What birds can we spot while winter birdwatching?
Birdwatching in winter can be great as birds are still active throughout the colder months and can be easier to spot against a more barren backdrop. They flit around in large, mixed groups or visit our gardens in search of food. Although some birds have left the UK for warmer climes, others come to visit us during the winter months.
You can see large flocks of visiting fieldfares and redwings, as well as our resident mistle thrushes here at The Future Forest Company sites. Delightful long-tailed tits actively huddle together to keep warm and energetically make their little calls. Our resident Ecology expert Lindsay Mackinlay says one bird to really watch out for is the beautiful and exotic-looking waxwing, visiting from the very north of Europe in winter in search of berries to eat.
Learn a bit more about these winter birds:
Fieldfare Turdus pilaris
The largest of the thrushes, fieldfares visit the UK in winter to feast on berry-laden hedgerows and trees such as hawthorn, holly, juniper and yew, before flying back to Scandinavia to breed in spring. These sociable birds actively feed and roost in large flocks. They will venture into gardens in a severe winter, looking for windfall apples or berries. The fieldfare has a chestnut back, yellowy breast and pale grey head. It makes a loud ‘chook-chook’ call when taking flight.
Redwing Turdus iliacus
Another winter visitor that comes for the berries, the redwing can be identified from the orangey-red patches under its wings. Our smallest thrush, the redwing has a cream-coloured chest flecked with dark brown. They migrate to the UK from Iceland, the Faroes and Scandinavia, often travelling at night, and stay from October to April. You may hear them calling ‘tseep’ overhead in winter as they travel. They can often be spotted moving around with fieldfares, foraging for berries and windfall in gardens and orchards.
Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus
A large thrush well known for its love of mistle berries (and holly berries), it will defend a berry-laden tree ferociously – sometimes two birds will work on defending the same area. Mistle thrushes inadvertently help to disperse the mistletoe seeds inside the berries, which are coated in a sticky substance. When the bird moves on and wipes its beak on the next tree, a seed or two is often left behind, glued helpfully into place. The mistle thrush has a pale grey back and its belly is white with black spots. You may hear it singing from the top of a tree, or making the chattering noise which is its warning call.
Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus
The long-tailed tit, a pink, black, and white bird, gets its name from its long tail. This tiny bird, typically half the weight of a robin or less, frequents woodlands, parks, and gardens. It actively feeds on insects and invertebrates among the branches and leaves of trees. Long-tailed tits are highly social birds, often seen in noisy flocks of around 20, and they huddle together at night to keep warm. It has a high-pitched ‘tsurp’ call.
Waxwing Bombycilla garrulous
The waxwing is an amazing looking bird, about the size of a starling with an orangey-pink crest. It has grey-pink feathers, a black eye mask and throat, and some bright yellow highlights in its wings and tail. Large flocks of waxwings, winter visitors from Northern Europe, often visit rowan and hawthorn bushes in gardens, towns, and car parks! Its call is thin and reedy.
Lindsay Mackinlay’s top tips for helping birds get through the winter are:
- Provide them with food and fresh water (ensuring it doesn’t ice up!)
- Delay the cutting back of berry-laden bushes until the worst of the winter weather is gone!
Credit: xeno-canto.org
