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Common Garden Birds

Robins This little red breasted bird is the UK’s favourite bird and is one of the most frequently sighted winter garden birds. They are plump birds, about 13-14cm, with bright orange-red breast, face, throat and cheeks which are edged with grey, they have a white belly and olive-brown upper parts. Males and females are identical and their young are spotted with golden brown and no red breast. Robins are territorial and can be quite aggressive when defending their turf. They are found across the UK in woodland, hedgerows, parks and gardens. Robins are one of the only birds that sing all year round and this is mainly because of the importance of holding winter territories. Their song varies depending on the time of year; they have a confident, powerful and upbeat song in the spring and a more melancholic one in the autumn. Their song is usually delivered from covered position within a bush or tree. Robins are well adapted to life in half-light and are often among the first in the dawn chorus and the last singing in the evening. Artificial lighting such as streetlights and floodlights can spark singing even in the middle of the night. They are mainly insect feeders but also enjoy peanuts, mealworms and a bit of grated cheese as supplementary foods.

House Sparrows The male House Sparrow is about 14 – 15cm has a chestnut brown back with black streaks and grey under parts, rump and crown. Their cheeks are dull white, and they have a black eye stripe and bib. They also have a light wing bar. The beak is a yellow-brown in winter, but black in the summer. The female is paler and lacks the grey crown, white cheeks, black bib, eye stripe and chestnut brown nape, but has a straw coloured stripe behind the eye. House sparrow young look like the adults. Their song consists of a series of cheeps and chirrups and is usually produced by males all year round, announcing that they have a nest and are trying to attract females. This noisy and sociable bird will eat most types of food and scraps but has rely heavily on grain in the winter times, which nowadays is not as readily available as it was previously and has contributed to the decline of the house sparrow. Sparrows enjoy bird seed mixes, peanuts as well as kitchen scraps. They like to nest under house eves and as many newer houses don’t have eves this is also contributing towards the decline in house sparrow numbers. They are happy to nest in nest boxes but prefer to nest communally so they should ideally have space for several families.
Blackbirds This is one of the most frequently sighted birds and is found throughout the year all over the UK in all sorts of terrain. They are about 24-25cm and the males have an all-black glossy plumage with a bright orange-yellow beak and eye ring; the females are brown, often with spots and streaks on their breasts. The young are reddish-brown with paler spotting, similar to that of the adult female but more spotted and redder. They are generally solitary birds although small groups can form for feeding and roosting. It has a rich flute-like song with a sqeaky phrase, in the winter they can often be heard singing quietly to themselves in the winter. Male blackbirds establish a territory during their first year which they tend to hold throughout their lives. They naturally enjoy eating insects, worms and berries and will also take bird seed mixtures to supplement their diet.
Blue Tits This colourful and agile bird is one of the most attractive and entertaining garden birds with its blue wings, tail and crown, yellow under parts, white cheeks and greenish back, mantle and black eye stripe, bib and collar. It has a black beak and blue-grey legs. Male and female look very similar although the female is slightly paler. The young are duller than the adults and have greener crown, wings and tail, and yellow cheeks. They are about 11.5cm in height and their song is made up of two or three high squeaky notes and a trill. The Blue Tit is a common woodland and garden bird and is visible all year round. It is also seen along hedgerows and in most places with trees and bushes. They tend to be attracted to any garden with a peanut feeder and they readily breed in nest boxes, holes in trees or even letterboxes. Their eggs are smooth, glossy and white with purplish-red or reddish-brown spots. Blue Tits mainly feed on insects, caterpillars and seeds and in springtime they also feed on pollen, nectar and sap and in autumn, berries. Additional foods such as peanuts and sunflowers are favourites.
Starlings Starlings are found all around the country except in the highest parts of the Scottish Highlands. They appear black from a distance but they actually have a purple and green sheen. They have white speckles in the winter which disappear in the summer. They have a short tail, pointed head and triangular wings. Their beaks are grey-brown in winter and yellow in summer. They are noisy and social birds and spend most of the year in flocks and large roosts are found in plantations, reed beds and city centres. They are great at mimicry but their own song seems to be a mixture of squeaks, clicks and whistles. Male starlings can be heard throughout the year, except in July and August when they are moulting. The male builds their nest from grass in a hole in a wall, tree or building, and may even decorate the nest with leaves and petal to deter parasites and attract females. Their eggs are pale light blue, smooth and glossy. Starlings seem to feed on just about anything: insects, worms, snails, berries, fruit, scraps, suet.
Chaffinch Chaffinches are found all year round in woodlands, hedgerows, fields, parks and gardens all around the UK. It is one the UK’s most common and colourful finches and their patterned plumage provides great camouflage when they are feeding on the ground. They usually nest in the fork or a tree or shrub and nests are typically cup shaped and are made from grass, moss and feathers. Their eggs are smooth glossy and light blue with purple-brown splotches. The male has a pink breast and cheeks, a blue-grey crown and a chestnut back. The females have an olive brown back with a grey-brown underside. The white wing bars are very distinctive of the chaffinch. They enjoy insects and seeds such as sunflower seeds and hearts but don’t feed openly on feeders, preferring to feed from those that have fallen on the ground.
Woodpigeon This is the largest of the UK pigeons and also one of the most common and found throughout the UK. They are mainly grey with white, green and purple patches on their neck and white wing patches. Their tail has a black tip. They can be shy in the countryside but can be tame and approachable in towns and cities. It makes a recognisable cooing call. Their nest is built by both sexes and the smooth white eggs are incubated by both parents. They feed on almost all crops, grain and seeds, but they will eat almost anything left on a bird table.
Collard Dove The Collard Dove is mainly grey-brown but with a pink-buff breast. Adults have a narrow black collar on their neck. They are found throughout the year around farms, gardens, parks and most of the countryside. The Collard Dove makes a flimsy platform of twigs to lay its smooth, glossy eggs. They perch on roofs and on telephone wires but tend to feed off the ground or on bird tables. They enjoy eating small seeds, grain, breadcrumbs and the occasional berry in the autumn and insect in the spring. Their song is a recognisable repetitive cooing.
Goldfinch This little bird has a red face on a black and white head, a bright yellow wing patch and a golden brown body. They are social birds and have a delightful rambling twittering song. The females make a cup shaped nest using moss, grass and lichen for their small pale blue eggs with red markings. Their thin beak enables them to get to small and usually inaccessible seeds from various trees as well as thistle and dandelion. Sunflower hearts and Niger seeds may attract them into the garden.
Great Tit This is the largest of the European tits. It is green and yellow with a shiny black head and white cheeks. It is traditionally a woodland bird but it has become a more frequent in gardens visitor. It enjoys eating from bird tables and can be quite aggressive, fighting off smaller birds. In winter they team up with other tits to roam in flocks looking for food. They feed on insects, seeds, berries and spiders. Hanging feeders containing nuts and seeds such as sunflower hearts will attract the Great Tit to your garden. They also enjoy kitchen scraps. Their cup shaped nest can be found in holes in trees or walls or amongst twigs from old nests. The will often use nest boxes.