Friends of Lynwood Gardens

Birds

Lynwood Gardens is a fantastic bird habitat due to the mature trees, Ivy, meadows and the large amount of dead wood and insects on site. We have also put up a number of boxes for national bird box week this year. Lynwood has been home to a comparatively rare pied blackbird population. Pied blackbirds are caused by a mutation that results in male blackbirds growing white feathers in places in a similar way to albino mammals having white fur. This year there is a particularly good example that is coloured more like a magpie than a blackbird. Keep your eyes peeled! Lynwood is a haven for “twitchers” so if you like birds look out for Sparrowhawks, woodpeckers, tits, finches, wrens and migrants such as the Redwing, Black Cap, and Red Breasted Flycatcher. At night you can also watch the Tawny owls swooping over the meadows after mice.

List of bird Species (sighted in Lynwood Gardens since 1999):

Common name	Latin name	Notes
Magpie	Pica pica	Common, breeding 07
Jay	Garrulus glandarius	Regular visitors, breeding 07
Rook	Corvus frugilegus	Common
Wood pigeon	Columba palumbus	Common
Feral pigeon	Columbia livia	Common
Collared dove	Streptopelia decaocto	Common
Buzzard	Buteo buteo	Seen overhead 07.06
Sparrow hawk	Accipiter nisus	Frequent visits
Kestrel	Falco tinnunculus	Seen summer 06, 07
Tawny owl	Strix aluco	Common 05, 06
Long-eared owl	Asio otus	Once
Green woodpecker	Picus viridis	Pair sighted 03
Great spotted woodpecker	Dendrocopos major	Male sighted 2003
Blackbird	Turdus merula	Common, nesting-Site contains mutant pied blackbird population
Song thrush	Turdus philomelos	Frequent, nesting. Becoming rare 06 due to cat predation
Mistle thrush	Turdus viscivorus	Few. common winter 05
Fieldfare	Turdus pilaris	Winter visitors
Redwing	Turdus iliacus	Winter visitors
Great tit	Parus major	Common
Blue tit	Parus caeruleus	Common, nesting
Coal tit	Parus ater	Common
Long tailed tit	Aegithalos caudatus	Common, nesting
Goldcrest	Regulus regulus	Occasional
Chaffinch	Fringilla coelebs	Frequent, nesting
Bullfinch	Pyrrhula pyrrhula	Occasional
Greenfinch	Carduelis chloris	Occasional
Goldfinch	Carduelis carduelis	Common
House sparrow	Passer domesticus	Common, nesting
Tree Sparrow	Passer montanus	Occasional
Redpoll	Carduelis flammea	Occasional
Linnet	Carduelis cannabina	Occasional
Dunnock	Prunella modularis	Common, nesting
Wren	Troglodytes troglodytes	Frequent, nesting. Common 06
Starling	Sturnus vulgaris	Occasional
Waxwing	Bombycilla garrulus	Common winter 04
Pied wagtail	Motacilla alba yarrellii	Occasional
Yellow wagtail	Motacilla flava	Occasional
Nuthatch	Sitta europaea	Frequent
Blackcap	Sylvia atricapilla	Occasional. seen 06, breeding 07
Brambling	Fringilla monyifringilla	Last seen 2003
Siskin	Carduelis spinus	Occasional
Swift	Apus apus	Frequent in summer
Robin	Erithacus rubecula	Common, nesting
Grey heron	Ardea cinerea	Roosted in trees on site 04. Occasional.
Garden Warbler	Sylvia borin	Occasional
Swallow	Hirundo rustica	Summer migrants
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker	Dendrocopos Minor	Seen and heard hammering in high canopy, Spring 2004, 05, 06
Treecreeper	Certhia familiaris	Frequent
Red-Breasted Flycatcher	Ficedula parva	Seen 07.06
Herring Gull	Larus argentatus	Frequent 06
Carrion Crow	Corvus corone corone	Common
Mallard Duck	Anas platyrhynchos	Occasional visitors to pond 06
Cuckoo	Cuculus canorus	Seen 04

Total 53 Species since 1999