UK Winter Birds

With the temperature dropping in the winter, many of the UK's common and popular avian creatures seek warmer pastures until the spring. Although this can be somewhat upsetting to avid birdwatchers, it creates new opportunities as the birds that opt to stay on our shores come to life and can easier be espied. Many people sit at their garden furniture enjoying these visitors to their gardens.

Robin

Perhaps the first bird to come to mind is the robin. Although they are present all year round, their famous red chests become easier to spot in the colder months as lighter backdrops enable them to almost shine bright. Robins usually feast on insects so an organic garden will help preserve their food and draw them to your garden.

House Sparrow

Sparrows are disappearing at an alarming rate due to the decline in the presence of their desired food. In the winter, they rely on grain and seeds to survive and the dwindling amount of farmyards mean that this is harder to come by. House sparrows tend to nest in groups. Provide a bird box big enough to host a fair few and supplement it with grains, seeds and general food scraps to lure them.

Thrushes

Fieldfare thrushes are very sociable creatures and spend the colder part of the year in flocks of varying sizes; generally anywhere between a dozen and several hundred strong crowds. Fieldfares are large and colourful and feed on berries, insects and worms. They can be spotted across almost the whole of the British Isles in winter.

The smallest thrush in the UK is the redwing thrush. Like their fieldfare cousins, they feed predominantly on berries and worms and have often been seen flocking with fieldfares. Recognisable by a cream coloured strip above the eye and flank patches of orange and red they tend to only visit gardens when they are covered in a layer of snow, making a sighting a wonderful vision.

Tits

Blue tits feed on peanuts, fats and sunflower seeds and adapt wonderfully well to uncommon nesting areas such as gardens. They are more drawn to gardens rich with insects.

Great tits are a familiar sight in gardens and parks where there trees aplenty using them for both feeding and breeding. Their marks are a specular pattern of black, blue and yellow and they are a wonderful spectacle if placed against a snowy backdrop.

The delightfully small coal tit sports a white stripe down the back of its black head. It prefers the shelter of nest boxes within conifer trees and eat small insects and seeds. They usually nip into gardens in the winter to take seeds from bird feeders and store them for later eating.

Brambling

Bramblings feed on seeds in the winter and are attracted to gardens with bird feeds. They are social animals in the colder months and they can be seen in flocks of thousands although numbers alter depending on sufficient food sources.

Blackbird

The blackbird's whistle, glossy black feathers and bright orange beak makes it one of the most recognisable birds in the UK. They feed on insects and worms so can be easily drawn to your garden. For even better chances of a sighting, provide them with fruit and food waste.

Source : articlesbase.com