Our brilliant spring birds

Nature is all around us, arriving in a great rush to usher in the spring, so wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, make sure to make time to look and listen. Many of our migrant birds are starting to arrive on our shores, and our native birds are gearing up for their nesting seasons. Just by looking out of your window, you could see a swallow, swift or house martin, returning after their epic migration journeys from Africa.

Whether you have an eye for adventure, spend time in your garden watching the world go by, or have just found yourself wandering through a woodland listening to the rising chorus, here are our recommendations for enjoying the best of our birds this spring.

Dawn chorus

It’s the best time of year to experience the spectacular dawn chorus as spring is truly heralded in by a cacophony of bird song. Starting around 4.30am, the dawn is welcomed by a growing symphony of voices. It’s worth the early start – to areas with trees, countryside fringes, nature reserves and parks, take a flask outside and tune into our songbirds in fine voice. They include newly arrived summer visitors like blackcaps and willow warblers, alongside the resident blackbirds and robins.

Many of our reserves are wonderful for birdsong throughout the day, however; Grass Wood near Grassington, North Cliffe Wood near Market Weighton, Stoneycliffe and Hetchell Woods near Leeds and Potteric Carr in Doncaster are all amazing places to pause a while and listen.

Dartford warbler singing on a branch with text overlay saying who's singing? Merlin Bird ID can tell you, with icons to download on the Apple or Google app stores

Get closer and get to know different bird songs with Merlin ID; a fantastic free app which you can use to record song and get real-time identification of which bids are singing – visiting a few different woodlands and tune into the variety for an amazing experience; but make sure you also just experience the sounds around you.

Bespoke Bird Tours at Spurn

Taking place under the big skies and ever-changing landscape of Spurn, explore and discover the diverse wildlife that call this breath-taking place home with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Bespoke Birding tours.

Join a birding expert on an exclusive tour of Spurn National Nature Reserve and nearby Kilnsea Wetlands on foot and aboard our Spurn Safari vehicle (an ex-army Unimog).

Bespoke Birding tours are the perfect introduction to birding – especially as we enter the migration season. No expert knowledge required – but do bring a camera to document what you spot!

Our bird tours run until mid-June.

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Birdwatcher at Spurn — (c) Maurice Gordon

In your garden

For those with space for a birdfeeder or two, the birds will come to you!

Use an identification guide to observe which birds are regular visitors to your garden – and whether there are any surprises!

Bird feeder - Ben Hall/2020VISION — Ben Hall/2020VISION

It's also nesting season, and you can help your garden birds by providing food and water, a nestbox or nesting material. We have lots of advice on how to make your garden wildlife-friendly – including how to build nestboxes for birds.

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