From robins to sparrows: the birds you’re likely to spot for the Big Garden Birdwatch 2026

Big Garden Birdwatch is the world’s largest garden wildlife survey. Each year, on the last weekend of January, hundreds of thousands of gardeners and other nature lovers take part, helping to build a picture of how garden birds are faring.

It's easy to take part. Simply choose an hour between 23 and 25 January to sit and watch the birds in your garden. Record only the birds that land in your patch and the highest number of each bird species you see at any one time. For example, if five house sparrows come in and then leave, but seven sparrows turn up later within that hour, you record seven house sparrows. It's also important to submit a record even if you didn't see any birds – this is just as helpful to those crunching the numbers as actual sightings.

Visit Big Garden Birdwatch for more details and tips on how and where to spot birds.

In the meantime, here are 12 you're likely to see.

1. House sparrow, Passer domesticus

This gregarious garden bird often nests in holes in buildings or in grouped nest boxes on house walls. The male has a streaked brown back, brown head and neck, with a grey cap and black bib. Females and juveniles are less distinctly marked, with streaky backs and no bib. House sparrows feed on seeds and grains in autumn and winter, but in spring they need access to a plentiful supply of small invertebrates to feed their developing chicks. Although still among the most common birds in UK gardens, house sparrow populations have significantly declined in the past 50 years.

2. Blue tit, Cyanistes caeruleus

With its blue cap and wings, this charming, colourful tit is a familiar sight in many gardens. Feeding on peanuts and sunflower hearts at garden feeders, the adults collect caterpillars and other insects to feed to their young in spring and early summer. Blue tits commonly nest in garden bird boxes which mimic holes in trees – their natural nest sites. In winter they travel through woods and gardens in groups, often with other tits and small birds such as goldcrests.

3. Starling, Sturnus vulgaris

Starlings are striking birds – black with white, green and blue iridescent markings that become more prominent in winter. They gather in large flocks to feed and roost. At dusk they fly in huge synchronised 'murmurations' thought to offer protection for individuals within the flock from avian predators such as peregrine falcons. They visit garden bird feeders in winter and feed on invertebrates in summer. Groups of starlings can sometimes be seen picking leatherjackets (cranefly larvae) out of lawns. They can often be heard whistling and singing – starlings are wonderful mimics. Unfortunately, the UK’s breeding population has declined by more than 50 per cent in the past 25 years.

4. Woodpigeon, Columba palumbus

The ubiquitous woodpigeon is actually a remarkably attractive bird with a soft pink breast, blue-grey head and white neck patch. It is the UK’s largest pigeon, and pairs nest year-round, although their main breeding season is in the summer. Woodpigeons eat insects and a wide range of plant material. They can be seen in parks, gardens, woodland and fields all across the UK.

5. Blackbird, Turdus merula

Male blackbirds are black with a yellow beak and yellow eye-rings, while females are brown and speckled, rather like a song thrush, though the speckles are not as distinctive on a female blackbird. Blackbirds eat mainly invertebrates and fruit. They tend to nest in between forked branches in shrubs, trees and climbers, so areas in gardens with mature, dense planting are ideal for these common thrushes. You might hear snatches of blackbird subsong in winter before the breeding season gets underway, then male blackbirds start singing with gusto around the beginning of March - a beautiful sound that heralds the arrival of spring. In some milder regions of the UK, however, the full song can be heard as early as December, possibly due in part to warmer winters as a result of climate change.

6. Robin, Erithacus rubecula

Fiercely territorial, the robin sings throughout the year, and its trickling song is thought to sound more mournful in winter. Robins are ground feeders, so they tend to come to bird tables rather than hanging feeders, and prefer seed mixes and sunflower hearts to peanuts. You can also spot them searching for worms on lawns. Males and females look alike, and juveniles are brown and spotty without the red chest of the adults. Robins are fearsome fighters among their own kind, but often follow gardeners around to catch invertebrates that are unearthed during digging. Sometimes garden robins become quite tame.

7. Blackcap

The blackcap is a British resident although rarely comes into gardens, and overwinters in the Mediterranean. However some German blackcaps overwinter in the UK, and are more likely to visit gardens, particularly in cold weather. Greyish all over, only the male has a black cap, the female’s is chestnut brown. Blackcaps feed on berries and – unlike other garden birds –seem to like the berries of beauty berry, Callicarpa bodinieri. They have a reputation for being a bit of a bully at the bird feeder, chasing off other birds and not letting them feed. So if they come into your garden you will know about it!

8. Redwing

The UK's smallest true thrush, the redwing is mostly a winter visitor from Scandinavia although there is a small number of breeding pairs in the far north of Scotland. It has a creamy strip above its eye and orange-red patches under the crease of its wings. It typically gathers in flocks, often with fieldfares, and roams the countryside, feeding in fields and hedgerows on berries and windfall apples. It rarely visits gardens, except in the coldest conditions when snow covers the fields. If it’s cold over the garden birdwatch, leave halved apples out on the ground and keep your fingers crossed.

9. Fieldfare

Another winter thrush to look out for is the fieldfare. This is a large thrush, about the size of a mistle thrush. It has a grey head and rump, black tail, reddish cream-and black-speckled chest and flanks, and chestnut-brown back and wings. Fieldfares spend winter in flocks, often alongside redwings. Like redwings they roam the countryside in search of berries and fallen apples. They have a harsh ‘chack-chack’ call.

10. Long-tailed tit

The long-tailed tit is an increasingly common sight in gardens. Like a little flying badger, it has a blush-pink and white body, with a black and white striped head. Its tail is longer than its body. Long-tailed tits are usually found in small flocks of up to 20 birds, and seem to fly from one tree to another cautiously, egged on with a little ‘deet-deet’ from its clan. Like most tits, long-tailed tits scout woods and hedgerows for insects and other morsels, but will also visit gardens to snack on peanuts and suet treats.

11. Waxwing

The waxwing is a gregarious winter visitor and rarely turns up in gardens although some years this is more likely than others and this year there are rumours that we’re having a ‘waxwing winter’. A winter migrant from Scandinavia, it’s about the size of a starling and looks like it’s wearing 1980s make-up. Reddish-brown with a black throat, it has a prominent orange crest and black masks around the eyes. Its wings have yellow and white markings and it has a yellow-tipped tail. It’s thought that large winter ‘irruptions’ are due to food availability in Scandinavia. They feed on berries, particularly rowan and hawthorn, although will also eat rosehips. They will come into gardens when food availability is scarce, so keep an eye out!

12. Greenfinch

The greenfinch is a large finch, mostly olive-green in colour with a yellow patch on the wings and tail. Females are less colourful. They make a twittering and wheezing song that’s most often heard in spring. A common sight in gardens, they eat sunflower seeds although the disease trichomoniasis – a parasitic disease passed between birds at feeding stations and bird baths – has seen dramatic declines in populations. To help stop the spread, make sure to keep your bird feeders clean. In winter, greenfinches forage with other finches, such as goldfinches and chaffinches, and are often seen ‘hogging’ the bird feeder.