How to identify COMMON GARDEN BIRDS - Including their songs
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- čas přidán 2. 07. 2024
- A beginners guide to common garden birds of the UK, including their songs and tips on how to identify them.
There are more than 2 million goldfinches in the UK and they are found from southern England all the way to northern Scotland and all across Ireland. They have a wingspan of around 23 cm and weigh between 14 and 19 grams. Gold finches are most recognised by their red and white faces and The bright patch of gold on each of their wings that gives them their name. They are a common garden visitor and you can encourage them by providing nyger seed feeders and by leaving the seed heads on any thistles that grow.
House sparrows are boisterous little birds that have followed mankind around ost of the planet. The female has a mottled brown head and back with grey undersides. The males are similar but also have brown and grey head markings and a darker black bib. The size and shading of this bib represents their social status, the more prominent the bib the more dominant the bird. House sparrows have a wing span of around 25cm and weigh 24 to 38grams. As their name suggests, their nesting sites are often associated with houses and they nest communally under loose tiles and in house eves. Although there are more than 10 million of these birds in the UK, this represents a decline of around 70% since the 1970s.
Dunnocks are often called hedge sparrows but they are infact, not very closely related to sparrows at all. They have slate grey and brown feathers over most of their bodies but have a clear speckled brown patch on each of their cheeks. They have a wingspan of 21 centimetres and weigh from 19 to 24 grams. Dunnocks spend a lot of their time on the floor or in the vegetation close to it and they have very interesting breeding behaviours. Sometimes they pair up the traditional way but they may also practice polygyny, polyandry and polygynandry.
Blackbirds have got to be one of the most familiar birds in parks and gardens across the UK. The males are fully black with just a yellow orange ring around their eyes and a yellow beak. The females are brown and the colouring on their eye rings and beaks is less prominent. There are between 10 and 15 million pairs in the UK and this this number is bolstered by a further 5 million that migrate from mainland Europe for the winter. Blackbirds have a wingspan of around 36 cm and can weight from 80 to one hundred grams.
Starlings are most famous for their murmurations, where they form huge flocks and fly in formation to create amazing patterns and shapes in the sky. Although they look black from a distance, starlings are actually covered in oily green and purple markings that shimmer in the sunlight. They have wingspans of around 40cm and weigh from 75 to 90 grams. Starlings are still one of the UK's most common garden birds but their numbers have actually dropped by almost 70% over the last 40 years. Its unclear what has caused this decline but it has been suggested that global warming may be at least partly responsible.
Wood pigeons are the UKs largest and most common type of pigeon. They have slate grey wings with a white patch on either shoulder. They also have a white patch on either side of their neck and their head is a pale blue colour. There are more than 10 million wood pigeons in the UK and they can be seen as a pest as they cause damage to grain and vegetable crops. They have a wing span of around 80 cm and can weigh upto 550 grams.
Collared doves are a relative new-comer to the rbitish countryside and although they had been occasionally reported before, they were first recorded nesting here in 1956. In the years previous to this they had spread naturally from their native asia across the whole of Europe and as the result of introductions around the Bahamas they have now spread across most of north America too. They are a rather non-descript grey brown colour throughout and their only real distinguishing mark is a black collar that runs around the back of their necks. They have a wing span of around 50 cm, can weigh up to 200grams and there are now thought to be more than 2 million living in the UK.
Feral pigeons are a frequent sight in our towns and cities. They are the descendants of wild rock doves that were domesticated upto 6,000 years ago. As a result of this they can be many different colours, shapes and sizes. They have a wingspan of between 63 to 70cm and can weigh from 230 to 370 grams.
Some of the audio in this video was obtained using creative commons licences. The originals and their licences can be found at:
Goldfinch
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House sparrow
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dunnock
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Blackbird
• Blackbird Singing | Fr...
Starling
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Wood pigeon
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Collared dove
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If you have just enjoyed watching this video then be sure to check out my latest video, taking a look at the European Water Vole: czcams.com/video/T0Y2aHoEGbM/video.html
Great video, my other half puts up well with my constant playing of wildlife videos. Keep them coming
I loved the addition of the birdsong to the clips. It really helps identify the birds when you can't see them. I'm trying to learn, but it's not easy!
That made me realise that the general ambient sound of outside used to be chirruping sparrows. A friend went to work in Saudi Arabia in the 90s and he was surprised to find that sparrows even dominated there. I honestly can’t remember the last time I distinctly heard them.
I remember my surprise and excitement the first time I saw Goldfinches through binoculars.
Initially I thought they were just a flock of mundane looking sparrows to the naked eye from a distance 😁
This is a great video idea to do during this lockdown! 10 years ago goldfinches were rarely seen of heard here. They are now everywhere. Some folks put this down to the popularity of garden feeders especially people putting out nyger seed. Keep up the good work.
Wonderful and very informative. People should remember to safely clean bird feeders. to avoid avian flu. water sources too. Thank you.
Hi from Co. Mayo in the west of Ireland. I've been binge watching your videos. Great info. Well done.... Make more vids about garden birds, please.... Thanks, Maura.... FYI. My son made up the name, Mr grape....
Hi Maura. Welcome to the channel. I'm glad you have been enjoying my videos and hope you continue to do so. I'm currently working on a lot of new videos, some garden birds will definitely be included. Cheers!
In the early nineties, I used to take early morning walks at the weekends, late winter and early spring, in North London and I'd watch, helplessly, as - particularly - magpies, would help themselves to the nestlings of starlings in chimneys and sparrows around the eaves of houses.
It would be something that I would see, weekend after weekend and - clearly - they didn't let up during the week, when I didn't have the opportunity to see.
In the seventies, I was living a few miles north of London and remember seeing my first magpie and thinking how stunning it was, what with the unexpected iridescence, the long - seemingly - unweildy tail and the contrasting plumage.
A few months later, I watched as one handily outsmarted my cat in the back garden, lazily taking to the air, just as my big old fluffball pounced, missing by centimetres.
Respect! I thought. Canny bugger!
Until then, corvine birds had been uncommon in London, to say the least.
I suspect that 'global warming' has little - directly - to do with the shocking decline in - particularly - sparrows and starlings, but all the other common songbirds that I used to see in - especially - my part of London.
It's been that time of year lately and there's practically nothing to see and hear, as far as songbirds are concerned.
The time I got buzzed by a robin, for wearing a bright red sweatshirt under my open jacket, seems a dim and distant memory, having happened some twenty five years ago.
Even in the nineties, the dawn chorus was a welcome cacophony in the early mornings, but over time it's become quieter and rarer.
If it was quiet, early in the morning, I could go out into the garden, give a whistle or two and kick the whole thing off. Not anymore.
Given that the corvids were so uncommon in London, when I was a young man, what - do you think - might have been the cause(es) of their proliferation?
Now the place - my part of London - is lousy with crows and magpies. One can sometimes spot a jay in the street, every now and then.
My mate even once intervened, as a jay chased a sparrow in flight, at head level.
As the sparrow escaped, the jay gave my mate a helluva look.
What's been going on in the sticks, to - seemingly - drive the crows, magpies and jays into town?
No jackdaws hereabouts btw.
Small mercies? Vanishingly small.
I love your videos and information. the blackbird is my favourite bird song.
I currently live in the greater metropolitan New York City area. I have never seen ring-necked doves here. However, I have seen them in Fort Lauderdale, FL, when I used to live in South Florida between 1993 and 1996.
EXCELLENT !!! LIAM , ALL IN A NUT SHELL!!! THANKS ! FROM U.K. (2022).
Nice documentary again!!! You make it so interesting!! Great work 👍👍👍👍
Thanks mate!
I hear the morning songs of blackbirds as I leave work after a night shift. Beautiful.
Great video - thanks.
Cheers!
Hello, I'm glad you wrote the text below the video. so that I can read along and understand English better.
Thanks.
Greetings Jacq
FANTASTIC AND BEAUTIFUL THANKS FOR THE CHANNEL IS FANTASTIC OK 👍🤗🆗💯
Used to feed the birds outside my bedroom window on a flat roofed extension back in the 70's. There must have been a hundred sparrows came every day!
Brilliant video very helpful, thanks for sharing.
Wood pidgeons have proper munched my lockdown broccoli 😂
Yea the cabbage white butterfly’s have destroyed lots of my cabbages but haven’t had much problem with the wood pigeons
@@theotheseaeagle living up to their name I guess 😭
Brilliant video Liam
🎯🙏🏆 I've watched all your videos but haven't commented on most of them
Omg thank you very much! This helped me so much! 💕
Interesting and informative, thank you 👍
Very informative. Thanks for sharing 🐦👍
Beautiful, hi from Roma 👍🙋😘🇮🇹
i love wood pigeons. every morning my window has a loud sound
pigeons: GRUUUU GRUU GRUUU
They also adore sunflower hearts and if you have room will use a hanging feeder as a to themselves with green finches while sparrows use the others )
Just subscribed. Really enjoyed this.
Thank you. Glad to have you onboard!
I have seen a decline in birds population iver the years, I noticed it since te early 80s. I believe is the lack of insects and worms due to use of pesticides, weed killers, pest control chemicals and deliberate forest fires which destroy everything.
In some parts of Spain which I frequently visit is what is been happening.
I hardly see starlings or even swallows.
Hardly any bats at night. Moths, butterflies. Is all gone.
Hi. You just got a new subscriber haha. Thanks.
2:50 a female blackbird was just hopping around outside my kitchen window😂😂
Bello.gilgerito.
what I should've pointed out is the oft forgotten mass cullings of starlings in the late 80's. millions were exterminated due to the 'pest' factor on city buildings
Hi there im new to your channel, i have to be honest i love it, the reason for the comment is could you please do a video with information like all your videos about the Goldfinch please 🙏 many thanks 😊
Hello. Sorry for the very late reply. Goldfinches are on my list, I can't guarantee when I'll get round to tgem but stay tuned as it'll be in the next month or 2 (I hope). Cheers
Nice one mate, but WOW! Check out the extended upper mandible on one of those Starlings! The left hand one on the aerial from 3:01, and again (same individual?) in the tree from 3:24. I think you should name him "Beaky" (which was what we used to call one of our Biology teachers at school - but not to his beak obviously). 👍😎👍
Well spotted, it’s actually two separate birds, there’s 4 or 5 of them like that in the area. It amazes me that they can feed their chicks with beaks like that.
@@AShotOfWildlife must be a local family trait. Or as a friend of mine once said: their genes have got their knickers in a twist 😆
Question for everyone out there....have you seen a reduction of small birds in your garden, birds like sparrows, Gold Finch, Blue tits, even Blackbirds or Starling? Over the last 3.months I have seen a marked reduction and have not seen any visitors for at least the last month, maybe the odd Wood Pidgeon and Maggie but nothing smaller which is very odd. Anyone else experiencing this?
I have noticed a drop in sightings but I think it’s probably just down to the trees being in full bloom and most birds have finished nesting/rearing chicks so can be more secretive again.
I notice a drop in sightings this time every year
Probably down to the explosion of magpies which predate the smaller birds, chicks and their eggs.
There is a small wooded area behind my house and in one particular hawthorn tree, together with my garden, I have seen all sorts of birds at various times of the year. Birds such as wood pigeons (nested), blue tits (currently nesting in a nest box in my garden), great tits, the occasional long tailed tits, collared doves, magpies (nested in the wood), crows (nested in the wood), wrens, bullfinches, chaffinches, robins, dunnocks and blackcaps. A pair of blackbirds also nested this year in my garden, however the nest was abandoned after 3 eggs were laid and these eggs disappeared (presumably taken by crows or magpies). I have also seen at least one sparrow hawk flying over the garden whilst hunting and I have heard what I think is some sort of warbler in the wood.
Thank you , sadly I don’t see many hiuse sparrows but do see tits blue and great in my garden I feed birds seeing finches starlings go crazy for the mealworm feeder they are very entertaining birds !
They are millions in south Greece every year
Random question: why do i often see woodpigeons perch particularly on ash trees, usually to chillax and eat on it. Are they're particularly attracted to ash?
Where i lived, Sunflower hearts were gold dust to gold finches. They chose that over niger seed everytime. Plus green finches, chaffinches, coal tits, blue tits, great tits, sparrows, and even red polls one year. Although they were mostly niger seed. So yeah, Sunflower hearts are amazing.
You forgot ravens and crows
Ive never identified a starling nesting in a tree hole before, just know they like buildings
I Live In USA, Is It Weird That I'm Watching This?
Nope, not weird at all. Some of the birds you get there are very similar although I'm not sure how many from this video actually live there lol.
@@AShotOfWildlife House Sparrows, Starlings And Collared Doves Are Introduced In The USA
er crow? jackdaw?
How can you hear the birds properly if someone is constantly talking…
Lol. Just listen in-between the words.
global warming my asssssssss
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