Rare Birds in Shropshire
Our list for Shropshire has 16 rare birds recorded regularly there: 5 residents, 6 passage migrants and 5 scarce visitors
All 16, most common first
WhimbrelNumenius phaeopusPassage migrantRare40–46 cmRegularly May–Jul
OspreyPandion haliaetusPassage migrantRare54–58 cmRegularly Apr–Aug
Black SwanCygnus atratusScarceRare110–142 cm
Greater White-fronted GooseAnser albifronsScarceRare64–81 cm
Jack SnipeLymnocryptes minimusPassage migrantRare17–19 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
Hen HarrierCircus cyaneusPassage migrantRare41–52 cmRegularly Nov
Eurasian Tree SparrowPasser montanusResidentRare13–14 cmRegularly Apr
Lesser Spotted WoodpeckerDryobates minorPassage migrantRare14–16 cmRegularly Mar–Jun
Common TernSterna hirundoScarceRare31–35 cm
Wood DuckAix sponsaResidentRare47–54 cmRegularly Aug
RedshankTringa totanusResidentRare27–29 cmRegularly Sep
HawfinchCoccothraustes coccothraustesPassage migrantRare17–18 cmRegularly Nov–Feb
Grey PartridgePerdix perdixResidentRare28–32 cmRegularly Mar
Mediterranean GullIchthyaetus melanocephalusResidentRare37–40 cmRegularly Feb–Mar
Willow TitPoecile montanusScarceRare11–12 cm
Muscovy DuckCairina moschataScarceRare66–84 cm
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Willow Tit 11–12 cm
- Eurasian Tree Sparrow 13–14 cm
- Lesser Spotted Woodpecker 14–16 cm
- Hawfinch 17–18 cm
- Jack Snipe 17–19 cm
- Redshank 27–29 cm
- Grey Partridge 28–32 cm
- Common Tern 31–35 cm
- Mediterranean Gull 37–40 cm
- Whimbrel 40–46 cm
- Hen Harrier 41–52 cm
- Wood Duck 47–54 cm
- Osprey 54–58 cm
- Greater White-fronted Goose 64–81 cm
- Muscovy Duck 66–84 cm
- Black Swan 110–142 cm
Body length, bill to tail. Rare birds in grey.
Data: EOD – eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), accessed via GBIF.org, CC BY 4.0. Records from 2019–2024, aggregated and filtered by Birdfact. How these lists are made