What's your favourite bird?

[Queen bee]

As said. Preferably in the British Isles

My favourite would have to be a coal tit-- they're so full of character! When we had a window seed feeder, they would come and chuck the seeds out one by one until they found a sunflower seed! If the sparrows tried to push them off, they'd hiss, fluff up to look bigger and open their beaks really wide.

[MagpieMick]

Kingfisher for me amazing colour, great to watch..

[stephen p]

thats a hard one

Well it's got to be the Kingfisher i saw my first one in March and have seen 4 more since.
BUT..... i recently saw a Red Kite and was amazed, so im going to have to say My Favourites BIRDS are the Kingfisher and the Red Kite.

[Kayleigh]

Mine has to be the barn owl that flew inches from the windscreen of my parked car with a mouse in its beak. Or the equally close encounter of the buzzard chasing a Rabbit down a country lane just in front of our car... Fantastic memories.

[tufftie]

Lapwings - sometimes a friend and i used to take sleeping bags down to the hide at the Loons and wake to hear and see their displays - great to sit watching them with a mug of tea!

[The Black Rabbit]

The Swifts.
Roll on the end of April!
Doug

[Dae]

That's a toughy. I have favorites both over here in the UK and back where I came from in the US.

However, I have to say that my favorite here is the Red Kite. I first saw these in the first year I came to stay in the UK and fell in love. It's a gorgeous bird that I don't get the opportunity to see too often. Hopefully will see them again soon!

[rainmaker]

Depends on the season really.

Blackbirds in spring - their song is just beautiful;
There's a host in summer - sparrows (simple, but 'appy that's me ) because of the family as a whole, twittering away in the trees, bickering at the feeders; housemartins at the local RHS place I volunteer, aerial acrobatics all over the show - including inside the potting sheds!
Autumn & winter - tits of all shapes and sizes, brave and cheeky Oh, and also the starlings, beligerent to say the least. Oh, and the Jay - just beautiful colouring
All year round interest, I love my pair of nuthatches that are regular in the garden, funny in the autumn when they start jamming nuts into any nook and cranny they can find.
And then there's the robin, they seem to love posing for the camera.
And who can be fail to be moved by the rarer sights - birds of prey, owls, kingfishers.

And then of course, there's the times that the hard work of providing food for the birds gives you new species in the garden - the woodpecker, the pair of gold finches, the greenfinches, the , the , the , the.....

Its a symbiosis-type thing for me - if any one was missing, there'd be something majorly wrong....

[peppermint]

I love robins,swallows and pied wagtails

[glsammy]

I'm going for Dunnock. Simply because we have three resident in our Garden and are a delight to watch.

[Seajay]

I agree with Graham and opt for the Dunnock. When you see them close up they are a beautiful little bird and come the Spring they twist and turn around chasing each other like Walt Disney's bluebirds in Bambi! Even through your legs! I can also approach them in the open to within a few feet, great for photography and I'm sure this has a calming influence on other species which visit the garden.
My favourite seabird (I do love seabirds and our beautiful coast) is without a doubt the Gannet. We are so lucky on these Islands!

[Nicola Main]

Thats a very hard question and I can't pick just one! So here's my top 5:

1. Dipper
2. Coal Tit
3. Capercaillie
4. Sparrowhawk
5. Tawny Owl

[ChrisJB]

Originally Posted by The Black Rabbit

The Swifts.
Roll on the end of April!
Doug

I'm with the Black Rabbit here. Special birds they are.

Would also have to include the Blackbird - that wonderful song, and also the Curlew - April on the moors, you can't beat it.

Regards, Chris

[yellowhammer]

I'm gonna have to say Yellowhammer... Closely followed by Sparrowhawk

[tigger]

Like many others I can't just choose one! it's too difficult.

Bullfinch - they look like they don't really belong in England with their peach coloured breasts and pitch black heads
Kingfisher - again, gorgeous colour and amazing hunters
Flycatcher - for their acrobatic fly catching displays
Sony Thrush - for their speckled feathers, and snail banging
Robin - just because!

[Lincs Yellowbelly]

Can't pic just one i'm afraid top 5

Bullfinch
Blue Tit
Sparrowhawk
GSW
Goldfinch

[agrumpycow]

Robins!
Wherever I am, at home, at work, out walking, on holiday there's always a robin close by. Almost like my own little guardian angels!

[Hoppingmad]

It has to be the robin for me. Dear little birds although agressive and violent towards each other. Also have to mention the blackbird. I have a pair that visit my garden and I throw apple out to them each day which they love. I benefit from the beautiful song in the spring.

[Blackbrook Eye]

For me it has to be Canada goose, stuffed with scored whole oranges and slow roasted under cooking foil with a mesh spacer between the bird and the base of the roasting tin, Delicious !!!

[Wolfhill]

For me it has to be either Ptarmigan or Red Grouse, both are such brilliant birds that are full of character

[paulchandler6]

Originally Posted by The Black Rabbit

The Swifts.
Roll on the end of April!
Doug

Same here gotta be Swifts.Fascinating to watch them reeling around the sky on warm summer evenings.

Paul

[DaiTheDragon]

This may seem daft but I am going to pick the House Sparrow. I can see them every day, rain or shine, in the garden, in the town, along the hedge rows they are always there.
When I watch them in the garden you begin to reconize a pecking order as to who is boss of the feeders.
But there is one bird who's call makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and that is the Curlew, a beautiful bird with an enchanting call.

Dai

[snowhound]

Mine have to be:

Raven (so handsome and intelligent looking)
Eagle owl (but think they might be from Europe)
Robin (so very cute)

[AndyA]

Hard to say really as I love 'em all, but I suppose the Nuthatch and the Goldcrest have to figure somewhere near the top of my list.

[NickCantle]

Graham's Nuthatch for me