With the exception perhaps of badgers (pictured) and blackbirds that find it easy to locate their main diet of earthworms, the so far wet and windy winter has not created ideal conditions for wildlife.

Hibernating insects especially may suffer as prolonged damp conditions can cause mildew and fungus to attack vulnerable tiny bodies if those insects have chosen a poor spot to spend the winter.

Hibernating butterflies sometimes venture out on warm sunny days but may pay the penalty if no nectar can be found. Perhaps surprisingly, there are about eleven species of moth that fly from late autumn to early spring. Most are very drab grey/brown as they have no need to be colourful in winter.

With the majority of those moths, only the males fly. The females have very short stumpy wings that over millennia have shrunk to be useless. The reason for this is because females need to conserve their energy in bitter weather purely for egg laying. They sit, usually on the trunks of their caterpillar food plant or tree and, wafting powerful pheromones into the night air attract males from far and wide.

The most familiar species is the small aptly named winter moth, a tiny greyish/silver creature sometimes encountered flying through our car headlights on frosty nights or perhaps sitting on the outside of our windows.

However, once a fairly common sight, I have seen very few in recent years as they decline along with many other insect groups.