As the first morning mists of late summer set in, we know that autumn isn’t far behind, bringing with it that annual natural wonder: bird migration.
More than 4,000 species of bird across the world migrate to some extent, seeking food and good breeding grounds as the seasons change. Many of those birds move to and from the UK each spring and autumn, and some others use the UK as a pit stop on their journey between other countries.
One of the best places in the UK to experience the magic of migration is Lincolnshire, with its huge skies and beautiful coastal nature reserves. So, if you’re staying at Landal Kenwick Woods or Laceby Manor Resort & Spa during the autumn/winter season, why not head over to Gibraltar Point or Donna Nook, for instance, to see it for yourself? Here are some of the many feathered friends you might spot…
These pinkish-grey, medium-sized geese, with dark head and neck and a pink bill, feet and legs, arrive in huge numbers during the autumn to spend the winter in the UK. Coming from their breeding grounds in Iceland, Greenland and Spitsbergen, it’s common to see flocks of many hundreds of these birds flying in off the coast of Lincolnshire.
Whooper swans arrive from Iceland as winter visitors, but there are actually a few pairs that call the UK home, nesting in the far north. With its protected estuaries and wetlands, Lincolnshire makes the perfect winter roosting ground for these birds. A large white swan, look out for its long, thin neck, black legs and black bill with large triangular yellow patch.
If you see a flash of bright green in the sky, you might have spotted the teal – a small dabbling duck that will be making its way to the UK’s low-lying wetlands for the winter. Males and females differ in appearance – the former have chestnut-coloured heads with green eye patches and a yellow tail with black edging, while the latter are mottled brown – but both display those eye-catching green wing patches when in flight.
Another duck species that will be gracing our shores for the colder months is the wigeon – arriving from Iceland, Scandinavia and Russia – although some do also breed in Scotland and northern England. A medium-sized duck, you can recognise a male wigeon by its chestnut head with yellow forehead, pink breast and grey body, with white belly and wing patch visible in flight. The females are mottled brown with white bellies. Both have a small grey bill with black tip.
Flying in to seek winter sanctuary in the hedges and grassy fields of the open countryside, the redwing is the UK’s smallest true thrush. Some pairs are resident here, but your best chance of seeing one is during the winter months, with a large influx of visiting birds arriving in October and November, before leaving again in the spring. The redwing is a little smaller than a blackbird, at around 20 centimetres in length – look out for the cream-coloured line above its eye and the orangey-red flank patches.