UK wildlife in December: what to see, and where

Happening in December

• Robins singing
  The robin’s month: on every card, and singing in every garden. Robin

Moments worth waiting for

What the animals are up to this month, the most seasonal first.

• Rut Chinese water deer · dawn and dusk
  A buck barks and squeals, chasing a doe across the marsh.
• A bee in January Buff-tailed bumblebee · day
  A large bee bumbles across a mild winter garden, visiting the first flowers on a shrub.
• Pups on the Horsey beach Grey seal · dawn and day
  A fluffy white pup squirms on the sand below the dunes as the cows shuffle and call around it.
• Winter flock Snow bunting · day
  A flock of snow buntings blows across the snow like flakes, dropping suddenly to feed on seeds on a windswept ridge.
• Dawn flight-out Pink-footed goose · dawn
  A long, calling skein of pink-feet streams high over the marsh at first light, heading inland to feed.
• Whiffling Pink-footed goose · day and dusk
  Geese tip and tumble from height as they drop towards the fields.
• Winter white coat Mountain hare · dawn, day and dusk
  A mountain hare in full white winter fur sits among the heather stems, only the black ear tips giving it away.
• Roost fly-in Common crane · dusk
  Cranes glide in from the fields to roost, calling, as the sky turns orange.
• Upside-down at the feeder Blue tit · day
  A blue tit clings upside down to a fat ball, swinging as it pecks.
• Family flock on the move Long-tailed tit · day
  A dozen long-tailed tits pour along the hedge one behind another, calling all the time.
• Daytime hunting Barn owl · day
  A white owl drifts over the marsh in daylight.
• Kew-wick and hoot Tawny owl · dusk and night
  From two dark trees a female calls 'kew-wick' and a male answers with a long quavering hoot.
• White winter plumage Ptarmigan · day and dawn
  A ptarmigan in pure white winter plumage huddles by a boulder, only a black eye and tail feathers showing.

Where to look

At their best in December, quickest to see first, with the best time of day.

Rare visitors

Not here most of the time, but December is when these can turn up: Waxwing, glossy ibis and white-tailed eagle.

Moths on the wing

Coming to a garden moth trap in December: December moth. All the moths, and how to trap them kindly.

Nature notes for December

• Where to see starling murmurations in the UK this winter
• Where to see grey seal pups in the UK, and when they're born
• When do hedgehogs hibernate in the UK?