Wildlife in January

January is the month for new resolutions, so why not resolve this month to spend more time watching wildlife? Why not keep half a day clear each weekend to get outdoors or start a wildlife diary, record the birds you see in the garden on BirdTrack? There’s plenty of wildlife to see at the start of the year. If you want to learn birdsong,now is the time to start as robins are almost the only birds singing. Listen out for their melancholy, trickling song. When other species, such as mistle thrushes, start to sing in February and March you’ll have already mastered the song of the robin. Meanwhile, on lakes and gravel pits in January, watch out for scarcer ducks such as goosander, scaup and smew. On the sea, this is a good time to get to grips with the identification of grebe and diver species, while in gardens and orchards look out for winter-visiting redwings.