Winter wildlife watching

Love watching wildlife in your garden? Even in winter there are plenty of ways to observe and appreciate birds, insects, pond life and even some small mammals if you're lucky.

- Nic Wilson shares her top tips on getting up close

Wildlife gardening is hugely beneficial, both for biodiversity and for gardeners. By providing food, shelter and nest sites for a wide range of species, you get the opportunity to engage with the natural world right outside your back door. And that goes for winter too, when wildlife watching can help us slow down, take stock and remind us that life continues quietly in every corner of our garden.

Even on the coldest, darkest days, a brief moment of attention can lift your heart and reawaken your sense of wonder – a robin's song in the still air, a fox's pawprint in the snow, a wren darting from the undergrowth, frosted seedheads glinting in the morning sun, or bare branches revealing hidden nests and sleeping insects.

And with the right kit, from bat detectors, binoculars, wildlife cameras and magnifying glasses (the ideal intro for children) to homemade insect nets and moth traps, you can watch wildlife either up close, from a distance – handy if you're stuck indoors for any reason – or even at night.

So what are you waiting for? Just find a good viewing spot, get ready to catch the winter wildlife-watching bug, and encourage friends and family to join you too.

Up close: inside and outside

When the weather's chilly and I'm not able to get out, I love sitting by the window to watch the birds. As well as spotting regular visitors such as blackbirds and dunnocks, cold spells sometimes bring winter thrushes such as redwings into our gardens, easily identified by the creamy stripe above the eye and the flush of red under the wing. Look out for them on berry-bearing trees such as rowans, hawthorns and cotoneaster. In cold weather you might notice other winter migrants such as fieldfares or waxwings joining the feast.