Gallery - Birds of Wild Open Spaces

Eagles, Buzzards, Hawks, Kites and Harriers (Accipitridae)

Hawks include the bird-eating hawks such as the sparrowhawk, with broad, rounded wings and long, slender tails; and the buzzards, mostly larger, longer-winged, substantial birds, which use broad wings for soaring.

Eagles of similar size or larger (white-tailed is one of Europe's largest flying birds) with deep, arched, sharply-hooked bills, long, strong, curved claws

White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla)

The White-tailed Eagle is a red list species-high conservation concern.

This huge bird nests on cliffs,trees and sometimes on the ground in north and east europe, it feeds on fish,birds,mammals and carrion.

Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)

The Golden Eagle is a Amber list species-medium conservation concern.

Persecution has restricted this huge eagle to large mountain ranges and some remote forests. It eats medium sized mammels and birds. The nest is a large structure of branches on cliff faces or in trees.

Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus)

The Hen Harrier is a Red list species-high conservation concern.

A bird of open, upland country, usually away from human disturbance. often flies low, quatering the ground as it searches for small mammals and birds, Nests on the ground.

Red Kite (Milvus milvus)

The Red kite has been classified as an Amber list species-medium conservation concern.

An elegant bird of prey which catches some live prey, but often eats carrion. It was once familiar in much of Europe, but persecution and food shortage now restrict it to more remote uplands and secluded valleys.

Black Kite (Milvus migrans)

A large, dark, pale-headed raptor whose shallow tail fork is often hard to see in flight. This is a very rare visitor to these shores. Happy in open country as it is in towns.

Falcons (Falconidae)

Falcons are generally smaller than other birds of prey and have long, pointed wings and long tails. They are ferocious hunters diving on or chasing their prey at great speed.

Hobby (Falco subbuteo)

This is a summer migrant to fields and open woodlands of lowland Europe, where it feeds on large insects and birds, both of which it catches in flight. it is so agile that it often takes Swallows,martins and sometimes swifts. It nests in trees, in the nests of other species.

Owls (Strigiformes)

Owls are mainly nocturnal hunters, feeding mostly on small rodents. Some also eat other birds and insects.They have powerful talons and a large,hooked beak, although the beak is partly buried in the feathers and does not look very large. The eyes look forward and are extremely efficient.The ears are also very sensitive, allowing the owls to hear their prey on the ground. Feathery edges to the wings allow the owls to fly silently.

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)

The Short Eared Owl has been classified as a Amber list species-medium conservation concern.

This owl hunts in daylight over open country where small mammals,especially voles, are abundant.It breeds on moors,in young forestry plantations and in marshes.It nests on the ground among vegetation.

Snowy Owl (Nyctea scandiaca)

A lost bird fom Scandinavia or Iceland.

Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)

These are wading birds with long bills, most also have long legs.They may be found inland at damp places as well as at the seashore and they usualy nest on the ground. Flocks of several different kinds of sandpipers can often be seen feeding together at the shore, poking their bills into the water, mud or sand to find shellfish and worms. The different kinds of bills of various lengths, so that they probe at different depths and live on different kinds of food.

Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)

A tall,elegant wader of nothern bogs, often with a scattering of trees nearby. Greenshanks visit lakes and estuaries as passage migrants usually seen singly or in very small groups.Feeds on insects, crustaceans and fish.Nests on the ground

Plovers (Charadriidae)

Plovers can be told from almost all other waders by their short beaks. They probe for worms, grubs and shellfish.

Golden Plover (Pluvialis apricaria)

The Golden Plover has been listed as a Green species- no conservation concern.

The Golden Plover breeds on bleak uplands and the northan tundra.In winter it moves to lowland farmland in South and West Europe where hundreds flock together. It feeds on beetles, worms and plant material.

Dotterel (Charadrius morinellus)

The Dotterel is a Amber listed bird which means a Medium risk Species. A plover of mountain tops and the far north. The Dotterel winters in N Africa, returning as soon as its breeding grounds are free of ice.

Cuckoo (Cuculidae)

Cuckoos are famous for laying their eggs in nests of other birds and leaving the other birds to bring up the young cuckoos

Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus)

The Cuckoo has been classified as a Amber list Species-medium conservation concern.

Woodland, reed beds, moorland and farmland are some of the habitats used by Cuckoos. Up to 25 eggs are layed by one female in different nests.the young Cuckoo hatches after 12 days and systematically ejects the other eggs and flies after 17 days, but may be dependent on its hosts for several weeks.

Nightjars (Caprimulgidae)

The Nightjars are nocturnal birds with long wings and tail and a very agile,silent flight. The bill is short, but opens very widely to scoop up insects in flight. The name is derived from the penetrating churring song which can be heard at dusk

Nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus)

The Nightjar is classified as a Red list species,- High conservation concern.

The churring song of the nightjar is a sound of summer nights in dry areas with scattered trees such as heathland,large forest clearings or young plantations.This bird is strictly nocturnal and catches flying insects,especially moths in flight.it winters in Africa and nests in a scrape in the ground.

Crows (Corvidae)

Crows are the largest perching birds and they are among the cleverest of all birds.

Raven (Corvus corax)

The largest crow lives in many habitats, seacliffs, mountain crags, upland moors and forest edges. it sometimes kills animals and also eats carrion.

Hooded Crow (Corvus cornix)

All Carrion Crows live in Asia and parts of Western Europe, in between there are grey and black crows called Hooded crows. Where the races meet they often interbreed.

Thrushes (Turdidae)

This large family contains several birds that are well-known garden visitors. They feed mainly on berries and other fruits and insects, but are often seen looking for worms.

Ring Ouzel (Turdus torquatus)

The Ring Ouzel has been classified as a Red list bird-High conservation concern.

A mountain blackbird found on open moors etc in the summer. In the autumn migrates to North Africa.

Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe)

A long distance traveler from Africa. Breeds in open country with bare areas such as rocky slopes,scree,tundra,cliff tops,moors and dunes.Birds nest in holes,crevices or burrows.

Stonechat (Saxicola torquata)

The Stonechat has been classified as a Amber list species-medium conservation concern.

Stonechats require grassy areas for feeding,dense cover for nesting where they nest close to the ground and sutable perches or song posts. They eat insects.

Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra)

A small summer migrant to central and northan Europe which winters in tropical Africa. It feeds on insects and seeds,it lives in open country with meadows or other grasslands young plantations,railway or roadside verges. Nests on the ground among vegitation

Wablers (Sylviidae)

Warblers are small birds that flit about among trees,bushes and reeds, restlessly searching for insects to eat.They are named after their warbling songs, which vary widely from one species to another.

Whitethroat (Sylvia communis)

A summer visitor to low, dense cover such as hedges or young plantations with patches of bramble or rose. It feeds mainly on insects. Builds a cup shaped nest in low bushes.

Dartford Warbler (Sylvia undata)

The Dartford Wabler has been classified as a Amber list species-medium conservation concern.

Small long-tailed warbler on lowland heaths with heather and gorse, but also in low bushes or open pine woods. Eats insects and spiders.Cup shaped nest is built in low vegetation.

Pipits and Wagtails (Motacillidae)

Pipits and Wagtails are small birds that spend most of their time on the ground in search of insects.

Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis)

Meadow Pipits are a Amber list Species-Medium conservation concern.

Meadow Pipits require no trees from which to sing.Instead they display and sing in the sky.They nest in meadowland,upland moors,lowland marshes and other open country.feeds on insects and plant material, ground nesting.

Finches (Fringillidae)

Like tits,finches are generally among the most well-known and liked of birds, for they often come to gardens and parks,adding a touch of colour with their bright plumage.

Linnet (Carduelis cannaabina)

The Linnet is classed as a Red List Species-High Conservation Concern.

The Linnet likes open countryside, farmland and lowland heath.it feeds almost exclusively on seeds of weeds and other plants.Groups of linnets often nest in close proximity. The nest of twigs,roots and moss is built in dense cover.

Buntings (Emberizidae)

Buntings are small seed-eating birds like finches and have similar stout bills to crack open seeds. Buntings are most likely to be seen feeding on the ground in winter, often in groups.

Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis)

The Snow Bunting is a Amber list Species-Medium Conservation Concern.

The Snow Bunting is the most Northerly breeding bird which nests in the high Artic as well as the mountains of Scotland.At home in barren,often icy conditions. Eats mainly seeds. They migrate south to winter on beaches,coastal marshes or open country well away from the sea.

Shrikes (Laniidae)

Shrikes are like small birds of prey. The Shrike darts after its prey and snaps it up in its hooked beak.The victim is then usually taken to the Shrikes larder, a sharp thorn or barbed wire fence where it is impaled so that the Shrike can tear it apart-a habit which earned its other name of butcherbird. Insects are the main prey, but the larger Shrikes also catch lizards,small birds and rodents.

Red-backed Shrike (Lanius colluno)

A summer visitor from southern Africa.Feeds on large insects, such as grass hoppers as well assmall birds, mammals and reptiles.

Geese (Anatidae)

Geese are between ducks and Swans in size. they graze mainly on land and the legs are set forward so they can walk easily. The sexs are alike, there are two groups of geese. Geese of the genus Anser are grey-brown and those of the genus Branta are black and white.

Pink-footed Goose (Anser brachyrhynchus)

The Pink-footed Goose is a Amber list bird-Medium conservation concern.

This goose breeds on the ground in remote parts of Iceland,Greenland and Spitsbergen. Large flocks winter together in Britain and other countries bordering the north sea.

Great Bustard (Otis tarda)

Hunted to extinction in the 1840`s but re-introduced in a 10year trial in 2003

© Simon Thurgood 2010
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