BRITISH BIRDS
                                                                                                                                                     
JACKDAW

This is a medium to small dark crow which is very social. It has a more or less grey hood from the top of the head backwards down to the shoulders and a glittering pale eye. They are resident over most of their range which is most of Europe (except extreme North) and into Asia.  These birds happily live with Man even in the middle of large cities and like filling chimneys with sticks! The nesting territory is very small - just a few metres round the nest - and so they will often form semi-colonial aggregations (like 8 in my garden this year).  They are pretty well omnivorous but not nearly as bad for game as Carrion Crows. They will often fly round in pairs as the male 'mate-guards' his female to make sure that the nestlings he is going to help raise are all his own. Resounding calls are characteristic. There may be 600,000 pairs in Britain and Ireland.

                                                 


JAY


This is a widespread and variable species found over much of Europe and Northern Asia. It is an alert pale eyed woodland crow with a mainly pink body and head. The bend of the wing shows a lovely flash of electric blue and black barring and there is white and rich chestnut in the mainly dark wing.  In flight it has rounded wings and a bounding action - and shows a white rump and white wing patches. The bill is dark and there is dark spotting on the pale forehead and crown and a broad black moustachial streak. On the ground it hops and bounds about the place making harsh cries - obviously a bit of a bully boy,  but also not quite sure of itself and generally likes to have a good way to beat a quick retreat.  In most areas they are sedentary, making good use of tree seeds - acorns, beech mast and berries. Jays cache food for the winter and are crucial planters of acorns uphill - how else would oaks spread up hill? In the summer takes nestlings of smaller species to feed its own young. There are about 170,000 pairs in Britain and Ireland and are resident in Wales all year round.


KESTREL
This is a very widespread species and is found breeding over much of Europe, Africa and Asia (except the Tropics). Other kestrels are found just about all over the rest of the World. They are very expert at hovering into the wind to keep them over a small area of ground where they pounce to catch small mammals and insects.  An old name is 'wind-hover' and this name (in translation) is used in several languages. Northern populations are migratory and Southern are sedentary or nomadic. Their breeding success depends on the level of small mammal populations. They have a moustachial stripe and chestnut backs - a dove grey tail indicates an adult male. In Britain and Ireland it is found breeding all over the place except much of the Outer Hebrides and Shetland - about 60,000 pairs in all.




KINGFISHER

 There are almost 90 kingfishers Worldwide. They exhibit all sorts of feeding behaviours but the Kingfisher is a small species that does the right thing - it plunges from a perch or hovering flight into water and catches small fish. This species is found in Europe where, for the most part it is the only species, and over much of the Southern half of Asia.
To say that the Kingfisher has a blue back is an understatement - it is more like electric blue. As a Kingfisher flies by, often emitting a plaintiff whistling flight call, this is what you will see. When perched, the brilliant shiny blue back is concealed and you can see the orange breast and delicate blues and greens on the upper parts. The big head and dagger bill will also impress. These birds breed in burrows in vertical banks often, but not always, above water. They may have three broods in a summer as they are very vulnerable to cold weather and thus have a high reproductive rate. Many move from the colder parts of their range and recoveries of ringed birds of over 2,000 kms are not unusual. British birds have been reported drowned in jam jars where children were collecting tiddlers! In Britain and Ireland the population probably exceeds 5,000 pairs.



LONG TAILED TIT




Distribution much as Greater Spotted. This is a small woodpecker (like many of the North American species) barely bigger than a House Sparrow. It is much overlooked as it often lives in the tops of forest trees and does not come down to ground level. It even drinks and bathes in water collected in holes in the trees.  If you can see red on the crown it is a male. Otherwise the plumage has rather more white on it than the other (bigger) spotted woodpeckers. This is a very sedentary bird although Northern populations are nomadic and some may even migrate. Softer and quicker drummer than the Great and calls distinctive - provided there are no Wrynecks about - 'pew, pew, pew ...' going on up to 15 or 20 times. Population in Britain declining and birds restricted to England and Wales - about 5,000 pairs at the very most.










LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER



Distribution much as Greater Spotted. This is a small woodpecker (like many of the North American species) barely bigger than a House Sparrow. It is much overlooked as it often lives in the tops of forest trees and does not come down to ground level. It even drinks and bathes in water collected in holes in the trees.  If you can see red on the crown it is a male. Otherwise the plumage has rather more white on it than the other (bigger) spotted woodpeckers. This is a very sedentary bird although Northern populations are nomadic and some may even migrate. Softer and quicker drummer than the Great and calls distinctive - provided there are no Wrynecks about - 'pew, pew, pew ...' going on up to 15 or 20 times. Population in Britain declining and birds restricted to England and Wales - about 5,000 pairs at the very most.
 


MARSH HARRIER

A bird of prey which nests over much of temperate Asia and patchily in Europe. It is a migrant Southwards to the tropics for winter. There are resident races in Australia and New Zealand. It used to nest on many drained marshes in lowland Britain and now beginning to use corn fields.  The young birds are dark chocolate with pale heads and shoulder flashes, males have a lot of grey on them but are still basically dark brown birds when at rest - the grey shows in flight. It hunts by quartering open areas (often marshes) at a height of about five metres and then dropping on anything suitable - mostly small mammals and birds. Can take many nestlings from, for example, colonies of Black-headed Gulls. Spectacular behaviour of passing food from male to female in flight a high point of harrier watching. Population estimate in Britain just under 100 nests but males may have two or three females.



RED KITE


This is a superb bird of prey of a generally chestnut colour with a long forked tail. They are very light on their wings and soar and hover gracefully at will. They will feed on live prey and pairs may specialise on a particular prey item - like Magpies or Black-headed Gulls - to provision the nest. However for much of the time they are carrion eaters.  There are populations in Central Europe and Spain with a few in Sweden and relicts in Wales. Here one (and only one) female was breeding about 50 years ago but the population has grown steadily to more than 100 pairs. Re- introductions of birds from Sweden to Scotland and from Spain to England are working very well.  This is a bird that should be all over Britain as it was 300 years ago - it was even a city scavenger then.  A medium to large mainly European bird of prey.



ROBIN

The robin is one of Britains most popular birds and is probably one of the easiest to recognise, with its bright red breast - common to both sexes.  The young birds are slightly harder to spot, they are a speckled brown colour. Common in gardens everywhere, this bird is fiercely territorial and will never share with another robin unless the the weather is extremely bad and the pickings small.  They feed on insects and other invertebrates, such as spiders and worms, but will eat fruit and seeds.  Usually two broods are raised between March and July in a nest constructed either in a hole, or a man made construction such as a shed shelf.   It is famously tame in Britain but not elsewhere (yet) probably as the birds will have been killed for food in relatively recent times.  Northern birds are migratory and even in Southern Britain a few migrate..



SISKIN
This bright little  black and green finch has a splash of yellow on the wings that is very noticeable when in flight.  It lives in confifer woodlands and gardens.  During the winter, British born siskins are joined by migrants that fly in to us from Scandanavia.  The siskin feeds on seeds from trees and wild flowers.  Four or five eggs are laid by the female in a nest built high in the branches of trees, normally spruce or pine.  Once rare in gardens, these birds have discovered a passion for peanuts over recent years so if these are placed in bird feeders in your garden you may just get one to visit during the winter months.
 


SONG THRUSH
A typical thrush with grey-brown upperparts and spotted breast. Common over much of Europe and through temperate parts of Western former USSR. Americans should think of a bigger version of a Wood Thrush.  This is a smaller bird than the Blackbird and seems to be losing out to it in Britain - for 60 or more years the Blackbird to Song Thrush ratio has been changing in favour of the bigger bird. The problem is probably now agricultural but we are not sure in what way. Has one habit in its favour and that is smashing open snails on a stone used as an anvil (particularly in dry weather) to get at inside. Song good but rather repetitive. Migratory in the North and regularly winters into North Africa. British population now less than 1,000,000 territories and Irish about 400,000.



SPARROW


The chirpy little house sparrow, affectionately known as the Cockney sparrow to Londoners, has been declining in numbers over recent years.  Once these birds could be seen in flocks numbering in the the hundreds, if not thousands.  A recent survey was carried out by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) to determine where these liitle birds could be found, and in what numbers.  The survey showed that sparrows are more likely to be found in gardens where food is provided all year round.  An average of 7.3 birds were found where food was provided, against only 3.8 where food was not left out.  Lincoln came top in the survey with the largest population of sparrows and London was at the bottom of the league with an average of only 4.5 sparrows.  In the seventies it was estimated that there were over 12 million sparrows nationwide, which has now fallen so drastically that they have been listed as a species of high conservation.  To help these birds survive the RSPB have suggested several ways that people can help.  Putting up nest boxes, feeding them throughout the year and allowing part of your garden to remain 'wild', where they can find insects and seeds, may help to increase their numbers.

 


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