nature notes for children, looking for wildlife
stand still and stare and then stare a bit harder
Wild birds, insects and animals are very good at camouflaging themselves and you can be really quite close, but at first, not see them.
Look how well camouflaged this Speckled Wood Butterfly is!
use your ears as well as your eyes
Some birds sing very loudly and you may hear them before you see them.

timing is everything
It’s no good looking for seal pups in August. Their mothers arrive in October at places like Donna Nook to give birth and by early January they’ll have gone back to sea. Migrating birds may be in Lincolnshire for brief periods too, maybe to breed or for a feeding stop-over. So try to catch those windows.
behaviour clues can help you too
Knowing a bit about their habits can be a guide to where to look. That hedge isn’t just a hedge - see it through their eyes, it’s a superhighway for birds, small animals and insects. It provides food and nesting places. The top of the hedge gives a great look-out post and if danger comes it’s a great place to hide.

There are birds and animals that can be found all over the UK, but sometimes they just find an area that particularly suits them and they breed well and thrive.
sometimes you just get lucky
Whilst you’re standing and staring, someone may not realise you’re there and you’ll get a great sighting.
visit a nature reserve
Some reserves like RSPB Frampton Marsh, Gibraltar Point, Waters’ Edge Country Park or Whisby Country Park have visitor centres with lots of helpful information.
Lincolnshire Strengths
hares
Lincolnshire has good populations of hares and they can be seen in arable fields often in pairs. In fact they nest in open fields making a shallow dip in the ground called a form.
Struggle to tell the difference between hares and rabbits?
Hares are much bigger and they have longer ears. Hares have long powerful back legs which enable them to run up to 45mph.
barn owls
Lincolnshire is also a good place to spot barn owls. They’re best seen in the early evening as they hunt beside rivers and woods and along the field edges. You may also hear them, Barn Owls don’t hoot, but make loud eerie screeches.
Barn Owls have incredibly soft feathers on the edge of their wings. This allows them to flap their wings without making a sound. They are skilled hunters of small mammals, mostly voles. They can hunt in total darkness and have exceptional hearing.
long-eared owls
Long-eared owls are less common. They’re nocturnal and secretive and very good at camouflage. Their deep orange eyes are very distinctive as are their long ‘ear tufts’. They are not actually ears but the owl will raise their head feathers when alarmed.
use your ears
wren
This tiny speckled brown bird can be difficult to spot, but for such a small bird it has a remarkably loud voice and you often hear its trilling song before you see it. The wren is also noted for its upward pointing tail and darting flight.
robins
Often said to be Britain’s favourite bird, Robins sing beautifully throughout the year, even sometimes at night. Robins are very territorial and can often be seen in the garden fighting with another robin who is on his patch. A dispute usually starts with males singing at each other, this usually ends the fight as one of them will back down.
When walking beside a hedge a robin will often accompany you, he’s not being friendly, you’re on his territory and the robin is just checking to make sure you’ll leave it!
Some birds have such a distinctive feature that you can’t mistake them: the robins red breast, the bright orange eyes of the long-eared owl or the yellow feet of a little egret.
sometimes you just get lucky!
stoats
Our photographer got very lucky whilst bird watching at Snipe Dales when this stoat ran towards him. Stoats may be small but they’re ferocious hunters, they move rapidly looking for food in every burrow and crevice, including climbing trees. Stoats are bigger than weasels, but that black tail tip is the giveaway that says this is a stoat.
keep your eye out!
This fox was having a sleep, not realising that our photographer was on the scene!
deer
There are six species of deer in the UK, they vary in size and can be found in open fields, woods and moorland. They can be easy to spot such as this group in the Lincolnshire Wolds, but look how well this solitary deer is camouflaged as it lies in the grass.
seals
Britain has about 40% of the world’s grey seal population, but the best time to see them is when they come on shore to give birth. Late October to early January is the time to visit Donna Nook to see them, 2,207 pups were born there in 2023. The pups are born with white coats and suckle from their mother for the first few weeks. The mother then leaves the pup to mate again before leaving the beach. The deserted pup then sheds its white coat before heading out to sea to find its own food.
Did you know that a grey seals scientific name is Halichoerus gryus which literally translates as hook-nosed sea pig?
swallows
Swallows return to the UK to breed and can be seen between April and September. They are extremely acrobatic in flight whilst they hunt for insects. They can be found in open pasture or over water and reedbeds, anywhere in fact where there are plenty of insects.
Sometimes people get confused between swifts, house martins and swallows. Swifts are dark brown with a short forked tail and a crescent shape when flying. They often make a piercing high pitched scream when flying in their family groups. Swallows have dark glossy backs, red throats, pale underparts and long tail streamers. They often chirrup from perches. House martins are smaller than swifts and swallows, their colouring is similar to swallows, but they don’t have red throats. Another way to tell the difference is that swifts fly very high and very fast. House martins fly at middle height, whilst swallows fly low to the ground.
Hedgerow Highways
For many birds hedges are very important, they’re full of food, good vantage points, a place to nest and a place of safety to hide from predators. They’re not the only ones as many insects and small mammals value them too.
Did you Know?
Native sheep, cattle and ponies are often used on nature reserves to graze the grounds. These are rare Hebridean sheep and they’re in charge of looking after the nature reserve at the former RAF Woodhall Spa.