Birds in our Garden

I think we have seen/heard all of these at one time or another in or around 12, Hollingwood Gate ...

Barn Owl (Tyto alba) With a heart-shaped face, buff back and wings and pure white underparts, the barn owl is a distinctive bird - widely distributed across the UK. A nocturnal bird it's usually found in open country, along field edges, riverbanks and roadside verges ... so the ones we get might just fly across the property.



Blackbird (Turdus merula)



Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)



Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) The male is unmistakable - with his bright pinkish-red breast and cheeks, grey back, black cap and tail, and bright white rump. They feed voraciously on the buds of various trees in spring so it's worth looking at woodland edges - but they are often in our garden feeding - females too ... they're a stout black bill, black wings, nape, crown and chin, and a white rump, under-tail coverts and wing-bar. Her tail is slightly forked and the legs are brown and she has browney-back and pinkish-fawn underparts.



Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) The chaffinch is the second commonest breeding bird in Britain. It's the most colourful of the finches with a patterned plumage on view normally but when it flies, revealing a flash of white on the wings and white outer tail feathers. It does not usually feed on bird feeders, preferring to hop about under the bird table.



Coal Tit (Periparus ater) has a distinctive grey back, black cap, and white patch at the back of its neck. It has a smaller, more slender bill than the blue or great tit so it more successful in conifers. A regular visitor to most peanut feeders, Coal Tits will take and store food for eating later and in winter join with other tits in flocks to roam in search of food.



Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) a pale, pinky-brown grey colour, with a distinctive black neck collar, with deep red eyes and reddish feet. Their monotonous cooing makes them unpopular in our household. Apparently it was only in 50's that they come over to Europe from the Middle East.



Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) tiny - almost the smallest bird; dull greyish-green with a pale belly and a black and yellow stripe on their heads, which has an orange centre in males and a thin beak ideally suited for picking insects out from between pine needles so pine woods/forests are the best places to see them.



Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) are highly coloured, with a bright red face and yellow wing patch. Their long fine beaks allow them to extract otherwise inaccessible seeds from thistles and teasels though increasingly they are visiting birdtables and feeders. They are sociable, often breeding in loose colonies, they have a delightful liquid twittering song and call. They are less common in upland areas apparently.



Great Tit (Parus major) and, as the name suggests, it is the largest UK tit. Coloured green and yellow with a striking glossy black head with white cheeks and a distinctive two-syllable song (I think it is similar to the "judy-judy" of the Blackbird. It can be quite aggressive at a birdtable, fighting off smaller tits.



Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) - about blackbird-sized and striking black-and-white. Its presence is often announced by its loud call or by its distinctive spring 'drumming' display. The male has a distinctive red patch on the back of the head and young birds have a red crown. It has a very distinctive bouncing flight and spends most of its time clinging to tree trunks and branches, often trying to hide on the side away from the observer - usually in mature broad-leaved woodlands, they will come to peanut feeders and birdtables.



Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris) has a twittering and wheezing song. It flashes yellow and green as it flies. Feeds on black sunflower seeds and is a regular garden visitor, quite sociable, but may squabble at the bird table. In the UK it is only absent from upland areas without trees and bushes.



Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) popular they are NOT! Especially around our ponds ... luckily we think the fish have a decent memory - after we get visits the fish stay well hidden for days ... and we flush away the remnants of the oily substance the heron always leaves behind. This creature has a long beak and has grey, black and white feathers. They can stand with their neck stretched out, looking for food, or hunched down with their neck bent over their chest for hours - immobile. Often see them at the river too.



Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) - the largest finch, with a massive, powerful bill. Apparently always shy and difficult to see, the hawfinch has become even more rare.



House Martin (Delichon urbica) a smallish bird, with beautiful glossy blue-black upper and pure white under parts. It has a distinctive white rump with a forked tail and white feathers covering its legs and toes. It spends much of its time on the wing collecting insect prey whilst it's mud nest is usually situated below the eaves of buildings. They are summer migrants (winters in Africa).



House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) - see big picture on the right. These noisy, gregarious, and cheerful birds exploit man's waste and seem to have colonised most of the world - though they are mysteriously on the decline in the UK.



Jackdaw (Coloeus monedula) It was originally described as Corvus monedula by Linnaeus, but analysis of its DNA shows that, with its closest relative the Daurian Jackdaw, it is an early offshoot from the genus Corvus, and distinct enough to warrant reclassification in a separate genus, Coloeus.



Jay (Garrulus glandarius) are usually shy woodland birds, rarely moving far from cover. The screaming call is usually given when a bird is on the move. Jays are famous for their acorn feeding habits and in the autumn you may see them burying acorns for retrieving later in the winter. I have always thought that Jays and Magpies must be very closely related and it seems there is some linkage genetically.



Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) a pretty bird, easily recognisable with its distinctive colouring, a tail that is bigger than its body, and undulating flight. Gregarious and noisy residents, long-tailed tits are most usually noticed in small, excitable flocks (or young tearaways as I see them!) of about 20 birds, roving about seeking food.



Magpie (Pica pica) is one of the few animal species known to be able to recognize itself in a mirror test.They are jacks of all trades - scavengers, predators and pest-destroyers, their challenging, almost arrogant attitude has won them few friends but I love them. With their noisy chattering, black-and-white plumage and long tail, there is nothing else quite like magpies & when seen close-up the plumage takes on an altogether more colourful hue with a purplish-blue iridescent sheen to the wing feathers, and a green gloss to the tail. Very pretty.



Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus) is pale, black-spotted and very large, aggressive and powerful. It stands boldly upright and bounds across the ground while in flight, it has long wings and its tail has whitish edges and often seen or heard, perched high at the top of a tree, singing its flutey song.



Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) is a plump bird (about the size of a great tit). It is blue-grey above and whitish below, with chestnut on its sides and under its tail. It has a black stripe on its head, a long black pointed bill, and short legs. It is a resident, with birds seldom travelling far from the woods where they hatch. One of our favourites!



Raven (Corvus corax) a big black bird, (a member of the crow family), is massive - the biggest member of the crow family and is all black with a large bill, and long wings. In flight, it shows a diamond-shaped tail.



Robin (Erithacus rubecula) - the males and females look identical (young birds have no red breast) and sing nearly all year round. Despite their cute appearance they are aggressively territorial and are quick to drive away intruders.



Rook (Corvus frugilegus) Bare, greyish-white face, thinner beak and peaked head make it distinguishable from the carrion crow. Rooks are very sociable birds, and we're not likely to see one on its own. They feed and roost in flocks in winter, often together with jackdaws.



Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) - likes to eat snails which it breaks into by smashing the shells against a stone with a flick of the head - we find evidence of this all the time.





Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) - smaller than blackbirds, with a short tail, pointed head, triangular wings, starlings look black at a distance but when seen closer they are very glossy with a sheen of purples and greens. Their flight is fast and direct and they walk and run confidently on the ground. Noisy and gregarious, starlings spend a lot of the year in flocks.



Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) about the size of a pigeon with a rounded body and head, with a ring of dark feathers around its face surrounding the dark eyes. It's mainly reddish brown above and paler underneath. Established pairs probably never leaving their territories and young birds have to disperse from where they were born and brought up - usually in the following in autumn. It's nocturnal so it is often heard calling at night - which is the case for us.



Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris) (Certhia familiaris) a small, very active, bird that lives in trees with a long, slender, down-curved bill. It's speckly brown above and mainly white below.



Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) - a tiny brown bird, although it is dumpy, almost rounded, with a fine bill, quite long legs and toes, very short round wings and a short, narrow tail which is often cocked up vertically. For such a small bird it has a remarkably loud voice and is the commonest UK breeding bird.