Shape and form: Although not always easy in more densely wooded areas, if you can stand back from the tree and look at its overall shape, you will help narrow down what species you are looking at.

Without leaves you can clearly see the shape of the branches, which often form a beautiful silhouette against the winter sky. In ash, the branches grow almost vertically upward from the trunk, in others, such as willow and silver birch, they hang downwards. See if you can spot the windy curled twigs of sycamore or the shiny red zigzag-shaped twigs of lime.

Rough or smooth: Bark protects the underlying tree from damage and can be a distinguishing feature of more mature trees (beware of young trees which tend to have smooth bark which looks the same).

The white papery bark of silver birch is easy to identify; as the tree ages, the bark also develops striking black arrow or diamond-shaped patterns. Both oak and ash have a much rougher bark. On ash trees the pattern is very regular and even, whereas with oak it takes on a more random appearance. Budding branches: Coming in closer, look at individual branches and twigs. Many will have buds on, from which new leaves will develop next spring.

Examine the position of the buds down the twigs — are they opposite each other (as in ash and sycamore) or positioned alternately (as in oaks and beech)? Note their colour (for example ash has matt black buds, whereas sycamore has green) as well as their shape.

Some leaf buds, such as beech, are long and thin whilst others, like the clusters of buds forming at the end of oak branches, are more rounded. Juicy berries If you get there before the birds, berries are an excellent identifying feature. Hawthorn has bright red berries on thorny, thickety branches. Spindle berries are bright pink on the outside and orange inside. They are particularly rich in fats and proteins, making them a valuable winter food for many birds. However, the seeds are poisonous and the bird must remove or regurgitate these from the flesh before they can enjoy the reward.

Tree detective: Wherever you are there will probably be a local tree or two on which you can try out your identification skills. But for more variety why not visit one of BBOWT’s woodland reserves such as Warburg or Foxholes? Without leaves to obscure them, now is also a great time to spot woodland birds as they forage for food amongst the bare branches. To find out more visit www.bbowt.org.ok.