Birds

The male Yelloshammer is bright yellow head and breast with a brown back.

Britain’s smallest bird.

A black-capped Tern that feeds in coastal waters and rivers.

The Chinese Goose is a breed of domesticated goose descended from the wild Swan Goose.

The Pink-footed Goose is a winter visitor to Britain. Around 360,000 individuals arrive in Britain to feed on our wetland and farmland habitats, eating grain, winter cereals, potatoes and grass.

The large bill of the Shoveler has small, comb-like structures on the edge of it, called lamellae.

The Wren is the most common breeding bird in Britain.

Black Swans are native to Australia and were brought to Britain as ornamental birds.

Male Whitethroats arrive in Britain about 10 days before the females, to set up territories before the females arrive.

Due to the large differences in looks between the male and female Mallard, they were once thought to be different species.

The Blackbird is known as being sexually dimorphic, meaning the plumage of the male is completely different to that of the female.

The Mute Swan is one of the most familiar birds in Britain, with it’s all white plummage, long curved, S-shaped neck and reddish-orange bill that has a large black ‘knob’ at the base.

The Dunnock is not a Sparrow. It belongs to a family called the accentors, which originate in the Himalayas.

The Wigeon is a medium-sized duck with a round head and short bluish bill.

The Cuckoo is a summer visitor to Britain.

The Pochard is a medium-sized diving duck.

The Grey Wagtail is more colourful than it’s name suggests, with a very long black and white tail, a yellow stomach and rump.

The Carrion Crow has black plumage with a purple or green sheen and a shiny black beak.

Whooper Swans, pronounced ‘Hooper’, are a winter visitor to Britain, migrating from Iceland in late autumn and returning again in the spring.

Waxwings do not breed in Britain, but are a winter visitor.

Great Spotted Woodpecker’s are about the size of a blackbird with striking black and white feathers.

Barn Owls in the West Pennine Moors area are always a treat to see.

Known mostly as a coastal bird the Cormorant can often be found inland on lakes and reservoirs where it feeds on fish by diving deep underwater.

There is little size differences between male and female but the male Kestrel has a blue-grey head, while the female is brown.

The Goldfinch is a small but brightly coloured bird that feeds on seeds and prefers taller plants such as thistles and teasels.

The Robin is often seen as one of the more ‘friendly’ birds, often perched close to humans without showing much fear.

The Grey Heron is quite common and can be found standing watching for fish, stalking through shallow water or most often flying off at the first disturbance.

A large grey-bodied duck with an orange/brown head with a crest that can be raised.

The usual brown, white and black geese that can be seen on lakes and ponds.

A migrant bird with blue upper body and wings and white below, with a red coloured throat.

A summer visitor with brown wings and white body and a long beak.

An owl with long ear tufts that are raised when the owl is alarmed or as camouflage.

A small, bright-blue bird with a red front and long beak.

A small, brown bird with white front and brown neck.

A large pure-white bird with a black bill.

A small, brown bird with speckled front and a black tail with white stripes down each side.