If I turn my head and look out of the window, I can see a lot of young birds getting to know my feeding station. They are now old enough to fend for themselves, although they’re still trying to get their parents to feed them. There are young sparrows, starlings, greenfinches, great tits and blue tits. The …
Category Archive: Sandra’s Bird Column
May 31
Bird of the week: Long-Tailed Tit
As you will have gathered by now, I love all birds – they’re all different, and they don’t need to be colourful to be beautiful. Some are majestic (I will soon introduce you to a bird of prey), some are pretty, some are colourful, some are elegant. When it comes to cuteness, there’s one bird …
May 23
Bird of the week: Common Whitethroat (Sylvia communis)
Today I’d like to introduce you to the wonderful family of ‘Old World warblers’. I love all warblers but the whitethroat is a particular favourite of mine so I’ll start with this species. Like most British warblers the whitethroat spends the winter in Africa. This means it has only just returned to Britain and I …
May 17
Bird of the week: House Sparrow
The cheerful, chirpy house sparrow (Passer domesticus) was once a very common sight in towns and villages. Sadly, the house sparrow population in Britain has declined dramatically since the 1970s - in some urban areas by up to 90%. A shortage of nesting sites is one of the major factors. Sparrows like to nest in the eaves …
May 07
Bird of the week: The Kingfisher
The Eurasian kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) is one of Britain’s most colourful and popular birds. Kingfishers hunt fish, tadpoles and aquatic insects and are therefore found by rivers and lakes. Despite their colourful appearance – bright blue and orange – they are not actually easy to spot. They’re quite small – not much larger than a …
Apr 30
Bird of the week: The Nightingale
For about six weeks each spring – in April and May – a very special songster’s voice graces the English countryside. So my first bird of the week has to be the nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos). Whether you’re a birder or not at all interested in birds, whether you are familiar with bird names such as …
Apr 24
Welcome to Frost Magazine’s new Bird Column!
? Are you interested in all things avian? Maybe you would like to find out more about the birds you see in your garden or on the way to work? You enjoy looking at or taking photos of our native wildlife and birds in particular? Or maybe you think wild birds really are quite boring? …
Loading tweets...