Part of the pleasure of bird watching is spotting ones that are rare – especially when you get really into the hobby!
There are some bird species that are unlikely to visit your garden, no matter how long you sit on your rattan garden furniture with a pair of binoculars (although you never know!). Here are some of the rarest birds in Britain.
Nightingales
The nightingale was immortalised in the song ‘A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square’, but you are much less likely to hear one singing these days. They never would have been heard in the centre of London – nightingales favour the countryside – but even there they are now a rare sight. The reason for this is because there is a higher population of deer, and they are destroying the woodland habitats that nightingales need.
Willow tits
These birds are now listed as red on the conservation list, which means they are classed as endangered. If you want to look for them, willow tits are small birds with black feathers on the tops of their heads. Their backs are grey, and their underbellies are white. They favour woodland, but if your garden is in the countryside, you may get lucky!
Nightjars
If you are keen to spot a nightjar, you will need to keep unsociable hours. They typically appear at dawn and at dusk, because those are the times when they hunt for food. You can tell them by their lengthy tails and cream and brown colouring, but their amber conservation status makes them another rare species.
Spotting any of these birds will be a real coup!
