This past summer, Eric and I spent the month of June traveling in England and Scotland. And while the primary focus of the trip wasn't necessarily birds, I did manage to fit quite a bit of birding into the trip, seeing a grand total of 111 species, 71 of which were lifers!
 |
| European Robin |
While England and Scotland boast a wealth of beautiful natural habitats to explore, all of which are simply brimming with wonderful wildlife, its towns and cities are probably the best places to start when birding in the UK for the first time. Here, lush landscapes dotted with expansive parks and idyllic gardens are home to a long list of European bird species that are exciting for any visiting American birder! And so it was that my first European Robin hopped down right in front of me on a picnic bench in Bath, my lifer Eurasian Blue Tit appeared on a branch in London's Hyde Park, and the one and only Eurasian Jay I saw on the whole trip peeped down at me from a tree in Kensington Gardens.
In June, every town we visited in England seemed to be bursting with birdlife. Even the massive city of London itself is chock-full of parks that are teeming with a surprisingly wide variety of birds and other wildlife. In London, we spent time birding in Hyde Park, Bushy Park and the Regent's Park, all of which contain bodies of water attractive to a wide range of waterfowl and delightful natural areas of trees, shrubs and meadows filled with songbirds.
Below are some of my favorite photos from a just a few all too short hours spent birding in London's Royal Parks.
 |
Mute Swan
Beautiful and iconic, these magnificent birds are common across the UK. And unlike in the US, here they are a native species! |
 |
Greylag Goose
This species is the ancestor of most of our familiar domestic farmyard geese. |
 |
Grey Heron
Quite similar to the Great Blue Heron of North America, the Grey (or Gray) Heron of Europe is slightly smaller, with subtle differences in color. |
 |
| Grey Heron |
 |
Eurasian Moorhen
Nearly identical to the North American Common Gallinule, the two species were not recognized as distinct from each other until 2011. I did notice that the birds I saw in the UK seemed to be much more comfortable with being in the open and near people than any gallinule I've seen in the US, but that might be coincidental. |
 |
Eurasian Coot
This is yet another European counterpart to a familiar North American species, the American Coot. |
 |
Common Woodpigeon
These hefty pigeons were everywhere in the UK, cooing their gravelly song that I came to absolutely love! Theirs is perhaps one of the most iconic birdsongs of the British countryside, and their sheer size (nearly 18 inches long!) make them unlike any dove or pigeon in North America! |
 |
Stock Dove
Smaller than the Wood Pigeon, the Stock Dove is also less common (I found) and can be separated by its dark eye and lack of white collar. |
 |
Eurasian Green Woodpecker
I wish I had gotten a better photo of this wild-looking woodpecker! The Eurasian Green Woodpecker is similar in habits and sound to our Northern Flicker, but I found them to be rather elusive and far less common than flickers. |
 |
Eurasian Jackdaw
Jackdaws were another favorite bird of the trip! They were common and abundant pretty much everywhere we went, and I quickly grew to love their varied sounds and comical antics. |
 |
Eurasian Jay
The Eurasian Jay is another wild, exotic-looking bird that I thought would be easier to see (and photograph!) |
 |
| Eurasian Jay |
Like jays and other corvids of North America, the Eurasian Jay feeds on acorns, caching many which are never retrieved and later grow into mature oak trees!
 |
Eurasian Magpie
Yet again, this is another species nearly identical to one found in North America, the Black-billed Magpie. |
A note on British songbirds:
The UK is rightfully proud of its garden birds, many of which are classified as songbirds. In the spring, the country celebrates
International Dawn Chorus Day as across the country, birds in gardens, hedgerows, woodlands, heaths and moorlands burst into an amazing symphony of song. Many of these birds are found in and around populated towns and villages, and are much-beloved by Brits. Wrens, thrushes, robins, blackbirds, warblers and several species of tits are some of the country's most-beloved garden songbirds, and their singing peaks during the spring months.
When we visited in June, much of this songbird activity was still going on, which was an absolute treat to experience!
But, a word of caution and advice:
While the Merlin app, a tool used to identify birdsongs and calls, is extremely useful (especially when birding somewhere new for the first time!), it can certainly be overused, and birders can become too heavily dependent on it. No piece of technology is a substitute for the human mind! Before traveling anywhere new to bird, I suggest making an effort to learn some of the most common birdsongs and calls likely to be heard in that region before you go. That way, when you arrive and are met with a cacophony of new sounds on your first morning in the field, at least a few will already be familiar. Try using Merlin to "check your work," so to speak, and confirm what you think you're hearing, rather than relying on it to tell you everything you're hearing and assuming it's right (which it usually is, but not always!!)
If you're visiting the UK, knowing just a handful of birdsongs will prepare you to recognize the majority of the birds you will hear, and YouTube has a wealth of excellent tutorials on learning British birds by sound. So study up!
For a spring or summer trip, I recommend learning the songs and calls of about a dozen species: Eurasian Jackdaw, Common Woodpigeon, European Robin, European Blackbird, Common Chiffchaff, Common Chaffinch, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Wren, Great Tit, Blue Tit and Song Thrush.
By knowing these songs, you'll be pretty well prepared to bird any city park, country village or woodland by ear, as I found these few birds to be responsible for the majority of the sounds I heard!
 |
Great Tit (juvenile)
Related to our North American chickadees, the UK is home to six or seven commonly encountered species of tits. One of the most abundant (and vocal) is the Great Tit. |
 |
Great Tit
The typical song of the Great Tit is a rather repetitive whistle (a little like pumping a bicycle pump quickly up and down) they also make a wide range of other sounds. |
 |
Long-tailed Tit
While the official length of a Long-tailed Tit is 5-6 inches, this includes their tail, which accounts for about half of their body length! With a body just under 3 inches long, this is one of the UK's smallest birds! |
 |
Long-tailed Tit
These cute little birds flock together in low trees and bushes, moving almost incessantly and making tiny contact calls continuously, quite like North America's Bushtits. |
 |
Eurasian Blackbird
Closely related to the American Robin (and not at all related to North American blackbirds), the Eurasian Blackbird has one of the most beautiful songs of any bird in the UK. They are also common, and sing quite a lot, offering plenty of opportunities to enjoy their lovely song. |
 |
Eurasian Blackbird
Everything about this bird, from its song to its worm-foraging behavior, is reminiscent of its North American cousin, the American Robin. |
In addition to being green oases of habitat for native species of wildlife amidst a sprawling urban landscape, London's Royal Parks have also become home to a variety of exotic species of birds as well. St. James Park, in particular, is known for its collection of exotic waterfowl, so bird with caution in this area! (For example, the friendly Great White Pelicans that are kept there are not a "countable" species!)
But some species have become naturalized and established self-sustaining breeding populations in the parks, and thus are indeed considered countable.
 |
Rose-ringed Parakeet
Native to India and parts of Africa, the vibrantly green and highly social Rose-ringed Parakeet has established large breeding populations in parts of London, making it the world's most northerly breeding parrot. Groups of these gregarious birds are extremely loud, and as cavity nesters, they may outcompete many native species. |
 |
Egyptian Goose
Native to Africa, this goose was introduced to Europe for ornamental purposes in the 18th century, and has since become widely established. |
 |
Mandarin Duck
Native to China and East Asia, these colorful little ducks (which are closely related to the Wood Ducks of North America) have escaped from domestic collections and established wild populations across Europe. |
 |
Red-crested Pochard
Native to Europe and parts of Asia, this striking duck with a red bill was introduced to the UK and has since established breeding populations in the wild. Being migratory, it is possible that some in the southeast of England have arrived on their own as their range has naturally expanded. |
 |
Black Swan
This magnificent bird is native to Australia, and was introduced to the UK for ornamental purposes. I spotted this bird in Hyde Park, though it seems like it was most likely visiting from St. James Park, where they are kept as part of a collection of exotic birds. As such, it isn't "countable" here, but was certainly fun to see anyway! |
Comments
Post a Comment