Dunnock

Above and below: Dunnocks

Dunnocks are common residents, found in most habitats all over the UK, at all times of year. They are mainly ground feeders and often share their territory with robins, who I've noticed bully dunnocks, almost as much as they do their own species, when defending their patch. Dunnocks have a habit of constantly flicking their wings as though they are nervous, but actually they are reasonably tame (although not as tame as robins).

They are about the size of a sparrow and are in fact alternatively known as a hedge sparrow (or even hedge accentor). Their appearance being similar to a sparrow in that they are heavily streaked brown birds for the most part. Their beaks are dark brown and their legs are orange pink. The belly is paler brown than back and wings with a little less streaking, except for the flanks. The biggest identifying mark, is that it has no dark cap like the house sparrows and tree sparrows but has a clear pale grey upper breast and throat and this grey also extend onto the head and around the ear coverts. Both sexes are similar in appearance.

You'll have no problem finding these birds. They appear in small numbers at most sites and you'll probably even find them easily in your own back garden. They are not particularly timid but a hide will help you get really close for the best pictures.

There are numerous places in North Wales and North West England that I could suggest but if you live in the Greater Manchester area then you can't do any worse than the bunting hide at Pennington Flash or the Woodland Hide at Risley Moss. Both allow you to get very close to these birds making photography that much easier. I can't be bothered to list all sites as they can be found almost everywhere and if you are just starting to put together your own collection of photographs then the dunnock will no doubt be one of the first.