The table below shows you the bird year highlights -when to do what...
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January |
- Visit estuaries for geese, ducks and waders
- Swans feed on farmland near coasts and certain wetlands
- Important to feed and water garden birds
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February |
- Visit estuaries for geese, ducks and waders
- Important to feed and water garden birds
- Farmland may provide views of flocks of finches and other small birds or thrushes.
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March |
- Very earliest summer migrants appear such as wheatears
- Continue to feed and water birds
- Some resident birds start to sing.
- Rooks are building nests in the rookery.
- Heron nest building activity is starting.
- Great crested grebes display on areas of open water.
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April |
- Migrant birds can be spotted on the coast especially at sea crossing points.
- Birds start breeding.
- Garden birds start collecting nest material and even feeding young.
- Some early sea cliff birds breeding such as the shag.
- Resident birds singing. Joined by some summer migrant birds such as chiff-chaff and later willow warbler.
- Swallows appear and cuckoos start to call.
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May |
- All summer migrants have arrived. Visit woodlands, heathlands, wetlands and other scrubby countryside for the high point of the song bird year.
- Main breeding period.
- Garden birds breeding, swifts race over roof tops.
- Visit sea cliffs to see breeding birds such as guillemots and kittiwakes.
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June |
- Young birds everywhere.
- Some garden birds still breeding.
- Visit sea cliffs to see breeding birds.
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July |
- Some garden birds still breeding.
- Visit sea cliffs to see breeding birds.
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August |
- First summer migrants depart such as swifts
- Resident waders such as curlew return to estuaries for the winter
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September |
- Summer migrants leaving, winter migrants arriving, passage migrants present
- Migrant birds can be spotted on the coast especially at sea crossing points.
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October |
- Summer migrants leaving, winter migrants arriving, passage migrants present
- Migrant birds can be spotted on the coast especially at sea crossing points.
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November |
- Most winter migrants have arrived and summer migrants departed
- Visit estuaries for geese, ducks and waders
- Important to feed and water garden birds
- Put up new or clean out old nest boxes (line with a bed of soft material for roosting birds)
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December |
- Visit estuaries for geese, ducks and waders
- Important to feed and water garden birds
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The table below provides a quick glance guide to what birds are upto through out the year. Where the colours are darker these represent the core periods for each type of activity.
