Advice

June’s Birds of the month: which summer birds will you see?

Summer has arrived. Now’s the time to look out for some of our migrant birds and resident thrushes.

Female Blackbird perched on fence, RSPB The Lodge
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With the breeding season still in full swing for many birds, June is a good time to get to grips with some of our migrant birds that come here to breed after spending the winter in Africa. It’s also a good time to check in on some of our resident thrushes and put a face to a song.

While Blackbirds, Song Thrushes and Mistle Thrushes are widespread and fairly easy to see, you may need to head further afield to track down Ring Ouzels (in the uplands) and Wood Warblers (in western oakwoods). Here’s all you need to know.

1. Spotted Flycatcher

Often overlooked, Spotted Flycatchers are slender, generally pale birds that nest in woodlands, mature gardens and in hedgerows on farmland. As their name suggests, they are masters at catching insects. You’ll often see them darting out from a high perch, catching an insect and flying back to the same place. Once you’ve spotted them doing this once, you’ll likely see them doing it again and again, as they dart out from their favourite perch.

Tune in to their high-pitched ‘Tzee tzee tzee’ call and you will have a heads up to look up. Observe from a distance and you might be lucky enough to see where they are nesting. They build open, cup-shaped nests on ledges in and around buildings and walled gardens, as well as on creepers climbing up walls and trees. 

ID tips

  • About the size of a Robin, but a little more slender
  • Grey-brown back, head, wings and tail 
  • Paler buff underparts, with brown streaking on the chest 
  • Males and females look very similar
  • Juveniles look spotty, a bit like a juvenile Robin, but are greyer in colour 

Where to see?

Spotted Flycatchers are mostly found in woodland, mature gardens and farmland. They migrate to the UK for the spring and summer and will all have left for Africa by October. RSPB nature reserves where you might see them include The Lodge, Bedfordshire; Fairy Glen, Highland; Highnam Woods and Nagshead, Gloucestershire; and Garston Wood in Wiltshire.

Difficulty rating

Moderate. Once you know what you’re looking for and what they sound like, tracking them down becomes easier.

Conservation status

Spotted Flycatchers declined by 88% between 1970 and 2018 and they are on the UK’s Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern, meaning they are in need of the most help. They are a Priority Conservation Species for the RSPB and work we do for them includes making sure the habitat is right for them at our woodland nature reserves and wider work looking at the reasons for declines in our migrant birds.

What to listen for?

A high pitched, spaced out ‘Tzee tzee tzee’.

Spotted Flycatcher

xeno-canto / Patrik Åberg

Spotted Flycatcher perched on front garden gate of vicarage cottage
Spotted Flycatcher
How to identify

Learn more about how to identify Spotted Flycatchers, and which RSPB reserves are best to see them.

2. Wood Warbler

If you go down to the woods today, you might be lucky enough to see or hear a Wood Warbler. Said to sound a bit like a coin spinning on a table, they weigh little more than a pound coin, yet fly here from Africa for the breeding season.

You’ll need to head to Atlantic oakwoods in the west of the UK to have a chance of spotting one and, with declining numbers, it’s more and more tricky. If you do see one, you may be surprised how colourful it is for a warbler – fairly bright yellow on top and white underneath.

ID tips

  • Fairly large for a warbler in the UK
  • Look for bright yellow upperparts, throat and upper chest and white underparts
  • Listen for its ‘coin spinning’ song

Where to see?

In oakwoods mostly in the west of the UK. You could see one at these RSPB nature reserves: Lake Vyrnwy, Powys; Ynys-hir, Ceredigion; Nagshead, Gloucestershire; Loch Lomond, West Dunbartonshire; and Inversnaid, Sterlingshire.

Difficulty rating

A challenge

Conservation status

The Wood Warbler is another RSPB Priority Species and we manage Atlantic oakwoods so the habitat is just right for them. We also do wider work trying to find out the reasons why these and other migrant birds are declining.

What to listen for?

A repetitive, one-note song, sounding a bit like a coin spinning on the table.

Wood Warbler

xeno-canto / Patrik Åberg

Male Wood Warbler perched on branch in woodland
Male Wood Warbler
How to identify

Learn more about how to identify Wood Warblers, and which RSPB reserves are best to see them.

3. Ring Ouzel

Ring Ouzels are thrushes that migrate to the UK from Africa to breed. At this time of year, you’ll most likely need to head to an upland area for a chance of seeing one, as they will still be nesting, possibly with a second brood by now.

Slightly smaller and slimmer than a Blackbird, the key characteristic is its white breast band (cream in females). It breeds in steep sided-valleys, crags and gullies, up as high as 1,200 metres in the Cairngorms, which is why it is sometimes known as the Mountain Blackbird.

ID tips

  • Males have black plumage with a pale wing panel and striking white breast band
  • The breast band is more cream in females and other plumage more brown
  • Slightly smaller and slimmer than a Blackbird

Where to see?

At this time of year, you will most likely need to head for the hills to spot one, from Dartmoor to the Scottish mountains.

Difficulty rating

A challenge – you’re likely going to need to climb a hill or mountain to see one at this time of year.

Conservation status

The Ring Ouzel is on the Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern in the UK, meaning it is in need of the most help. It could be threatened by climate change in the future.

What to listen for?

Nowhere near as melodious as a Blackbird, but you might hear its telephone-like ‘ring, ring’ call.

Ring Ouzel

xeno-canto / Christoph Bock

A Ring Ouzel perched on a rock, with berries to feed nearby chicks.
Ring Ouzel
How to identify

Learn more about how to identify Ring Ouzels, and which RSPB reserves are best to see them.

4. Blackbird

What’s brown or black or speckled all over? A Blackbird, of course! Only the male follows the colour hint in the name, with females and young birds being brown and speckled.

A familiar resident thrush in the UK, they’re rather busy right now, collecting worms for their young. They usually have two or three broods each year, so it’s a busy season. Take a closer look next time you see one.

ID tips

  • Males have black feathers and females brown. Juvenile birds are more speckled brown
  • Characteristic yellow beak on the male (female’s is brown)
  • Look for males up high, singing their hearts out from a song post
  • Often seen hopping on the ground or turning over leaves

Where to see?

Gardens, parks, woodland, farmland, right across the UK.

Difficulty rating

Easy. With over 5 million pairs breeding in the UK, you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding one or two!

Conservation status

They are on the Green List of Birds of Conservation Concern, meaning they are of least concern.

What to listen for?

Blackbirds have a range of different phrases that they sing and are one of the favourite garden songbirds. They make a harsh repeated ‘clucking’ sound when alarmed.

Blackbird

xeno-canto / Niels Krabbe

Female Blackbird enjoying the benefits of having a cherry tree in the garden
Female Blackbird
How to identify

Learn more about how to identify Blackbirds, and which RSPB reserves are best to see them.

5. Song Thrush

Listen for fluty, clear repeated songs that give you goosebumps and you could be listening to a Song Thrush. They’ve been singing since the start of the year. While they may be a bit quieter now as the breeding season progresses, enjoy the performance if you get a chance.

Another tell-tale sign that you have a Song Thrush nearby is broken snail shells next to a stone, wall or something hard that they use as an anvil to get at the snails inside. They are a true delight to watch.

ID tips

  • Slightly smaller than a Blackbird 
  • Brown above with spots on a creamy white breast
  • Spots on upper breast are like upside-down hearts
  • Listen for fluty, clear song phrases that are repeated

Where to see?

Song Thrushes are widespread in gardens, parks and woodland, though they have suffered big declines in the past 30 years so are not as common as they once were.

Difficulty rating

Easy/moderate. They are still widespread and you’ll know they are about when you hear one sing.

Conservation status

The Song Thrush is on the Amber list of Conservation Concern because of the declines it has suffered.

What to listen for?

Its call is a simple ‘tsit’. It repeats each part of its song, sometimes three times and hence its old-fashioned name of ‘thricecock’, sometimes more.

Song Thrush

xeno-canto / Patrik Åberg

Song Thrush perched in tree
Song Thrush
How to identify

Learn more about how to identify Song Thrush, and which RSPB reserves are best to see them.

6. Mistle Thrush

Another resident thrush, larger and generally paler than a Song Thrush, you’ll know a Mistle Thrush when you hear its distinctive ‘football rattle’ call.

Look out for them on farmland, in woods, heathland and gardens. If you have a Holly tree, or another tree with berries, you might see them ‘guarding’ their tree in winter and chasing away any other birds that try to eat the berries.

ID tips

  • Larger than a Song Thrush and generally paler
  • Spots on the breast are dark and more arrow-like than a Song Thrush’s
  • Pale edge to the tail, which you may see in flight
  • ‘Football rattle’ call

Where to see?

Mistle Thrushes are widespread across the UK. Look and listen for them on farmland, woodland, heathland, moorland and in gardens.

Difficulty rating

Easy/Moderate. Once you have tuned into the differences between Song and Mistle Thrushes, your job identifying them should be easier.

Conservation status

The Mistle Thrush is on the Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern in the UK, meaning it is in need of the most help.

What to listen for?

As well as the ‘football rattle’ call, you might hear some repeated fluty phrases, but nowhere near the repertoire of a Song Thrush.

Mistle Thrush

xeno-canto / Patrik Åberg

Mistle Thrush feeding fledgling on the ground
Mistle Thrush
How to identify

Learn more about how to identify Mistle Thrush, and which RSPB reserves are best to see them.

Share your bird sightings

We hope you feel inspired to try and see some of these birds this month. We’d love to hear how you get on. You can share your photos with us at [email protected] We’ll share some of the best in a future issue of Notes on Nature.

Please be mindful when taking photos not to disturb wildlife or habitats. Further guidance can be found in The Nature Photographer's Code of Practice

Catch up on Birds of the month
  1. May’s Birds of the Month: celebrating our migrating birds this spring
  2. July’s birds of the month: which ones will you see?