All change What a contrast! This time last year I was battling with frozen water troughs and carting bales of hay around. The mild weather so far this winter has in many ways made things easier at Warburg Nature Reserve.

There’s no ice breaking or extra feeding to be done when I check the Dexter cattle and Jacob sheep. They are hardy animals and only need hay if the ground is covered in snow, which is a blessing because the hay can add nutrients to the soil, and is bad news for wildflowers.

As warden, I find the biggest challenge is the shortness of the winter season. It’s a race against time to get everything done before spring.

Winter is the time when we carry out essential jobs such as coppicing in the woodland to make sure there’s more sunlight for the flowers that will soon burst through the leaf litter.

Spring and summer are when our wildlife is most active and concentrating on breeding, so we avoid doing this work then.

It’s well documented that spring is arriving earlier now, and autumn coming later. Birds are nesting earlier and the time in which we have to carry out our winter work seems to be getting shorter. Or maybe we’re just trying to do more! When I hear birds singing it’s a lovely sound, but it also means time’s nearly up.

The mild wet conditions have made the reserve very muddy in places. This month contractors are removing conifer trees planted in the 1960s, so that patches of chalk grassland will link up and benefit many wildflowers and butterflies.

The tractors can create a few ruts in the mud so we are careful to avoid sensitive areas. Wheel ruts can look unsightly, but they soon grass over. The disturbance can even cause some unusual wildflower species like round-leaved fluellen and dwarf spurge to germinate.

Winners and losers Mild conditions are great for some species but there are always winners and losers. Animals that don’t hibernate — birds, mice, voles and rabbits for example — will tend to have better survival rates in milder winters.

Animals that hibernate, such as dormice, reptiles and bats don’t necessarily do so well as they may wake up and attempt to feed, which will be a waste of energy if there is no food around. Most hibernators don’t have much leeway as far as stored energy goes, so any energy wasted could be disastrous.

Good time to watch Winter can be a great time for wildlife watching. In woodlands there are fewer species to see than in other seasons, but with no leaves on the trees the viewing can be better. It’s particularly a good time to watch birds. This is made more interesting thanks to our winter visitors like fieldfare, redwing, siskin, red poll and even crossbill. The chattering sound of fieldfares in flight, often flocking with their smaller cousins the redwings, is a sure sign of colder weather on the way. It’s worth looking out for mixed flocks too. You’ll often hear and then see long-tailed tits, blue tits and great tits all together with the occasional goldcrest or treecreeper, or if you’re lucky something rarer.

So come along and spend an hour in one of our hides, but don’t forget to bring wellies and a flask.

l If you would like to visit any of our nature reserves, join a guided walk, or find out about becoming a member of the Wildlife Trust please visit www.bbowt.org.uk or tel 01865 775476.