RSPB: Five birds migrating to the UK this spring - and where you can see them

The British Isles are blessed by a vast array of different bird species, which come and go with the seasons.

The winter months see garden birds like redwings, bramblings, and waxwings arrive to escape the frozen north for a time, along with all manner of unusual waterfowl. But spring typically sees most of these visitors return home, while seabirds and other species that breed in the UK return to its shores to breed.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) says that the spring migration is now well under way, with millions of birds travelling northwards crossing seas, mountains, cities and deserts, “relying on insects as fuel to make this epic journey”.

The conservation charity has shared a few of the birds which will be migrating to the UK over the next few months. Here are some of the species birdwatchers should be on the lookout for:

Swallows

Swallows are small birds with long, pointed wings and tails, with blue-black feathers on their back, a white underbelly, and a spot of vivid red over their face and throat. These agile little fliers can often be spotted dipping and diving in extravagant aerial dances over the spring and summer months.

Swallow numbers have fluctuated wildly over the last few decades, the RSPB says, with strong regional variations. However, they remain relatively common across all parts of the UK - except a few parts of northern Scotland. They can be found everywhere from urban areas and farms, to wild grass and wetlands, often building cup-shaped mud and straw nests in barns or under bridges. A good place to spot them as we head into the summer months is on telephone wires - where they gather in large flocks before migrating south again.

House Martins

These glossy-feathered black and white beauties are relatives of swallows, and similarly, often build their nests in the eaves of buildings in UK towns and villages. These intricate nests, made of mud, are a sight to behold in themselves. They take days to build, according to the Wildlife Trusts, and if you spot one - even over the winter months - be sure to keep an eye on it this spring, as house martins often return to the same nest year after year.

House martins spend the winter down in Africa and begin returning to the UK in March, where they will remain until October. Although they’re still relatively widespread across the UK (except for a few parts of northern Scotland), the house martin has suffered a moderate decline in recent years, the RSPB says. This has unfortunately earned them a spot on the UK conservation red list.

Swifts

Another bold, acrobatic flier with long pointed wings and a forked tail, the swift is not actually related to swallows and martins, the Wildlife Trusts say, contrary to popular belief. These little birds are slightly larger than their lookalikes, and are a solid, sooty brown colour - which can help you to tell them apart in the sky.

And you’ll most likely only see them in the sky, the RSPB adds. Swifts do almost everything, from sleeping to mating, on the wing, rarely ever touching down. They arrive later from their lengthy 3,400-mile migration than many other migratory birds, and leave earlier too - only spending about six weeks in the UK to breed and raise their chicks. Once they take flight, their young will remain airborne for up to three years, until they’re old enough to breed.

Swifts are unfortunately also on the conservation red list. The RSPB says they like to live in houses and churches, squeezing through tiny gaps to nest inside roofs, returning to the same spot year after year. But unfortunately, these are increasingly being boarded up or renovated. They can still be found across all of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland - as well as western parts of Scotland, but if you want to help them out, you could consider installing a ‘swift brick’ in your wall, or putting up a special nest box for them.

Cuckoos

These pigeon-sized birds are perhaps best known for the males’ clockworthy calls, and for their unusual nesting habits. The common cuckoo - with its striped breast and dove-grey feathers - is a nest parasite. Instead of raising their own young, the female will remove one of the eggs from another bird’s nest, and replace it with her own. The chick will quickly hatch, and take out its (usually much smaller) competitors - commanding all of its new parents’ attention.

Some of cuckoo parent’s favourite foster carers include meadow pipits, reed warblers, and dunnocks (or hedge sparrows), the RSPB says, so keeping an eye out for alarmingly large chicks being fed by their bewildered new parents in places these birds frequently nest can be a good idea.

These guys are also on the conservation red list with only an estimated 18 thousand pairs left, so they’re not as common as they used to be. They can be found in woodlands, heathlands, and even towns or leafy suburban areas across much of the UK, except for parts of Scotland, western parts on Northern Irelands, and a few southern parts of England and Wales. Adults will depart back to Africa in June, but the younger birds may hang around as late as September.

Common Terns

These long-tailed birds are sometimes nicknamed ‘sea swallows’, the RSPB says, for their graceful manner of flying and dramatic dives for fish. Of all tern species to visit the British Isles, these silver and white seabirds (who have little black caps on their heads), breed the furthest inland - often in noisy colonies.

Common terns can be spotted in most UK coastal areas throughout the spring and summer months, although they also nest around Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland - and quite far inland in the east of England. For a better chance of seeing them, large colonies are known to nest at Portmore Lough (County Antrim, Northern Ireland), the RSPB’s Lodmore reserve (Weymouth, Dorset), on Havergate Island (Suffolk), and the Rye Meads wetland reserve (Hodderston, Greater London area).