Bird Watch | House Martins

House Martins start leaving for warmer climes in late August so now’s a great time to spot and appreciate them.

Look for: A bluey-black head and back and white undercarriage, a white rump that ends in a forked tail and a short, black beak.

Spot them: Darting in and out of their mud nests, which they build in the eaves of buildings. They’re seen all over the UK, other than in the north and west of Scotland, especially in buildings close to woodlands or water, where they can find insects to eat easily.

Listen for: A high-pitched trill, similar to a sparrow.

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Birdwatch | The Swift

The fastest bird in flight in the UK, you’ll need to look up to spot swifts as they live life on the wing, even sleeping in flight, and only coming to rest during nesting.

Look for: Black silhouettes (but actually dark brown feathers), with a forked tail and long wings coming to a point. If you can get close enough you might make out a pale patch at the throat.

Spot them: In towns and villages, as they nest in the eaves of buildings. Dusk is a good time as they flit about, chasing insects.

Listen for: Something described as a ‘scream’ but really a high, one-note whistle, and ‘screaming parties’ in the evening when they get together for a big shout out.

Join us in The Simple Things bird hide every month on our Almanac pages, where we have lots more seasonal things to note and notice, plan and do. Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

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Birdwatch | The Turtle Dove

Best known for the two Turtle Doves that ‘my true love gave to me’, you’d actually be lucky to see a Turtle Dove at Christmas (or you would be in South Africa).

Look for: A small pigeon, a little bigger than a blackbird with a grey head, pink chest, orange and brown back and three white bands on its neck.

Spot them: Mainly in the south and east of England in woods and parks. You should feel privileged if you do see one; turtle doves are the UK’s fastest-declining bird, teetering on extinction.

Listen for: A purring ‘turr turr turr’ sound (hence the moniker). Very different from the collared dove’s coo

Join us in our Simple Things bird hide every month on our Almanac pages, where you’re also find seasonal things to note and notice, plan and do. Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

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Birdwatch | The Skylark

Known for their spring song as they soar high into the sky, skylarks just say ‘spring’ and have captivated many a poet, from William Wordsworth to Ted Hughes

Look for: A small, light brown bird, streaked with darker brown and a dark brown tail with a white side tail and white undercarriage. They also have a crest that stands up when they are excited.

Spot them: In open fields and grassland, and nesting on the ground between April and August.

Listen for: A fast, chirruping ‘Preet, preet, preet’ sound. Skylarks are also excellent mimics so you may hear them making a noise reminiscent of other farmland birds and waders.

We visit the Simple Things bird hide each month on our Almanac pages, where we also have lots more seasonal things to note and notice, plan and do. Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

Birdwatch | The Cuckoo

Cuckoos return from South Africa this month. Officially 14 April, St Tiburtius’ Day, is when you first hear cuckoo song. Traditionally, one writes to The Times on hearing the first cuckoo of spring, but you could write to us instead.

Look for: A grey head and bright yellow ring around the eye, dark grey plumage on top and barred feathers below, a little like a sparrow hawk. Some of the females are brown.

Spot them: Around the edges of woodlands and grasslands.

Listen for: Only the males ‘cuckoo’ – and you know what that sounds like. Females make a sort of bubbling sound.

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Birdwatch | Treecreepers

Treecreepers live in the UK all year round, but they’re hard to spot so many people mistakenly consider them to be rare.

Look for: A brown, speckled back and a white undercarriage, as well as a distinctive long, curved beak for winkling insects out of the bark of trees.

Spot them: Distinctively climbing upwards on the trunks of trees, in woodland all over the UK. You’ll need to look carefully, though, as they’re well camouflaged.

Listen for: A trilling, high-pitched ‘see-see-see-see’ sound

Look out for Birdwatch every month on our Almanac pages, which are full of seasonal things to see, do, note and notice.

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Birdwatch | The Mistle Thrush

Illustration: Christina Carpenter

This month, in the Simple Things bird hide, we look at the mistle thrush…

Mistle thrushes are one of the first birds to begin to sing and build nests, some even start this month

Look for: Tiny brown ‘chevrons’ on their chests, white sides to the tail and a greyish hue on their back, rather than the warmer brown sported by a song thrush.

Spot them: All over the UK, other than the northern and western isles of Scotland, foraging at ground level and singing high in tree tops.

Listen for: A song a little like a blackbird, sung in a minor key, which stops and starts. Their ‘call’ is more aggressive and raspy, like an old-fashioned football rattle.

Birdwatch appears every month on our Almanac pages. Find more seasonal things to note and notice, plan and do in the Almanac each month. Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

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Birdwatch | The Bullfinch

Beautiful bullfinches are easy to spot in bare January trees

Look for: White rumps, black wing markings and pinky-red breasts and cheeks – like they’re blushing (the males are the brighter ones; the females a little more of a grey-pink).

Spot them in: UK gardens, hedgerows and woodlands.

Listen for: A call that’s a sort of low-pitched whistling ‘peu’ sound.

Birdwatch is a new series on our ‘Almanac’ pages. Find more seasonal things to note and notice and things to plan and do each month on our Almanac.

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