How to...

Identify the top ten Bird Watch garden birds

Why not join in with Bird Watch this autumn and get to know your garden visitors? Richard Bland has analysed the results of Bird Watch since it began and is a leading member of Bristol Naturalists and the Bristol Trust for Ornithology, for which he has organised all local and national surveys since 1970. He has also been a Trustee of Avon Wildlife Trust since 1998.

See this year's Bird Watch results here

Blackbird male is all black with a yellow bill and yellow eye ring but the female is dowdy, browner, with a brown tip to the bill, which can be yellow at the base, and often lighter feathering on the breast. More confusing still is last year's young which are like the female, but spottier, and slowly change through the winter into adult plumage. Blackbirds have a very loud alarm call, warning every other bird that the cat is about, and, from March on, a beautiful song at dawn or dusk.			Wren is a really tiny bird which creeps around the garden rather like a mouse, is brown all over except for a pale eyestripe, and holds its tail cocked up. It only eats insects, and never uses the bird feeders. It is almost always seen on its own. It has a marvellous trilling song, which is astonishingly loud from such a small bird, and this can often be heard in fine and warm winter weather.
Robin male and female adults are identical, but the spotty brown juveniles only slowly put on the red breast. Until about November males and females have separate winter territories, and you will normally only ever seen one bird at a time. The autumn song is rather wistful but from December on it sings more loudly, proclaiming its breeding territory.			Great tit is a large and often noisy bird, with a black cap, white cheeks, yellow flanks and a dark stripe running down its belly. The males have a big broad stripe, the females a thinner one. They love peanuts, and fat balls, and are very dextrous on feeders. They sing “Teacher Teacher” in the early spring with a bell like sound, and also have a very large vocabulary of other sounds.
Blue tit is tiny with a bright blue cap, a black eye-stripe, white cheeks and a stubby bill. Males and females are almost identical although the male is slightly brighter in colour. It has a variety of short calls, and a mini song. It is smaller than the great tit, but can be confused with the coal tit which is almost the same size, but has a black cap with a V shaped white mark up the back of the neck.			Collared dove first arrived in Bristol in 1961, and has since steadily increased its numbers. Breeding throughout the year, it has a monotone three-note call, Cuck-coo-coo. It is a sandy grey-brown, much smaller than a woodpigeon, and has a black mark on either side of its neck. When it flies off it often shows white outer tail feathers. They are usually present in twos or threes.
Magpie is a black and white bird with a long tail and dipping flight. Seen close up its black feathers are a wonderful iridescent blue, the oily colour altering with every movement of the bird. It is the bird everyone loves to hate, but, despite appearances, its population, which grew fast in the seventies, has stabilised. They are almost always seen in pairs. Its voice is loud, harsh and grating.			House sparrow was once found in every garden, but now it is only seen in 75%, though Bird Watch counts suggest that its numbers are now stable. It is a noisy, cheeky, highly sociable bird, always in small groups. The endless chirping calls can get boring, but to walk down a street where there are none is dispiriting. The male has a prominent black bib, which the female lacks- she is brown all over.
Wood Pigeon is a large plump grey bird that waddles. It has a white flash on either side of its neck, and, when it flies, bright white wing-bars. It breeds throughout the year and has a five-note call which it repeats, “You poor fool, you, you.” Wood pigeons enjoy bird seed, and tend to patrol the ground under feeders, picking up bits that fall, and there are often two together.			Chaffinch are about the size of a sparrow, but the males have a bright red breast and white wing bars and white outer tail feathers. Females are duller, browner, but still with the wing bars. In winter they appear in small flocks and are largely silent, though they have a “Chink, chink” alarm call. They start their spring song, in early February, which is a sort of rattle ending “Ginger beer”.

All photos © Darin Smith except: Magpie © Andy Holt

Good bird books
Richard recommends the following books to help hone your ID skills

Collins Bird Guide - L Svensson and P Grant - has excelllent illustrations and descriptions

Collins Birds of Britain and Europe - J Gooders - good photographic field guide, recommended by the Wildlife Trusts