Jays in the Garden: Britain’s Most Colourful Crow
Jays are pinkish-brown with a bright blue barred wing patch and a white rump that flashes in flight. They’re shy woodland crows that visit gardens most often in autumn, when…
Garden Birds
Chaffinch: The Ground Feeder With Regional Accents
Two bold white wing bars identify a chaffinch — present on both sexes, unlike the male’s pink breast. They feed mainly on the ground beneath feeders rather than on them,…
Coal Tit: The Smallest Tit and the Fastest Feeder
A coal tit has a white patch on the back of its neck — the single feature that separates it from marsh and willow tits. It’s the smallest UK tit,…
Do Magpies Really Kill Songbirds? What the Evidence Says
Magpies do take eggs and nestlings in spring — that part isn’t in dispute. But long-term national monitoring analysed by the British Trust for Ornithology found no evidence that magpie…
Why Is My Blackbird Bald? Scruffy Birds in Late Summer Explained
A bald-headed blackbird or a ragged-looking bird in July, August or September is almost always moulting, not ill. Most birds replace all their feathers after breeding, and some — blackbirds…
How to Attract Nuthatches to Your Garden
Peanuts and sunflower hearts bring nuthatches in, and they need mature trees nearby — this is a woodland-edge bird rather than an open-garden one. If you want them nesting, the…
Greenfinch: The Garden Bird That Disappeared
Greenfinch numbers recorded in UK gardens have fallen by around 67% since 1979 — more than two million birds — and they’re now on the Red List. The cause is…
How to Attract Great Spotted Woodpeckers to Your Garden
Peanuts in a mesh feeder and suet blocks are what bring woodpeckers in. Hang them near mature trees if you have them, and be patient — woodpeckers visit on a…
Dunnock Identification: The Bird That Isn’t a Sparrow (UK)
A dunnock has a slate-grey head and breast and a thin, fine bill — where a house sparrow has a buff-brown head and a thick conical bill. Dunnocks shuffle about…
Woodpigeon, Stock Dove, Collared Dove or Feral Pigeon? A UK Garden ID Guide
Beakfeeder is reader-supported. If you buy through our Amazon links we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Check the neck. A woodpigeon is big and…