Bunches of oak buds

Not my best photo but it illustrates the point.  If you are not sure whether a winter tree is an oak or not, look at the buds.  More specifically look at the bud at the end of the twig - the terminal bud.  It is not just one bud but several in a bunch, and this goes for all the 500 species of oak in the world.  We only have two native oaks in Britain and they look pretty similar.  I'll tell you how to distinguish them in a later post.

Here is a little seedling oak growing amongst the ivy at the top of Filnore Lane, just next to the Paddock section of Filnore Woods.  Even in December, young English oaks hang on to their leaves.