A to Z of British Birds - Page 2

Not only are they uncommon in much of England and Wales (and absent entirely from Scotland and Ireland), but they’re hard to find even where they do occur, being secretive birds that can range over large areas.

These birds represent Britain’s sole truly ‘native’ stock, and at the Gigrin Farm feeding centre provide one of the best wildlife spectacles in the country.

It’s a woodland species, but will also be found in parks and gardens with mature trees, and is always a welcome sight: indeed, it’s one of the most common species for non-birders to notice and remark on.

Iceland gulls breed in the Arctic, mainly Greenland and northern Canada, and move south during winter to feed away from the worst of the polar winter.

Once seen, never forgotten. Indeed, a sighting of this charismatic raptor would crown any walk in England’s beautiful uplands.

One of the top five sites for gadwall in the UK is the Thames Estuary – another reason, if any were needed, why dropping a whopping great airport into the middle of it would be a seriously bad idea.

They’re one of the two thrush species which visit Britain in large numbers for the autumn and winter, alongside the handsome and perhaps better known redwing.

Little egrets, a bright white, medium-sized bird of the heron family, only started breeding here in 1996, but since have expanded so rapidly their population growth is measured in the multiple hundreds of per cent.

Their song is a fast-paced, attractive soft warble that livens up a late winter hedgerow.