How to see winter migrants in the city

As winter rolls in, it brings with it whole host of new arrivals. Migrant birds flock to our shores and these weary travellers are often in good number, their ranks swelled by an army of immature birds. Unlike in the spring, when birds are passing through quickly, desperate to secure nesting territories, autumn migrants tend to be more relaxed, sometimes spending days as opposed to hours during their stopovers.

Look up, you never know what will be passing through your city. Photo: Getty

Read more on migration

• Calls in the night – what's flying over your garden?
• Your guide to bird migration
• The rarities winging their way to the UK this winter

And it's not just in countryside and on coasts where you can see these new arrivals, there's plenty to be seen in cities, too. In the latest issue of Nature's Home, our columnist David Lindo shares how to see winter birds in your town or city.

1.  See your city as a bird would

When birdwatching in a city, the golden rule is to try to see the man-made landscapes as a bird would. See buildings as cliffs with handy perches, the randomly sited trees in the streets and in parks as scattered woodland and any watercourse as potential magnets for thirsty migrants or resting waterfowl.

Take a good look at flocks on ponds and lakes, you never know what might be taking a well-earned rest. Photo: iStock

2. Use your commute

The great thing about this change of season is that you really can expect anything to turn up anywhere at any time. In the mornings, perhaps while commuting, keep a regular eye on your local park or even your garden as night flying warblers and other passerines may take refuge in the bushes and trees at dawn to busily replenish their energy with much-needed food. One morning you may not notice any unusual newcomers or congregations of birds, but then the following morning could be a very different affair.

3. Look up!

Our urban skies are an amazing arena transited by many more species of birds than you might imagine. It can be easy to forget to look up when out and about, but keep your eyes peeled for migratory flocks passing overhead.

Don't forget to look up often to see migrants passing overhead. Photo: iStock

4. Look for the unusual among the usual

The secret to finding rarities is to meticulously check through large groups of birds. Birds will flock together at this time of year, around food sources and shelter, and you never know what might be hiding among them. Careful scrutiny, note-taking and photography may lead to incredible discoveries.

Species to see:

• Chiffchaff – find them busily picking off insects in the foliage.

Some chiffchaffs from northern Europe spend the winter in the UK. Photo: John Bridges (rspb-images.com)

• Ducks and waders – check your local pond or lake, these may appear probing the muddy shoreline.
• Whooper swans – may fly over above.

Whooper swans arrive in the UK from Iceland, and stay until mid-April. Photo: Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)

• Redwings and fieldfares – these can be heard calling as they fly over at night or sometimes passing over cities in roving flocks during the day.

Icelandic redwing tend to winter in Scotland and Ireland, while those from Scandinavia winter in the south of the UK and Europe. Photo: Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)

• Thrushes – check through any flocks of berry gobbling thrushes that you may bump into because amongst them could be blackbirds emanating from Scandinavia. They are usually shyer than our natal birds.

Some blackbirds we see in winter are actually migrants from north and eastern Europe. Photo: iStock

• Ring ouzel – you might strike gold and find a ring ouzel, a really scarce beauty.

November is your last chance to see ring ouzel on passage to Europe for the winter. Photo: Les Bunyan (rspb-images.com)

• Yellow-browed warbler – our top tip for a rarity to see this year, this is a diminutive wanderer from Asia.

The yellow-browed warbler migrates all the way from Siberia to Thailand. Catch a glimpse of it on the south and east coast from September until November. Photo: iStock

Have you seen any amazing migrants in your city? Let us know in the comments below. You can read more about migrating birds in your special Winter Migrant issue of Nature's Home magazine (Winter 2018).