Birds of Ottery St Mary
What has actually been seen around Ottery St Mary: 113 species, the most recorded garden birds, the busiest months, and what to put out for them.
- Species on record
- 113 within 5 km
- Observation records
- 10,509 since 2010
- Most recorded bird
- Robin
- Busiest month
- March
- Elevation
- 81 m
- Daylight, June / December
- 16.5 h / 8 h
What the records say about Ottery St Mary
113 bird species have been recorded within 5 km of the centre of Ottery St Mary (Devon) since 2010, across 10,509 public observation records shared through GBIF. The most recorded are Robin, Woodpigeon and Blackbird.
Ottery St Mary is a garden-bird place: 80% of the records here are small songbirds, doves, woodpeckers and the other birds that come to feeders and garden trees. Robin, Woodpigeon, Blackbird and Blue Tit make up the core of what you can expect at a feeder.
10 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 March and are lowest in October — about 2.2 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.
Newton Poppleford, 6 km to the south, has more species on record (164 against 113). Birds logged far more often around Ottery St Mary than there include Redwing and Fieldfare.
Daylight runs from 16 h 30 min at midsummer to 7 h 57 min at midwinter here. Sunrise is about 6:20 in mid-April and 4:59 in late June; the dawn chorus starts 30–60 minutes earlier.
Most recorded birds near Ottery St Mary
| # | Bird | Records |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | RobinErithacus rubecula | 513 |
| 2 | WoodpigeonColumba palumbus | 513 |
| 3 | BlackbirdTurdus merula | 510 |
| 4 | Common PheasantPhasianus colchicus | 477 |
| 5 | Blue TitCyanistes caeruleus | 426 |
| 6 | GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis | 400 |
| 7 | WrenTroglodytes troglodytes | 362 |
| 8 | ChaffinchFringilla coelebs | 361 |
| 9 | Great TitParus major | 353 |
| 10 | House SparrowPasser domesticus | 347 |
| 11 | Carrion CrowCorvus corone | 346 |
| 12 | JackdawColoeus monedula | 310 |
| 13 | RookCorvus frugilegus | 300 |
| 14 | Common BuzzardButeo buteo | 289 |
| 15 | MallardAnas platyrhynchos | 250 |
| 16 | GreenfinchChloris chloris | 245 |
| 17 | European Herring GullLarus argentatus | 203 |
| 18 | Great Spotted WoodpeckerDendrocopos major | 190 |
| 19 | Long-tailed TitAegithalos caudatus | 184 |
| 20 | ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita | 183 |
Records by month
What to put out in Ottery St Mary
Foods for the most recorded garden birds here, from our species notes.
Seasonal bird notes for Devon
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 Ottery St Mary?
The most recorded garden birds within 5 km of Ottery St Mary are Robin, Woodpigeon, Blackbird, Blue Tit and Goldfinch, based on 10,509 public records since 2010.
How many bird species have been seen near Ottery St Mary?
113 species have at least one record within 5 km of the town centre since 2010 (GBIF).
When is the best month for birds in Ottery St Mary?
Observation records peak in March and are lowest in October. Sunrise in late June is around 4:59.
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.