Birding in the UK: British Birds of Village and Countryside, Field and Stream

While we began our trip across the UK last June in London, we certainly didn't stay there!  Though the city offered a surprising amount of birds and other wildlife, and was a convenient base for a trip out to wetlands in the Thames estuary for even more encounters with nature, we were eager to travel north, where we would spend time rambling through the quiet countryside and impossibly picturesque villages of the Cotswolds and Yorkshire Dales.  

Mute Swan, an iconic British bird, in front of Bibury's idyllic Arlington Row.

We stayed in a few different small villages as we made our way north to Scotland, and greatly enjoyed the UK's delightful network of footpaths that wind endlessly through the countryside linking one charming hamlet to another.  From Bourton-on-the-Water, in the Cotswolds, we followed parts of the Monarch's Way; in the Yorkshire Dales, we trekked along the Dale's Way from our base in Grassington; and near Haltwhistle, we climbed steep sections of the Pennine Way and Hadrian's Wall Path as we walked back in time along that historic wall.  And everywhere we went, rambling over hill and dale, along hedgerows dividing green fields, and across quiet streams, there were birds!

Here are just a few of the British birds of the countryside that we encountered on those sunny rambles.

Dunnock
Also sometimes called the "hedge sparrow," though not closely related to other sparrows, Dunnocks are common but somewhat skulking birds of hedgerows.  They typically stay fairly low and keep to the edges of flowerbeds and hedges, so I was happy to see this one perched briefly out in the open in Grassington.  

European Robin
Common and altogether charming, we enjoyed the sweet song of these little "robin redbreasts" everywhere we went.  It was nestling season when we visited in June, so many parent birds were out gathering food to feed their hungry young!

Chaffinch
Another common yet striking bird found around villages and in adjacent woodlands and countryside, the Chaffinch's descending song kept us company on many of our rambles.  

A very shabby-looking Blue Tit
Most songbirds look their absolute best early in the breeding season, when males wear their freshest, brightest plumage and sing their most enthusiastic songs in order to attract a mate.  Once nesting gets underway, parent birds are under a great deal of stress to feed their young brood from sunup until sundown, which often results in rather frazzled-looking birds, like this one.  Then, once the young have fledged later in the summer, comes the period of molt, another energy-intensive process whereby adult birds shed their worn-out feather and replace them with new ones.  

Blue Tits are common garden birds across Europe, and I think they're also one of the most beautiful, with their lovely blue plumage.  This one... could look better!  But that's okay - she has been busy raising the next generation of Blue Tits!

Common Chiffchaff
Named for its somewhat repetitive song, which really does sound like its saying "chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff" over and over again, this little nondescript warbler is another common bird across all of
Europe.  Though they are much more likely to be heard than seen, that is fortunate, because it is their song that easily separates them from the very similar-looking Willow Warbler, which has pink rather than dark-colored legs.

Song Thrush
Similar in appearance to our North American speckle-breasted thrushes (especially Swainson's and Hermit Thrushes), the Song Thrush sings a surprisingly loud, insistent song in which phrases are repeated several times - entirely unlike the ethereal, fluty thrush songs I'm familiar with.

Eurasian Blackbird
Quite possibly Europe's quintessential songbird, the Blackbird is known for its gorgeous song, which it sings both very early in the morning and very late into the evening.  It's rather like the song of the American Robin, to which the Eurasian Blackbird is closely related, but possibly even more beautiful!  It is one of the songs I missed the most when we returned to California, along with the song of the European Robin.

Eurasian Jackdaw
These charismatic little members of the crow family also make interesting sounds.  It probably sounds odd to Europeans who live with them, but the fun little high-pitched cawing sounds of flocks of jackdaws made me smile every time!  

Eurasian Jackdaw
Jackdaws are well-known for their habit of nesting in chimneys and other man-made nooks and crannies, and though still wary of humans, they are curious birds that have learned that picnic tables mean easy meals.  This one came over to check out the cafe table next to ours after the diners had left.

Pied (White) Wagtail
Wagtails are quickly identified by their habit of bobbing their tails as they walk along the ground, foraging for food.  We tended to see these birds in open, grassy habitats, as well as along beaches in Scotland.  The Pied Wagtail, the British subspecies of the more widespread White Wagtail, has much more black on its back than the White Wagtails I saw in Switzerland, or the individual that turned up in Santa Cruz last winter!

Gray Wagtail
Closely related to the Pied Wagtail, Gray Wagtails are almost always found along flowing water, where they walk along the ground pumping their long tails up and down.

Gray Wagtail
This female wagtail, more muted in color than her mate, is bringing a load of insects back to her nest to feed her hungry youngsters!

White-throated Dipper
My favorite bird of British streams is the White-throated Dipper, a beautiful, chunky, stub-tailed songbird with a snowy-white throat and the amazing habit of diving and swimming underwater, usually in very cold, turbulent streams, in search of its aquatic prey.  Dippers are the only songbirds that swim to this extent, and of the world's five species of dipper, the White-throated is the only one found in Europe.