Birds

Robin

Dunnock

Blue Tit

House Sparrow

The Robin is one of the best known and most easily identifiable birds in the UK.  Often considered to be a gardener's friend they often can be spotted near to human activity seeming to have an interest in what we are up to. They will often fly down to look for earthworms in freshly turned soil after a gardener walks away and sometimes even come within a few feet of a gardener still at work.  A favourite winter icon on Christmas cards.  Close encounters and interactions with humans are frequent with this inquisitive bird and believed by some to indicate the reassuring presence of loved ones passed.

Adult Robins have a distinctive red (orange) breast and pale tummy with a smooth brown to grey colouration on their back and wings.  Juvenilles have a brown to black speckled or chequered pattern on their heads and chests, developing their orange breast towards the end of summer or into the autumn.

Robins have a loud, complex and distinctive song which they sing late into the evening and through the winter.

They are territorial birds, holding an area as a mated pair during summer months, but individually for the rest of the year. Their red breast serves as a warning of their presence to rival robins. 

Size:

Small - 14cm in length, 21cm wingspan and around 18g in weight.

Habitat:

Frequents woodland, gardens, towns, parks, farmland and hedgerows.

Distribution:

Widespread throughout Britain.

Conservation Status:

Common. Green status (2021). Long, cold winters however can be a threat, so providing food for them can really make a difference.

Rewild:

You can help encourage Robins to frequent your outdoor spaces by providing a bird bath or pond.  Remember to rinse out bird baths regularly and keep them watered during dry periods, whilst breaking any ice in winter months.

Bird tables or ground feeding trays are best for robins with a mixtures of seeds, peanuts (shredded or crushed), mealworms and sunflower seeds.  They will also eat berries, suet, cheese, biscuit crumbs, cake, fat, raisins and other nuts.  They are natural ground feeders and unlikely to visit a hanging feeder unless there is a good perch for them to stand comfortably on.

Bird boxes designed for robins have a larger opening at the top of the front panel than would be suitable for other small birds.  The bird box should be positioned a few metres off the ground on a tree trunk, wall or fence post where there is some cover from bushes or trees to conceal its location somewhat.

Provide trees or bushes in outdoor spaces and grass or flowerbeds with room between plants for them to forage. Native fruit bushes and nut trees will also provide a natural source of food and interest for them.

How to see them:

Robins can be easily spotted in gardens, hedgerows, woodland and parks. They can also be seen throughout the year.

The Dunnock is from the Accentor family of birds and is similar in size to a Robin or a sparrow and may indeed be mistaken for a House Sparrow or Tree Sparrow. It's blue grey head colouration is an easy way to distinguish it from a sparrow. It is also a less easy to notice bird, tending to hop around at ground level and weave its way through the branches of trees and bushes like a wren looking for insects, worms and seeds.  

Size:

Small - 15cm in length, 20cm wingspan and around 21g in weight.

Habitat:

Frequents woodland, gardens, parks and hedgerows.

Distribution:

Widespread throughout Britain.

Conservation Status:

Amber status (2021 and since the first BoCC review in 1996).

Rewild:

You can help encourage Dunnocks to frequent your outdoor spaces by providing ground feeding trays or a bird table with mixed seed, meal worms and nuts and a source of drinking and bathing water. They will more frequently visit the ground under feeders than venturing onto the feeder or bird table itself.

Provide trees or bushes in outdoor spaces and plenty of undergrowth to conceal this shy bird.

How to see them:

Dunnocks can found in gardens, hedgerows and parks all year round and are as common, but less easy to notice than Robins.

One of the most familiar of garden birds and a frequent visitor to most bird feeders in Britain. It is the most commonly seen of the seven species of woodland tits that nest in Britain. It is smaller than the similarly colourful Great Tit. It is an inquisitive bird known for pecking through milk bottle caps and also can be found pecking on wooden fences and gates.

Blue Tits are very small but colourful birds, with a bright yellow chest and tummy and green and blue back and wings. Their face is mostly white with blue to black collar and line from their beak across their eyes. It easily distinguished from the Great Tit by its face and cobalt blue crown.

Blue Tits eat insects, spiders, nuts, seeds and larvae.

Size:

Very small - 11cm in length, 18cm wingspan and around 11g in weight.

Habitat:

Frequents woodland, gardens, parks and hedgerows.

Distribution:

Widespread throughout Britain except in the northernmost islands of Scotland.

Conservation Status:

Common. Green status (2021). Long, cold winters however can be a threat, so providing food for them can really make a difference.

Rewild:

You can help encourage Blue Tits to frequent your outdoor spaces by providing a bird hanging bird feeder with peanuts or sunflower seeds and a source of drinking water. They will also enjoy a hanging suet ball.

Bird tables will also attract Blue Tits with a mixtures of seeds, peanuts, mealworms and sunflower seeds.  

Bird boxes designed for Blue Tits have a small circular hole towards the top of the front panel that will prevent larger birds from entering.  The bird box should be positioned a few metres off the ground on a tree trunk, wall or fence post.

Provide trees or bushes in outdoor spaces. Native fruit bushes and nut trees will also provide a natural source of food and interest for them. A nectar border will help attract pollinators including butterflies and provide a source of food for Blue Tits who are partial to a caterpillar or two.

How to see them:

Blue Tits can be easily spotted in gardens, hedgerows, woodland and parks. They can also be seen throughout the year.

The House Sparrow is a familiar visitor to most gardens in Britain despite a significant decline in their numbers. 

Size:

Small - 14cm in length, 24cm wingspan and around 34g in weight.

Habitat:

Frequents towns, gardens, parks and hedgerows seldom nesting more than 1km from human habitation.

Distribution:

Widespread throughout Britain including Scottish islands in the Hebrides and Shetland. Also widespread across the world inhabiting every continent except Antartica.

Conservation Status:

Red status (2021 and since 2002).

Rewild:

You can help encourage House Sparrows to frequent your outdoor spaces by providing a bird hanging bird feeder or bird table with mixed seeds and nuts and a source of drinking and bathing water. They will also enjoy hanging suet balls.

Provide trees or bushes in outdoor spaces.

How to see them:

House Sparrows can be easily spotted in gardens, hedgerows and parks all year round. They are entertaining, sociable and often noisy birds that generally stay close to one another, moving between bushes or trees in a large group.