In this article, we look at some of the birds that are Britain’s Winter Visitors. One of my favourite walks takes me through an area of beech woodland that stands out as an island for wildlife amidst an expanse of arable farmland on the outskirts of the South Downs.
Although it was a chilly and misty morning, visibility was good, and the winter sun was visible through the haze in the vast open sky. While walking through the woodland, I heard a rare but familiar sound that indicated the onset of the colder winter months.
I tried to locate the source of the sound, a buzzy and slightly wheezy call, and then they came into view. Initially, around 20, maybe 30 of them, they called loudly to each other as they searched the woodland for the beech nuts.
I had just spotted my first flock of Brambling for the year. Brambling are winter visitors to the UK. Most arrive from Scandinavia via the nearby European continent, preferring the land-based route rather than the challenge of the North Sea.
Brambling
The winter distribution of Bramblings is dictated primarily by the availability of seeds or masts of beech trees, and flocks leave their breeding grounds in northern Scandinavia and Russia to roam across Europe in search of an abundant food supply.
Their sharp-edged bill, more substantial than their close relative, the Chaffinch, is well adapted for cutting into beech mast.
Male and female Bramblings have different appearances, which is known as sexual dimorphism. During the breeding season, male Bramblings have a jet-black head and brown body, with black wings and tail. When in flight, their long white rump and orange breasts are particularly noticeable. However, in the UK, in winter, male Bramblings have a mottled grey-brown head, dark brown wings, and a pale yellow-orange bill with a black tip.
The female Brambling’s winter plumage is similar to the male’s, but her brown plumage is plain, and her orange breast and shoulders are a more subdued shade. Juvenile Bramblings look very similar to the female, but their belly and rump are tinged with a dull yellow.
Bramblings belong to the finch family and are similar in size to the native Chaffinch. The finch family is classified as Fringella, with Bramblings as montifringella or mountain birds.
Although Bramblings are mountain birds, they are found in woodland areas throughout northern Europe and Siberia. They breed in cold northern climates and migrate to the UK in the winter to feed.
Brambling’s are omnivores and primarily consume small invertebrates such as earthworms, ants, beetles, fruit, and berries. They enjoy eating the nuts or masts of beech trees and are often seen in British woodlands. Later in the winter, they are sometimes seen in gardens, looking for seeds and berries.
Bramblings are often found in large flocks of mixed species, sometimes with Chaffinches or other close relatives like the bullfinch, greenfinch, and crossbill. While Bramblings are flock birds during the day, they do not roost colonially.
Instead, they break off into small groups and often spend the night in deep hedgerows or thickets where they are protected from predators.
Leaving the bramblings behind me feasting on the Beech masts, I crossed a small area of meadow that linked two edges of this semi-ancient broad-leaved woodland.
Fieldfare
Fieldfare is a winter visitor and a member of the Thrush family. It is very similar in size to the native Mistle thrush. It can be distinguished by its vigorous hops when ground feeding and upright stature when standing.
Fieldfares are sociable birds and can be spotted in mixed species flocks, sometimes with Starlings and, as was the case today, with Redwings.
Today, I saw a group of around 40-50 individuals, a mix of Fieldfare and Redwing, busily feeding on hawthorn berries along a thick hedgerow between the arable field and the woodland edge.
These birds have a massive appetite for fallen fruit and are known to feast on crab apples in the woodlands or hedgerows at this time of year.
Both male and female Fieldfare have a steel blue-grey head, pale grey rump, brown wings, and a long black tail. Their underwings and belly are white, but their most outstanding feature is their stunning yellow-ochre throat and speckled chest.
Although they are one of the Thrush family, their Latin name is Turdus pilaris. However, the Fieldfare name originates from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘fledware’, which means ‘traveller of the fields.’ I feel that this perfectly describes them.
About one million Fieldfares migrate to Britain for the winter, quitting their Northern Scandinavian breeding areas as the rowan crop runs out.
Fieldfares are gregarious birds, most breeding in colonies and usually found in flocks that stay together through the winter months here.
Fieldfares are also wary birds, despite the safety of their numbers within the flocks and, when concerned, will often fly into the top of a tall tree, all sitting prominently and, intriguingly, facing the prevailing wind. I can’t find a reliable source to explain why they do this.
Today, I found them busily browsing a large mixed hedge that stands around three to maybe four metres tall and must be at least two metres deep. It must be at least a hundred years old and is full of hawthorn, blackthorn, field maple, crab apple and all wonderfully inter-twined with spindle and dog rose.
This hedge provided a feast of berries and they took spiders and other tiny moths and insects as they systematically made their way along the ancient hedge.
As I sat quietly watching, enthralled by the spectacular scene before me, I noticed a few birds feeding from the ground.
This was a first for me, as they were taking beetles, larvae and worms from the soil and, in their wonderfully loud way, telling the other members of the flock all about the beautiful food they had found.
I could see some of them digging in the soil, scraping with their beaks and finding centipedes and even larvae. This meadow is not cultivated. Instead, it provides a stunning spring and summer display of wildflowers that begin to turn into a crispy brown structure that almost falls upon itself as winter approaches. The teasles remain like centurions overseeing the meadow.
The Wildlife Trust have grazed sheep and cows on the site in recent summers, and that has provided a rich new growth of flora and, I am sure, improved the soil health with their natural fertiliser and the natural disturbance of the soil has unleashed a plethora of seeds that have germinated and re-seeded for the future.
The hedgerow feasting continued as they gorged on the haw berries, rose hips and the ivy that provides such a nectar-rich boost for them at this time of year.
It’s still mild here for the season, 12 degrees centigrade, and dropping to around half of that overnight, so there are no frosts or harsh frosts to contend with, but the meadow ground is saturated and waterlogged and was flooded recently.
All along this old hedgerow are crab apple trees that peep out through the top of the hedge and display their fruits hanging like baubles on a Christmas tree, just waiting to be eaten by hungry Fieldfares.
The Fieldfare are skilled at working the apple on the tree, plunging their beaks into the brown or softer areas of flesh. I could see the apple pulp on their beaks and tiny pieces of apple being thrown through the air in all directions as they shook their heads to clear the juicy pulp before sticking their beaks back into the apple again.
Redwing
As I said, this was a mixed flock with as many Redwings as Fieldfare. Redwings also belong to the thrush family. They are physically the smallest of the group, but visually, they are stunning!
The beautiful red blush on their underwings is quite noticeable when in flight.
Redwings weigh approximately half the weight of a song thrush and have a unique creamy white colour bar above their eyes, known as a supercilium or eyebrow marking in their feathers.
The Redwings that come to the UK for the winter have travelled from two distinct breeding areas, and there are differences between the different groups. However, not officially specific species, the Redwings that breed in Iceland are slightly larger, with more distinct breast markings and dark brown legs. These have the Latin name Coburni, whilst the Redwings that breed in Russia and the northern parts of Scandinavia have pink legs, and the Latin name is iliacus
Today, the Redwings here in Sussex were the larger Coburni, Icelandic natives more commonly found in the west of the UK and Ireland.
Like all wintering thrushes, their preferred diet is soil invertebrates, especially earthworms. However, they eat a wide variety of fruits and berries, especially when the weather gets colder.
Redwings will roost in flocks ranging from tens of individuals to several hundred. However, I have never been lucky enough to see roosts that large.
The excitement of seeing and hearing Redwings as they go to their communal roost is such a beautiful experience that had me sitting out well into the evening on a cold winter night last year. I would very happily do it again.
It intrigued me and had me wondering what they do when they are in the winter roost, which in the dark and cold mid and late winter, could last as long as 16 hours, possibly more as the daytime feeding time is so limited.
I know that Redwings are very sociable and can be heard chattering with each other constantly. The sound level rises to a crescendo when they find food.
If they sense a potential predator, they scatter to nearby trees, taking different branches and perch heights, and stop chattering suddenly. The silence and random placements confuse the predator, and they often retreat without preying on the Redwing. I’m told they also use this tactic to defend their nests in summer, even though they are ground nesters.
Redwings are omnivores and have a similar taste in food to their relatives, the Fieldfares, and identical habitat preferences. They are not woodland birds like the Brambling we saw earlier today, instead preferring fields with hedgerows and trees for roosts,
They make great travelling companions with the Fieldfare as they feed on winter fruits from the hedgerows.
I always consider myself fortunate to get a small glimpse into the real life of wildlife. I love our native British species, birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Still, it is genuinely a privilege to get such a close-up and personal insight into the everyday lives of birds that spend a few weeks with us yearly.
They are one of the many reasons I encourage people to get outside and walk year-round because there is always something new and intriguing to find when you try to spend some time at once with nature.
Have you seen any winter visitors this year? If so, do let us know in the comments below.
Further information on Winter Migratory Birds to see in the UK
More information on Brambling
More information on Fieldfare
More information on Redwing
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