Country life
They might appear in our gardens , which leads to vigorous disputes with the locals .
Pied wagtail
Almost every car park , playground or playing field has a few of these distinctive birds walking around looking for food . Even though there maybe several in the same area , pied wagtails like to have their own patch and will drive off rivals . At dusk , they change character and pack together in hundreds to roost , often in town centres on windowsills or in trees .
Redwing
Similar in size and appearance to song thrushes , redwings are distinguished by the long creamy stripe above the eye . They like berries and can be seen in flocks in hedges in early autumn . Later , they look for worms and other invertebrates in open grassy fields or in the leaf litter in woodlands . If it gets really cold , redwings come into gardens to feed on fallen apples .
Blackcap
These plain , grey warblers with a contrasting cap – black in the male and brown in the female – are an increasingly familiar sight in our gardens in winter . Almost all those that spend the winter here do so in suburban gardens where berry-bearing bushes and bird feeders provide abundant food . In cold weather , blackcaps will eat apples and are reputedly fond of sponge cake .
Photo : Blackcap by David Kilbey
Photo : Redwing by David Foker
Photo : Pied Wagtail by Andy Browne
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust , working for a better future for wildlife and wild places in Hampshire and the Island . Phone : 01489 774 400 E-mail : feedback @ hwt . org . uk Website : www . hiwwt . org . uk Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust , Beechcroft House , Vicarage Lane , Curdridge , Hampshire , SO32 2DP
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