Spring Bird Watch

March, April and May are the most dynamic and active period of the bird calendar — a lot is happening all at once, which makes observation especially rewarding.

Peak migration - Millions of birds are on the move. Summer visitors — swallows, house martins, cuckoos, warblers, and flycatchers — are arriving from Africa, while winter visitors begin their journey home. It creates a brief, brilliant window in which you can encounter species that are simply passing through, here for only a matter of days before pressing on northward.

Breeding season in full swing  - Resident birds are in full breeding mode: singing loudly to defend territories, displaying to attract mates, and industriously building nests. This urgency makes them far more visible and vocal than at any other time of year. Behaviour you might wait weeks to observe in autumn can appear in minutes on a still April morning.

The dawn chorus - The dawn chorus reaches its annual peak in late April and throughout May. Birds sing with particular intensity at first light — the air fills with a layered, almost overwhelming cascade of calls. International Dawn Chorus Day falls on the first Sunday of May, a recognition of just how extraordinary this seasonal spectacle truly is. Getting up early is richly rewarded.

Bright plumage and easier identification - Males are wearing their finest breeding plumage. Great tits, blue tits, chaffinches, and many others are at their most colourful and distinctive — making identification simpler even for relative beginners. Field guides come into their own at this time of year.

​Bare trees and longer days- In April, foliage is only just emerging, meaning woodland birds are still relatively easy to spot before the canopy closes over. Longer daylight hours extend your observation window significantly, morning and evening both yielding good sightings.
Over the next two months the 4Bs Biodiversity Initiative will be undertaking a number of surveys and drawing on the observations and surveys of residents to enhance our knowledge of local bird popuations.