Birdwatching: What birds you can spot this Winter.

Did you know that today is National Bird day? To celebrate we wanted to dedicate this week’s blog to bird watchers and speak about what type of birds you will be seeing this Winter.

Whether you like to watch the birds in the morning with your cup of coffee or if you just catch a glimpse of them as you walk by, it’s always interesting to know what birds are deciding to visit your garden or are seen out and about on your travels. Winter brings a variety of birds into your garden so you will often see a larger selection in comparison to other seasons due to migration and low food supplies.

Food supplies are one of the biggest challenges for birds during the winter, they have to have enough food to survive the cold but since the ground is often frozen solid, access to these food sources can be difficult. If you like birds in your garden or even just want to help them out then leaving out food and water for them will benefit both you and them, ensure that you fill water up little and often to keep it from freezing over.

So… What birds might you spot in Scotland this Winter?

Waxwing’s

These beautiful birds are only visitors to Scotland and come over in the Winter. They come from Scandinavia and are often here from October to March.

The birds have a splash of color on their wings and have a black ‘mask’ around their eyes. If you spot one you will most likely spot another as they enjoy the company.

These birds come over for the food and they tend to eat berries and surprisingly can scarf down almost twice their body weight in a single day!

Snow Buntings

These cute little birds aren’t common so if you manage to spot one consider yourself lucky! The birds get their name from the appearance of ‘snowy’ plumages.

Also coming from their breeding grounds in Scandinavia, Alaska, and Canada, these birds will migrate south in the winter and are more likely to be spotted along the coast.

If you live near the coast then leave some seeds to see if you can get lucky enough to spot one of these adorable birds.

Siskin

These birds live here in Scotland but during the Winter more come over from around Europe and are more common to see in your garden in the colder months.

Siskins are really small finches and can be easily recognized by their yellow-green coloring. Their food search brings them into your garden in the winter so be sure to leave some food out for them and they will bring some bright color to your garden!

Fieldfare

These birds like to travel in flocks and can be found pretty commonly throughout the UK in Wintertime. They are large thrushes that move forward with little hops (is there anything cuter than that!?)

They enjoy berries and insects so you are more likely to spot them in fields than in your garden, however when it snows they may be inclined to venture into your garden as their food sources get low.

Of course, there are a lot more birds to spot, this is just a couple of our favorites and some of the more uncommon ones which you might not recognize at first glance. Let us know if you spot any of these beautiful birds!

Learn more about birds you’re likely to spot during winter on the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Blog.