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Sounds of... Heathlands

The Sounds of Heathlands takes you into wide open landscapes scented with heather and gorse, where birds fly across big skies.

A dirt track runs through the heathland at Budby South, with deep purple Heather growing alongside.
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This is a land of serenading Linnets, calling Cuckoos and, if you’re lucky, the unearthly calls of Nightjars. We hope this guide will help you identify the calls of these amazing birds and others who sing and shout, as you head out across the heathlands this spring and summer. 

Of course, many of our more common birds also live on heathlands, you can hear their songs in the Sounds Of… Parks and Gardens and Sounds of Parks and Gardens - Tits and Finches pages.   

Stonechat

The male Stonechat looks like a Robin in a balaclava, with a bright orange chest offset by a black head and a white collar. The female is browner, with a more subtle orange breast. 

A lone male Stonechat perched on a branch eating a grub.
Male Stonechat
Song
A bit angry, with four or more shouty notes linked together in phrases of a couple of seconds. More distinctive is its call which gives the Stonechat its name - as it sounds like two stones being rubbed together.

Meadow Pipit

The Meadow Pipit may be the most common songbird in heathland areas, but it doesn’t like you to think so. Its brown coat and streaked underbelly make it hard to spot as it creeps along in the undergrowth. Very similar to the rarer Tree Pipit.  

A Meadow Pipit perched upon a bluebell.
Meadow Pipit
Song
A bird in a hurry, the Meadow Pipit breaks cover to flutter into the air and deliver its “quick quick quick” song, getting faster and faster as if panic is setting in. Maybe he left the hob on. Whatever the reason, he then relaxes a little and delivers a fiddly little ditty as a finale before heading back down below.

Cuckoo

The Cuckoo looks like someone who got dressed in the dark. It’s dove-like in parts, mixed with the sleek body, and black and white belly stripes of a Sparrowhawk. A long tail stuck on the back completes the look. The female is browner.

A lone Cuckoo perched singing on a branch.
Cuckoo
Song
One of the most famous bird calls which inspired generations of clock makers. For a bird notoriously hard to spot, its call does sound a little like a mocking “yoo hoo!” The female also makes a distinctive bubbling call.

Linnet

A slimline brown and grey Finch, the male Linnet’s red breast and forehead look like they have been dabbed on by a toddler. The female managed to escape before the child got too close.

A Linnet perched on a branch checks out the camera.
Linnet
Song
A joyful fluid song which sounds like a bird enjoying himself. The melodic whistling is interspersed with bright trills and cheerful chirps which sparkle like summer rain.

Yellowhammer

The male Yellowhammer has a yellow belly and face, which beams brightly from high branches and hedgerows as they sing. The female is browner and both have a streaky brown back.  

A male Yellowhammer perched on a fence post.
Male Yellowhammer
Song
The saying goes that Yellowhammers are singing for a “little bit of bread and no cheese” with the emphasis definitely on the “NO cheese”. They may be lactose intolerant, or simply haven’t yet tried Gorgonzola, either way the saying rings true.

If you're lucky you might hear...

Nightjar

The almost mythical Nightjar arrives every summer but does its best not to be seen. It’s mainly active at night and uses its incredible grey-brown streaked camouflage to remain concealed on the ground during the day.  

A lone Nightjar perched on a branch.
Nightjar
Song
An unearthly whirring which sounds more like an alien life-form than a shy brown bird. The fast-paced churring call is often accompanied by the percussive sound of flapping wings.

Woodlark

Smaller than a Skylark and less common. Usually found in the south and east of England. With broad wings and a very short tail, it can sometimes look like a confused bat in flight.

A lone Woodlark stood on the ground surrounded by grass.
Woodlark
Song
A beautifully liquid song which accelerates and cascades like a waterfall. Usually lasts a couple of seconds before repeating, brightening the day of anyone within earshot.

Dartford Warbler

The male Dartford Warbler looks like a medieval lord, with his orange-red breast, grey cap and long tail.  Can be seen singing from the top of gorse in southern England. The brown female is difficult to spot, lurking in the branches below. 

A lone Dartford Warbler perched amongst gorse.
Dartford Warbler
Song
A harsh aggressive-sounding call, a little like the sounds delivered during a martial arts routine. Notes chop and change in a flurry of punches which pound your ears for a couple of seconds before silence.

Hobby

They call it the Hobby, but these birds are the pros of aerial acrobatics. The summer visitors look like giant Swifts in flight but have black and white stripes on the underside of their wings and cool rusty red “trousers”.  

Eurasian Hobby stood on the ground.
Hobby
Song
Sounds very similar to the Kestrel, but slightly squeakier, like an angry glove puppet. The incessant “pee pee pee” is usually delivered in flight.
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