Birds in West Yorkshire
Our list for West Yorkshire has 183 bird species recorded regularly there: 89 residents, 36 summer visitors, 23 winter visitors, 24 passage migrants and 11 scarce visitors
The list comes from 446,000 birdwatchers' records from 2019–2024, shared through the eBird Observation Dataset on GBIF. A bird is listed when it was recorded in at least 3 of the 6 years and has a Birdfact species guide, so more species occur here than are listed; the months show when it is recorded most years.
- Species on our list
- 183
- In October
- 123
- Common
- 85
- Busiest month
- Apr
What's special about West Yorkshire
vs EnglandThe birds recorded far more often here than across England, as a share of all bird records. These are the ones West Yorkshire is worth visiting for.
Little Owl5.3×Resident · 0.28% of records here, 0.05% across England
Red Grouse4.9×Resident · 0.13% of records here, 0.03% across England
Eurasian Bittern3.4×Summer visitor · 0.20% of records here, 0.06% across England
Common Merganser3.2×Winter visitor · 0.49% of records here, 0.15% across England
Black-necked Grebe3.1×Resident · 0.06% of records here, 0.02% across England
Dipper2.5×Resident · 0.09% of records here, 0.03% across England
Eurasian Spoonbill2.5×Summer visitor · 0.21% of records here, 0.08% across England
Goldeneye2.1×Winter visitor · 0.32% of records here, 0.15% across England
This month: October
GBIF · OctMost likely
Share of all bird records in West Yorkshire in October, 2019–2024. “Arriving now” are the birds whose share rises most from last month. Each month links to that month’s page.
Near you this week
The birds most likely around your town or postcode right now, from the same records, for a square about 9 km across.
The bird calendar for West Yorkshire
Month by monthWhen each bird is around, through the year. The darker the square, the closer that month is to the bird’s busiest. Filter by summer or winter visitors to see the seasons turn over.
| Bird | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woodpigeon | ||||||||||||
| Magpie | ||||||||||||
| Carrion Crow | ||||||||||||
| Blackbird | ||||||||||||
| European Robin | ||||||||||||
| Blue Tit | ||||||||||||
| Black-headed Gull | ||||||||||||
| Mallard | ||||||||||||
| European Goldfinch | ||||||||||||
| Great Tit | ||||||||||||
| Dunnock | ||||||||||||
| Eurasian Wren | ||||||||||||
| Jackdaw | ||||||||||||
| Moorhen | ||||||||||||
| Common Starling | ||||||||||||
| Canada Goose | ||||||||||||
| Chaffinch | ||||||||||||
| Mute Swan | ||||||||||||
| Coot | ||||||||||||
| Long-tailed Tit | ||||||||||||
| House Sparrow | ||||||||||||
| Great Cormorant | ||||||||||||
| Tufted Duck | ||||||||||||
| Grey Heron | ||||||||||||
| Rock Dove | ||||||||||||
| Greylag Goose | ||||||||||||
| European Herring Gull | ||||||||||||
| Northern Lapwing | ||||||||||||
| Stock Dove | ||||||||||||
| Chiffchaff |
The year in West Yorkshire
Records by month| January | 41,770 |
|---|---|
| February | 28,913 |
| March | 43,653 |
| April | 56,816 |
| May | 54,904 |
| June | 35,771 |
| July | 27,701 |
| August | 32,820 |
| September | 26,236 |
| October | 37,009 |
| November | 30,588 |
| December | 29,637 |
April has the most records (57,000). Records follow birdwatchers as well as birds: a busy month means more people out looking, as well as more birds passing through.
By family
12 of 25How common
More of England
- Birds in Norfolk253 species
- Birds in Cornwall247 species
- Birds in Kent244 species
- Birds in East Riding of Yorkshire243 species
All 183 birds, A to Z
- Arctic Tern
- Avocet
- Bar-tailed Godwit
- Barn Owl
- Barn Swallow
- Barnacle Goose
- Bearded Tit
- Black Redstart
- Black Swan
- Black Tern
- Black-headed Gull
- Black-necked Grebe
- Black-tailed Godwit
- Blackbird
- Blackcap
- Blue Tit
- Bohemian Waxwing
- Brambling
- Bullfinch
- Buzzard
- Canada Goose
- Carrion Crow
- Cattle Egret
- Cetti's Warbler
Show all 183 birds
- Chaffinch
- Chiffchaff
- Coal Tit
- Common Gull
- Common Kingfisher
- Common Loon
- Common Merganser
- Common Pheasant
- Common Raven
- Common Redpoll
- Common Redstart
- Common Reed-warbler
- Common Sandpiper
- Common Scoter
- Common Shelduck
- Common Snipe
- Common Starling
- Common Swift
- Common Tern
- Coot
- Corn Bunting
- Cuckoo
- Curlew
- Curlew Sandpiper
- Dipper
- Dunlin
- Dunnock
- Egyptian Goose
- Eurasian Bittern
- Eurasian Collared Dove
- Eurasian Jay
- Eurasian Nuthatch
- Eurasian Oystercatcher
- Eurasian Siskin
- Eurasian Skylark
- Eurasian Spoonbill
- Eurasian Teal
- Eurasian Tree Sparrow
- Eurasian Wigeon
- Eurasian Woodcock
- Eurasian Wren
- European Goldfinch
- European Green Woodpecker
- European Herring Gull
- European Pied Flycatcher
- European Robin
- Fieldfare
- Gadwall
- Garden Warbler
- Garganey
- Goldcrest
- Golden Plover
- Goldeneye
- Grasshopper Warbler
- Great Black-backed Gull
- Great Cormorant
- Great Crested Grebe
- Great Spotted Woodpecker
- Great Tit
- Great White Egret
- Greater Scaup
- Greater White-fronted Goose
- Green Sandpiper
- Greenfinch
- Greenshank
- Grey Heron
- Grey Partridge
- Grey Plover
- Grey Wagtail
- Greylag Goose
- Hen Harrier
- Hobby
- House Martin
- House Sparrow
- Iceland Gull
- Jack Snipe
- Jackdaw
- Kestrel
- Kittiwake
- Lesser Black-backed Gull
- Lesser Whitethroat
- Linnet
- Little Egret
- Little Grebe
- Little Gull
- Little Owl
- Little Ringed Plover
- Little Stint
- Long-tailed Duck
- Long-tailed Tit
- Magpie
- Mallard
- Mandarin Duck
- Marsh Tit
- Meadow Pipit
- Mediterranean Gull
- Merlin
- Mistle Thrush
- Moorhen
- Muscovy Duck
- Mute Swan
- Nightjar
- Northern Lapwing
- Northern Pintail
- Northern Shoveler
- Osprey
- Peregrine Falcon
- Pied Wagtail
- Pink-footed Goose
- Pochard
- Red Crossbill
- Red Grouse
- Red Kite
- Red Knot
- Red-breasted Merganser
- Red-crested Pochard
- Red-legged Partridge
- Redshank
- Redwing
- Reed Bunting
- Ring Ouzel
- Ringed Plover
- Rock Dove
- Rock Pipit
- Rook
- Rose-ringed Parakeet
- Ruddy Turnstone
- Ruff
- Sand Martin
- Sanderling
- Sedge Warbler
- Short-eared Owl
- Song Thrush
- Sparrowhawk
- Spotted Flycatcher
- Stock Dove
- Stonechat
- Tawny Owl
- Tree Pipit
- Treecreeper
- Tufted Duck
- Twite
- Water Pipit
- Water Rail
- Western Marsh-harrier
- Wheatear
- Whimbrel
- Whinchat
- Whitethroat
- Whooper Swan
- Willow Tit
- Willow Warbler
- Wood Sandpiper
- Wood Warbler
- Woodpigeon
- Yellow Wagtail
- Yellow-browed Warbler
- Yellow-legged Gull
- Yellowhammer
Questions
4What birds is West Yorkshire known for?
Compared with the rest of England, West Yorkshire stands out for Little Owl, Red Grouse, Eurasian Bittern and Common Merganser. Each is recorded at least 3.2 times as often here as across England, as a share of all bird records (2019–2024).
How many birds are on Birdfact's list for West Yorkshire?
183 species, each recorded regularly in West Yorkshire (in at least 3 of the 6 years 2019–2024): 89 residents, 36 summer visitors, 23 winter visitors, 24 passage migrants and 11 scarce visitors. The list includes only birds with a Birdfact species guide, so more species occur in West Yorkshire, and rarer vagrants are not listed.
What birds can I see in West Yorkshire in October?
123 species on our list for West Yorkshire are recorded regularly in October. Of these, the most often recorded are Woodpigeon, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Black-headed Gull and European Robin.
What are the most common birds in West Yorkshire?
Of the birds on our list, the ones birdwatchers record most often in West Yorkshire are Woodpigeon, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Blackbird and Blue Tit.
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












