Birds to look for in April — Dunnock
Photo credit: Paul Green
Where to look
They like to keep close to cover and can be found in woodland, farmland edges, parks and gardens.
Description
The dunnock (Prunella modularis) is a small brown bird often confused with a sparrow. They are frequently overlooked because they are so understated. Even their common name comes from dun, meaning dingy brown or dark-coloured! The Dunnock is a relatively common garden bird although its numbers have gone down in recent years. It’s hard to tell the males and females apart because they look similar. Although they are shy and understated their lives are far from boring! Once mated the females will often court other males so making sure that she has two males supplying her and her chicks with food, while in the south of England, dunnocks are the preferred host for cuckoos and end up bringing up the cuckoo chicks! They eat insects, spiders, worms and seeds.
Tweet of the Day
Tweet of the Day
To hear the dunnock’s song follow the link below to the BBC’s Tweet of the Day
Spottings
Reuben
Arabella
Tamsin
Tamsin
Ella
Chloe
“Nesting in our garden in the centre of Stroud”
Pops
Carrie
“I spotted a dunnock in a big oak tree.”
Harry
“We spotted a dunnock high up in a tree on the far side of the river. When we moved closer one of the dogs startled it so we couldn't get a photo!”
Dexter
“Dunnocks nesting in the roof!”
Daniel and Mrs S
“We heard lots of dunnocks and saw one on our bird feeder.”
Amélie
Xavier
Gavin
“Spotted in my garden in New Polzeath, Cornwall.”
Where we've found Dunnocks
Dunnock spottings journal (20 seen)
| Last seen | Location | Spotted by | Group | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Apr 2024 | Suffolk | Leafgatherers | ||
| 27 Apr 2023 | Stroud Valleys Project | |||
| 28 Apr 2022 | King Stanley | Reuben | Foxmoor Primary | |
| 28 Apr 2022 | Stonehouse | Arabella | Foxmoor Primary | |
| 3 Apr 2022 | Tamsin | Stroud Valleys Project | ||
| 16 Apr 2021 | Stroud | Tamsin | Stroud Valleys Project | |
| 4 Jan 2021 | Stroud Valleys Project | |||
| 16 Jul 2020 | Garden | Ella | The Weaver's | |
| 30 Apr 2020 | In garden | Chloe | Trinity | Nesting in our garden in the centre of Stroud |
| 29 Apr 2020 | canal hedge | Pops | Cooks&Co | |
| 28 Apr 2020 | Tidenham | Carrie | St John's on-the-Hill | I spotted a dunnock in a big oak tree. |
| 28 Apr 2020 | NP16 6BT | Harry | St John's on-the-Hill | We spotted a dunnock high up in a tree on the far side of the river. When we moved closer one of the dogs startled it so we couldn't get a photo! |
| 28 Apr 2020 | Chepstow | Dexter | St John's on-the-Hill | Dunnocks nesting in the roof! |
| 28 Apr 2020 | Daniel and Mrs S | St John's on-the-Hill | We heard lots of dunnocks and saw one on our bird feeder. | |
| 27 Apr 2020 | Garden | Amélie | Cooks&Co | |
| 23 Apr 2020 | Lost in the Wild | |||
| 14 Apr 2020 | playground | Stroud Valley Community School | ||
| 11 Apr 2020 | In our garden | Xavier | MogsHouse | |
| 3 Apr 2020 | Belmont Road | Wickham Bassetts at Home | ||
| 31 Mar 2020 | New Polzeath, Cornwall. | Gavin | Blended | Spotted in my garden in New Polzeath, Cornwall. |
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