As the days get shorter and cooler, summer migrants depart our shores, and resident birds are be joined by winter visitors from the far north and east.
They come for the mild climate and abundance of food, before returning to their breeding grounds in spring. Our wetlands in particular become alive again as we welcome back ducks, geese, swans, and wading birds.
When the temperature drops, gardens may attract some typical country birds who come in search of food and shelter. And some garden favourites like tits, robins, blackbirds, and starlings may be visitors from Eastern Europe rather than resident birds.
The fieldfare arrives in the UK in October and leaves again in April for its Scandinavian breeding grounds. It is a large, colourful thrush that can often be found in mixed flocks with redwings. It has a brown back, grey rump, and black tail, and black streaks and spots on its orange breast. The head is grey with black around the eye and a yellow bill.
The fieldfare has an upright stance and can be spotted hopping across the ground as it forages for insects, worms, snails, and fruit. When disturbed, it will fly rapidly to the tops of nearby trees and bushes.
Fieldfares are vocal but lack the melodies quality of the blackbird. It has a low, throaty, chuckling call that can often be heard in chorus from a flock.
Fieldfares can be seen across the UK in woods, hedgerows, orchards, and fields. When it is very cold and the ground is covered with snow they will venture into gardens in search of food.
The redwing is the UK’s smallest thrush which arrives in September or October, and leaves the following April. It is a small, dark brown thrush with lines of dark spots on its cream underparts. The flank is brick-red which gives the redwing its name. The head is dark with a cream stripe above the eye and a pale moustache.
It forages on the ground in search of insects, fruit, seeds, and berries, and will sometimes dig for earthworms. At night, they gather in large communal roosts in woods and thickets, often sharing the roost with other species such as fieldfares and starlings.
It has a rich, fluty song, and a distinctive high thin call with rattling notes which can often be heard at night.
Redwings can be found across the UK during winter. Look out for them in parks, fields, woods, orchards, and hedgerows. During harsh winters they will readily visit gardens and bird feeders.
The brambling is a large, colourful finch that is similar to a chaffinch, which it will often join in mixed species flocks. Look out for them from the middle of September when they arrive for the winter from Scandinavia and Siberia.
In autumn and winter, the male has a rusty-brown back, orange shoulder and breast, and white belly and rump. The feathers on the head are hoary, with a dark cap, and dark bands either side of the grey nape. The female has a similar pattern but is paler with dark spots on the flanks and a buff-coloured shoulder.
It forages on the ground digging into leaf litter to search for seeds and at night gathers with thousands of other birds to form communal roosts. It has a coarse, nasal call and a sweet, melodious song that is rarely hear in winter.
Bramblings can be found all over the UK except for the very north of Scotland in woodland and farmland. They will also visit gardens, preferring bird tables to hanging feeders.
The Lapland bunting, also known as the Lapland longspur is a low-slung, robust bunting that breeds across Arctic Europe and Canada, and arrives in the UK for winter in September.
It is slightly larger than the reed bunting and in non-breeding plumage the male has brown upperparts with a mottled black bib and streaks on the flanks, and a chestnut nape and wing panels. The underparts are creamy-white. On the head, there is a broad, pale stripe over the eye, and a black line around the cheek. The bill is thick and yellow, that has adapted for eating seeds. The female has less distinct markings with a pale crown with dark sides, a reddish-buff face, and dull rufous nape.
It spends most of its time on the ground often in small flocks picking seeds before flying away to look for a new foraging area. It has a dry, hard, rattling trill, often heard in flight, and a short, warbled song that it usually delivers when perching on a rock.
The Lapland bunting is a scarce visitor, but can be spotted along the east coast of the UK in salt marshes, rough fields, and rocky coastal grasslands.
The snow bunting is another bunting that arrives in the UK for the winter from its breeding grounds in the very high latitudes of the Arctic. It is a short-legged bird often found perching on the ground, and in very low temperatures will dig into the snow to keep warm.
The underparts are white with a buff wash and a dark rump, while the upperparts are dark with brown mottled sides. The head is white with tawny-brown on the crown and cheeks, the bill is yellow with a dark tip and the legs are black. Males and females are similar although the female is slightly smaller.
It forages on the ground for seeds, buds, and insects and will also take crustaceans along the coast. The flight is swift with rapid wingbeats alternated with brief periods where the wings are pulled to the side. The call is a harsh and dry, and the song is a sweet, variable, husky warble that is often delivered while perched on a boulder or during flight.
The snow bunting can be found on coastal sites such as shingles and marshes across the UK, but is most common in Scotland and eastern England.
The Bohemian waxwing is the only regular waxwing found in Europe. It is a stocky, short-legged bird about the size of a starling. Overall, it is pinkish-grey with a darker red face and black bib, and a prominent crest on its head. The tail has a bright yellow band, and its black wings are marked with white, yellow, and red that gives the species its name.
It has a quick, dashing or swooping flight powered by its long, pointed wings. Over short distances it flies with steady wing beats, while on longer journeys the wing beats are interspersed with glides. Its call is a far-carrying trill that sounds like a greenfinch or blue tit in spring.
Waxwings are irregular winter visitors that arrive in the UK in their thousands when food is scarce in their breeding grounds in Scandinavia. They can be found in ornamental shrubs, berry-bearing trees and bushes and quickly strip them bare of their fruit in a matter of hours.
The hawfinch is a large, stocky, striking finch but it can be shy and hard to spot. It has brown upperparts and black wings with a white shoulder parts, pinkish underparts, and a brown tail with a white tip. Its head is yellowy-brown with a black chin and mask, and a huge blue-grey or pink conical bill with a dark tip. The female is duller than the male with less pink below.
It has a hard, dry, clicking call which is often heard in flight, and a quiet song with no musical notes.
Hawfinches feed mainly on seeds from tall trees such as hornbeam, beech, maple, elm, and in particular, wild cherries, using its powerful bill to crack open the shells. It may also take insects in the summer to feed its young.
Look out for them in old woodland, as well as orchards and parks, sitting upright on the top of a tree or foraging on the ground.
The whooper swan is a large, angular swan just smaller than the mute swan. It arrives in the UK from Iceland to spend the winter from October to April although a few pairs are resident breeding birds.
It has white plumage with a large, wedge-shaped head and upright neck. The black bill is long and flat with yellow on the sides which forms a triangular shape. The eyes are dark brown and the legs and feet are black. Males and females are similar but the female is slightly smaller.
Despite its large size it is a good flyer, although it can be clumsy during take-off as it runs across the surface of the water. Its wingbeats are deep and steady but quieter than the mute swan and it has a strong, direct flight, often in V-formation. It has a hoot like call which is typically loud and low when flying. It eats aquatic plants and invertebrates, and feeds by dipping its head and neck in water.
Whooper swans can be found on freshwater lakes, wet fields, and marshes, and occasionally on the coast. You can spot them across the UK although they are rarer in southern England.
The barnacle goose is a small, clean looking goose that arrives in the UK in the tens of thousands in October from Greenland and northern Russia. There is also a resident feral population that can be spotted all year round.
It has white underparts with a silver-grey back with neat black and white bars. The face is white while the rest of the head and neck is jet black that extends into the breast. The short, stubby bill, and legs, and feet are black. Males and females are similar.
It has a strong, direct flight with steady wingbeats, and large flocks will fly in long lines in V-formation. It has a loud, barking call and a high-pitched chattering that it produces while grazing. It feeds on vegetation including grasses, roots, seeds, and aquatic plants.
Barnacle geese can be found around the coast of the UK. Look out for them on estuaries, coastal meadows, lakes, and gravel pits.
The brent goose is a small goose about the size of a mallard although it often looks bigger. It has a thick neck, long wings, and a short, stubby bill. It is the most northerly breeding goose in the world, and arrives in the UK in October from northern Russia. There are two subspecies; ‘dark-bellied’ and ‘pale-bellied’.
It is dark overall with a white rump and vent and depending on the race has either a dark brown belly or pale grey belly. The head, neck, and breast are black and there is a small white patch on the side of the neck. Males and females are similar.
It has a strong flight, with fast wing-beats, and flies in compact flocks or lines in V-formation. During migration they fly low over water. Its call is a deep croak, and in flocks produces a quick, even chorus. It feeds on eelgrass, seaweed, and other aquatic vegetation.
Brent geese can be seen around the coasts of the UK on salt marshes, muddy creeks, pastures, and agricultural land.