Woodland Birds

Wood warbler

A wide variety of birds can be found at Gregynog, as summer or winter visitors, or as resident breeding birds, present the year-round. Below is a select few of Gregynog's special woodland birds, which you might catch a glimpse of as you walk around the Estate, or that you will no doubt hear as they vociferously contribute to the beautiful collective birdsong.

Key:
Resident All Year Round
Summer Visitor
Winter Visitor

Pied Flycatcher
A small, flycatching bird. It is a summer visitor and breeds mainly in western areas of Britain, spending the winter in West Africa.
Redstart
Often quivering their bright orange-red tails or bobbing in a very robinlike manner, the redstart spends little time at ground level. This species is declining in Europe and mainly found in the north and west of the UK, with the greatest concentrations in Wales. Particularly likes oak woodlands.
Long-tailed tit
Gregarious and noisy residents, long-tailed tits are most usually noticed in small, excitable flocks of about 20 birds. Eats insects, and occasionally seeds in autumn and winter. Makes dome-shaped nests out of mosses and lichens.
Blue tit
Its colourful mix of blue, yellow, white and green make the blue tit one of the most attractive resident garden birds. Eats insects, caterpillars,seeds and nuts.
Great tit
It is a woodland bird which has readily adapted to man-made habitats to become a familiar garden visitor. Eats insects, seeds and nuts.
Chiffchaff
A small olive-brown warbler which actively flits through trees and shrubs, with a distinctive tailwagging movement and call (which sounds like its name). Picks insects from trees and also flies out to snap them up in flight.
Blackcap
A greyish warbler, the male has a black cap, and the female a chestnut one. Its delightful fluting song has earned it the name 'northern nightingale'. Primarily a summer visitor. Eats insects and berries.
Wood warbler
More often heard than seen, this declining species feeds mainly on insects and spiders. Much of the population in Europe is found in forested lowlands, though in the UK it is predominately found in upland western oak woods.
Treecreeper
Best looked for on the trunks of trees in suitable woodland. The Treecreeper is a small, very active, bird that lives in trees. It has a long, slender, downcurved bill. It is speckly brown above and mainly white below.
Nuthatch
The nuthatch is a plump bird about the size of a great tit that resembles a small woodpecker. Feed mainly on insects, hazel nuts, acorns, beechmast and other nuts and seed.
Lesser spotted woodpecker
The smallest and least common of the three woodpeckers that are resident in Britain. It is quieter in its tapping, and frequents the tops of trees, searching for larvae, spiders and wood-boring insects on smaller branches.
Great spotted woodpecker
It has a very distinctive bouncing flight and spends most of its time clinging to tree trunks and branches, often trying to hide on the side away from the observer. It eats insects, seeds and nuts.
Green woodpecker
The green woodpecker is the largest of the three woodpeckers that breed in Britain. They eat insects and find ants particularly delicious.
Chaffinch
The UK's second commonest breeding bird, and is arguably the most colourful of the UK's finches. You'll usually hear chaffinches before you see them, with their loud song and varied calls.
Brambling
A winter visitor, similar in size and shape to the chaffinch. In winter it likes beech woodland, farmland and fields near woods. It can be seen in flocks of Chaffinches and other finches.
Goldcrest
The goldcrest is the UK's smallest songbird and is dull green above and buff white below with a distinctive orange or yellow crown stripe. It eats insects, seeds and nuts.

Woodland Birds

Pied Flycatcher

Redstart

Long-tailed tit

Blue tit

Great tit

Chiffchaff

Blackcap

Wood warbler

Treecreeper

Nuthatch

Lesser spotted woodpecker

Great spotted woodpecker

Green woodpecker

Chaffinch

Brambling

Goldcrest