Gallery - Birds of the Coast

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.

Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)

The Peregrine Falcon has been classified as an Amber list species-medium conservation concern.

A large, fast falcon of open country with cliffs and crags for nest sites.Has also taken up nest sites on high buildings in towns and city centres.The Peregrine catches birds after a dramatic "Stoop",or captures them by suprise in fast,level flight. Hunts from great height,dropping on to prey at about 160kph.

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.

Dunlin (Calidris alpina)

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

Outside the breeding season Dunlins gather in large flocks on seashores and estuaries rich in invertebrates, but also visit fringes of inland lakes. The Dunlin breeds on upland moors and on coastal grassland in the north.

Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica)

Bar-tailed Godwits are classed as an Amber list species-Medium conservation concern.

In its hunt for insects, molluscs, crustaceans and marine worms it often visits sandy shores. Some food rich areas attract large numbers of birds.

Black-Tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa)

Black-Tailed Godwits are classed as Red List Species-High Conservation Concern.

Black-tailed Godwits are more likely to be seen on muddy esturies or pools near the sea.They feed oninsects and their larva,worms,seeds and other plant material.The nest is on the ground among short vegetation.

Redshank (Tringa totanus)

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

A noisy and often obvious wader which nests in wet meadows,pastures and marshes, including saltmarshes.The redshank is usually found near the sea in winter. It feeds on shrimps,snails and worms, and it has an even-paced,jerky walk as it hunts its prey.

Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus)

The Spotted Redshank is a Amber list Species-Medium Conservation Concern.

It nests in the far north and visits southerly coasts and some inland pools.It hunts small marine creatures, insects and fish.

Little Stint (Calidris minuta)

The artic tundra is the breeding ground for this delicate wader. Its migration takes it to central and southern Africa. It feeds with rapid action on invertebrates, especially fly and beetle larvae. It is most likly to be seen around the muddy edges of inland pools or brackish pools near the coast.

Sanderling (Calidris alba)

The Sanderling breeds in the high artic and those that visit Europe are from either Greenland or Siberia. It feeds on small invertebrates and often snatches food as it is washed ashore.

Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)

Transatlantic vagrant, named from patially webbed toes.

Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)

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

This wader visits Europe on passage to central and southern Africa.

Purple Sandpiper (Callidris manitima)

The Purple Sandpiper is a Amber list Species-Medium Conservation Concern.

It is to be found on rocky coasts for most of the year, nests on open ground in the Artic or the Scandinavian uplands. It feeds on invertebrates which it picks upfrom the waters edge or from newly exposed seaweed.

Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)

This long distance migrant breeds in Siberia and some winter in central and southern Africa. Those that migrate through Europe sometimes stop and feed on muddy or sandy coasts, saltmarshes or margins of inland lakes.

Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)

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

This small curlew is a long-haul migrant, breeding in the far north and migrating as far as southern Africa. Whimbrels breed in open country often in upland peat bogs or on tundra.They feed on insects,berries and marine creatures including crabs.

Curlew (Numenius arquata)

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

The Curlew is the largest European wader.The bubbling song is given over upland meadows and moorlands where breeding takes place. The "Curlew" call may also be heard outside breeding season on mudflats and sandbanks where Curlews feed on worms,crabs and other crustaceans by probing at low tide.

Knot (Calidris canutus)

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

An artic breeding species which migrates long distances.They meet up in vast flocks that feed on invertibrates found in the mud between high and low tide lines.In Europe they are rarely seen away from the coast.

Phalaropes (Phalaropodidae)

Phalaropes are unusual birds, the females court the males and the males build the nests sit on the eggs and raise the young.

Grey Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius)

Spends the breeding season in the High Artic tundra pools and coastal marshes. It winters at sea and often seen around the coasts of the south west.

Ducks

Ducks are usually smaller in size and have shorter necks than Geese and Swans. The two sexs have different plumage. Ducks nest on the ground or in holes.There are three main groups of ducks.(1) Surface feeding or dabbling ducks (2)Diving ducks (3) Sawbills

Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)

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

This mainly a coastal species, most live on esturies or muddy shores where they filter molluscs,crustaceans and other invertebrates from the mud.Nests in enclosed sites such as rabbit burrows.

Wigeon (Anas penelope)

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

A winter visitor mainly to coastal areas,but will visit inland lakes and flooded fields. It feeds on leaves,stems and seeds. It nests among vegitation near lakes in N.Europe.

American Wigeon (Anas americana)

A rare transatlantic visitor and escape.

Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)

Swims with head submerged before diving to persue fish underwater. A group of these birds will hunt co-operatively by swimming in lines driving fish to shallow water. Nests on the ground amongst vegitation or in a crevice.

Gulls and Terns (Laridae)

These two kinds of sea birds are easy to tell apart. Gulls have broad wings and fan-shaped tails and their beaks are usually heavy with a hooked tip. They can be seen in flocks at the seashore and at harbours. To feed, they settle on the water and seize some floating waste or dip their heads under water to catch a fish.Terns have have slender wings and forked tails and sharp beaks that often point downwards during flight.

Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)

The largest of the gulls eats a variety of food. It frequently kills other birds, especially young seabirds.It breeds on small islands,cliff tops and sometimes marshes or moorland.The nest is a mound of vegitation.

Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus)

The Lesser Blacked-backed gull has been classified as a Amber list species-Medium conservation concern.

Closley related to the Herring Gull. nests on Islands,dunes or moors and increasingly winters in coastal areas. Eats a wide range of food, including scavenging at rubbish tips and predating other birds.

Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus)

A large white winged gull, almost as large as a Great Black-backed Gull, and equaly as fiere. breeds along Artic coastlines on Islands and Inland cliffs. In winter frequents all coastlines, including harbours as well as rubish tips inland.

Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides)

A medium-size gull, smaller than most herring gulls.It has very pale plumage and white wing tips, and, like the glaucous gull, it is sometimes referred to as a 'white-winged' gull. It is a winter visitor, with small numbers of birds, usually seen singly. It breeds in the Arctic and winters as far south as New York and Britain.

It may be seen almost anywhere around the coast, especially in the west.

Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)

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

A farmilar gull around the coasts of NW Europe, visists rubbish tips,farmland and parks.Herring gulls eat a variety of food including carrion and offal from fishing boats They nest in open,often sloping ground and are becoming common on buildings.

Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)

The Black-headed Gull has been classified as a Amber list species-medium conservation concern.

A familiar gull over much of Europe. it breeds inland or on coastal marshes and visits farmland,parks and sheltered coasts.These gulls eat eat insects and worms and will also visit rubbish tips. nests on the ground, usually in colonies.

Common Gull (Larus canus)

The Common Gull is an Amber list species-Medium conservation concern.

This gentle looking gull breeds in North Europe on rocky islands, shingle bars, marshes and upland moors. It feeds on aquatic insects,worms and fish.They nest in colonies, mainly on the ground.

Mediterranean Gull (Larus melanocephalus)

The Mediterranean Gull has been classified as a Amber list species-medium conservation concern,

This attractive gull has spread beyond the mediterranean shores,especially outside the breeding season.

Little Gull (Larus minutus)

This is the smallest gull in Europe, it feeds on insects in summer and fish and small marine creatures when they are not available.

Caspian Gull (Larus cachinnans)

A gull very close to Herring and Yellow legged Gulls

Common Tern (sterna hirundo)

An elegant summer visitor to beaches,fresh water marshes and flooded sand and gravel quarries. Winters along the African coast. Catches small fish by plunge diving.

Sandwich Tern (Sterna sandvicensis)

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

This large,pale Tern nests in noisy colonies on mainly sandy seashores.It plunge-dives to catch surface living fish such as sand-eels.Some birds migrate as far as southern Africa.

Little Tern (Sterna albifrons)

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

The smallest Tern is a summer visitor to shingle or sandy beaches.Frequently hovers before diving to catch fish. Nests in colonies or alone often close to the waters edge.

Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii)

The Roseate Tern is a Red list species-Which means its a high conservation concern.

An incresingly rare breeding species on sand-dunes,sand spits or coastal islands in W Europe and the Azores. It winters along the coast of West Africa. The Roseate Tern catches small fish by plunge diving from the air.

Divers (Gaviidae)

Divers are really at home underwater, where they catch fish and crustaceans. they either dive suddenly from the surface or sink slowly in the water. On land, divers walk clumsily and they normally come ashore only to breed. In winter all divers become greyish above and white below.

Red-throated Diver (Gavia stellata)

The Red-throated Diver has been classified as a Amber list species-medium conservation concern.

Breeding on small freshwater lakes and will fly to the sea to feed.It hunts fish by diving, these birds sometimes form loose flocks especially during the winter.The nest is a heap of vegetation at a traditional site close to the waters edge.

Great Northern Diver (Gavia immer)

The Great Northern Diver is a Amber list Species-Medium Conservation Concern.

This Comorant sized bird breeds in far North around Iceland and winters in the coastal waters in NW Europe. Feeds mainly on Fish but also on shellfish and crabs.

Cormorants and Shags (Phalacrocoracidae)

Large, dark water birds, in the UK just two species, one essentially marine, the other found on all kinds of waters. They are long-bodied, quite large-tailed birds, with broad wings and long necks.

They have short, thick legs, showing a relationship to gannets by the fact that webs join all four toes. Their bills are thick and hooked at the tip, helping to grasp fish, which they catch by diving under water.

Characteristic behaviour includes standing with wings held half open.

Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)

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

Cormorants frequently stand with their wings partly spread.This is mainly a coastal bird, but also found along river valleys and on lakes far from the sea. It dives to feed on fish. Cormarants nest in colonies on cliff ledges or sometimes on trees.

Shag (Phalacrocorax aristollis)

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

This is a marine species preferring rocky coasts and rarely coming inland. It dives to catch fish.Shags often stand with wings outstreached. They nest in well-spaced colonies on ledges or in caves just above the water-line.

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.

Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis)

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

Barnacle Geese breed in the artic and migrate south during the winter months. They eat grasses and other vegetation.

Brent Goose (Branta bernica)

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

These Geese breed on the low tundra of the artic and migrae south during the winter, they feed on vegitation growing around the coast and in estuaries, will also be found in arable fields close to the sea.

Black Brant (Branta bericla nigricans)

The Black Brant or Pacific Brent Goose,is a sub-species of the Brent Goose that breeds in Alaska and winters in Baja California. Some have been blown into the UK with a couple at Portland Bill Nov 2008

Oystercatcher (Haematopodidae)

The only European member of its family

Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus)

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

This distinctive wader nests inland in some places.It feeds mostly on shellfish, especially cockles, which it extracts from the mud with its bill and prises or jabs open.It also feeds on worms.

Plovers (Charadriidae)

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

Grey Plover (pluvialis squatarola)

The Grey plover has been classified as a amber list species-medium conservation concern.

This beautiful black,white and grey wader breeds in the high artic and winters on muddy seashores and estuaries.In summer it feeds on insects, in winter on worms,molluses and crustaceans.Usually solitary when feeding, but many gather in large flocks when feeding grounds are covered at high tide.

Ringed plover (Charadrius hiaticula)

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

The ringed plover feeds like other plovers, ashort run followed by a quick forward tilt of the body to pick up insects or other small creatures on or near the surface.It breeds mainly near the coast.

Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus)

A rare visitor to these shores.

Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)

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

Picking,probing and snapping at insects as it pushes over stones or moves seaweed with its bill is the Turnstone characteristic feeding action.

Avocets and Stilts (Recurvirostridae)

These birds are the most elegant wading birds. they pick their way through the shallow water on stilt-like legs, snapping up insects from the air or lowering their long thin beaks into the water

Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)

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

Elegant,black and white wader of pools and marshes near the coast.They feed on invertebrates in shallow water which it catches by sweeping its bill from side to side.

Spoonbills and Ibises (Threskiovnithidae)

Ibises are somewhat heron-like but have shorter necks, rounder heads and more slender, curved bills.

Spoonbills are characterised by their flattened bills with spatulate tips which are swept from side to side, partly open, through shallow water to detect food.

Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia)

The Spoonbill is classed as a Amber list bird-Medium conservation concern.

Coastal marshes and reed beds in river valleys are home for colonies in mainland Europe,most migrate away from colonies after nesting, some come to the UK over the winter.

Pigeons and Doves (Columbidae)

These birds have plump bodies,small heads and short legs. They can fly very fast.

Rock Dove (Columba liva)

Rock Doves are residents of rmote sea cliffs and other rocky areas, they are the ancestors of tame and town pigeons. They nest on natural or artificial ledges or cavities.

Crows (Corvidae)

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

Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax)

The Chough has been classified as a Amber list species-Medium conservation concern.

A red billed crow of rocky sea-coasts around the UK. It feeds on the ground in pastures and short grass on cliff tops where it probes for invertebrates.

Pipits and Wagtails (Motacillidae)

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

Rock Pipit (Anthus petrosus)

The Rock Pipit is a Green list species-no conservation concern.

Rock Pipits feed on insects,small snails and shellfish until they fly, but there parachuting song flight is very obvious.

Water Pipit (Anthus spinoletta)

The Water Pipit is a Green list Species-no conservation concern.

Breeds in the mountains of Southern Europe and migrates to lower habitats in the Autumn and visits flooded meadows,estuaries and coastal marshes.

© Simon Thurgood 2010
Images on this website may not be put as any part of any collection without any prior written permission.