Spotting the birds that mark the first signs of spring

Once spring is in full flow, our gardens, parks and woodlands will come alive with the sound of birdsong, but it’s not too early to start looking and listening now for the early heralds of spring.

Even if we’re still experiencing some wintry weather, birds are getting ready for the breeding season. While the trees are still pretty bare, with leaves only just coming out, now is a great time to start learning birdsong: there are fewer species to get to grips with, and you’ll have more of a chance of seeing them. In addition, there are some thrilling first sightings to be had of some of our charismatic and elusive species.

To find out more about early spring birds, Scott Petrek, newly appointed southern reserves officer at Cumbria Wildlife Trust and experienced ornithologist, shares his expertise. “Once the dawn chorus is fully established, by April and May, the number of birdsongs can be quite overwhelming, there are so many. So especially if you’re new to birdwatching, this can be an ideal time of year to start,” he agrees. What are the top five species he would recommend for a beginner bird watcher to look and listen out for at the moment?

Song thrush (Image: Vaughn Matthews)

“I’d start with the chiffchaff, with its distinctive two-note call, and the song thrush, with its loud and repetitive song. They’re two classic early spring birds. Joining them is the mistle thrush, which is known as the storm cock, as it will sing away even in the worst weather. In February they’ll be getting ready to breed.”

Chiffchaffs sing their hearts out from the end of February onwards. They are a dull green above and pale yellow below, with an off-white belly and a short eyebrow stripe. The mistle thrush is pale greyish-brown above, with a white belly covered in round, black spots and is bigger and greyer than the similar-looking but much smaller song thrush. It probably gets its common name from its love of mistletoe. It enjoys the sticky berries and once it has found a berry-laden tree will guard it from any would-be thieves. In turn, it helps mistletoe to thrive by accidentally ‘planting’ its seeds while wiping its bill on the tree bark to remove the sticky residue; it also disperses the seeds in its droppings.

Robin in full song (Image: Tommy Holden)

Scott’s top five early spring birds continues with two garden favourites: the robin and blackbird. Familiar to us by sight, Scott has advice on how to recognise them by their song.

“Robins aren’t just for Christmas! They’ve got a reputation as a winter bird, as their numbers grow over winter, with birds migrating here from the Continent to escape the coldest weather. Meanwhile robins hatched in the UK will be heading off south to Spain and Portugal for their first winter. Only breeding adults remain on territory through the winter in the UK.

“By now though, the visitors have returned eastwards, leaving these resident birds to hold their territory. They start to sing with a different song, more optimistic, chirpy and upbeat than what you hear in the depths of winter.

Blackbird and winter berries (Image: Laura Cronin)

“The majestic blackbird, which is actually a kind of thrush, is a familiar sight to most of us, feeding on lawns, often with their heads cocked to one side, listening for earthworms. But if you’ve had trouble pinning down their song, early spring is the time to do this. They start to wake us with their polished, rich, deliberate song often given from the very tops of trees or TV aerials on houses.”

As an experienced birdwatcher, Scott is keenly looking out for certain species at the moment, among them an elusive bird that can sometimes be seen at Brown Robin, a wooded hillside near Grange-over-Sands: the shy, stunning hawfinch. They are huge compared to other finches, with a distinctive top-heavy silhouette, created by their large head and thick, triangular bill.

Scott Petrek (Image: Scott Petrek)

They are mainly a rusty, orange-brown, richer on the head and tail, with a dark brown back and a black patch around the base of the bill.

Scott explains: “It’s our largest finch – they weigh over twice as much as, say, a chaffinch. They have a powerful bill which they use to crack open seeds from trees like cherry, hornbeam and beech.

“You’ll be very lucky to spot a hawfinch. Despite their size, they’re shy and pretty hard to spot, especially in summer when they stay high in the canopy and rarely call. But at this time of year their numbers are boosted by continental migrants and they’re easier to see in leafless trees.”

Skylark (Image: Stefan Johansson)

Scott is also looking out for the first skylark – a hopeful sign that spring and summer cannot be too far off. They will be returning to the open habitats anywhere between the coast and the uplands to breed.

You can see them hovering, singing from a great height – their long and complicated song-flights can last for up to an hour – before they parachute back down to earth. The birds can reach an amazing 300m before descending.

Scott adds: “I’ll also be looking out for early spring arrivals from Africa: wheatears and sand martins may be flying through our sites, and often turn up on our coastal promontories such as at Humphrey Head before moving inland to breed.”

Lapwing sky dancing (territorial display) (Image: David Tipling/2020VISION)

However, his favourite ‘first’ of the spring is a sighting of the charismatic species that first got him into conservation. “I’ll be looking out for the acrobatic display of the lapwing,” he reveals. “As spring gets going, males will be performing their tumbling flights over breeding areas, giving their distinctive peewit calls that give the birds their other name.

“They can be on their eggs from late March, so they’re one of our earliest breeding waders. They’re so much more than a green plover – yet another of their common names. Catch them in the right light and you can see flashes of iridescent purple on the wing, their orange undertail and their prominent crest.”

Scott Petrek is hosting birdsong workshops with Cumbria Wildlife Trust on May 5, 6 and 7 at different nature reserves. Cumbria Wildlife Trust is running two hawfinch walks at Brown Robin Nature Reserve, on March 24 and April 7. Book places on a walk in advance, and find out more about Scott’s workshops, at cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/events