Great spotted woodpecker chick.

Blue tit flight.

A bird in the hand!

Woodpecker flight!

Green Woodpecker

Water rail (Rallus Aquaticus)

Grey Heron

Great tit.

Robin

Female chaffinch

Jay

Mallards (male & female)

North american wood duck.

Jackdaw

Nuthatch

Kingfisher

Kingfisher fledgelings

Kingfisher diving

Male bullfinch

Song thrush

Tawny owl

Buzzard & crow

Moorhen and chick

Young Buzzard in flight.

Grey heron flight.

Cormarant.

Latin name: Dendrocopus major

Size: Between 20 and 25cms from head to tail.

Distribution: Found in England, Scotland and Wales.

Months seen: All year round.

Habitat: Woodlands, parks and gardens.

Food: Seeds and insects

Special features: This is the UK's most common woodpecker. The great spotted woodpecker, is sometimes called the 'pied woodpecker' because of its black and white colouring.

Both the male and female birds have a vivid red patch under the tail, but only the males have a red patch at the back of the neck. Juvenile birds have a red patch on top of their heads.

In late winter and early spring they are very audible, as the males perform their annual territorial drumming solo. This is to tell other males to keep out of their patch of the woods.

This one taken at Forest lock, she had her nest between the old lock timbers & the lock wall, not being stupid she has a ready supply of food at the feeding station!

This pic taken by a friend whilst on one of our photo trips,this great tit came readily to my hand at least four times for food. A humbling experience when a wild creature trusts you that much!

This one taken from the canal bank, she was back & forth feeding rather noisy youngsters at the time!

Rallus aquaticus

Widely but locally distributed resident, with continental birds increasing the population in winter.

Marshes, swamps, bogs and reedy lake margins

Small, slim, attractively marked rail, with long curved red bill. Shy and secretive and easily overlooked. Has strange, loud squealing calls.

25cm (10")

GREY HERON

Latin name: Ardea cinerea

Size: Approximately 90cms tall with a wingspan of almost 2m.

Distribution: Found throughout the UK

Months seen: All year round

Habitat: Ponds, lakes, rivers and reservoirs.

Food: Fish, frogs, eels, mice, voles and even small rabbits.

Special features: The large and rather lanky grey heron has an almost prehistoric look about it, especially when flying. In the air, its wing beats are very slow, and its head is drawn back close to its body.

Grey herons build huge nests in trees, often in the same place year after year. Where several birds nest in the same area, the site is called a 'heronry', and some of the larger heronries in Britain have over 100 nests.

GREAT TIT

Latin name: Parus major

Size: Grows to around 14cms.

Distribution: Found throughout the UK.

Months seen: All year round.

Habitat: Woods, parks and gardens.

Food: Insects in the summer and seeds in the winter.

Special features: Great tits are the largest members of the tit family. They are similar in appearance to blue tits, but they have a black cap instead of blue, and also have a large black stripe running down the breast.

Great tits are also extremely vocal, and experts have discovered they have a repertoire of more than 50 distinct calls.

ROBIN

Latin name: Erithacus rubecula

Size: Grow to around 14cms in length.

Distribution: Found throughout the UK

Months seen: All year round

Habitat: Parks, gardens and woodlands.

Food: Insects, seeds and berries.

Special features: In towns and cities the robin has become known as the gardeners friend. This is because it is quite tame, and will closely follow gardeners as they dig the soil and turn over worms and grubs which the robin will eat.

The robin's striking red breast plumage is most noticeable in the winter months. For this reason they are frequently associated with Christmas, and robins are often depicted on Christmas cards.

Adult robins start to pair up from late December until March. Although the male sits in a tree singing for a partner, initially it is the female who does all the chasing. Once the female is accepted by a male, he brings her food as part of their courtship ritual.

The nests are usually built in a hole, either in a tree, a bank or a wall.

Latin name: Fringilla coelebs

Distribution: Found throughout the UK

Months seen: All year round

Food: Seeds and insects

Habitat: Gardens, woodlands and farmland.

Special features: This is one of our commonest birds. It is estimated that there are around seven million pairs in Britain. The male has a pinkish red breast and a grey head, while the female has a light brown breast and a brown head.

JAY

Latin name: Garrulus glandarius

Size: Approximately 34cms.

Distribution: Found throughout most of the UK except northern Scotland.

Months seen: All year round.

Food: Nuts, acorns, berries and fruit.

Habitat: Woodlands, parks and gardens.

Special features: Jays are members of the crow family, and have been nicknamed the 'colourful crows'. They have pale pinkish-brown body plumage, with bright blue wing patches. They also have a black streaked head crest, which is raised when displaying to other birds.

In springtime you may come across large gatherings of jays. These are known as 'jay marriages'. The birds call and display to each other in an effort to find a mate.

Jays build a fairly small nest, low down in bushes and small trees. The female lays up to six eggs in April or May.

In autumn you can see jays hopping around the woodland floor in search of food. In September and October there is an abundance of acorns on the ground and jays collect these in large numbers.

MALLARD

Latin name: Anas platyrhynchos

Size: Grow to around 55cms in length.

Distribution: Throughout the UK.

Months seen: All year round.

Habitat: Ponds, lakes, rivers and reservoirs.

Food: Aquatic plants and insects.

Special features: This is one of the commonest ducks in Britain. In urban parks they are quite tame, and will take bread from the hand. In rural areas they are a little more shy. Mallards have a habit of feeding with their tails in the air and their heads under the water. This is called up-ending, or dabbling.

Physical Description

The male Wood Duck is exquisitely colored. He is most easily identified by his smooth, iridescent green crest and crown and his purple face. His throat is white, and two white markings extend up onto the neck and face. His bill slopes downward, and the end of his tail is square.The female is less colorful. She is mainly brown, with a slight iridescence on the crown. Her crest is shorter. She is most easily identified by a distinctive teardrop-shaped, white eye patch.

Distribution and Breeding Habitat

Wood Ducks are found in eastern North America from southern Canada to the southern coast of the United States. They are also found along parts of North America's West Coast. Woodland streams or pools, forest bottomlands, river valleys, swamps, marshes, lakes, and creeks are all typical Wood Duck habitat.

JACKDAW

Latin name: Corvus monedula

Size: Approximately 30 to 34cms

Distribution: Found in most parts of the UK.

Months seen: All year round

Food: Omnivore. Will take worms, insects, seeds, eggs etc.

Habitat: Farmland, woods, cliffs, parks.

Special features: The jackdaw has a black back, beak and legs. It's front is dark grey and it has a light grey nape.

The jackdaw nests in trees, the nests of other birds, and frequently in chimney pots on houses.

Did You Know?

Just like swans, jackdaws pair for life.

NUTHATCH

Latin name: Sitta europaea

Size: Approximately 14cms in length.

Distribution: Found only in England and Wales.

Months seen: All year round.

Habitat: Woodlands, parks, and sometimes gardens.

Food: Insects, nuts and seeds.

Special features: Has the ability of being able to walk, head first, down tree trunks, as well as up them.

The movements and actions of the nuthatch when feeding are similar to a woodpecker.

KINGFISHER

Latin name: Alcedo atthis

Size: Approximately 13cms long. The beak adds a further 4cms.

Distribution: Found in most of Britain except the north of Scotland.

Months seen: All year.

Habitat: Lakes, ponds and slow moving rivers and streams. In winter they are sometimes seen at the coast.

Food: Mostly fish and some insects.

Special features: Most sightings of kingfishers are very brief. Usually a quick flash of the bright blue plumage whizzing low over the surface of water. If you're lucky you might spot one perching, staring intently into the water as it lines up to catch its next fish.

The male and female look very similar except that the beak of the male is all black, while the lower half of the females beak is a reddish- orange colour.

The nest is a burrow excavated in a bank beside water. The eggs are laid between April and June.

When the chicks have fledged they only remain with the parents for a short time. Usually just long enough to learn to catch their own fish.

KINGFISHER

Latin name: Alcedo atthis

Size: Approximately 13cms long. The beak adds a further 4cms.

Distribution: Found in most of Britain except the north of Scotland.

Months seen: All year.

Habitat: Lakes, ponds and slow moving rivers and streams. In winter they are sometimes seen at the coast.

Food: Mostly fish and some insects.

Special features: Most sightings of kingfishers are very brief. Usually a quick flash of the bright blue plumage whizzing low over the surface of water. If you're lucky you might spot one perching, staring intently into the water as it lines up to catch its next fish.

The male and female look very similar except that the beak of the male is all black, while the lower half of the females beak is a reddish- orange colour.

The nest is a burrow excavated in a bank beside water. The eggs are laid between April and June.

When the chicks have fledged they only remain with the parents for a short time. Usually just long enough to learn to catch their own fish.

KINGFISHER

Latin name: Alcedo atthis

Size: Approximately 13cms long. The beak adds a further 4cms.

Distribution: Found in most of Britain except the north of Scotland.

Months seen: All year.

Habitat: Lakes, ponds and slow moving rivers and streams. In winter they are sometimes seen at the coast.

Food: Mostly fish and some insects.

Special features: Most sightings of kingfishers are very brief. Usually a quick flash of the bright blue plumage whizzing low over the surface of water. If you're lucky you might spot one perching, staring intently into the water as it lines up to catch its next fish.

The male and female look very similar except that the beak of the male is all black, while the lower half of the females beak is a reddish- orange colour.

The nest is a burrow excavated in a bank beside water. The eggs are laid between April and June.

When the chicks have fledged they only remain with the parents for a short time. Usually just long enough to learn to catch their own fish.

This stocky finch has a stubby bill, a black face and cap, a white bar on the black wings, and a white rump. Males have blue-grey upperparts and bright red underparts whilst females are duller with pinkish-brown underparts. Juveniles are similar in appearance to females but do not acquire the black cap until after their first moult. The flight is undulating and the calls include a subdued piping warble.

Song Thrush

Turdus philomelos

Our most familiar thrush, the Song Thrush was one of Britain's most common garden birds until suffering a steep decline in numbers in recent years. Its repetitive and tuneful song is one of the most popular of all garden bird songs. The Song Thrush population fell by 53% between 1974 and 1999, probably caused by a shortage of good nesting habitat and food supplies. It appears that first year birds are not surviving in sufficient numbers due to a loss of hedgerows and therefore less food and fewer nesting sites.

Identification

The Song Thrush is smaller than a Blackbird and has medium brown upper parts and a buff breat and flanks covered in black speckles. The belly is almost white with fewer spots. Both sexes are very similar in appearance. During flight, an orange underwing is visible. Adults moult all feathers between June and October. Recently fledged juveniles have pale streaks on their upper parts.

Size: 23cm

Habitat: Gardens, parks, woodlands and hedgerows.

TAWNY OWL

Latin name: Strix aluco

Size: Grows up to around 40cms.

Distribution: Found throughout England, Scotland and Wales. Absent from Northern Ireland.

Months seen: All year round.

Habitat: Parks, gardens and wooded areas.

Food: Small birds and mammals.

Special features: The tawny owl, is sometimes called the 'brown owl' because of its colouring, or the 'wood owl' because its normal habitat is woodland.

The call of the tawny owl sounds something like "to-wooo" or sometimes "hoooouh.....ho, hohohohoooouh". This call is used by both males and females to attract each other, but it's more usually the male you will hear.

There is also a shorter call which sounds something like "Kewick". This is used as an alarm call.

The tawny owl is equipped with wing feathers which are extremely soft at the ends. This allows it to fly silently and surprise its prey.

Tawny owls are nocturnal. During the day they rest up, perfectly camouflaged in trees.

Buzzard

Latin name: Buteo buteo

Size: Approximately 55cms tall. Wingspan approximately 130cms

Distribution: Found in many western parts of the U.K.

Months seen: All year round

Food: Mice, voles, birds and rabbits

Habitat: Moorland, farmland, hilly countryside and woodlands adjacent to open fields

Special features: A large, broad bird, often seen circling high in the sky on thermals. Has blunt wing tips. Can also be spotted perching on telephone poles and fence posts.

The dark brown plumage is very variable. Some birds can be mostly white with brown patches. The legs and talons are yellow.

Despite its large size it will also catch small prey such as beetles and earthworms.

The buzzard has a distinctive "pee-o" call.

Moorhen feeding her youngster,they are very attentive parents!

This youngster was constantly calling for the parent although it was well capable of fending for itself.

One of our largest birds, the grey heron, is a sight to behold when airborne.

This one taken on the river taff,the boundary for the reserve.If you look closely you can see that this bird has an injury under its wing!