Winter Thrushes

Charlotte Owen
, 19 November 2022
Winter Thrushes
Redwing and Fieldfare © Derek Middleton

By Charlotte Owen

WildCall Officer

Just as the first Swallows are a sure sign of summer, an influx of Redwings and Fieldfares heralds the onset of frost and snow – perhaps not here just yet but certainly in their Scandinavian homeland, where temperatures are already starting to plummet. Not keen on shivering through icy blizzards, these surprisingly delicate winter thrushes seek out winter sun – or at least less winter cold – in our milder climate, which also provides plentiful winter berries and other wild fruits to entice hungry travellers.

The Redwing is the smallest of our thrush species, named for the rusty red patches under each wing. These aren’t always obvious unless the bird happens to be flying and it can be easier to look out for the distinctive cream-coloured stripe, or supercilium, above each eye. Redwings migrate overnight and you can often hear the high-pitched “tseep-tseep” contact calls of these nocturnal nomads as they pass overhead in the dark. On particularly clear, quiet nights, fishermen used to listen out for the rushing sound of rustling wings made by migrating flocks, which they dubbed the “herring spear” as a good omen of full nets by morning, as presumably the herring were on the move at the same time as the Redwings.

The Fieldfare is larger with a slate grey head and much paler stripes above the eyes. The name means traveller-through-fields and that’s exactly what these birds do, often alongside Redwings in large, mixed flocks. The Fieldfare has a more upright posture than the redwing when seen on the ground and a harsher “chack-chack” flight call. The same sound is uttered more softly when groups are gathered in trees, constantly chattering. Both species love to swarm along Hawthorn hedgerows to gulp down the haws, which seem to be their first preference in the berry buffet alongside rowan, yew, dog rose and holly. As these start to dwindle, they’ll probe the ground for earthworms and other soil-dwelling invertebrates, pausing often to scan for danger, and when the ground is frozen they will venture into gardens for windfall apples and berry-laden shrubs.

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Comments

  • Valerie Trinkwon:

    every morning for the last week, a small flock of maybe 20 fieldfares have settled in my silver birch tree, to repeatedly launch themselves at the nearby large berry=covered holly tree in my neighbours garden – lovely to watch!

    05 Dec 2017 09:09:30

  • Fran Rawlinson:

    Similarly I have had a flock of redwings roosting in my neighbours silver birch tree, making sorties to my holly tree. There were at least 100 and it only took 3 days to strip the tree of berries. Luckily I had cut enough holly for Christmas a couple of days before they arrived. I usually get about 25 each year but this year is a bumper year for them.

    14 Dec 2017 13:48:34

  • Fiona:

    Just had a flock of about 15 fieldfares in the garden – quite beautiful.

    06 Jan 2021 14:42:00

  • June Jode from Norwich:

    I have a pair of, what I now know from your website are ‘Redwings’, regularly visiting my garden. Such pretty birds. Thank you for helping me establish what they are, it’s been driving me mad not knowing.

    09 Feb 2021 16:25:00

  • Angelina:

    The redwings have not arrived in my bit of Haywards Heath just yet but they do come every year, about the first week in December to feast on the holly berries in our garden. They are lovely birds to watch.

    24 Nov 2022 12:37:00

  • Bryan Chitty:

    Saw a Red wing in my garden this morning on Copthorne Common

    10 Oct 2025 16:39:00

  • Susan Hancock:

    I spotted some Redwings this morning eating green berries off the bushy ivy. They were quite active flapping about so I could see the colour under their wings. Usually the Fieldfare feed in the fields so not so visible close up. I have seen them in large flocks some years. I’ve lived in the same place near Ditchling, for 30 years but not been aware of the redwings before. The stripe on the head was distinctive.

    20 Feb 2026 19:35:00

  • Susan Hancock:

    I spotted some Redwings this morning eating green berries off the bushy ivy. They were quite active flapping about so I could see the colour under their wings. Usually the Fieldfare feed in the fields so not so visible close up. I have seen them in large flocks some years. I’ve lived in the same place near Ditchling, for 30 years but not been aware of the redwings before. The stripe on the head was distinctive.

    21 Feb 2026 09:44:00

  • Bryan Chitty:

    Saw a Red wing in my garden this morning on Copthorne Common

    13 Jun 2026 20:50:00

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