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20 residents of the 4Bs contributed to the 2026 RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch and shared their observations in the Nature Group. These were collated to create this summary report. The RSPB Survey methodology reports the maximum number of birds of any species that lands on the patch being observed over a 1 hour period. 36 species of bird were reported by the 20 contributors to the survey (Table 1). 10 additional species compared to the 2025 count including: kingfisher, siskin, grey wagtail, redwing, goldcrest, sparrow hawk and several species of waterfowl. The three species with the largest aggregate counts in the 4Bs survey are 1 = Blue Tit (69), 2 = Wood Pigeon (45) and Sparrow (40). The same three birds topped our local chart in 2025. Long Tailed Tits, Robins, Crows and Magpies were also widely reported. 9 species had only one sighting. Some species that were observed in 2025 were not reported in 2026 – jay, marsh tit, pied wagtail, black cap and garden warbler. Early counts across the UK have highlighted high numbers of Goldfinch, Blue Tits, and Wood Pigeons but we will have to wait for the full results to be published. Table 1 Species reported in the 4Bs Big Garden Birdwatch Survey (20 contributors). The number column is not the number of birds counted in one hour but the aggregate of the maximum number of birds that land in a patch during a one hour period. New species reported this year are shown in red font. 
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For much of the year the River Mole is a quiet, sluggish, muddy, shallow waterway meandering through lush green fields or fields shady woods near Betchworth. But a few times a year it changes its form.
Rivers like the River Mole have always flooded. Long before roads, houses, and flood defenses, winter rain spread across the valley floor, eroding the land and creating the fertile soils of the Mole Valley. When a river floods, it can look dramatic — even alarming — to us. Fields disappear, paths and even roads may vanish, and familiar landscapes seem suddenly out of control. And, it can be very damaging if it spills into properties. In January 2026, after several days of heavy rain, the River Mole flooded onto the fields and woodlands near Betchworth and Brockham. It seemed like a disaster for the wildlife but many of the plants and animals that live here have evolved with this natural cycle — and some animals depend on it. Fish are often the first to respond. As water spills out of the main channel, it creates temporary side pools and flooded meadows. These calm, shallow waters are rich in food and safer from predators. Fish move into them to feed, rest, and sometimes to spawn. Amphibians — frogs, toads, and newts — thrive at this moment. Floodwater connects ponds, ditches, and streams that are usually separate. This gives amphibians new routes to move, breed, and spread their populations across the landscape. Invertebrates respond in their thousands. Worms, insects, and larvae are lifted from soils and leaf litter and carried into new places. When the water recedes, they leave behind a rich food source — especially important for birds. Birdlife changes quickly during floods. Waders and water birds arrive to probe the soft mud for invertebrates. Ducks and swans feed on flooded grasses. Kingfishers and herons take advantage of fish in shrinking pools. Mammals adjust too. Water voles retreat to higher ground but return quickly once levels drop. Foxes and deer follow the water’s edge, feeding where floodwaters uncover fresh vegetation. Even bats benefit, as floods trigger bursts of insect life once waters begin to fall. When a field floods, the most important changes happen out of sight, beneath the surface. As water fills the soil, it pushes out the air held in tiny spaces between soil particles. Oxygen quickly disappears, and the soil becomes waterlogged. This sounds dramatic, but it is a condition soils have experienced for millennia. Soil life does not stop — it adapts. Microbes that need oxygen slow down, while others take over, quietly breaking down organic matter in different ways. Nutrients such as nitrogen, iron, and phosphorus are released and reshuffled, changing the soil’s chemistry for a time. Most soil animals sense flooding early. Earthworms, insects, and larvae move upward, sideways, or into temporary shelter. They are not wiped out — they wait. When the water drains away, oxygen returns, microbes surge back into activity, and plants respond with fresh growth. Flooded soils are not damaged soils. They are soils resetting — part of a living system that knows how to recover. As water spreads and slows, it drops fine sediments — natural fertiliser — across meadows and floodplains. This is why river valleys are often so rich in wildflowers, grasses, and insects. To us, floods can feel like nature misbehaving. But ecologically, they are moments of renewal. They reconnect habitats, redistribute life, and reset the system. .So when the river rises, it is a wonderful manifestation of the Earth interacting with itself shaping the landscape and rejuvenating life along the river corridor. The RSPB draws our attention to our wild birds in January through its annual Big Garden Birdwatch UK-wide survey. Its a a good time to spot our birds, as the lack of leaves on the trees can make them easier to see. It's also much easier to attract them to our bird feeders as natural food sources are scarce. Here are some birds to watch out for. Treecreepers with their speckly brown colouring are well camouflaged as they hop up the side of a tree looking for invertebrates to eat. It’s the movement that is likely to catch your eye as these are very active birds. They start near the bottom of a tree spiralling round as they go up, using their curved bills to find their food.  The Great Spotted Woodpecker is flashier woodland character to look out for is. At this time of year, listen out for a distinctive ‘drrrrrr’ as the birds drum on the bark of trees. Both males and females drum as a way of communicating to each other and to mark out their territories. It’s not, as you might expect, to drill a nest hole or to winkle out grubs to eat. Great Spotted Woodpeckers favour hard, dead trees as these ring with a sound that carries furthest. They’ve also been known to drum on telegraph poles and even drainpipes.  Robins are one of only a few birds in the UK that sing throughout the year. Take a walk in the countryside, head to your local park or into your garden and see if you can hear one. Fluffed up against the cold and singing its heart out, a Robin can raise a smile on even the darkest of winter days. But don’t be fooled by their cute and fluffy exterior. Robins are fiercely territorial and theirs is a song to warn other Robins away.  Redwings are a type of thrush that flock to the UK in winter from Iceland, Russia and Scandinavia. They come in search of berries to eat and to seek shelter in our relatively milder climate. They can be mistaken for Song Thrushes or Mistle Thrushes and will frequently form flocks with other thrushes as they roam through the countryside looking for food. But keep an eye out for the orangey-red tinge under their wings – it’s this that gives Redwings their name. This red colouring is visible both when the birds fly and when they perch.  Fieldfares – is another winter thrush to look for. This is the largest thrush seen in the UK and is distinguished from others by its grey head and yellow bill. Like Redwings, these birds are also seeking food and shelter in a warmer climate, flying in from Finland, Norway, Sweden, Russia and Eastern Europe to spend the winter here. They have a fast-paced ‘chack, chack, chack’ call which is likened to chuckling. Should cold weather persist and berries dwindle, Fieldfares may be tempted into gardens with pieces of apple and other fruit.  Article adapted from RSPB Blog
Winter is a tough season for our insects. Food is scarce, temperatures are low, and most creatures that flutter through our gardens in summer are now quietly tucked away, waiting for spring. Beneath piles of fallen leaves lie hundreds of tiny lives. Some caterpillars and pupae hide deep in the leaf litter, sheltered from frost and hungry predators. All these hidden lives mean that what looks like a dull heap of leaves or a lifeless twig may actually be the next generation of butterflies and moths that bring colour and joy to summer. The good news? Giving our insects a helping hand is wonderfully simple — it mostly involves doing less, than more. A perfectly tidy garden is often a poor home for wildlife. These are some things we can do to help sustain our insects through the winter. Go easy with hedge pruning - Trim hedges, but leave some sections untouched for a year or two on a rotation. This keeps the hedge tidy while protecting the insects living within it. Leave the leaves - Clear them off the lawn but pile them in quiet corners or spread them over beds. They suppress weeds, enrich the soil, shelter caterpillars, and provide cosy foraging for birds and hedgehogs. Create habitat piles - A simple heap of twigs, branches and leaves becomes a winter refuge for insects that don’t travel far from their food plants. Let some areas go wild - Choose small corners — under trees, behind sheds, along boundaries — to leave untouched. January is also tough for our birds with short days, long cold nights and very little natural food. A few simple actions can provide them with a winter lifeline. Feed for energy – Offer fat balls (no nets), suet, sunflower hearts and peanuts. Top up little and often to keep food fresh. Keep water ice-free – Break ice each morning or add a splash of warm water so birds can drink and preen. Provide shelter – Evergreens, dense hedges or even a small twig pile provide vital cover. Nest boxes double as night-time roosts. Keep feeders clean – Wash feeders and bird baths weekly to prevent disease. Most importantly, be consistent, keep supplies coming, and you’ll help birds get through the harshest month of the year — while bringing life, movement, sound and colour to your winter garden. January is the month for stunning sunrises and sunsets.   Less water 2025 has been unusual in so far as it has been warmer and drier than recent years. Our local rainfall chart (Figure 1) shows that we only met or exceeded the average rainfall in 5 of the last 12 months. Figure 1 2025 rainfall chart for Redhill produced by SES water company. More Ponds We have all noticed the effect of this water shortage on our gardens, woodlands, cultivated fields and watery habitats and it is one of the reasons we chose to focus attention on ponds in the autumn through our Ponds for Nature Campaign. In this issue of our Magazine we report on our Ponds for Nature Campaign ably led by Simon Fellows. We also describe the history of our local pond-scape and share our photographic record on ponds, and we will celebrate the members of our Nature Group who have created their own wildlife ponds. Download a free copy of our Nature Magazine 
Winter arrives quietly. Not with the drama of storms or frostbite winds, but with a slow exhale that softens the landscape. By December, nature has settled into its annual pause — a season of rest that is far more purposeful than it first appears. Across woodlands and fields, life draws inward. Trees stand bare, yet far from lifeless; they simply conserve energy, sending resources down into their roots where the frost cannot touch them. Beneath the fallen leaves, fungi stay busy recycling what autumn left behind, slowly feeding the soil for the coming spring. Wildlife follows its own winter rhythm. Hedgehogs curl into deep hibernation, their breathing slowed to a whisper. Bats cluster in cold, dark roosts where their body temperature falls to match the air around them. Even creatures that don’t truly sleep — robins, deer, foxes — move with a gentler pace, conserving energy when daylight is short and food is scarce.  Yet winter is not an empty season. Look closely and you’ll find quiet industry everywhere. In ponds, frogs drift into the muddy depths, while newts tuck into crevices where water stays just above freezing. Lichens glow all the brighter on bare branches, thriving in crisp air that would challenge other forms of life. Winter thrushes arrive from the north, feasting on berries left behind by summer’s growth.
This period of rest is not a retreat but a strategy — a reminder that growth depends on stillness as much as activity. Nature knows how to wait, to conserve, to trust in cycles older than memory. As the year draws to a close, December invites us to do the same: to slow down, breathe deeply, and recognise the quiet renewal happening all around us. Because in these resting months, life is not absent. It is simply gathering strength: a necessary condition for sustaining life. Ponds and lakes are an important ecological asset in any landscape and one of the aims of the 4Bs Biodiversity Initiative, Ponds for Nature Campaign is to develop a deeper understanding of the ponds and lakes in the 4Bs landscape. Our initial inventory of the ponds and lakes in the 4Bs has identified a total of 31 ponds and 4 lakes. This movie shows some of them - how many do you recognise? By My Pond, I’m Not Alone I’m not alone when by my pond-- its quiet surface holds a deeper bond. For every ripple, every darting thread, life unfolds wherever I tread. The water hums with secrets small, a beetle’s bubble, a moor hens call. The soft glide of fish unseen, darting flashes of dragonfly green. And so I sit, content beside this watery home, knowing that in its gentle company I’m not alone. .  I have a field infested with bramble and I’m having another go at trying to 'manage' it - which actualy means trying to contain it and reduce its vigor rather than eliminate it. For me bramble is both a friend and a foe. I know it has good ecological value - providing cover, shelter and food and I’m happy to let it grow unchecked around the edges of the field. Unfortunately, it’s not happy to just grow at the edge – very quickly it invades the field and stifles the grass and wildflower growth I’m trying to encourage. Given the number of times I've tried and the variety of methods I’ve used to curtail the bramble, it feels like a battle and this wonderful clip from a BBC movie shows what I’m up against.  Ecology of a Bramble Thicket Bramble is actually an aggregate- Rubus fruticosus agg.- made up of over 320 microspecies in the subgenus Rubus. It thrives where the land is in transition—along woodland edges, in clearings, hedgerows, railway cuttings, and abandoned fields. It is nature’s opportunist, quick to colonise disturbed ground and protect it while slower-growing trees and shrubs re-establish. One of the reasons why bramble thrives in the UK is that it is excellently adapted to competitively acquire water, nutrients and light at the expense of other species. Whilst it thrives in direct sunlight, bramble is also able to increase its leaf area in low light conditions to remain competitive, making it able also to tolerate deep shade; in this way it can potentially out-compete regenerating trees and reach 100% ground cover even under a woodland canopy. Yet this can also have benefits for regenerating trees; it has been shown that brambles, because of the natural defence offered by the prickles, can reduce browsing damage by deer to young trees. Small mammals such as hedgehogs and bank voles find cover within the thorny refuge, and birds like wrens, dunnocks, and blackbirds nest safely in its spiny mesh. In summer, the flowers—delicate pink or white—are magnets for pollinators. Bees, hoverflies, and butterflies all depend on its long flowering season, which can stretch from May to September, providing nectar long after other hedgerow blooms have faded. Brambles are important nectar sources for both bumblebees and honey bees. The leaves are food for many caterpillars such as the fox moth and they are also nibbled by large herbivores including our native deer. The flowers are the primary nectar source for the Silver-washed Fritillary and are a secondary nectar source for many more butterflies, including Brown Hairstreak, Comma, Gatekeeper, Grayling, Orange-tip, Ringlet and many more. By late summer, the familiar blackberries appear providing an important food source for insects such as wasps, and many mammals and birds especially during the lean winter months. Experiments have shown that insects are not necessary for the pollination and fruit production of bramble so at a time when the conservation of pollinators is a very real concern, the importance of fruiting bramble may be greater than ever in sustaining our food webs. As well as small mammals like wood mouse and dormouse, blackberries are eaten by larger mammals such as badgers and foxes. Bramble as a Pioneer Beneath the canopy, the leaf litter enriches the soil, while its deep roots stabilise slopes and prevent erosion. In ecological succession, bramble plays an important transitional role. After disturbance—whether from storm, grazing, or human clearance—it is often the first plant to reclaim bare earth. Its dense growth discourages overgrazing by deer and rabbits, giving woodland seedlings a chance to grow. Over time, as the canopy closes, bramble recedes naturally into the shade, having done its work as a nurse plant for the next generation of woodland. Managing Bramble: Working With, Not Against, Nature Managing bramble is about balance. Left unchecked, it can and often does smother ground flora and young trees, but all too often we treat it as an invader rather than an ally. The key lies in selective control—encouraging it where its ecological value outweighs its inconvenience and restraining it where it threatens to diminish or eliminate biodiversity or access. Thanks to Chatgpt I now have a management plan which I will try to execute over the next few years and hopefully redress the imbalance of species Norman Jackson Once the clocks have changed and the nights get darker earlier, it begins to feel as though winter is closing in. Following the gloriously warm sunny days of late September and early October, and the spectacular displays of leaves turning yellow, gold and red, November generally brings a quieter rhythm to the countryside. Along the Downs, the beeches and oaks shed the last of their leaves, carpeting the chalk paths in copper and gold. The yews on Box Hill stand evergreen and sombre, a reminder of the ancient woods that once cloaked this landscape. Ivy draped on trees is flowering attracting wasps and hoverflies before the frosts silence them. In the hedgerows between Betchworth and Brockham, scarlet hawthorn berries and rose hips glow against bare twigs, a welcome feast for newly arrived redwings and fieldfares from Scandinavia. Blackbirds and song thrushes join them, gorging on berries before the leaner months set in. Robins sing from garden fences and woodland edges, their song sharper in the chill air, each bird defending the territory it is claiming for winter. Tawny owls call from the churchyard yews and woodlands — the classic “too-wit too-woo” echoing through long nights. Grey herons stand sentinel in the shallows of the River Mole or poach fish from garden ponds. By late November our native starling population will welcome starlings from colder parts of mainland Europe, forming large, dense flocks. If we are lucky, they might treat us to a spectacular aerial display known as a murmuration, swirling through the sky, forming patterns like iron filings over a magnet, before they all funnel down to roost. November is one of the best months to spot fungi, with damp, mild conditions, fallen leaves and rotting wood for food. This year, fungi have been appearing a little earlier than usual because of the damp spells after the hot dry summer. You may have spotted puffballs, inkcaps, parasols, and waxcaps in grasslands from late September. But the real show is between mid-October to mid- November, provided the weather stays moist but not too frosty. some of the photos of fungi posted in the 4Bs WhatsApp Nature Group Here are some of the new ponds being built with our pond starter kits. We have 4 kits left. If you are a resident of the 4Bs and you would like one, please email Simon Fellows who is leading our pond for nature campaign. [email protected] |
4Bs Nature Group BlogThis blog is maintained by the 4Bs Biodiversity Initiative Team. Its purpose is to provide brief updates of activities and encourage the sharing of experiences and learning. We welcome guests and contributions from members of the 4Bs WhatsApp Nature Group and wider community. To contribute a post please email the editor at biodiversityinititiative1 @gmail.com PagesArchives
January 2026
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