Bird spotting
at English Heritage sites
A practical guide to spotting common and rare birds at English Heritage sites throughout the year

English Heritage protects historically significant properties across the country. In doing so, the charity also works to conserve England's natural heritage, through increasing biodiversity, protecting wildlife and having a dedicated nature strategy.
Many English Heritage sites are in amazing locations: on the coast, in ancient woodlands, and in Sites of Special Scientific Interest or SSSI. As a result, alongside the unique historic landscapes we maintain, you can also find rare species thriving, including birds.
Here, David Hedges, Head of Estate Management looks at some of the English Heritage places where you can spot noteworthy birds through the year.
Hurst Castle, Hampshire
A Tudor artillery fort built by Henry VIII and continually developed until the Second World War, Hurst Castle in Hampshire is located at the end of a mile-long shingle spit.
The coastline is part of the New Forest National Park and is designated a 'Special Protection Area' meaning it is internationally important for birds.

Rock pipets at Hurst Castle
Visit all year round, and you can see rock pipets flitting around the castle walls, feeding on molluscs and invertebrates.
Rock pipets are a relatively common bird to our coastlines, where they nest on rocky beaches. But they're often overlooked.

Slightly smaller than a starling, they are streaky olive-brown on top and dirty white underneath. Listen out for the high pitched 'peeping' sound they make.

Ringed plover at Hurst Castle
The spit at Hurst is also special for its small population of breeding ringed plovers.
Ringed plovers are a rare, red-listed species which has sadly seen a rapid decline in numbers in recent years. Rising sea levels have affected their breeding sites.

Ringed plover by Les Cater, RSPB
Ringed plover by Les Cater, RSPB
Look out for a small, dumpy wading bird with an orange bill and short orange legs. Ringed plovers are brownish-grey on top with a white underneath, and have a striking black-and-white pattern on their head and breasts.
If you spot one in the air, you'll see a broad, white wing-stripe.

Ringed plover and Knot in flight, by Ben Andrew, RSPB
Ringed plover and Knot in flight, by Ben Andrew, RSPB
English Heritage is currently working with the RSPB and local volunteers to protect a small area of the spit during the breeding season so the ringed plovers can breed undisturbed.
We are also working with Natural England to explore projects to raise areas of the spit so their nests are protected from storm surges.

Choughs at Dover Castle in Kent
Dover Castle in Kent has seen an avian success story in recent years, with the reintroduction of choughs to the site.
Choughs are a rare member of the crow family, with black feathers, a red beak and red legs. Legend has it that choughs got their colouring when a crow walked in the blood of the martyred Thomas Becket as the archbishop lay dying in Canterbury Cathedral.

A common sight over the skies of Kent when Dover Castle's defences were first built in the 12th century, the chough has been missing from the area for more than 200 years, due to habitat loss and historical persecution.
Changes in farming habits from traditional low-density grazing to rapidly industrialised fields means the choughs, who mainly feed on ground-dwelling invertebrates, can't get sufficient food.

Captive choughs at Dover Castle
Today, you can see captive choughs in Dover's aviary.
And in recent years, English Heritage has worked with Kent Wildlife Trust, the Wildwood Trust, Paradise Park in Cornwall, the White Cliff Countryside Partnership and the Durrell Wildlife Conservations Trust at Jersey Zoo to reintroduce wild choughs at Dover Castle.
Together with these partners, we are working to restore the chalk grasslands at Dover Castle and Dover Western Heights that are so important to these gorgeous birds.

Dunstanburgh Castle, Northumberland
Visit the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle on the Northumberland Coast, and you can see different sea birds, depending on the time of year.
Part of the land between Castle Point and Cullernose Point is a site of Special Scientific Interest, or SSSI.
From Spring to early summer, these cliffs are home to many breeding seabirds with notable populations of northern fulmar, kittiwake and razorbill.

Northern fulmar, Kittiwake and Razorbill at Dunstanburgh Castle
The fulmar looks gull-like, but is actually related to the albatross. You'll spot it flying low over the sea on stiff wings, gliding and turning to show its white underbelly and grey upper feathers in turn.

Northern fulmar in flight. Photo by Andreas Trepte, www.avi-fauna.info
Northern fulmar in flight. Photo by Andreas Trepte, www.avi-fauna.info
Kittiwakes are white-and-grey gulls with black wing tips and black legs.

The razorbill is a black-and-white seabird with a distinctive blunt black beak.

Razorbill. Photo by Charles J. Sharp from Sharp Photography.
Razorbill. Photo by Charles J. Sharp from Sharp Photography.
You can also see common eider, puffin and gannet at Dunstanburgh Castle.

Passage Migrant Birds at Dunstanburgh Castle
Visit in the spring or the autumn, and you'll find Dunstanburgh Castle is a good site for passage migrant birds. Transient avian visitors use the castle and its surrounding lands as a kind of motorway service station, a safe place to rest and refuel during their long flight.
Look out for the wheatear, a small bird with blue-grey shoulders and an orange tinge to its white chest, and a black cheek.

Northern wheatear. Photo by Andreas Trepte, www.avi-fauna.info.
Northern wheatear. Photo by Andreas Trepte, www.avi-fauna.info.
You might also spot a ring ouzel: a thrush in smart evening wear. Slightly smaller than a blackbird, this rare bird has a striking white breast band and a black-and-yellow beak.

Ring ouzel. Photo by Paco Gómez from wikimedia.
Ring ouzel. Photo by Paco Gómez from wikimedia.

Peregrine Falcons at Ashby de la Zouch Castle, Leicestershire
Ashby de la Zouch was built as a manor house in the 12th century, but reached castle status in the 15th century. Today, you can still climb the tower, despite it suffering massive damage during the Civil War.
A pair of peregrine falcons, the world's fastest bird, have nested on the site since 2019. A young male and older female, the pair successfully fledged their first chick in 2023.

Peregrine falcon chicks at Ashby de la Zouch Castle.
Peregrine falcon chicks at Ashby de la Zouch Castle.
You can get good views of the birds by climbing the tower and looking across to the nest.
Grey-blue on top, with a dark head and a distinguished-looking black 'moustache', the peregrine is a powerful falcon who feeds on small ducks, pigeons and other medium-sized birds.

Kenwood, London
Kenwood is positioned to the north of Hampstead Heath, right by a mosaic of parkland and woodland that exists surprisingly close to the centre of London. The woodland is a western relic of the great ancient forest that once spanned the entirety of north London, joining up with larger areas of woodland at Epping Forest in Essex.
It's another Site of Special Scientific Interest; the natural woodland includes the nationally rare wild service tree and a nationally scarce species of fungi, as well as the only (albeit small) sphagnum moss bog in London.

Redwings and Field Fares at Kenwood
During the winter, the 112 acres of glorious parkland around Kenwood is a great place to see redwings, a type of thrush that rarely visits gardens, unless the weather gets really cold.
Redwings have a yellow stripe above their eyes, and reddish-orange patches on their flanks.

Redwing. Photo by Andreas Trepte, www.avi-fauna.info.
Redwing. Photo by Andreas Trepte, www.avi-fauna.info.
Winter visitors to Kenwood can also spot fieldfares: large, colourful thrushes who visit the gardens in large flocks.

A fieldfare. Photo by Hedera Baltica from wikimedia.
A fieldfare. Photo by Hedera Baltica from wikimedia.

Common and rarer woodland and parkland birds at Kenwood
Kenwood is also home to a mix of common and rarer woodland and parkland birds.
Look out for the spotted flycatcher, willow warbler and chiff-chaff and greater spotted and green woodpeckers.

Willow warbler. Photo by Andreas Trepte, www.avi-fauna.info
Willow warbler. Photo by Andreas Trepte, www.avi-fauna.info
And, of course, you can't miss spotting the noisy, green parakeets at this London site. A non-native bird from Africa and South Asia, the rose-ringed parakeet or ringneck parrot is now abundant in southern England and slowly expanding northwards.
Were the first pair (apparently named Adam and Eve) released by Jimi Hendrix on Carnaby Street in the swinging 60s? Or did they escape from Shepperton Studios during the making of the 1951 film The African Queen? These are just a couple of the urban legends that have sprung up around these acrobatic interlopers.

Rose-ringed parakeets. Photo by Jonas Bengtsson from wikimedia.
Rose-ringed parakeets. Photo by Jonas Bengtsson from wikimedia.
In reality, reports suggest parakeets have been in this country since at least the 1860s. The numbers of these noisy but successful tropical integrators were perhaps bolstered by the many pets who were set free during a parrot fever outbreak in the late 1920s.

Piel Castle, Barrow in Furness, Cumbria
Located just off Barrow in Furness and accessible by Ferry, Piel Island is located on the northern side of Morecombe Bay and part of South Walner and Piel Channel Flats SSSI.
The area has the third highest count of wintering wildfowl in Britain, so is a great place for bird spotting.
The ferry across to the island doesn't always run in winter, but you can still enjoy views of the castle from the mainland and look out for:
- grey plover, a browny-grey running bird, with black armpits

Grey plover. Photo by Gabriel Buissart from wikimedia.
Grey plover. Photo by Gabriel Buissart from wikimedia.
- eider duck, the UK's heaviest and fastest flying duck; the male has distinctive black-and-white markings (looking like a duck going to a fancy dress party as a penguin), while the female looks like a mallard's big sister

A male eider duck. Photo by Ryzhkov Sergey from wikimedia.
A male eider duck. Photo by Ryzhkov Sergey from wikimedia.
- shelduck, sized between a mallard and a goose, with a dark green head and neck, a chestnut stripe on its tummy and a smart red beak

Common Shelduck. Photo by DickDaniels, theworldbirds.org
Common Shelduck. Photo by DickDaniels, theworldbirds.org
- cormorant, a prehistoric-looking funeral attendee, with black everything – body, head, beak and legs.

Cormorant. Photo by Charles J. Sharp from Sharp Photography.
Cormorant. Photo by Charles J. Sharp from Sharp Photography.

Summer birds to see on Piel Island
In summer, as you travel across to the island, look out for redshank, with its bright red-orange legs.

Common redshank. Photo by Andreas Trepte, www.avi-fauna.info.
Common redshank. Photo by Andreas Trepte, www.avi-fauna.info.
And the smaller turnstone, with a brown-and-white body, and black-and-white head. The latter are likely to be pottering about the rocks hunting for food from under stones.

Turnstone. Photo © Hans Hillewaert from wikimedia.
Turnstone. Photo © Hans Hillewaert from wikimedia.
In the air, you'll see silvery-grey and white common tern with long tails, nicknamed the 'sea-swallow'; as well as the little tern, with a short tail, and a yellow beak with a black tip.

A common tern, looking down for food as it flies. Photo by Tony Hisgett from wikimedia.
A common tern, looking down for food as it flies. Photo by Tony Hisgett from wikimedia.

Little tern. Photo by JJ Harrison, from wikimedia.
Little tern. Photo by JJ Harrison, from wikimedia.

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