British Birds That Visit Your Garden in Winter?

Britain is home to a glorious array of beautiful birds. From the tiny wren to the majestic golden eagle, there’s a great range of British birds varieties across the country.

Each British bird has its own unique diet and feeding habits, making them fascinating to observe.

By providing food and water at bird tables, bird feeding stations, and feeders, we can help to support these wonderful creatures. It also helps to ensure that their populations remain healthy. Feeding your local birds makes them more likely to visit your garden, and even easier to observe.

What Common British Birds Visit My Garden in Winter?

Wren

Wrens (Troglodytidae) are stocky birds that appear restless. They’re easy to recognise, with a rich brown plumage and short cocked tail, which they flick repeatedly. Their upper body has dark barring and the pale eyebrow (supercilium) is prominent. The underparts are paler with grey barring. The bill is brownish, and the legs are pale brown.

British birds, Wren on a wintery, snow covered log

Wrens eat spiders and insects which they find while hopping and dashing along the ground and probing in crevices with their long thin bill. Their scientific name, Troglodytes, means “cave dweller” in reference to this behaviour. They occasionally take seed or cheese from a ground feeder.

Garden tip: Don’t forget to protect your ground feeders from squirrel attack with a squirrel guard.

Robin

British bird, Robin, on a snow covered log

The Humble Robin is one of the most iconic British birds. This small songbird is a familiar sight in gardens and woodland areas. Robins feed mainly on insects such as beetles and worms, but also enjoy seeds, fruit, and even peanuts. They particularly enjoy feeding on mealworms. When the weather is cold, they will often come to bird tables or feeders to supplement their diet.

House Sparrow

British birds, House Sparrow, on a snow covered ledge

The house sparrow is another common garden bird, found in most urban and rural areas. House sparrows feed mainly on seeds and other small food items such as insects and berries. They are also frequent visitors to bird tables and feeders, where they can find an easy source of food.

British Tits

British birds in the tit family (Paridae) are common sights at garden feeding stations in winter. Great, coal and long-tailed tits are found widely across the UK. In winter, they form flocks that search for food together.

Great Tit

British birds, Great Tit, on a Birch branch in snow

The Great Tit (Parus major) is a popular British bird. This colourful songbird feeds mainly on insects and caterpillars, but during winter, will also eat seed mixes, peanuts, and berries. They are regular visitors to bird feeders, where they can find a good source of food.

Blue Tit

British birds, Blue Tit, on a berry filled branch in snow

Like robins, Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) are easy to spot in winter. This is mainly due to their bright cerulean and yellow-green colouring. During daylight hours, they can be seen spending time on bird feeders. Being small birds, they have to consume up to 30% of their body weight in food each day, helping them through cold winter nights. As well as eating the feed you put out at bird feeding stations, they also search out insects and spiders.

Garden tip: If you see Blue Tit’s hovering near a window, it’s probably just hunting for insect food items around the frame.

Goldfinch

British birds, Gold Finch, on a branch in snow

The beautiful goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) is another popular garden bird. These colourful birds feed mainly on thistle and teasel seed heads, but will also take other small seeds from bird tables and feeders. They are especially fond of Niger seeds, which are best fed in seed mixes or using specialist Niger seed feeders.

Blackbirds

British birds, Black Bird, ground feeding in snow

The Blackbird (Turdus merula) is a commonly seen British garden bird. It is a medium-sized thrush with a glossy black head, wings, tail and back. Its underparts are a warm orange-brown in colour, and its bill is yellow.

Blackbirds love to feed on a variety of food including earthworms, insects, fruit, and berries. Blackbirds often feed on the ground, but will also feed in trees, shrubs, and bushes. They will also come to bird feeders for seeds, peanuts, and mealworms.

Starlings

British birds, Starling on a wintery, snow covered log


Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) are a common sight in UK gardens. They are medium-sized birds with glossy black feathers, a long, slender beak, and a short forked tail. They feed mainly on insects, but also eat fruit, seeds, and grains. They’re often seen in flocks searching for food on lawns, and can be encouraged into gardens with bird feeders.

Murmuration of British Starlings in winter

Starlings are known for their acrobatic flying displays and melodious song. A murmuration of starlings is an amazing sight, as they swoop en masse, in thousands of birds whirling in the sky. They form large flocks and often roost in large numbers in trees and shrubs.

Blackcaps

British birds, Black Cap, on a winter, moss covered log

Blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla) are a medium-sized species of passerine birds found in Europe and parts of Asia. They have grey-brown upper parts, white underparts, and a distinctive black head and nape. Their diet consists of insects, berries, and seeds, which they will search for on the ground or in vegetation. They often feed in flocks, and visit bird tables and feeders to supplement their natural diet.

Blackcaps used to be summer visitors to the UK, but more and more of them are now seen in Britain year-round, with an increasing number migrating from mainland Europe to spend winter in British gardens.

Magpie

British birds, Magpie, on a snowy roof

Finally, the Magpie (Pica pica) is one of the most common British birds. Magpies are omnivorous, meaning they will eat almost anything. They will scavenge for food, but will also take insects, worms, fruit and small mammals. They are often seen around bird tables and feeders, where they can find a good source of food.

British Birds – Conclusion

Overall, British birds have a wide variety of feeding habits. From the common robin to the colourful goldfinch, there’s a great variety of species across the country.

Feeding British birds during the winter works to encourage them in to your garden. Having regular garden visitors is a wonderful sight, so make sure you position your feeding stations and feeders where you can easily see them. A flash of colour on a dull winter day is a real pleasure.

Don’t delay, check out the bird care range of and start feeding your local wild birds today.

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