The Robin is a beloved garden bird in Britain and it’s easy to see why. Its adorable nature and striking red chest make it easily identifiable, especially during the holidays. It’s no wonder that the robin has become synonymous with Christmas and can be found on many holiday cards. If you want these charming birds to visit your garden, you can provide shop-bought food, but creating a natural habitat that encourages their prey is even better. Planting small trees and shrubs is ideal as they provide the perfect environment for the minibeasts that robins love to eat. Keep in mind that robins are ground feeders, so low-growing ground cover plants like ivy, cottage geraniums, and periwinkle will also attract them.
The Great Tit is the largest member of the Tit family that can be found in Britain. You can easily spot it by its black head and white cheeks if you’re using your eyes. However, if you’re listening carefully, you will hear its distinct two-syllable song. In the winter, the Great Tit will join other types of Tits to form a group.
The Blue Tit is a small but vibrant bird that showcases a beautiful blend of blue, yellow, and green. It’s a familiar sight in gardens across the UK, making it easily identifiable. During the colder months, these birds congregate in flocks as they strive to find enough food to satisfy their sizable broods.
The Coal Tit is a bird species that has a distinct grey-black color compared to its more vibrant counterparts. It has a distinguishing feature, a white spot located at the back of its neck that aids in recognizing the bird. During colder weather, the Coal Tit will join other Tits and fly together as a flock to find food.
The Long-tailed Tit is a small, sociable bird that boasts a fluffy appearance with pinkish hues. These charming creatures are often spotted in groups of twenty or more, and as their name suggests, they have an impressively long tail that extends beyond the length of their bodies. To entice these delightful birds to visit your garden, consider stocking a variety of feeders, with a particular focus on hawthorn and elderberries during the autumn season. You can also attract them by growing a mix of wildflowers that will provide both pollen and insects for them to feast on. Additionally, easy-to-grow flowers like calendula, nasturtiums, salvias, and lavenders can serve as a fantastic food source for these feathered friends.
The Goldfinch, with its striking red face and yellow wings, is considered one of the most beautiful garden birds in the UK. You can hear their peaceful chirping near bird feeders, which increases the chances of spotting them. During winter, they tend to migrate to warmer regions as far as Spain. Goldfinches are fond of niger seeds and love to feed on Teasel and Verbena seed heads. Therefore, you can try growing these plants in your garden to attract these lovely birds. Keep reading to learn about other bird species that you may encounter in your garden.
The Greenfinch is a delightful avian creature that boasts a vibrant and striking plumage, with green and yellow hues shimmering through its wings as it soars. These birds are often frequent visitors to rural gardens throughout the year, drawn to the idyllic countryside surroundings. To entice these charming feathered friends to your garden, consider offering them a variety of bird seeds and insects, or planting sunflowers which can provide a tasty late summer snack when the flower heads turn into seeds. Additionally, you can cultivate plants like honeysuckle and lilac that attract insects, resulting in a more inviting environment for Greenfinches to thrive in while also filling the air with pleasant fragrances.
The Chaffinch is a delightful bird that can often be seen in gardens across the UK. It’s considered the country’s second most abundant bird, so keep your eyes peeled for it. If you have a bird feeder, this is an excellent place to start looking for them. While they are unlikely to feed directly from the table, they can be observed hopping around the hedges and on the ground searching for food. Planting native hedging such as hawthorn, sorbus, and beech can entice these charming birds to your garden.
The mischievous blackbird is known for making rustling noises in bushes. These birds love to scavenge for insects and worms on the ground, so it’s essential to provide them with plenty of areas to search for these mini beasts. Planting ivy and cottage geraniums in your garden can be beneficial as they offer great ground cover for blackbirds to forage around. The female blackbirds are mainly brown with spots and patterns on their breasts, whereas the males are coal black with bright orange-yellow beaks and eye areas. Blackbirds sing a beautiful song, which can often be heard from rooftops in UK gardens.
When you catch sight of a starling in the distance, they may look like an ordinary black bird. But upon closer inspection, you’ll notice their stunning purple undertones. These little guys are just a tad smaller than your average blackbird and enjoy traveling in large groups. Their social nature makes them quite the noisy bunch, so it’s hard to miss them when they visit your garden.
If you want to attract starlings to your garden, consider growing some fruit and berries that they love to munch on during the autumn and winter months. Blackberries, holly, apples, and pyracantha are all great options to entice these feathered friends.
The House Sparrow, once a common sight in Britain, is now facing a serious decline in some areas. This bird can be identified by its chestnut back and distinctive black patterns, while their beaks are yellow-brown in winter and turn black during the warmer months. To help these birds thrive, it’s important to provide them with a food source of insects, particularly caterpillars in spring. You can encourage caterpillars to your garden by adding plants like ivy and honeysuckle, as well as leaving a patch of your lawn wild with longer, varied grasses that serve as a natural food source for these insects.
The Wren, a small brown bird with a roundish shape and a fine vertical tail, is surprisingly loud for its size. As the UK’s most common breeding bird, it feeds on insects and spiders, so it’s best to leave some areas in your garden where they can make a home. Since Wrens are tiny and need to hide from predators quickly, you should have some climbing foliage plants in your garden where they can take shelter when needed. Some pretty climbers that will provide shelter include clematis, wisteria, and honeysuckle. Keep reading to learn more about other birds.
The Dunnock is a petite bird that is typically grayish-brown in color and has a calm disposition. This little bird tends to keep to itself, frequently seen hopping around flower gardens or areas with many shrubs. You can identify a Dunnock by its jittery movements, which are distinct to their species. They have comparable eating habits to Wrens, preferring locations with an abundance of invertebrates and plants to scurry away to.
The UK’s tiniest bird is the Goldcrest, characterized by a grey-brown hue, a pale underbelly, and a distinctive black and yellow stripe that runs across their head. Gender can be determined by the colouring of this stripe, as males have an orange middle section while females do not. These small birds have a fondness for picking insects out of pine needles, so if you want to attract them to your garden, consider planting a conifer.
The Wood Pigeon is the largest and most prevalent breed of pigeon in the UK. Its appearance is predominantly grey, with white markings on the wing and neck. You’ll easily recognize its cooing sound and the flapping of its wings while flying.
The Magpie is a bird that can be quite noisy and even cause some destruction. It is easily recognizable by its black and white feathers and distinctive long tail. Upon closer inspection, you might notice an interesting purple-green tint to their feathers on their wings and tail. It’s best not to invite them into your garden as they have been known to catch young songbird fledglings during the springtime.
The Carrion Crow, with its distinctive all-black feathers, is known for its intelligence and bravery. While they may be cautious around people, they can become regular visitors to a safe feeding location. These birds tend to keep to themselves, often seen alone or in pairs.
