The third edition of the popular Collins Bird Guide has arrived! With this newly published edition, we decided to take a brief look at how this highly regarded field guide came about.
Illustrated bird guides have been around in one form or another since the turn of the 20th century. It wasn’t until the post-war years, however, that they began to gain popularity, and birdwatching as a pastime became increasingly common both in the UK and farther afield. At this point, illustrated identification guides became much more available on the mass market and were no longer affordable only to the wealthier classes.
Between the 1960s and 1990s, three field guides dominated the scene in Britain and Europe: Fitter and Richardson’s Collins Pocket Guide to British Birds, Lars Jonsson’s Birds of Europe with Africa and the Middle East and Peterson, Mountford and Hollom’s A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe. But although these books were widely used, there was an appetite among publishers for the creation of a new, definitive field guide.
In 1986, well respected identification experts Peter Grant and Lars Svensson came together to begin working on just such a thing. To illustrate the book they recruited artist Killian Mullarney from Ireland, whose painstakingly detailed work was conducted from first-hand field experience, lending it a lively and lifelike quality. Creating artwork in this way, however, proved to be a slow process, and even with the addition of another illustrator- Dan Zetterström – the book was 13 years in the making. Unfortunately, Peter Grant died in 1990, some time before its eventual publication in 1999, so he never got to see the final result.
The quality of the artwork in the Collins Bird Guide is widely regarded as the best that has ever been seen. Even with contributions from two artists, there is an unparalleled uniformity in style, and the ‘jizz’ of the birds are captured beautifully alongside their more objective characteristics. Including illustrations of the birds featured in their natural habitats in order to assist with identification was another brilliant feature.
The book also differed from previous field guides in the clever and user-friendly layout of the pages. For the first time, all of the images and text for a species were arranged on a single spread – an obvious benefit when using the book in the field. Species were also arranged taxonomically, unlike many earlier books in which birds were grouped together based on their appearance.
The second edition of the Collins Bird Guide was published in 2010 to reflect new and revised taxonomy, and included both expanded text and additional illustrations. The third and most recent edition has now been published in hardback, with the paperback to follow in 2023. It is the opinion of many that ornithological field guides to Britain and Europe will never surpass the Collins Bird Guide in quality and scope – indeed, more than 20 years after its initial publication, it remains a stalwart member of most birdwatchers’ bookshelves.
The third edition of the Collins Bird Guide has now been published (hardback only, paperback to follow in 2023).
Many UK bird populations have shown a dramatic decline since the 1970s and 80s, with species such as starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), house sparrows (Passer domesticus) and swifts (Apus apus) declining by over 50%. This is thought to be due to changes in land use and agricultural practices impacting food supply and the availability of suitable habitats. Changes in architecture have meant a reduction in important nooks and crannies that are utilised as nesting sites by species such as swifts, reducing reproduction rates in urban areas.
Providing suitable nest boxes has been shown to help increase reproduction rates for many species, helping to boost populations. Stephen Fitt and Mike Priaulx, members of the Swifts Local Network: Swifts and Planning Group, discuss the concept of ‘universal’ bricks, the British Standard key requirements on the inclusion of nest boxes within housing developments and current calls for a more specific national policy regarding these features.
Universal nest bricks
A British Standard BS 42021:2022 for integral nest boxes was published in March 2022. This sets out requirements for numbers, location, dimensions, materials, entrance hole size, and an administrative process to demonstrate implementation on site. This will enable integral nest boxes to provide nest spaces for a wide variety of species, such as house sparrows, starlings, swifts, house martins, and blue and great tits.
The standard also covers nest cups for house martins and swallows.
House martin using a Schwegler swift brick by Hugh Hastings and the Duchy of Cornwall
Some species-specific integral nest boxes are quite inflexible. Sparrow terraces, for example, are rarely fully occupied and are unpopular with other species. Deep nest bricks, such as those designed specifically for starlings, could cause a swift to become trapped within it.
Although swift bricks were designed initially to allow swifts to nest, these are now considered a ‘universal’ nest brick as set out in the NHBC Foundation report: Biodiversity in new housing developments: creating wildlife-friendly communities (April 2021). Section 8.1 Nest sites for birds (page 42) states: “Provision of integral nest sites for swifts is through hollow chambers fitted into the fabric of a building while in construction. Although targeting swifts they will also be used by house sparrows, tits and starlings so are considered a ‘universal brick’.”
Swift by Simon Stirrup (Cambridge Bird Club)
The British Standard sets out key requirements for integral boxes as follows:
The number of integral boxes in housing developments – at least one per residential unit on average.
The numbers of the above installed in larger buildings – to be proportionate to the mass and design; there is not necessarily an upper limit.
In all but exceptional circumstances the entrance holes of all integral boxes should be 30mm x 65mm minimum to enable starlings to enter.
The entrance hole should be located close to the base of the box to avoid birds becoming trapped within.
This ‘universal’ nest brick concept has also been described in an article by CIEEM, which references a January 2022 paper on this subject by the Swifts Local Network (SLN).
Local policy legislation has also begun to recognise this line of thinking, for example the Westminster Environment Sustainable Planning Document (February 2022), which in particular calls for: “‘swift bricks’ within external walls…Swift bricks’ are also used by house sparrows and other small bird species so are considered a ‘universal brick’. Integrated nesting bricks are preferred to external boxes for reasons of longevity, reduced maintenance, better temperature regulation, and aesthetic integration with the building design” (Species and Habitats, page 49).
The results from Duchy of Cornwall monitoring programmes confirm that by installing high numbers (an average of one per residential unit) of “‘swift/universal boxes’ in new-build developments, approximately 50% showed signs of occupation after five years, so it is highly likely that they will all be used during the lifetime of the building(s) they are situated in.”
Swift chicks inside a ‘universal brick’. Image by Dick Newell.
Many conservationists would like to see either a numerical value in the Biodiversity Net Gain methodology for these features for wildlife, or a separate strand to the national policy requiring these to be specified. The BREEAM environmental assessment has been following a similar approach for more than a decade.
Such features are already demanded by specific policies in some Local Plans, but other plans are still being published with no such requirements.
CIEEM highlight in the June 2019 issue of their In Practice journal the value of swift bricks to a wide range of small bird species, and provide readily available best practice guidance on the implementation of the bricks, including a recommendation for one nest space per dwelling on average (in accordance with the BS 42021:2022, and following on from RIBA guidance Designing for Biodiversity published back in 2013). While some local authorities such as Brighton are implementing this guidance, others rely on numbers derived from ecologists’ and planning officers’ advice, which can be very variable.
Blue tit by Arc Consulting
Nuthatch by Tanya Hoare
Some developers, Taylor Wimpey being one example, are publishing their own policies for biodiversity measures such as the installation of integral nest bricks.
Defra are developing a simplified Small Sites Metric for Biodiversity Net Gain, and the consultation on this held during autumn 2021 may provide a glimpse of the future as it asks about including a value for bird and bat boxes in the metric, although this has not appeared in practice as yet.
Owl pellets contain all of the indigestible parts of the prey. Image by Gail Hampshire via Flickr.
What is an owl pellet?
Owls feed on a variety of prey; most commonly small mammals but also birds, frogs and other small animals. These prey items are consumed in their entirety and, while the flesh is digested by enzymes, the owl is unable to digest the harder parts of the body, including the teeth, bones, fur or feathers. These indigestible parts are regurgitated as a pellet. Unless they are very fresh, pellets are dry, light and odourless.
In this article we will look at where to find owl pellets and how to tell which species of owl they came from. We will also provide some tips on how to dissect a pellet, how to group the bones into types, and how to identify some of the main species of small mammal that you will find in pellets in the UK.
Where to find owl pellets
Owl pellets can frequently be found wherever owls nest or roost. Good places to search are at the base of tall trees within woodland areas, or in barns or outbuildings where owls are known to roost. Please be aware that you must not disturb breeding or roosting owls in order to collect pellets. Barn Owls in particular are protected in the UK by law under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 and their breeding sites must not be disturbed under any circumstances.
If you don’t have any luck finding your own pellets or don’t have access to places where you might find them, there are several places online where you can order some. Reputable sources in the UK include the Barn Owl Trust and the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary.
What species of owl is my pellet from?
There are five resident species of owl in the UK: Barn Owl, Tawny Owl, Little Owl, Short-Eared Owl and Long-Eared Owl. All of these species produce pellets that are relatively easy to tell apart, particularly if you also know the habitat where they were found. Below is a brief guide to their main characteristics.
• Barn Owl: pellets usually measure 3-7cm in length and are rounded at both ends. They are fairly dark in colour and have a smooth surface.
• Tawny Owl: pellets measure 2-5cm in length and are narrow and bumpy, often having tapered ends. Greyish in colour and sometimes furry looking.
• Little Owl: pellets are fairly small measuring only 1.5-2cm in length. Long and narrow with a soft crumbly texture.
• Short-Eared Owl: pellets are fairly large, measuring 3-6cm in length. Narrow with one rounded end and one tapered end. They are grey and smooth and very lightweight.
• Long-Eared Owl: pellets measure around 2-4cm and are narrow and bumpy. Usually grey in colour.
The most common pellets you will find in the UK are from Barn Owls.
Barn Owl pellet with mounted needle and fine pointed forceps.
How to dissect an owl pellet
There isn’t much equipment you need to dissect an owl pellet, but a few items will make the job a bit easier:
• Mounted needle: this is useful for teasing out fur from around the bones, and moving around delicate specimens. A cocktail stick or needle pushed into a cork will also do the trick.
• Forceps/tweezers: helpful for picking up bones and particularly for removing fur from inside skulls. Forceps with a fine point are best.
• Magnifying glass/hand lens: a small magnifier will allow you to get a closer look at the bones that you find. Jaw bones in particular are very useful for identifying the species and a magnifier will help you get a better look at the arrangement and structure of the teeth.
• White paper/card and glue: it can be helpful to arrange your bones by type onto a sheet of white paper which you can then write on when you have decided what they are and who they belong to. If you would like to make a permanent ID aid you can also glue them onto a piece of card and add permanent labels.
How to identify the contents of an owl pellet
The first thing you will need to do is to tease apart the pellet and separate the bones from the fur and feathers that are holding it all together. To begin with it is easiest to gently break the pellet into several smaller sections then work on each of these in turn. Use your fingers as well as the forceps to carefully tease apart each section, removing any bones and placing them to one side for identification. If your pellet is very hard and dry, try soaking it in water first to soften it.
Once you have all of the bones from your owl pellet, try to group them into types on your sheet of paper. The most common bones you will find are the following:
Skulls: for mammals, this consists of the top part of the skull and upper jaw, along with the lower jaw, although this is likely to become detached once you have cleaned all of the fur and other material from inside. For bird species this will include the upper and lower parts of the beak.
Back legs: includes the thigh bone (femur) and the lower leg bones (fibula and tibia)
Front legs (arms or wings): includes both upper (humerus) and lower (radius and ulna) bones
Hip bones
Shoulder blades (scapula)
Back bones (vertebrae)
Ribs
The image below illustrates typical examples of each type of bone. You can also download a useful bone identification sheet from the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary website.
The most useful part of the skeleton for identification is the skull and jaws or beak. Bird skulls will obviously be very distinct from those of mammals due to the presence of the beak, so these can immediately be separated out. For the remaining mammal skulls, however, we will need to take a closer look at their lower jaw bones and teeth.
In the UK the most common small mammals you will find in owl pellets are voles, mice and shrews. It is very easy to distinguish which of the lower jaws belong to shrews as they have a continuous line of teeth from the front to the back of the jaw. This is because shrews are insectivores and chew their food, much the same as we do. Voles and mice, however, both gnaw their food, and have a big gap between the long front tooth and the back teeth.
To tell the difference between voles and shrews, we need to take a closer look at their back teeth. Voles have teeth with distinctive grooves down the sides. In those of a field vole, the grooves run all the way down the side of the tooth. There is also no obvious root. Bank voles have grooves which only run part-way down the side of the tooth and they have two obvious roots, similar to those of a human tooth. The back tooth from a mouse jaw is much smaller when compared to a vole and its structure is much more similar to that of a human tooth. It also has two roots. This sheet from the Barn Owl Trust has a great illustration of the various small mammal lower jaws with size guidelines to help with identification.
Hopefully this article has been a useful introduction to owl pellet dissection and the identification of some of the most common prey species contained within them. If you want more help with identifying all of the bones in your pellet down to species level, the guides listed below are invaluable. Once you have categorised all of the bones you can attach them to a piece of card with permanent labels or arrange them to create a complete skeleton of each species.
Finally, don’t forget to wash your hands well when you have finished your dissection. Any pellet remains can be safely composted.
This fold-out chart includes colour paintings of the five species of owl permanently resident in the British Isles, shown both perched and at rest. Also included are illustrations and written descriptions of the different pellets that may be found, and a systematic identification key to their contents, including complete skulls, jaws, teeth and other recognisable bones and animal parts.
This booklet will not only enable you to identify what you find in the pellets of British owls, but also shows how the data may be usefully presented and how to estimate the actual weight of food the birds have eaten.
We have recently received the sad news of the passing of Robert Gillmor, a leading ornithologist and author, and one of Britain’s most popular and loved wildlife artists.
Born in 1936, Gillmor’s illustrations were first published in the monthly magazine British Birds when he was just 16. Since then, he illustrated more than 100 books, as well as producing several of his own collections, including Cutting Away in 2006, Birds, Blocks And Stamps in 2011, and Pressing On: A Decade of New Linocuts in 2018. Notably, he was the artist behind the original Avocet drawings used for the RSPB logo and the Sacred Ibis in the British Ornithologists Union (BOU) logo. His artwork has also appeared in journals, calendars, greetings cards and posters. In 2015, Gillmor received an MBE for his services to wildlife art.
Gillmor also designed over seventy of the covers for the New Naturalist series, bringing to life a variety of titles including Farming and Birds; Beetles;Garden Birds; British Warblers, his first cover; and his 72nd, Ecology and Natural History. In 2011, Royal Mail commissioned Gillmor to illustrate a set of Post & Go Birds of Britain stamps. He created 46 designs over three years and the profits from the sale of the original linocuts were donated to the Norfolk Wildlife Trust.
Robert Gillmor was one of the founding members of the Society of Wildlife Artists, an organisation founded in 1964 seeking to encourage appreciation of the natural world through fine art inspired by wildlife. SWLA strives to promote awareness of the importance of conservation through exhibitions and publications, while also supporting young artists that are eager to develop their knowledge and skills in wildlife art.
Gillmor was a keen ornithologist, serving on the council of three national organisations: RSPB, BOU and the British Trust for Ornithology. Due to his contributions to ornithology and bird conservation, he received the highest awards from all three societies. He also had a leading role in the promotion of the British Birdwatching Fair (Birdfair), an annual event whose organisers donated all of their profits to Birdlife International, and designed many of the event’s iconic posters.
Swifts, swallows and martins are migratory birds, spending the winters in Africa before flying around 3,400 miles to spend summer in the UK. While they are here they spend their days soaring high and feasting on the abundance of flying insects. Their arrival, for many of us, marks the end of winter and announces the arrival of spring and summer.
Although swifts, swallows and martins share some characteristics, they are, upon closer inspection, markedly different. They are roughly similar in size and shape, which can make them difficult to discern between, especially when flying high in the sky. However, as you begin to look closely at their appearance, flight, nesting behaviour and other key characteristics, it is relatively easy to distinguish between them.
Below we share our top tips for identifying swifts, swallows and martins. In this article we have focused on the below species as they are all common and widespread in the UK:
Swifts are amazing birds – they are the longest continually-flying species, spending up to 10 months in the air without landing. They eat, drink, sleep, and mate while flying, only landing to breed. They are almost never seen perching.
Key identification features:
Crescent-shaped, long, curving wings
Forked tail which is much shorter and stouter than the tail of a swallow
Dark brown all over with a small pale patch on their throat, but often appear black against the sky
Swallows are small colourful birds. They are known for their agility as they feed on insects while on the wing. They can often be found flying low to the ground over farmland and open pastures, particularly near water where there are lots of insects. In late summer they can be spotted perching together on telephone wires and power lines, readying themselves to migrate to Africa for the winter.
Key identification features:
Glossy blue upper parts, creamy-white under parts
Red throat and dark red forehead, but from a distance their whole head may appear dark
Long forked tail
They tend to nest in barns, lean-tos and other outbuildings, where they build cup-shaped nests of mud
Chattering call
Can be seen perching on telephone wires or wire fencing
House martins are commonly found in towns and villages, as well as in agricultural areas. They are one of the last of our summer migrants to depart in the autumn. They only eat while on the wing, catching insects as they fly. Their mud cup nests are usually spotted below the eaves of buildings.
Key identification features:
Small birds with glossy blue-black upper parts and pure white under parts
Distinctive white rump, short forked tail and white feathers covering its legs and toes
Sand martins are the smallest of all the European hirundines and one of the first spring migrants to appear. They are agile fliers, feeding mainly over water. They breed in colonies of up to 1000 pairs. Unique to sand martins, these birds burrow holes into sandy, dry vertical banks in sand pits, gravel pits, riverbanks, lakes, streams, railway cuttings, and even in drainpipes in walls and holes in brickwork.
Key identification features:
Dark brown upper parts, with pale tipped feathers. Upper wings, tails and flight feathers are dark brown
Under parts are white with a distinctive brown band across the breast separating the white throat from the white belly
Breast band on young sand martins is less visible and their necks and chins are a reddish brown
Short legs and feet which are dark brown or black
Short forked tail
Tend to swirl and flap rather than glide, and can be found mainly over water
In The Secret Perfume of Birds, evolutionary biologist Danielle Whittaker reveals how she came to dispel the widespread myth that birds cannot smell. Mixing science, history and memoir writing, Whittaker offers a humorous and compelling narrative to describe how birds smell and how scent is important for all animals. The book offers readers a rare opportunity to witness the unfolding journey of scientific research and the surprising discoveries it can make.
Danielle kindly agreed to answer some of our questions below.
How did you find yourself studying the science of avian scent?
I was originally studying how birds might choose their mates on the basis of certain immune genes, following the idea that animals could prefer mates with different genes than their own, leading to offspring with stronger immune systems. I was struggling to sequence these genes, and I complained to a colleague who happened to be studying bird brains. He said, “I don’t know why you’d study that in birds – information about those genes is sensed by smell, and birds don’t have much of a sense of smell.” I had never heard that before, and the idea that a whole group of animals would lack such an important sense seemed absurd to me. So, I started investigating.
The idea that birds lack a sense of smell has persisted for more than a century despite being disproved by yourself and others. How did you navigate tackling long-held assumptions in the scientific community?
I conducted rather slow, incremental research, following where the questions led me. I started out with simple, clearly defined experiments to test the birds’ reaction to odours from other birds. Then moved on to working with chemists to analyze the information content present in the odours given off by birds. Little by little, the scientists who heard about work in this area started to pay attention, and soon more people started researching bird smells!
Pink-sided juncos, female (left) and male (right)
I found the most fascinating part of your research to be the discovery that bird scents are linked to their microbiomes. How did you come to look into bacteria and could you expand on their important role?
When I first talked about my research with my now-collaborator Kevin Theis, he looked at the list of compounds I had found in bird odours and said, “those types of compounds are by-products of microbial metabolism. Have you looked at whether symbiotic bacteria are producing these odours?” I had never thought about that possibility before! Kevin studied the bacteria in hyena scent glands and how they produce the odours used by hyenas when they scent mark. Kevin and I teamed up to study the question in birds and we found out that he was right.
Danielle holding a male lance-tailed manakin in Panama
In this book, you demonstrated the importance of scent in bird reproduction. I wonder if human-related impacts on our environment are influencing changes to the unique scents of different species, with consequences for their reproductive success – is there any current research being done on this?
I am hoping to look at whether adapting to living in urban environments has affected the microbiome, and thus the scent, of bird populations compared to their non-urban counterparts. It’s very interesting to think about the long term consequences of such changes, but I don’t think there is much research about that yet in any animal.
Your work focuses on the dark-eyed junco, a bird commonly seen in North America. Is there a particular reason why you chose to study this species and do you have any plans to study other birds in this way?
I was a postdoc in Dr. Ellen Ketterson’s lab at Indiana University, and she has maintained a long-term study of dark-eyed juncos for many years. I quickly found that juncos were very easy to work with, and I appreciate that, in many ways, their biology and behavior makes them ‘typical’ northern hemisphere songbirds – which means they are a good model for understanding lots of bird species. I have studied odours in other species as well, in particular the lance-tailed manakin in Panamá. I am always interested in new birds!
Banded male Oregon junco
Where will your research take you next? Do you have any plans for further books?
Right now, I’m interested in how social behavior changes animal microbiomes through bacteria sharing, and how that might affect odours. I’m also interested in looking at how microbiomes and odours have changed in urban populations of juncos. Beyond my junco research, my professional life has taken yet another unexpected turn, and I am transitioning to a new job as managing director of the Centre for Oldest Ice Exploration (COLDEX) at Oregon State University, where they study Antarctic ice cores to learn about ancient climate change. Maybe I’ll get to visit Antarctica and write about my new adventures!
We have reached the end of the 43rd Big Garden Birdwatch, which took place between Friday 28th and Sunday 30th January. Run by the RSPB, it’s one of the largest citizen science surveys in the UK and encourages the public to record their garden birds and submit their results. Over a million people took part last year, recording over 17 million birds, helping the RSPB gain an accurate understanding of how bird populations are faring.
Great spotted woodpecker on a window feeder by Ian Watson-Loyd
There’s still time to submit your results if you took part over the weekend, the final date to let the RSPB know what you saw is 20th February. But don’t worry if you didn’t get to take part this year; it is an annual event, so make sure to look out for it next year! To take part, all you need to do is spend 1 hour counting the birds that land in your garden, balconies or outdoor spaces. It’s important to count the highest number of each species, rather than the total amount you see over the hour, otherwise, you might end up counting the same individual twice. You can submit your results online on the RSPB website. To help you identify certain species, take a look at our range of field guides, as well as our previous identification guide blog posts here.
Over a million people took part last year, recording over 17 million birds, helping the RSPB gain an accurate understanding of how bird populations are doing. They now have over four decades of data, showing the trends in UK bird populations, which helps them which species are faring ok and which are in decline. Both goldfinches and great tits have benefited from gardens, with goldfinch populations in gardens increasing by 50% over the last decade. However, the Big Garden Birdwatch has also shown that thrushes and greenfinches sightings have decreased, with greenfinch recordings down by 65% and thrushes by 78%. We hope that more people have taken part this year, and, as always, many of our staff got involved. Scroll down to see what we found.
We’d also love to see what you’ve spotted if you took part – let us know in the comments below.
Results
Beth saw the highest quantity of birds this year, at 32 individuals:
Beth’s top 10
Woodpigeons: 4
Blackbirds: 4
Chaffinches: 6
Magpies: 1
Robins: 2
Starlings: 4
Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) by hedera.baltica via Flickr
Sparrows: 5
Jackdaws: 2
Blue tits: 3
Blackcaps: 1
Female blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) by Mick Sway via Flickr
Over the weekend, Catherine was visited by a large flock of starlings, as well as the most blue tits of all our staff results this year. She also managed to spot a reed bunting, an amber listed bird in the UK:
Starlings: 9
Male blackbird by Catherine Mitson
Crows: 2
Blackbirds: 1
Magpies: 1
Blue tits: 7
Woodpigeons: 2
Goldfinches: 1
Great tits: 1
Reed bunting: 1
Blue tit by Catherine Mitson
Ian managed to spot the largest number of species this year, including a wren (Troglodytes troglodytes), another amber listed species:
Starlings: 1
Blue tits: 2
Woodpigeons: 4
Blackbirds: 1
Robins: 1
Great tits: 2
Magpies: 2
Dunnocks: 1
Goldfinches: 2
Blackcaps: 1
Wrens: 1
Starling by Catherine MitsonMale house sparrow by Steve Colwell (Channel City Camera Club) via FlickrFemale house sparrow by hedera.baltica via Flickr
I completed my Big Garden Birdwatch in East Sussex:
Woodpigeon with stick in its beak
Great tits: 2
Blue tits: 1
Sparrows: 4
Starling: 1
Woodpigeons: 2
Robins: 1
Blackbirds: 1
Notably, one of the woodpigeons picked up a stick from my garden and flew off with it, a potential sign of nest-building behaviour.
Europe’s Birds: An Identification Guide
Sabine had the highest number of jackdaws, one of our most recorded species in 2021:
Jackdaws: 6
Great tit by Catherine Mitson
Woodpigeons: 3
Blue tits: 2
Dunnocks: 3
Robins: 2
Great tits: 1
Magpies: 1
She also managed to capture this beautiful footage of one of her Robin visitors:
Reed bunting by Catherine Mitson
Our total
Total individuals per species 2022
In total, we saw 16 different species and 105 individuals across our 5 gardens. Our most common bird species were starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and woodpigeons (Columba palumbus). Last year, our most common were long-tailed tits (Aegithalos caudatus) and jackdaws (Corvus monedula), and in 2020 it was house sparrows (Passer domesticus), followed by great tits (Parus major). It will be interesting to see how our results compare to the overall results of this year’s Big Garden Birdwatch.
Percentage per species of overall total 2022
The RSPB
For more information on UK garden birds, the Big Garden Birdwatch and how you can help them, please visit www.rspb.org.uk. Here you will find a wealth of information to help you find and identify UK bird species.
Herons are freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. We have several resident and migrant heron species in the UK, including bitterns, which are a part of the subfamily Botaurinae, and egrets, which, despite being named differently, are not a biologically distinct group from herons. There are also several similar bird species outside of this family that might make identification difficult, particularly from a distance, such as cranes, ibises and spoonbills. One of the distinctions between these birds and the herons that resemble them is seen in flight; herons fly with their neck retracted, while cranes, ibises and spoonbills fly with them extended.
Many heron species have faced persecution during the 19th and early 20th centuries due to hunting for their plumes, which were used for hat decorations. They’re present on all continents except Antarctica and inhabit a wide variety of habitats, feeding on the margins of water bodies such as lakes, rivers, and the sea.
Herons are medium to large-sized birds that have long necks and legs. To identify individual heron species, look for key features such as size, foot and bill colour, plumage colouration and distribution. However, many species can have different colour morphs and some features of breeding individuals can also change colour. Using equipment such as a scope or a pair of binoculars, as well as a guide covering all colour morphs, can be helpful.
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)
Distribution: Widespread Wingspan: 155–195cm Bird of Conservation Concern 4 (BoCC4) status: Green What to look for: This is a tall bird, with grey and black wings, a yellow bill and long, pale legs. They’re a grey-backed species, with a long, white or pale grey long neck and a white head with black eyestripes that extend to long crest feathers. They have dappled black and white plumage on the front of their neck. Grey herons can usually be seen standing very still, either stretched out tall or with their neck retracted, at the edges of water bodies.
Distribution: Common in the south and east coasts of England and Wales, with their range increasing northwards. Wingspan: 88–106cm BoCC4 status: Green What to look for: The little egret is a white bird with long crest feathers at the back of their head during the breeding season. They have a black bill and legs, and one of their most defining features is their bright yellow feet. Apart from the feet, they are similar to the great white egret but little egrets are more common and smaller, about half the size of the grey heron. They also have featherless ‘lores’, the region between the eye and the bill, which can be pale yellow or greenish. This helps to distinguish them from the much rarer migrant, the snowy egret (Egretta thula), which have bright yellow lores that meet across the top of their beak. Snowy egrets also have yellow along the backs of their legs.
Distribution: Widespread, most common in south-east England and East Anglia. Wingspan: 131–170cm BoCC4 status: Not assessed What to look for: This is a tall bird of similar size to the grey heron, with an all-white plumage. Because of this colouration, they can be confused with the little egret but this species is much larger and lacks the bright yellow feet. They also have a yellow bill, but this becomes mostly black during the breeding season. They have long black legs with paler upperparts that can turn red in breeding birds.
Distribution: Restricted to mainly Norfolk, Suffolk and Lancashire Wingspan: 100–130cm BoCC4 status: Amber What to look for: This bird has a buff-brown coloured plumage with dark bars and streaks. The crown of their head is black, with a buff line above their eye and a dark brown moustache stripe that extends onto the neck. Their bill is yellow and brown, and their legs and feet are a pale green. The males are significantly larger than the females and tend to have more markings, although there is a large variation between individuals.
Distribution: Regular visitors but only two confirmed successful breeding records in Somerset and Yorkshire. Wingspan: 52–58cm BoCC4 status: Not assessed What to look for: The little bittern has a black-green crown, back and tail, with a pale buff underside and wing patches. The sides of their neck are grey and yellow, and they have pale green legs and lores. Their throat is striated with darker brown and paler cream plumage. Their bill can vary from yellow to yellow-green with a brown upper edge.
Distribution: Becoming more numerous in southern Britain and Ireland. Wingspan: 88–96cm BoCC4 status: Not assessed What to look for: The cattle egret is a white bird that, in the breeding season, has yellowish-buff plumes on its cheeks, throat, back, breast and crown. They have a yellow bill and pale legs, both of which can turn red during the breeding season. Some individuals have also been recorded with grey, melanistic plumages. As their name suggests, they’re often seen with grazing livestock, as they consume ticks and flies from cattle.
Distribution: Very rare, confirmed sightings in the Isles of Scilly. Wingspan: 167–201cm BoCC4 status: Not assessed What to look for: This species is quite similar to the grey heron, although they can be distinguished by the great blue heron’s long, shaggy chest feathers, browner colouration and slightly larger size. There are thought to be two or three forms of this species, although there is a debate as to whether the white coloured population represents a white morph, a subspecies or a separate species. The white morph has a white plumage, orange bill and orange legs. The dark morph is grey with red-brown upper legs and red-brown plumage along the leading edge of their wings, seen best in flight. They have a reddish-grey neck with a pale head and dark crown. They also have a dull grey bill and legs, which both become orange during the start of the breeding season. The third is Würdemann’s heron, an intermediate morph, thought to be the result of a pairing of white and dark morphs. They are paler than the dark morph, with a white crown and crest feathers, but still maintaining the darker patternation on the wings. Did you know? There are five accepted subspecies of great blue heron: A. h. herodias,A. h. fanini, A. h. wardi, A h. cognata and A. h. Occidentalis (known as the ‘great white heron’), which can all be distinguished by traits such as wing and bill size, overall size and plumage shade.
Great Blue Heron Morphs by Andy Morffew via Flickr
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)
Distribution: Rare migrant, with around 20 recorded sightings per year across the UK. Wingspan: 120–152cm BoCC4 status: Not assessed What to look for: This species has a dark grey back, wings and tail. They have a reddish neck with buff-coloured patches and dark longitudinal stripes from their head down to their chest. Their bill is long, with a darker top section. The purple heron also has a black crown that extends in a stipe down the back of their neck and their legs are orange with black stripes. The covert feathers on the bend and underside of their wings are purple, and they also have long, pale feathers hanging down either side of their chest.
Waders, also known as shorebirds, are a part of the order Charadriiformes and are most commonly found along the shoreline and in coastal habitats such as mudflats, saltmarshes and estuaries. These species feed by wading in shallow water for small invertebrates. Thus, many species in this order have long legs and a long bill.
Almost all wader species are ground-nesting birds. They build their nests either on the shoreline or inland habitats with short vegetation such as farmland and heathland. This makes them vulnerable to disturbance, from walkers and dogs, and to many predators. While most of the species in this article are listed as Least Concern by the IUCN red list (except the curlew, which is near threatened), many wader species are considered critically endangered. All the species mentioned below are placed on either the Red or Amber Birds of Conservation Consern 4 list. In the UK, the main threats are climate change and human development, reducing suitable nesting habitats. As farmers are pressured to increase their yield, less of their land is left available for nesting birds. Additional threats include pollution, changes in river management, changes to habitats such as afforestation or wetland drainage and dredging. Therefore, these threats, along with a high number of predators, are causing many wader populations to decline.
Luckily, many can still be seen while birdwatching along UK coastlines. A pair of binoculars or a scope are useful for spotting identifying features without disturbing the birds. A notebook or birdwatching journal can help you keep track of everything you’ve seen. It would also be best to bring a field guide to other wader species not mentioned in this article, a selection of which have been listed below.
Curlew (Numenius arquata)
Distribution: Here all year round, curlews can be seen along the whole of UK’s coastline, with the largest populations in areas such as the Solway Firth, the Wash, and the Severn, Humber and Thames estuaries. Size: Length: 48–57cm, Wingspan: 89–106cm BoCC4 status: Red What to look for: Curlews are the largest wader in Europe, a mottled brown bird that visits the coasts around the UK in winter, but can be found inland in heath and moor and upland habitats. Nationally, their numbers are in steep decline. They have a distinctive long delicate downward curved bill and an evocative and somewhat haunting call.
Distribution: Occuring in wetland areas such as estuaries, saltmarshes and flood meadows, they’re widespread across the UK, although the breeding population is greatest in Scotland and northern England. Size: L: 24–27cm, WS: 47–53cm BoCC4 Status: Amber What to look for: Redshanks are small mottled brown waders with bright orange-red legs and an orange-red bill tipped with black. In-flight, they have darkly tipped wings with a bright white stripe on the trailing edge. They can often be seen foraging along the tideline on the coast and at estuaries and marshes.
Distribution: Widespread along UK’s coastline, they’re also found in most major estuaries and occasionally inland flooded gravel pits and large rivers. Size: L: 39–44cm, WS: 72–83cm BoCC4 status: Amber What to look for: Oystercatchers are a common and unmistakable wader around the UK coastline. They have bold black and white markings, a long bright orange-red bill and long pinkish-red legs. They are very vocal birds and their distinctive piping call can often be heard as they tour rock pools and the tide line.
Oystercatcher by Paul Asman and Jill Lenobie via Flickr
Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)
Distribution: Found in habitats such as farmland and estuaries, they occur throughout the UK but particularly in lowland areas of northern England and eastern Scotland. Size: L: 28–31cm, WS: 82–87cm BoCC4 status: Red What to look for: From afar and in flight, Lapwings appear black and white with long rounded wings and a wavering flight pattern. Up close they are a beautiful petrol green colour on top and white below. They have a long crest on their head, large dark eyes (underlined with a black line) and red legs. Did you know? They are also known as peewit, an old name honouring their plaintive and distinctive call.
Distribution: This more restricted species can been seen along the east coast in coastal lagoons during the summer, and around sheltered estuaries of south-west England and south Wales during the winter. Size: L: 42–46cm, WS: 67–77cm BoCC4 status: Amber What to look for: These very graceful white and black waders are unmistakable, with long, slim grey legs and a distinctive upturned bill that they use to filter food from the tideline in a characteristic side-to-side sweep of their head. Did you know? Successful recolonisation of this species in 1947, after its extinction within the UK, led to their adoption by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) as their logo.
Distribution: Widespread, this species is found on moorland and well-vegetated wetlands across the UK. Size: L: 23–28cm, WS: 39–45cm BoCC4 status: Amber What to look for: Snipe have short legs and a long, straight bill, with mottled brown feathers on their back and head. Recognisable features are the buff stripes along their back and alternate pale and dark stripes across their head. Their underparts are pale, with a heavily marked chest. When tucked, their wings fall short of the tail and point upwards slightly.
Distribution: In summer, this wader species can mainly be found along rivers, lakes and reservoirs in Scotland, northern England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In winter, they aremore likely to occur along the south coast, and in spring and autumn, they can be found throughout other parts of the UK, near freshwater habitats and some estuaries. Size: L: 19–21cm, WS: 32–35cm BoCC4 status: Amber What to look for: Common sandpipers may initially seem similar visually to snipe, but there are several key differences. This species has the same contrasting brown upperparts and paler, white underparts, but it is a more striking difference in this species. The common sandpiper has a smaller bill and, most importantly, lacks the stripe patternation of the snipe. They can also be identified through their habitual bobbing motion, called ‘teetering’, and the distinct three-note call they give before they fly off.
Distribution: Found around much of the UK coast in suitable habitats, such as shingle beaches, they’re also occasionally found on reservoirs and inland flooded gravel pits. Size: L: 18–20cm, WS: 48–57cm BoCC4 status: Red What to look for: This charming species has a brownish-grey back and head, with pale underparts. Their distinctive features are the black and white rings around their neck and the patternation on their face. This bird also has orange legs and a striking orange bill with a black tip. They can be mistaken for a similar species, the little ringed plover (Charadrius dubious). However, that species lacks the orange bill and has bright yellow eyes. The little ringed plover, as the name suggests, is also a smaller species.
Ringed plover by Ekaterine Chernetsova (Papchinskaya) via Flickr
Chats and flycatchers are birds in the Old World flycatcher family, the Muscicapidae. They are small passerine birds and are mainly insectivores. Chats (subfamily Saxicolinae) were originally included in the thrush family, Turdidae, but were reclassified after genetic analysis. Several chats and flycatchers have a number of subspecies, although the classification of these species is often contested.
This family contains many well-known species, such as the nightingale and the robin, which have important cultural connections and have inspired many songs, fairy tales, artworks and poetry. The nightingale’s song has been an important symbol for many poets and writers, often depicted as a mournful lament. The robin has featured prominently in British folklore for centuries, with a strong association with Christmas beginning in the mid-19th century. In both the 1960s and 2015, the robin was voted as the unofficial national bird of the UK.
Many of the birds on this list are striking examples of our wildlife but some now face a serious threat of extinction in the UK. Several have been listed on the birds of conservation concern 4 (BoCC4) red list, such as the pied flycatcher and whinchat, due to their severe population declines. These declines have been attributed to several different threats, including agricultural intensification, climate change and nest failures caused by mowing.
Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos)
Distribution: Summer migrant, visiting between April to July/August, Found mainly in the south east, east of England, south west and areas of the east and west Midlands.
BoCC4 status: Red
What to look for: The nightingale is a brown species, with a paler throat and underside and a reddish tail. They have pale, pinkish legs and a small beak that is yellow and grey.
Did you know? There are three accepted subspecies, the western nightingale (L. m. megarhynchos), which visits the UK, and the caucasian (L. m. africana) and eastern nightingale (L. m. golzii).
Distribution: Rare. During the summer, they’re found mainly in Greater London, Birmingham and the Black Country, with scattered pairs in Liverpool, Manchester and along the south coast between Suffolk and Dorset. During the autumn and winter months, they can be found along the south coast and areas of Wales and Scotland.
Birds of Conservation Concern 4 (BoCC4) status: Red
What to look for: This species is a similar size to the robin. Males are grey-black with a red tail, dark brown wings and a dark black face. Its underside is lighter and it has paler fringes on its secondary feathers, forming a whitish panel. Females are browner and lighter, with the same red tail. They have darker wingtips and a black beak.
Did you know? There are several subspecies of the black redstart, with different authorities accepting between five to seven subspecies, generally separated into three major groups according to DNA sequencing, biogeography and morphology. The subspecies that visits the UK is P. o. Gibraltariensis, one of the two European subspecies.
Distribution: A summer migrant, found in the north and west of the UK, with the greatest concentrations in Wales. BoCC4 status: Amber What to look for: The redstart has a distinctive bright orange-red tail. Males are black and grey with a red underside and black legs. Their face is black and their crown is grey, with a white patch across the forehead. Females are duller, with a greyish-brown colouration but still have red tail feathers. Did you know? There are two subspecies accepted for this species. The one that migrates to the UK is P. p. Phoenicurus, the other subspecies, P. p. samamisicus, is found in the Crimean Peninsula, Turkey, the Middle East and parts of Central Asia.
Distribution: Present across much of Scotland and Wales, parts of Northern Ireland and parts of England, particularly the south coast and the east of England. BoCC4 status: Green What to look for: During the summer, males have a black head with white patches on either side of their throat, a rust-red breast, streaked dark brown wings and a pale underside. During the winter, they are brown with a rust-brown breast. Females resemble the male winter form, although they are a lighter brown with a whitish throat. Did you know? There are two currently recognised subspecies, S. r. hibernans (present in the UK) and S. r. rubicola. S. r hibernans is the darker subspecies, with less white than S. r. rubicola.
Distribution: Much of Scotland, Wales, Ireland and northern England, as well as parts of the coasts of south east and south west England. BoCC4 status: Green What to look for: The males have a blue-grey upperside, black wings and a white underside, with an orange breast and throat. They have a black mask, edged above and below with white. Females are brown, with dark wingtips and an orange breast and throat, with no black mask. Both have a white rump and tail, with a black T-shape on their white tail. Immature and non-breeding birds lack the contrasting black wings and are buff coloured. Did you know? There are four accepted subspecies, two of which have been recorded in the UK, O. o. oenanthe and O. o. leucorhoa.
Distribution: Summer migrants to Scotland, Wales and the north and north east of England. They can be found in other areas during their migration, such as parts of the south west and Ireland. BoCC4 status: Red What to look for: This species has a pale eyestripe, dark cheek and crown, and a pale chin. The males have a streaky brown upperside, with a buff-orange breast and throat during the breeding season, but females are paler. Male whinchats have a dark tail with a white underside, while females have a paler tail with a white underside.
Distribution: This is a rare species and can be seen on passage between May to June and August to October, usually along the east coast of the UK. BoCC4 status: Not assessed What to look for: Two subspecies visit the UK, the red-spotted bluethroat (L. s. svecica) and the rarer white-spotted bluethroat (L. s. cyanecula). Both species have grey upperparts and white underparts, with a chestnut-coloured patch under their tail. The males have a bright blue patch on their throats, which is where the two subspecies differ. The white-spotted bluethroat has a patch of white on its throat within the blue patch, whereas the red-spotted bluethroat has a chestnut coloured patch. Under this patch on both subspecies is a half-moon of black and another of chestnut feathers. The beak is black, with yellow colouration on the inside and a yellow gape flange, the area where the upper and lower mandibles of the beak join together at the base.
(Red-spotted) ?sa Berndtsson via Flickr(White-spotted) Gertjan van Noord via Flickr
Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca)
Distribution: A summer migrant present in Wales, the north west of England, and parts of the south west and Scotland. BoCC4 status: Red What to look for: Male pied flycatchers have a mostly black upperside and white underside, with a white patch on the folded wing. Females and non-breeding males are browner, with a brownish chest and a less bold white wing patch. They have a black beak, and breeding males have a small white patch above it. Did you know? There are four recognised subspecies, F. h. hypoleuca is the subspecies that visits the UK but there is some suggestion that F. h. tomensis (formally F. h. sibirica) has also been recorded in Britain.
Distribution: Widespread across the UK between April to August/September. BoCC4 status: Red What to look for: The spotted flycatcher is a streaked grey-ish brown species, with a pale underside and a streaked breast and crown. They have a dark beak and legs and are a similar size to a house sparrow (Passer domesticus). Did you know? There are five recognised subspecies of spotted flycatcher. The subspecies that migrates to the UK is M. s. Striata.
Distribution: Widespread across the UK. BoCC4 status: Green What to look for: This well-known bird has brown upperparts, a brown crown and a red face and breast. It has a pale underside and a grey stripe from its eye to its side, between its brown and red plumage. Did you know? There are multiple subspecies of the robin, although the exact number is contested. E. r. melophilus is endemic to the UK and there is some suggestion that E. r. rubecula, the western European subspecies, has also been recorded here.
In 1986, well respected identification experts Peter Grant and Lars Svensson came together to begin working on just such a thing. To illustrate the book they recruited artist Killian Mullarney from Ireland, whose painstakingly detailed work was conducted from first-hand field experience, lending it a lively and lifelike quality. Creating artwork in this way, however, proved to be a slow process, and even with the addition of another illustrator- Dan Zetterström – the book was 13 years in the making. Unfortunately, Peter Grant died in 1990, some time before its eventual publication in 1999, so he never got to see the final result.
The second edition of the Collins Bird Guide was published in 2010 to reflect new and revised taxonomy, and included both expanded text and additional illustrations. The third and most recent edition has now been published in hardback, with the paperback to follow in 2023. It is the opinion of many that ornithological field guides to Britain and Europe will never surpass the Collins Bird Guide in quality and scope – indeed, more than 20 years after its initial publication, it remains a stalwart member of most birdwatchers’ bookshelves. 
The most useful part of the skeleton for identification is the skull and jaws or beak. Bird skulls will obviously be very distinct from those of mammals due to the presence of the beak, so these can immediately be separated out. For the remaining mammal skulls, however, we will need to take a closer look at their lower jaw bones and teeth.
I was originally studying how birds might choose their mates on the basis of certain immune genes, following the idea that animals could prefer mates with different genes than their own, leading to offspring with stronger immune systems. I was struggling to sequence these genes, and I complained to a colleague who happened to be studying bird brains. He said, “I don’t know why you’d study that in birds – information about those genes is sensed by smell, and birds don’t have much of a sense of smell.” I had never heard that before, and the idea that a whole group of animals would lack such an important sense seemed absurd to me. So, I started investigating.
Guide to Winter Coastal Birds
