
Learn more about how to identify Spotted Flycatchers, and which RSPB reserves are best to see them.
Summer has arrived. Now’s the time to look out for some of our migrant birds and resident thrushes.
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.
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.
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.
Moderate. Once you know what you’re looking for and what they sound like, tracking them down becomes easier.
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.
A high pitched, spaced out ‘Tzee tzee tzee’.
Learn more about how to identify Spotted Flycatchers, and which RSPB reserves are best to see them.
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.
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.
A challenge
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.
A repetitive, one-note song, sounding a bit like a coin spinning on the table.
Learn more about how to identify Wood Warblers, and which RSPB reserves are best to see them.
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.
At this time of year, you will most likely need to head for the hills to spot one, from Dartmoor to the Scottish mountains.
A challenge – you’re likely going to need to climb a hill or mountain to see one at this time of year.
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.
Nowhere near as melodious as a Blackbird, but you might hear its telephone-like ‘ring, ring’ call.
Learn more about how to identify Ring Ouzels, and which RSPB reserves are best to see them.
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.
Gardens, parks, woodland, farmland, right across the UK.
Easy. With over 5 million pairs breeding in the UK, you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding one or two!
They are on the Green List of Birds of Conservation Concern, meaning they are of least concern.
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.
Learn more about how to identify Blackbirds, and which RSPB reserves are best to see them.
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.
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.
Easy/moderate. They are still widespread and you’ll know they are about when you hear one sing.
The Song Thrush is on the Amber list of Conservation Concern because of the declines it has suffered.
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.
Learn more about how to identify Song Thrush, and which RSPB reserves are best to see them.
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.
Mistle Thrushes are widespread across the UK. Look and listen for them on farmland, woodland, heathland, moorland and in gardens.
Easy/Moderate. Once you have tuned into the differences between Song and Mistle Thrushes, your job identifying them should be easier.
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.
As well as the ‘football rattle’ call, you might hear some repeated fluty phrases, but nowhere near the repertoire of a Song Thrush.
Learn more about how to identify Mistle Thrush, and which RSPB reserves are best to see them.
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.