There’s no time quite like the first few weeks of Spring, with birdsong filling the air and patches of brightly coloured flowers popping up all around. Even in the middle of the busiest cities, urban wildlife blooms and, aided by the longer stretches of sun, lifts us all from the gloominess of winter.
Yet, despite delighting in the trills, cheeps, and symphonies of the birds that live in the city, few of us can name all the species involved. In this article, I want to put faces to the names of some of the most ubiquitous urban wildlife (though this list is far from exhaustive) that everyone living in a town or city can look out for as Spring springs.
Birds
For many around the world, a dawn chorus of birdsong is their sign that Spring has truly arrived.So important is birdsong, that it was Rachel Carson’s foundational book Silent Spring, (1962) that is often credited with launching the environmental movement in the West. Carson warned against a future filled only with silent Springs owing to the bioaccumulative effects of the synthetic pesticide DDT (Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) killing off bird populations. Fortunately, the pesticides Carson warned against have long since been banned across most of the world. And, despite a rise in sensory pollution, like light and noise, birdsong still rings out in the early hours of Spring days.
Knowing our local birds by name has never been more important though. Researchers at the University of East Anglia have discovered, on the basis of monitoring bird populations in 200,000 sites across North America and Europe that Spring-time has become “both more homogenous and quieter” over the last two decades. Factors such as climate change and urbanisation have severely impacted this decline in number and variation.
Through learning the names of, looking out for, and developing greater connection with the species all around us, we are more likely to give our support to sustained campaigns to protect those birds that remain. With recognition of what’s around us, comes recognition of what could be lost. Rewilding campaigns are already underway across the world, we need more to continue striving, over sixty years later, against the prospect of a silent Spring. Here’s a very non-exhaustive list of birds to look out for over the next few months.
House Sparrows
Humans and house sparrows have lived as neighbours for thousands of years, a beautiful example of cross-species coexistence with mutual benefits. Today, the loud and sociable house sparrow can be found around the world in city streets, stations and parks, as well as in rural hedgerows and farmland. They like to live in small groups, close to humans, owing to their resourceful nature, being opportunistic when it comes to food and shelter, they feed on humans’ discarded food scraps, seeds and the insects drawn to human dwellings. Additionally, buildings, walls, gutters and hedgerows provide ample opportunities for shelter, and a favourably warm microclimate in colder months.
Sparrows are notable for their song, a basic but very loud ‘cheep cheep’, repeated over and over again. Male and female birds look quite different. Males have chestnut brown backs with black markings, pale grey underparts and a black bib, whereas females and young birds have a brown back with black markings, a pale chest with no bib, and a pale yellow stripe behind their eyes.
Scientific name: Passer domesticus
Family: Passeridae
Starlings
Starlings are often spotted in city gardens and parks, and a birdfeeder is a great way to attract them. They have glossy black feathers, with iridescent blue-green markings, and small white spots in the cooler months. Starlings are known for their shapeshifting, hypnotic group flights, or murmurations, when they take to the sky en masse, creating awesome aerobatic displays before settling down to roost. Fortunately, you don’t need to live in the countryside to see these – owing to the additional warmth cityscapes can provide for starling populations, large urban roofs are often favoured as roosting sites, and murmurations are brought to urban audiences.
Scientific name: Sturnus vulgaris
Family: Sturnidae
Rose ringed parakeets
Though native to Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, today you can see rose-ringed parakeets across North America and Europe, often where birds have escaped captivity and established local populations. Rising temperatures globally have only made their new homes more hospitable. They are distinctive for their bright lime green plumage, and a thin ring of pink around their necks. Listen out for a shrill, “kii-a” or “kii-ak” next time you’re in a park, and since parakeets are social birds, if you see one, you will most likely see several.
Scientific name : Psittacula krameri
Family: Psittacidae
Blackcaps
Though similar in shape to robins, Blackcaps are easily identified by their distinctive cap, black caps for males (as the name suggests) and chestnut brown for females and chicks. Blackcaps prefer wooded areas, so when venturing into cities stick to parks and gardens with lots of trees and hedges.
Scientific name: Sylvia atricapilla
Family: Sylviidae (warblers)
Blue Tits
Perhaps one of the prettiest birds you can spot year round, blue tits are distinct for their small size, bright blue cap, bright yellow chest and green, blue and white wings. They are fond of garden feeders and are very acrobatic, even hanging upside down from branches and feeding posts to access food. Blue tits are native to the UK, where they are also one of the most common birds, with an estimated 3.4 million pairs. Listen out for their distinct, and high-pitched ‘tsee-tsee-tsee-chu-chu-chu’ song this Spring.
Scientific name: Cyanistes caeruleus
Family: Paridae (tits)
Ducks, swans and geese
This trio of urban wildlife needs no explanation. Where there is urban water, these three make home, and there are few signs of Spring as adorable as fluffy, fresh-hatched ducklings, cygnets and goslings waddling around in a line, or taking to water for the first time. Goslings are typically born in early April, though in milder years they can hatch from as early as February, ducklings from mid-March, and cygnets from May.
The most common goose in the UK and Europe is the Greyland Goose, they are the largest and bulkiest of the wild geese native to the UK and Europe, and ancestors to several other species. Huge-footed, fluffy goslings are one of my favourite sights to behold as the days grow longer (bonus points if surrounded by meadow daisies).
Scientific name: Anser anser
There are twenty-seven different species of duck in the UK alone, but the most common are mallard ducks. They are social birds, making them well-adapted to urban living. Though many mallards live in the UK year-round, some migrate from North Europe for the warmer temperatures in Spring, and the early sun on the glossy green plumage of male mallards – or drakes – is a beautiful sign of Spring.
Scientific name: Anas platyrhynchos
The mute swan is the most common species in North America and Europe but is also found in Asia, and sometimes even North Africa. They are the quietest of swan species, hence their name, but can be intensely and aggressively territorial – so don’t get too close!
Scientific name: Cygnus olor
Flowers
From public parks, to window boxes, and curated gardens to pavement cracks, the flowering of Spring blooms never fails to put a smile on my face. Here are a few colourful characters to look out for in pockets of green near you.
Snowdrops
Snowdrops are the earliest sign of Winter’s waning, often emerging as early as late January, and lasting throughout February into early March. They are native to mainland Europe, and were introduced to Britain as early as the sixteenth century. Similar to, but not to be confused with, the summer snowflake (Leucojum aestivum), which unlike snowdrops, has a green spot marking on the end of each petal and petals of equal length.
Scientific name: Galanthus nivalis.
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Crocuses
Depending on the local climate crocuses are another early bloomer, emerging in mid to late winter, pushing their way through cold ground to burst out in shades of white, yellow, purple, red, pale-blue, orange, pink, and in combinations of these. They grow from ‘corms’, bulb-like structures, and once planted, a single corm will flower every spring for at least five years. Owing to their early arrival to parks and gardens, ahead of Spring, they are associated with hope, rebirth and fresh beginnings.
Scientific name Crocus Spp.
Family: Iridaceae
Daffodils
Though native to Northern Europe, you will see the sunny heads of daffodils popping up towards the end of Winter across North America, Europe, Northern Africa and even eastwards towards Iran. Their yellow trumpets have been a staple of Spring for centuries, and their scientific name comes from Greek myth, specifically the myth of the beautiful and tragic Narcissus.
Scientific name: Narcissus
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Common daisies
Though common daisies can be spotted in small numbers all year round, their sudden abundance is a sure sign that soon days will be warm and long enough to lounge in green spaces and nostalgically craft daisy-chains for friends or fairies alike. Despite their being so widespread, few know that each daisy ‘flower’ is actually a composite of dozens of tiny flowers that make the yellow disc in the middle (‘disc florets’), and that the surrounding white pieces, are not petals, but actually ‘ray florets’.
Scientific name: Bellis perennis
Family: Asteraceae
Wisteria
Wisteria is a beautiful vine, most commonly blooming into lilac purple flowers, but with varieties in pink, white and even hues of blue. They are native to Asia and North America, but widely cultivated across the world, typically come into bloom in March or April. It is a versatile plant, and can be trained to grow in various shapes, around arches or trellises and up walls for example, which is why it is often seen in urban spaces, providing a beautiful wall of colour and shade for small gardens.
Scientific name: Wisteria
Family: Fabaceae
Bluebells
Distinct for their deep violet-blue colour, bluebells have a long history in British folklore and literature, inspiring poets from Oscar Wilde, Emily and Anne Brontë to Percy Bysshe Shelley. Bluebells are native to western Europe but today nearly half the world’s bluebells are found in the UK, where the incredible blue carpets they can create are fondly associated with Spring. They generally flower from late March onwards, though warmer climates can prompt them to come into bloom earlier. As they flower relatively early, they provide a food source for butterflies, bees and hoverflies wherever they grow.
Scientific name: Hyacinthoides non-scripta
Family: Asparagaceae
Trees
Sour Cherry
Often known simply as cherry blossom, sour cherry trees enliven any Spring street with their stunning small white flowers that seem to glow in the sunlight. Though there are dozens of variations of cherry trees, sour cherry is the most common in the UK and mainland Europe. They flower slightly later than sweet cherry varieties and suffer from fewer pests and diseases too. You can tell them apart from other variations that are more populous in warmer climates by their dark green leaves with toothed edges, bright red berries with short stalks, and white flowers with five rounded petals and around thirty thin long stamen.
Scientific name: Prunus cerasus
Family: Rosaceae
Magnolia
One of the most beautiful flowering trees around, magnolias can be found across continents and are believed to be the earliest known flowering plants, with fossils showing they have been around for at least 95 million years ago, since the Cretaceous period. There are over 200 species within the magnolia family, and many are gardener favourites owing to their majestic aesthetic. There was a magnolia tree in my high school, and I remember the joy that the first buds on the branches would bring, a sign that there would be sunlight after the school day ended, and that Spring was truly underway.
Scientific name: Magnolia grandiflora
Family: Magnoliaceae
More
To learn more about which trees you can expect to bud first, and which butterflies, bugs and other flying folk to look out for as Spring begins, read this wonderful guide by the Woodland Trust.
Be Curious:
- Did we miss your favourite Spring flower or animal, share this article and tell us what your favourite first sign of Spring is.
- Wish you could see more birds wherever you live? Follow these tips from the Woodland trust to make your garden more bird-friendly.
- Why not find a copy of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring at your local library and read the book credited with launching Western environmentalism?
- Check out Curious Earth’s guide for supporting local wildlife through the cooler seasons of the year.
- Learn more about how you can spot urban wildlife throughout the year, even after night fall!
Featured image by Yoksel Zok via Unsplash.
