Five spring must-sees
What birds to see and where to see them during the warm days of May
Add new species to your #My200birdyear list
We’re hoping that you’ll take advantage of our Complete Guide To Birdsong to get out there this month and add some new birds to your list by identifying their songs and calls, but there are some must-sees for May, too. Try for these – remember, even if you don’t see the species you’re looking for, you’re sure to stumble across birds or behaviour you haven’t seen before.
1 Your only real chance of seeing breeding Dotterel is on Scottish mountaintops, but in early May, the birds pass through the rest of the UK on their way north. ‘Hogsback’ hills are favoured stopping-off points, although they also like pea fields in East Anglia. So, check any ‘small’ waders in fields, carefully. 2 Spotted Flycatchers are among the latest arriving summer visitors. The UK population has sadly declined a great deal, but you can still search for them in churchyards, in mature hedges and spinneys, and even in gardens with lots of mature vegetation. They’re not spotted at all, but their hawking method, involving sallying out from and returning to the same perch, is distinctive.
3 Warm, light evenings mean you can get in a bit of birding after work. As well as looking (and listening for truly nocturnal birds, such as Nightjar and Nightingale), look for crepuscular species – those that are active at dawn and dusk. Woodcock and Little Owl are two, the former ‘roding’ over woodland clearings, and the latter hunting from perches such as fenceposts.
4 Soaring temperatures mean soaring raptors. Granted, most of them will be Buzzards or, in some parts of the UK, Red Kites, but check carefully. Harriers (including Montagu’s) could still be moving around, Ospreys (especially young birds) are still wandering, occasional Black Kites drift across the Channel, and there have even been a few stray White-tailed Eagles…
5 Wader migration continues well into May – after all, the Arctic breeding grounds many of them use don’t really start warming up until the end of the month. Swot up on the differences between Curlew and Whimbrel, Redshank and Spotted Redshank, and Ringed and Little Ringed Plover, and more, and watch those wetlands. BW