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Reed Bunting
Ostensibly, a reedbed-loving bird, Reed
Buntings will also wander into gardens
during the winter, in search of a seed
feast. They are quite sparrow-like
buntings, being dull brown with plenty of
streaking and a pale supercilium. They
are slightly slimmer than House
Sparrows, with longer tails, which have
obvious white outer feathers and
‘corners’ and are frequently flicked.
Reed Buntings come to seed on bird
tables and on the ground.
Waxwing
An irregular winter visitor, usually
in small numbers and mainly in the
east, but in some years they are
much more widespread; the
Waxwing is one of the most
attractive passerines you could ever
hope to visit your garden. Starlingsized
and shaped, they have lovely
soft plumage and obvious punky
crests, a black bib and yellow on
the wing and tail tip. The call is a
delightful bell-like trill.
Waxwings in winter are essentially
fruit eaters and are usually found
feeding on berries of trees such as
Rowan or Guelder Rose, but will
also feed on apples, when the softer
fruits are in short supply. They are
often found in flocks, when present.
Fieldfare
Along with Redwings, Fieldfares are
archetypal winter thrushes, which
arrive by the hundreds of thousands
from the breeding grounds in
northern and eastern Europe, greatly
outnumbering resident thrushes such
as Mistle Thrushes.
Fieldfares are nearly as large as
Mistle Thrushes, and share the same
white underwing. But otherwise their
plumage is quite different, with a
distinctive combination of pale
blue-grey head and rump and warm
dark-brown back and wings,
combined with a yellow ochre breast
with black speckles, and a black tail.
They often come to gardens in
harsh weather, in search of fallen
fruit, such as apples, but they will
also feed on garden berries.
Lesser Redpoll
A tiny tit-like finch, almost as small as
a Siskin, but with longer tail. Lesser
Redpolls are essentially brown and
streaky and don’t have the yellow/
green tones of Siskins. The tiny bib is
black and the forehead (‘poll’) is red.
Adult males often have a lovely pink
flush to the breast; females and
younger birds are duller. All have a
buff-toned, pale, transverse wing-bar.
Lesser Redpolls are feeders on tiny
seeds, attracted to hanging seed
feeders. If you have Alders or
birches, you may see them feeding
on the catkins during the winter.
Lisa Geoghegan/Alamy*
12 Get To Know Garden Birds 2018