Birds

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Page Editor: Norman Jackson

Page last Reviewed: 14 May 2011

The dale has a good range of habitats, including lakes, rivers, broad-leaved and coniferous woodlands, grassland, marsh, moorland and mountain/crags. This is why some 115 bird species have been recorded in the area in recent years.

The birds recorded are listed in the following table, including an indication of their status in this dale (note: the term 'Rare' relates to this area - they may be common elsewhere e.g. Starlings).

Key:   W = Winter Visitor
         S = Summer Visitor
         A = Present All Year
         B = Breeding Confirmed

If you know of other birds that have been seen and are not on the list, or if you spot anything in the future, please send details to the Page Editor.

Paul Neate in Glenridding was quick with his camera to capture this nice picture of a Sparrowhawk that visited his garden in July 2009.

Species	Status	Notes
Mute Swan	A,B	Usually 6 or more off the steamer pier
Bewick's Swan	W	Rare passage migrant - 7 seen on Ullswater off Jenkins Field in Nov 05
Whooper Swan	W	Rare passage migrant - 8 birds seen on Ullswater in Nov 08
Greylag Goose	A,B	Common feral resident. Winter flocks of 400 birds have been seen.
Canada Goose	A,B	Common feral resident. Breeds in small numbers
Barnacle Goose	A	At least 100 geese are feral residents but they are occasionally joined in Winter by flocks from the Solway. Over 200 near Blowick in Mar 09
Brent Goose	W	Rare - small flocks have been seen on Jenkins Field
Wigeon	W	Irregular visitor - 140 on Ullswater in Feb 05
Teal	A	More common in winter
Mallard	A,B	Widespread on most lakes and tarns
Pochard	W	More common in winter
Tufted Duck	A,B	75 on Ullswater in Oct 06
Scaup	W	Uncommon, strays from Solway occasionally seen
Goldeneye	W	Generally Nov-Mar but a female present on Ullswater Jun & Jul 03. 18 on Ullswater in Nov 03
Red-breasted Merganser	A,B	Small numbers seen regularly throughout the year. Breeding records for Ullswater.
Goosander	A,B	Small numbers seen regularly throughout the year. Breeding records for Ullswater and Brothers Water.
Red Grouse	A,B	Gowbarrow Fell is a good place to see and hear these birds
Pheasant	A,B
Little Grebe	A,B	Present all year on Ullswater, Brothers Water and Angle Tarn in the Summer. 18 seen in Nov 03
Great Crested Grebe	A,B	Breeds on the islands of Angle Tarn
Cormorant	A,B	A peak count of 41 birds was recorded on Ullswater in Oct 06
Grey Heron	A	Seen regularly but not aware of any Heronries in the dale
Sparrowhawk	A
Buzzard	A,B	A common sight throughout the dale
Golden Eagle	A	Not seen in this dale since the female died in 2006 and breeding stopped. Visit the RSPB hut at Riggindale to see the lonely male.
Kestrel	A,B
Merlin	A
Peregrine Falcon	A,B	Often heard before you see them.
Moorhen	A,B
Coot	A,B	Gatherings in winter can exceed 500 birds
Oystercatcher	A	Small numbers regularly seen
Lapwing	A	Not common in the dale but a few sightings
Snipe	A	Not common and species is generally in decline
Woodcock	A	Present but difficult to spot
Curlew	A	Flock of 28 seen near Hole-in-the Wall, Jul 07
Common Sandpiper	S
Redshank	A
Common Gull	W	Very large flocks (over 20,000) have been recorded roosting around Ullswater Jan/Feb
Lesser Black-backed Gull	S
Herring Gull	A
Great Black-backed Gull	A
Black-headed Gull	A
Stock Dove	A
Woodpigeon	A,B
Collared Dove	A	Quite rare in the dale
Cuckoo	S,B	First call heard this year by Chris Lawrence on 22 Apr
Barn Owl	A	Generally uncommon but have been regularly heard and seen in the Great Close Wood area, particularly in winter months, for some years. Possibly even a breeding pair?
Tawny Owl	A,B
Swift	S,B	First 2011 sighting on the 10 May (earlier than usual)
Kingfisher	A	Several sightings on Goldrill Beck and Ullswater but rare
Green Woodpecker	A,B	More often heard than seen but fairly common
Great Spotted Woodpecker	A,B	Common
Skylark	S,B
Sand Martin	S
Swallow	S,B	First 2011 sighting on 11 April
House Martin	S,B	First 2011 sighting on 28 April
Tree Pipit	S
Meadow Pipit	A,B	Very common in Summer
Grey Wagtail	A
Pied Wagtail	A,B	More common in summer - tend to roost in towns during the winter
Waxwing	W	Rare but small flocks have been seen here
Dipper	A,B	Common, particularly on Goldrill Beck
Wren	A,B
Dunnock	A,B
Robin	A,B
Redstart	S,B	Often seen between Crookabeck and Beckstones
Whinchat	A,B
Stonechat	A,B
Wheatear	S,B
Ring Ouzel	S,B	Usually only seen above 250m. The fells to the west of the dale seem to have more sightings.
Blackbird	A,B
Fieldfare	W
Song Thrush	A,B
Redwing	W
Mistle Thrush	A
Sedge Warbler	S,B
Blackcap	S,B
Garden Warbler	S,B
Wood Warbler	S,B
Chiffchaff	S,B
Willow Warbler	S,B	First 2011 sighting on 10 April
Goldcrest	A,B
Spotted Flycatcher	S,B
Pied Flycatcher	S,B
Long-tailed Tit	A,B
Blue Tit	A,B
Great Tit	A,B
Coal Tit	A,B
Nuthatch	A,B
Treecreeper	A,B
Jay	A
Magpie	A	Still scarce here but numbers are 'unfortunately' increasing
Jackdaw	A,B
Rook	A,B
Carrion Crow	A,B
Raven	A,B
Starling	A	Actually a rare bird in the dale !
House Sparrow	A,B
Chaffinch	A,B
Greenfinch	A,B
Goldfinch	A
Siskin	A
Linnet	A
Lesser Redpoll	A
Crossbill	A	Small flock of 30 birds seen at Glenamara Park Feb 06
Bullfinch	A
Snow Bunting	W	Small flocks have been seen on Helvellyn, Glenridding Common and High Street. Usually in Jan/Feb.
Yellowhammer	A,B	Quite common
Reed Bunting	A	Occasionally seen along Goldrill Beck

Taxonomy as BOU Jan 2007 List

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