You saw what on your bird feeder??

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With food becoming scarce, winter is a time when more unusual species can make an appearance on your patch as the hunger kicks in.

And with Big Garden Birdwatch just around the corner, we’ve taken a look through RSPB images for photographic evidence of the oddest/rarest birds spotted on feeders and bird tables…as well as a few opportunist hungry mammals.    

First up, the Moorhen. Okay, not that rare, but on a bird feeder? The blackish bird with a red and yellow beak is more likely to be spotted lurking around the edges of ponds and lakes in the countryside as well as cities.  Its diet is made up of seeds, water plants, grasses, snails, worms and small fish. But if the water is frozen or there is a short supply of food, they will seek out sustenance where they can, including very occasionally bird feeders. This one was photographed in Suffolk.

The electric blue flash of a Jay dashing into our gardens is increasing. They’re shy birds who mainly live in woodland, where they eat small mammals, insects, nuts and seeds. In Big Garden Birdwatch 2023, Jays came in at number 35, while the year before they ranked higher at number 23.  

Famously they bury acorns in autumn as a secret stash to see them through the winter. But if they run out and there’s little else to eat, they sometimes visit gardens for peanuts. Their call is often a giveaway, a loud angry sounding screech, often issued in flight as if they’re annoyed you’ve interrupted their dinner.  

The country casual relation of the House Sparrow may dress a little sharper, but they’re much shyer and aren’t as common in our gardens or outdoor spaces. You’re more likely to see one in hedgerows but they do come to gardens, mainly in rural areas across the Midlands, north-east England and eastern-Scotland. Like House Sparrows, they like a good seed mix.  

This finch may be tiny – only slightly bigger than a Blue Tit – but they are a master of acrobatics. They’re woodland dwellers, often spending time dangling from tiny twigs in birch and alder trees. But they will visit gardens when the going gets tough and are a particular fan of Nyjer seed.

In winter they can turn up in most places in the UK.

These large chattering thrushes flock to the UK in winter, but mainly spend their time out in the countryside. They love berries but if snow covers the hedges and fields, they sometimes turn up in gardens looking for food. The blue-grey birds with a speckled chest particularly like fruit such as apples and will boss other birds away to keep it for themselves.  

Another winter visitor which usually spends winter out in the fields and beech woodland. They look like a slightly larger Chaffinch, with the male more orange than the bright red of a Chaffinch. The two species often join together in flocks and when the weather gets extreme they can show up in gardens. They usually like feeding from the floor or a bird table, with sunflower hearts a favourite.

This plump little bird around the size of a Great Tit doesn’t flit far from woodlands or mature parks. It can be spotted climbing up tree trunks or creeping under branches but will come to feeders for peanuts and seeds if its natural food sources are in short supply. They’re here all year round throughout England and Wales, with the occasional sighting in southern Scotland.

Marsh Tit may be their name, but these little birds with a black cap are usually spotted in broadleaf woodland, parks and sometimes gardens. They’re known hoarders and if they find your feeder, they’re likely to come back time and time again to stash seeds away. Sunflower seeds are a firm favourite. Mainly seen in Wales and southern and eastern England.

It’s not just the birds which can cause a double take moment at feeders. Hungry mammals also make an appearance, and we’re not talking Grey Squirrels.