Birds which can be seen inland but which live on or near lakes and rivers are included in our page on Birds to see near fresh water.
Clifftops and moorland
Some birds, whilst not strictly water birds, certainly favour clifftops close to the sea. They love the scrubby vegetation of gorse, heather and thorn bushes. These include Stonechat, Wheatear, Whinchat and Linnet. Many birds favour open moorland as a breeding ground, but they manage to stay well hidden and are very elusive in this habitat.
Woodland
Conservation projects and intervention of bodies such as the RSPB and National Trust have allowed many areas of ancient woodland to support a profusion of small woodland birds which depend on deciduous trees for their nesting and feeding. Coniferous plantation forests attract particular species but their ephemeral nature tends to discourage rare species from setting up permanent residence.
Some woodland birds are likely to visit garden feeders too. For example, the Great Tit and other Tits, Nuthatch, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker. Siskin or Brambling might also visit in winter.
Common birds
Your cottage garden may attract a variety of the more sociable birds which may be seen in parks and gardens everywhere: Dunnock (or Hedge Sparrow), Robin, Blue Tit, Blackbird and Song Thrush have not been included as they are well-known and easy to identify.
There are four common members of the Crow family:
Carrion Crow (46cm) is all black and hangs out over moors and farmland as well as by the sea. Not usually in flocks.
Rook is a similar size but has steep forehead and pointier bill. It hangs out in noisy flocks, nesting at the tops of trees on farmland or around villages. Bear in mind the saying is that “a Crow in a crowd is a Rook, a Rook on its own is a Crow”.
Jackdaw is smaller with greyish body and head; cap blacker. They bound around in flocks making loud chattering ‘chack-a-chack’ noise.
Raven is huge (63cm) and much like a crow in appearance. They nest on cliff ledges, so you’ll see them on the coast and on mountains. Not to be confused with Chough, which has RED legs and bill.
The Swallow is also fairly well-known but not to be confused with the House Martin and Swift. Swallows are the ones which are dark blue on top, white underneath, with a red chin and very fine, long, forked tail. They sit around on cables; the others do not.
Staying in West Wales
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