Which birds head to the UK for winter?

As autumn’s colder, damper days begin, many of us might dream of heading to sunnier places. But our mild temperate climate and varied coastline makes the UK a magnet for millions of birds. Read on for some migratory highlights and check out our arrivals board below to see who is flying in and when. 

Autumn migration to the UK is phenomenal. Although the list below might look long, we haven’t included every species but have just picked out some of the highlights.  

The timings described below are typical arrival and departure times and reflect the main migration period for each species. Some birds may arrive earlier and leave later than expected!

Our coastal estuaries, saltmarshes and inter-tidal wetlands are a winter hotspot for hundreds of thousands of wading birds. The mud here provides a rich banquet of worms, shellfish, crabs and other marine life for an assortment of birds. These include Curlews, Oystercatchers, Knots, Dunlins and Redshanks who specialise in hunting out these tasty morsels.  

Some of these waders, such as Curlews and Oystercatchers, are found in the UK year-round, and are joined by huge numbers of birds that breed in the Arctic and colder parts of Europe.  

Knots can also be seen throughout the year, but it’s in winter that they can be seen in their thousands, when huge numbers fly in from Iceland, Greenland and the Canadian Arctic.  

The vast majority head to The Wash, an estuary on the east coast of England. At certain times, it’s possible to watch a ‘whirling wader spectacular’ at RSPB Snettisham nature reserve, when tens of thousands of Knots and other wading birds are pushed off the mudflats during high tides.  

Dunlins are another small wader that flocks to the coast for the winter, flying in from eastern Europe and Russia. We also have our own breeding population, with these birds moving from their UK breeding grounds on our bogs and moorlands, to Europe and North Africa for winter.

A select number of our wetlands are graced by migrant swans, both of which have yellow and black beaks, unlike our resident Mute Swans which have orange and black beaks.  

Whooper Swans fly in from Iceland. These large swans can be found in wetlands across all four countries of the UK. They get their name from their raucous calls, a distinctive whooping sound.  

Bewick’s Swans breed in Siberia, on the Russian tundra, but spend the winter in the UK, mainly in southern England, with the Ouse and Nene Washes key sites. In recent years, the swans have been ‘short-stopping’ and choosing to overwinter in Germany and other parts of Europe. Warmer winters in Europe because of climate change, means the birds can now find the ice-free wetlands they need without travelling all the way to the UK. 

Winter is a wonderful time to go on a wild goose chase as hundreds of thousands migrate here, again to take advantage of a relatively milder climate and food-rich wetlands. 

A goose that arrives in huge numbers are Pink-footed Geese. In fact, up to 90% of the world’s population winters here! These geese migrate from Iceland, Greenland and Spitsbergen in Norway, with key wintering sites being Scotland’s eastern coastal plain, central lowlands, and around the Solway Firth, and lowland farmland and coastal sites in Lancashire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk.  

Flying in from the Arctic to mainly northern coastal sites of the UK are Barnacle Geese. These black-headed geese are named for an erroneous belief that these birds hatched from sea-dwelling crustaceans known as Goose Barnacles. Migration was poorly understood, and the birds often appeared just as winter storms washed goose barnacles onto the shores. 

Brent Geese are Mallard-sized birds that fly to find food on coastal saltmarsh and nearby grasslands. There are two subspecies that spend winter here: dark-bellied and pale-bellied. The dark-bellied Brent Geese migrate from Russia, with most wintering on the the east and south coasts of England. We also have two populations of pale-bellied Brent Geese, one which migrates from Canada and largely winters on Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland, and one which migrates from Svalbard and winters on Lindisfarne in northern England.  

In winter, hundreds of thousands of ducks fly to the UK, swelling the ranks of our resident populations.  

Take the familiar Mallard for example. We have around 61,000 breeding pairs in the UK but come winter and the numbers rise to around 675,000 birds as thousands arrive from France, the Netherlands, Finland, Russian and the Baltic States.  

Wigeons are ducks that are most easily seen in winter. While there is a breeding population of around 200 pairs, the wintering population is around 450,000 birds as huge numbers migrate from Iceland, Scandinavia and Russia. Look for them in flocks often grazing in fields close to water, as well as large lakes, reservoirs and other wetland and coastal areas.  

Teal are another one to look for in winter, with thousands flying in from Russia and the Baltic states. These are the UK’s smallest duck and are often found in quiet corners of lakes and marshes.  

Fieldfares and Redwings are members of the thrush family that fly in from colder parts of Europe. These two birds are here to make the most of the harvest in our hedgerows, on the hunt for berries such as Hawthorn, Rowan and Holly. They will also feast on fallen fruits such as apples, and during colder snaps could be found in gardens.  

Redwings are the smallest thrush you’ll see in the UK and named for a delicate orangey-red patch under their wings. Fieldfares, meanwhile, are the biggest thrush you’ll see and can be identified by their grey heads – quite unlike our year-round Song and Mistle Thrushes.  

A top autumn activity is to listen out for Redwings on migration. Redwings migrate at night and can be heard pretty much anywhere in the UK from October. Just head outside and listen out for their high-pitched "tseep" migration call.  

Depending on the berry harvest in Scandinavia, we may also get another visitor – the punky looking Waxwing. A bad harvest there could mean a Waxwing winter in the UK, when flocks of these hungry berry-eaters turn up in what’s known as an irruption.