This winter is proving to be one of the good old fashioned kind with ice, frost, snow and prolonged low temperatures, something we've not seen for five years and therefore a bit of a shock to the system.

Hopefully we have ways of keeping warm and over millenia, wildlife has needed to adapt, evolving different strategies for survival, hibernation being a key factor.

Insects and amphibians, being cold -blooded, are prime examples of hibernators whilst many fish become sluggish and burrow in mud, especially in still water.

Most animals remain active although in extreme conditions, badgers, with young now being born tend to spend more time in their setts especially in thick snow when earthworms are difficult to access. Squirrels too spend more time in their dreys feeding on stored acorns although many of those buried in autumn will be forgotten.

One notable hibernator is the dormouse, its very French name alluding to the fact that it will snore away the whole winter and actually spend more of its life asleep than awake.

No birds hibernate. Rather like squirrels, jays bury acorns and seem to retain a better memory of just where they hid them. Any missed will germinate into oak saplings.

Small birds (bullfinches pictured) do suffer prolonged cold, their minimal surface areas rapidly losing heat especially at night. So their days are spent frantically searching for food, a strategy employed by several species of tit which flocking together, ensure that many pairs of eyes stand a greater chance of locating sustenance.

Looking out at the chilly day, hibernating might not be a bad idea!