Country diary: Bit by bit, bird by bird, our wildlife is waking up | Josie George

Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire: No finches yet and only a single thrush, but tuning into January's sounds has revealed that nature is beginning to stirIf my teenage son hadn't mentioned it one grey morning this week, I'm not sure I'd have noticed, having been too caught up in the January doldrums. But he was right: there's a new fullness to the soundscape here on our urban housing estate. "The birds just sound louder," he said, scanning the rooftops, "more enthusiastic.""Go on then, what are they?" he grinned, giving me permission to perform my party trick. I closed my eyes and listened. Sparrow. Robin. Wood pigeon. Wren. Blue tits - a bickering winter flock of them - and, there, the see-see-see of long-tailed tits. "Which one makes this sound?" he asked, and whistled a long, descending note like something falling from the sky. "They're my favourite." "Starling!" I said. Right on cue, one made that exact sound somewhere above us, confirming his perfect impression. Continue reading...