The Bluegown Blog

Image by unlobogris @ deviantart.com

Cranes are amongst the most beautiful and spectacular of birds. Indeed, in the Far East they are considered sacred. As an inevitable corollary, almost all species are endangered to varying desgrees. Once ubiquitous in the UK (where they are still sometimes referred to, with extreme irony, as 'Common' Cranes), the Eurasian Crane was effectively extinct when I was growing up, and the odds of ever seeing one in the wild so remote as to be unimaginable.

Image via whatbird.com

The Bullfinch is one of those birds that fell foul of changing agricultural practices - one that was once common to the point of being regarded a pest, but now is something of a rarity. What is unsettling about this decline is that it was in part hastened by direct persecution.

Okay, so this is not an obvious bird at all. True to its name, the Nightjar is a thing of dusk and darkness, so to actually see one you need to be either very lucky, or you have to plan it. Either way, it's an experience you're not likely to forget.

With autumn fast upon us (and boy, has it checked in early), thoughts turn to the great influx of winter migrants that makes the UK such prime birdwatching territory, even in the coldest months. At the head of the vanguard sits the Fieldfare, a spectacular bird that is routinely underrated and frequently overlooked.

(image courtesy of thebritishbirds.com)

Definitely an obvious bird, the Cuckoo has as high a profile as any avian in the UK. A migratory avatar of spring, celebrated in words and music and studied to the nth degree, its strange whooping call familiar to everyone, even those who have never heard it live. None of this, however, should distract from the fact that the Cuckoo is by far Britain's strangest bird.