Birds

Black Cap – “The Northern Nightingale”

December 6, 2025 Birds, Black Cap

The blackcap, sometimes referred to as the northern nightingale, is a distinctive greyish warbler, the male has a black cap, and the female black cap has a chestnut one. Its delightful fluting song has earned it the name ‘northern nightingale’. Although primarily a summer visitor birds from Germany and north-east Europe are increasingly spending the…

Female Mandarin Duck

March 2, 2025 Birds, Conservation, Ducks, Nature

The beautiful mandarin duck was introduced from the Far East, where it can still be found in China, Japan, Korea and parts of Russia. It escaped, or was deliberately released, from captivity in the UK. They are actually quite shy birds, often hiding beneath overhanging willows and usually only forming small flocks. How to identify…

Difference between Male & Female Common Kingfisher

June 5, 2024 Birds, Conservation, Countryside, Kingfisher, Nature, RSPB

The female is identical in appearance to the male except that her lower mandible is orange-red with a black tip. The adult male has a black beak. The juvenile is similar to the adult, but with duller and greener upperparts and paler underparts. Its bill is black, and the legs are also initially black. CRUSH Blog©

Goldfinch – Highly coloured finch

November 13, 2023 Birds, Conservation, Finch, Goldfinch

Key information The goldfinch is a highly coloured finch with a bright red face and yellow wing patch. Sociable, often breeding in loose colonies, they have a delightful liquid twittering song and call. Their long fine beaks allow them to extract otherwise inaccessible seeds from thistles and teasels. Increasingly they are visiting bird tables and…