England’s Coastal Birds (let’s meet them and how to help!)
As an island nation, England is home to many coastal birds, who adore our natural wetlands. Loss of habitat to farming and urban building has put many at risk.
Oystercatchers (they prefer mussels and cockles)
These birds have black and white feathers, and bright red bills. These noisy birds (with a sharp pip sound) like muddy estuaries and sandy shores. Despite their name, they prefer mussels and cockles, and use their strong beaks to prise open shells. There are 12 species worldwide (another on the Canary Islands went extinct around 100 years ago, due to over-fishing and human disturbance).
How to protect England’s coastal birds
- It’s also important to keep yourself and dogs away from coastal birds (flying away uses up energy they need to feed), especially at nesting season (when many birds hide chicks in the sand dunes). Read more on keeping dogs safe at the seaside.
- Always keep to designated footpaths and take litter home (report any injured birds to your local wildlife rescue).
- Sometimes pirri-pirri burrs stick to your clothing (or a dog’s fur). If seen, remove them and bin securely, to avoid them choking coastal chicks (same on country walks).
- If you sail a boat, keep at least 100m away from nesting or resting birds (particularly on shingle islands and spits) and turn off your engine if nearby. Likewise, take any litter with you.
Coastal whimbrels (and their seven whistles)
These birds have intriguing calls that sound like seven whistles. Their curved beaks resemble curlews, they breed on moorland and uplands, and visit the coast when migrating. They eat insects, snails and slugs (and when migrating, switch to eating shrimp, molluscs and crustaceans).
Whimbrels have mottled brown plumage, a trait shared with many shorebird relatives. This provides excellent camouflage against the sandy and rocky shores. They breed in the Arctic tundra and migrate to warmer climates, covering thousands of kilometres to winter in South America, Africa, and Australia.
Plovers (fast fliers, named after the rain!)
These birds often stand on one leg, and are small fast shorebirds that often pretend they have broken wings, to stop predators attacking ground nests. They can fly up to 80mph during migration (from as far away as Canada or Greenland).
Joined by wintering birds from Europe, our native plover forages for food the same; standing still, running forward, then standing still again. A bit like seagulls, it ‘taps the ground’ to trick creatures into thinking it’s raining, to bring them to the surface. That’s likely why they are named after the Latin word for ‘rain’.
Sandpiper birds (agile shoreline foragers)
These are more likely to be heard than seen, known for their distinctive three-note call. These beautiful coastal birds have a ‘bobbing’ movement where they move up and down, as they walk along, looking for food by the sea (they also live by lakes and estuaries, but can be found on the coast in southeast England).
This is called ‘teetering’, and sandpiper chicks begin to ‘bob’, almost as soon as they hatch from the eggs. The teetering becomes faster when birds are nervous, but stops if the bird is courting or alarmed.
Sanderling coastal birds (run like clockwork toys!)
These are medium-sized sandpipers that feed in flocks at the tide edge, mostly eating insects, crustaceans, fish, worms and jellyfish. Again not native to England, they arrive from Greenland and Siberia in winter, passing by during spring/summer migrations.
They are less stocky than most birds and you’ll often see them scampering on their three toes (due to missing a hind toe, wildlife experts say they kind of ‘run like a clockwork toy’). Currently an ‘amber’ listed species, they are common on the Solent coast, where you’ll find them probing in the mud on sandy beaches for food.
Cormorant coastal birds (excellent at fishing!)
Spotted year-round, their feathers are not waterproof so can often be seen stretching out their wings to dry off, after using their excellent fishing skills to dive into the sea.
They use their long hook-tipped bills to swim underwater to eat, and tend to nest on low coastal cliffs or more recently, have started to fly inland to roost in trees (near lakes) and flooded gravel pits.
Choughs (meet Cornwall’s coastal birds!)
These are unique crows with red beaks and legs. Previously endangered, they are now thriving thanks to conservation efforts, found in Cornwall, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. They use their long bills to eat eat beetle larvae and leatherjackets. They have a loud ‘chee-ow’ song, and are mostly found on cliff faces and rock ledges, but also nest in empty buildings.
Known for their dramatic dives and swoops, choughs are monogamous and pair up in bonds that last for life. They are also very faithful to nesting sites, often returning to the same cliffs each year.
Turnstones (strongmen of the coastal birds!)
These medium-sized sandpipers are often found around rocky shores and gravel beaches. Named after their habit of ‘flipping’ large stones to find food. They are so strong, they can even lift big stones as heavy as them!.
They migrate to England through the year, flying from Europe or Canada. They have chequered black/chestnut patterns on their backs, with white patches elsewhere. But in winter, they change colour to dark brown with black patterns, retaining white bellies and chins.
Common sandpipers have green-brown backs (rock sandpipers have longer legs than turnstones, and much lighter plumage). They eat a lot of varied food, and have even been known to eat chips and artificial sweeteners, so it’s important to keep beaches free from litter.
Kittiwakes (England’s ‘three-toed sailor’ coastal birds!)
These are gulls. But due to over-fishing, pollution and warming seas, their population has fallen in the UK by 60% in the last 40 years or so. To attract a female, male kittiwakes perform a ‘head-jerk dance!’
And despite being a naturally cliff-nesting bird that spends most of the time at sea, this area has become a haven for gulls that previously would have nested on shipwrecks even. Unlike most gulls, kittiwakes (who only have three toes) are not scavengers, so you won’t find them stealing your chips or on landfill sites.
Like puffins, the lack of sandeels has hugely affected populations (though there is now a law to ban sandeel fishing in the UK, which has been met with fury by EU fisheries). Thankfully a recent legal challenge failed, and it seems both birds have their primary food source safe, for now.
These three-toed coastal birds naturally spend the winters at sea, only returning to coastal cliffs to breed in spring. Chicks instinctively stay put (rather than walking around like most chicks), so have reduced risk of falling from cliff edges.
With yellow bills, eating lots of high-carotene foods turns the base of their beaks a strong red colour. They form strong monogamous bonds and spend the non-breeding season far out in the North Atlantic.
Tyne Bridge (made from strong steel) provides a strong backdrop for nesting kittiwakes, around 700 use it each year, hidden from view. In fact, Tyne Side now boasts the largest colonies of inland breeding kittiwakes on earth.
Local wildlife experts have been instrumental in persuading those restoring the bridge to avoid netting (that could trap nesting birds) and use alternative methods from those who know, to protect birds that have been there a lot longer than us.
Meet England’s shag coastal bird (handsome you!)
These are beautiful seabirds (related to cormorants), with glorious green eyes, long black necks and yellow patches around their mouths. Like cormorants, their feathers are not waterproof (so they can dive deeper, but they have to dry their wings, after being in the water).
They are often called ‘mini pterodactyls’ due to looking a bit like dinosaurs, when they stretch out their wings!
Unlike most seabirds, shags don’t plunge into the sea to fish, but instead leap into the water, then dive down to find food. They build nests on cliffs using twigs, feathers and even seaweed, all held together by guano (droppings!)
