-
- Overview
- Water Voles
- Birds
A good variety of birds, mostly common but including some more unusual species, can be seen or heard along Cherry Hinton Brook. Here is a checklist, with some notes, from a beginner birdwatcher, of the more common and recognisable. It is not an identification guide. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has an A-Z guide to birds, with pictures, on their website. Our newsletters contain reports of what has been seen recently.
Friends of Cherry Hinton Brook monitors wildlife in the area and would like to be sent reports of sightings of birds, especially the less common, such as Kingfisher and Little Egret.
It is very hard to judge size, particularly if the bird is not very near, as even a large bird will look small if it is far away. Also size is subjective unless one can measure the bird – I find I can’t get close enough with a ruler...! So here is my classification of birds by size.
A medium-sized black bird with a yellow-orange beak. The female Blackbird and juveniles are browner often with streaks or spots.
A small bird with a bluish head, white face and yellow breast.
A small colourful bird with a lot of red on the breast and face and brown, greens and greys on the back and wings. Females are less colourful.
A medium-sized bird like a pigeon but with a distinct dark ring round its neck.
A largish black bird.
A small colourful bird with a red face and yellow wing patches.
A small greenish-yellow bird.
A medium-sized greenish bird, with red on top of its head. It makes a laughing sound – hence alternative name Yaffle.
A small bird – though the largest tit – green and yellow with a black head and white cheeks.
Despite being far from the sea, gulls are quite common. They are medium-sized white birds, with grey wings. There are several species: Black-headed Gulls (which don’t have black heads in winter) are the most likely. Herring Gulls and Lesser Black-backed Gulls are bigger.
A large slender grey bird usually seen standing motionless by a stream, waiting to catch fish. In flight has broad wings.
A medium-sized woodland bird with pinkish body and black and white tail and wings.
A small colourful bird often flying fast low over the water giving flashes of bright turquoise blue. It has a red breast and a long beak and feeds on fish.
Little egret near Sainsbury’s
© Jón Fairbairn 2019
A large white bird, slightly smaller than the related heron. Will perch in trees.
Small tits with long tails, usually found in flocks and flitting fast from branch to branch, making gentle high-pitched zeet zeet noise.
A black and white bird with a long tail, often in small flocks.
Male ducks (drakes) have iridescent green heads while females are brown.
Medium-sized black birds with red beaks and white streaks on the sides.
A small brown bird with an reddish-orange breast, often friendly.
A large white bird with a long neck. The young cygnets are grey.
A largish greyish bird.
A small brown bird with a short tail usually hopping or fitting around in hedges.
