do best: sleeping. And both of the rare geese look very similar to Greylags (of which there were about 400) when their heads aren’t showing. So I scanned the flock for any birds that looked smaller, darker or otherwise ‘different’ and then moved on.

Out on the frozen water, an assortment of gulls stood looking displeased. Lots of Black-Headed Gulls, with their little black ‘spots’ of feathers behind the eyes – all that remains of summer’s black head plumage. And the odd Lesser Black-Backed Gull, always standing alone.

And then this one flew past - it’s between the size of the two other gulls, and has a mid-tone grey back, too. The legs and bill are grey-yellow. And it’s got a decidedly ‘cute’ look, for a gull!

It’s my absolute favourite: the Common Gull. A total misnomer, too, as it’s not common at all this far inland. Unlike the many, many Cormorants that flew back and forth between the two fishing lakes.

The rest of the walk was uneventful, but I do like to keep the Merlin app running and glance at it to see if it’s heard any species I haven’t. This time, a bird’s name appeared without the little ‘tick’ next to it that shows I have recorded it on my life list. A Firecrest!

I hung around, peering into bushes and looking for a small, round bird foraging among the ivy, but no luck. They often stick around, though, so I’ll be back soon.

I also went to Fowlmere with my Dad for a frosty walk, but the low-hung sun dazzled us most of the way round. We did manage to find a Treecreeper, and stood enthralled as it inspected every nook and cranny on each branch.

If you look very closely at the photo below, you can see a small white grub, presumably clinging on for dear life, in the Treecreeper’s beak.

We finally tore ourselves away to sit insistently in a hide – we were up early and it was freezing, surely we would be rewarded? The hide faced directly into the glare of the morning sun, but it seemed to sear our eyes much faster than it warmed our fingers.

Dad finally noticed some movement – this pair of elegant Fallow Deer – but the sound of our shutters sent them scarpering into an almost invisible tunnel in the reeds.

And with that, we gave up and headed home. I love this time of year, starting a new ‘year list’ of birds. All of a sudden, even Wood Pigeons are exciting again! Hopefully I’ll be back next time with a Firecrest and some fancy geese to share, but if not I’ve no doubt our more obliging species will do the job.

In the meantime, let me know what you’ve seen, heard, photographed or painted! I love hear what wildlife’s up to wherever you are in the world.

Gem

P.S. Thanks for joining me again this year. Substack was the highlight of a very challenging year last year and I appreciate every comment, like, subscription and tip more than I can put into words. Here’s to 2026!