Embracing Winter

Emma Chaplin
, 22 February 2021
Embracing Winter
Eurasian Teal

By Tilly Hopkins

The winter months can be dull, dark, grey and wet here in our part of the world but nature still offers us so much to see and enjoy, no matter the time of year. I used to dread the short winter days with the lack of sunshine and freezing cold conditions. However, this year I’ve started to embrace it and notice the beauty of the season, as well as how uplifted I feel after even a short time spent outside in the fresh air. From sparkling frost covered landscapes to the winter wildlife and natural spectacles on offer. I like that you don’t have to be out very late to witness a stunning sunset on chilly evenings, or starry skies on clear nights. Waking up to spectacular sunrises, foggy fields with dewy grass, finding icy lakes and frozen spider webs on local walks. If you venture out, winter can reward you with a feast for the senses.

Earlier in the winter I visited Rye Harbour Nature Reserve for some birdwatching and a walk in the rain. After a short while, the rain started to really pour down (luckily, I was wearing my much-needed waterproofs). I thought about turning back and calling it a day, but decided to keep pushing on against the wind and the rain. Eventually, I started to really enjoy the weather! It was refreshing, exhilarating, energising and pretty fun to get a bit muddy and wet and not care too much about it. I could hear powerful waves crashing along the shoreline, raindrops hitting the water and spot cormorants flying by overhead.

Wigeon pair dining with Coot 8356 Wigeon and Coot feeding together

That’s the great thing about the reserve, there are still plenty of birds to see all year round, even in the winter as they’re busy finding the food they need to survive. Tufted duck, pintail, shoveler and gadwall to name a few. I personally love to watch teal at the reserve. They may be our smallest duck, but you’ll find it hard to miss the males, thanks to their colourful plumage. With a chestnut brown head, yellow-bordered green patches over the eyes, yellow and black tail and grey speckled breast; they’re beautiful birds to see. The females are less distinctive as mostly mottled brown, very much like a small female mallard in appearance, but with a more delicately shaped bill. Both sexes flash a striking bright green wing patch when in flight.

Did you know a group of teal is known as a 'spring'? This is because of the way they can take-off suddenly and vertically. If surprised, flocks will explode upwards as if they have jumped straight off the water and into the air! Teal are shy and nervous birds, even their calls sound a bit worried - A slightly shaky, quivering, whistled ‘cree’ noise. However, they are very sociable little dabbling ducks and often form tight flocks when in flight, circling, curving and changing direction in unison as they travel through the winter sky.

The wigeon is another favourite and can be thought of as the sound of the reserve at this time of year, with its distinctive whistling call filling the air. They pair up in the winter months and enjoy stealing the food of coots as they dive down and bring up the water weed. Rye Harbour Nature Reserve truly is a special place for both people and wildlife, no matter the weather or season. Hopefully I’ve inspired you to wrap up warm, get those waterproofs on and brave the elements this winter – it’s definitely worth it.

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1783100132.40250 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1783100132.45360.0511Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1783100132.45370.0001Server address: 216.73.216.95
1783100132.45380Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1783100132.45380Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/embracing-winter
    [s] => embracing-winter
    [1] => embracing-winter
)
1783100132.45410.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783100132.45490.0008 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1783100132.45660.0017 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1783100132.45720.0005INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1783100132.45990.0027 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22577858
1783100132.46040.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22577858
1783100132.46110.0007 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-07-03 17:35:00' AND saleTo>'2026-07-03 17:35:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1783100132.46260.0015 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='embracing-winter')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-03 17:35:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1783100132.46510.0025 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783100132.46570.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=2466 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-03 17:35:00'
1783100132.46650.0008 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1783100132.46720.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1783100132.46780.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=73 LIMIT 1
1783100132.46840.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=70 LIMIT 1
1783100132.4690.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783100132.46920.0003 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1783100132.47010.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-03 17:35:00' AND postSlug='embracing-winter'
1783100132.4910.0209Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783100132.49260.0016 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1783100132.49430.0017Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1783100132.49460.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1783100132.49530.0008 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1783100132.49680.0014 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783100132.49980.003 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783100132.50040.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783100132.50260.0021Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1783100132.50260 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783100132.50330.0007 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783100132.50390.0006 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783100132.50690.003 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783100132.50820.0013 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783100132.50910.0008 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783100132.51220.0031 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783100132.51340.0012 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1783100132.5160.0027 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1783100132.51660.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783100132.51680.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1783100132.51750.0007Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1783100132.51790.0004 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='embracing-winter')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-03 17:35:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1783100132.52080.0029 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783100132.52140.0006 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783100132.52490.0035Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1783100132.5260.0011 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=2466 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1783100132.57730.0513 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1783100132.57750.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783100132.57780.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1783100132.57860.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1783100132.57930.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1783100132.57990.0006 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783100132.58210.0022 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783100132.58260.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783100132.58450.0019 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783100132.58580.0013 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783100132.58630.0005 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783100132.58680.0005 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783100132.58920.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783100132.58970.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783100132.59180.002 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783100132.59530.0036 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1783100132.5960.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1783100132.59660.0006 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783100132.59890.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783100132.59940.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783100132.60130.0018 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783100132.60420.0029 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783100132.60510.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783100132.60560.0006 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783100132.60790.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783100132.60840.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783100132.61040.002 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783100132.61190.0015Request time: 0.2132
1783100132.61190Process time: 0.213
1783100132.61190Memory: 1.6256