Birds of Macclesfield
What has actually been seen around Macclesfield: 138 species, the most recorded garden birds, the busiest months, and what to put out for them.
- Species on record
- 138 within 5 km
- Observation records
- 29,596 since 2010
- Most recorded bird
- Robin
- Busiest month
- April
- Elevation
- 156 m
- Daylight, June / December
- 17 h / 7.5 h
What the records say about Macclesfield
138 bird species have been recorded within 5 km of the centre of Macclesfield (Cheshire East) since 2010, across 29,596 public observation records shared through GBIF. The most recorded are Robin, Woodpigeon and Carrion Crow.
Macclesfield is a garden-bird place: 77% of the records here are small songbirds, doves, woodpeckers and the other birds that come to feeders and garden trees. Robin, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow and Blue Tit make up the core of what you can expect at a feeder.
14 birds of prey are on record nearby, including Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel and Eurasian Sparrowhawk. A hawk that hunts feeder birds is among them, so set feeders 2–3 metres from shrubs: close enough for cover, far enough that a cat can't ambush from it.
Records peak in April and are lowest in August — about 3.0 times as many in the busiest month. Part of that is birds (migrants and winter visitors), part is people: more birders are out in good weather, so treat the curve as activity, not a census.
Bollington, 4 km to the north, has a similar number of species on record (140 against 138). Birds logged far more often around Macclesfield than there include Great Crested Grebe.
Daylight runs from 16 h 59 min at midsummer to 7 h 31 min at midwinter here. Sunrise is about 6:11 in mid-April and 4:40 in late June; the dawn chorus starts 30–60 minutes earlier.
Most recorded birds near Macclesfield
| # | Bird | Records |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | RobinErithacus rubecula | 1,350 |
| 2 | WoodpigeonColumba palumbus | 1,315 |
| 3 | Carrion CrowCorvus corone | 1,257 |
| 4 | Blue TitCyanistes caeruleus | 1,254 |
| 5 | BlackbirdTurdus merula | 1,178 |
| 6 | WrenTroglodytes troglodytes | 1,131 |
| 7 | JackdawColoeus monedula | 1,095 |
| 8 | Great TitParus major | 1,029 |
| 9 | MagpiePica pica | 935 |
| 10 | Long-tailed TitAegithalos caudatus | 836 |
| 11 | MallardAnas platyrhynchos | 836 |
| 12 | GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis | 750 |
| 13 | DunnockPrunella modularis | 631 |
| 14 | ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita | 618 |
| 15 | Common BuzzardButeo buteo | 543 |
| 16 | ChaffinchFringilla coelebs | 513 |
| 17 | Canada GooseBranta canadensis | 500 |
| 18 | NuthatchSitta europaea | 490 |
| 19 | House SparrowPasser domesticus | 487 |
| 20 | Coal TitPeriparus ater | 476 |
Records by month
What to put out in Macclesfield
Seasonal bird notes for Cheshire East
What's arriving, what to feed and when to clean feeders, written for UK gardens. One email a month at most.
Nearby places
Frequently asked
What birds visit gardens in Macclesfield?
The most recorded garden birds within 5 km of Macclesfield are Robin, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit and Blackbird, based on 29,596 public records since 2010.
How many bird species have been seen near Macclesfield?
138 species have at least one record within 5 km of the town centre since 2010 (GBIF).
When is the best month for birds in Macclesfield?
Observation records peak in April and are lowest in August. Sunrise in late June is around 4:40.
Sources
- GBIF occurrence search (birds, class Aves, 2010 onward)
- GeoNames gazetteer (place, population, elevation)
Timing reflects typical patterns for the region as a whole; local dates vary with elevation and year. Check the linked eBird bar charts for your county.