Birds of Brentwood
What has actually been seen around Brentwood: 127 species, the most recorded garden birds, the busiest months, and what to put out for them.
- Species on record
- 127 within 5 km
- Observation records
- 14,157 since 2010
- Most recorded bird
- Woodpigeon
- Busiest month
- April
- Elevation
- 108 m
- Daylight, June / December
- 16.7 h / 7.8 h
What the records say about Brentwood
127 bird species have been recorded within 5 km of the centre of Brentwood (Essex) since 2010, across 14,157 public observation records shared through GBIF. The most recorded are Woodpigeon, Blue Tit and Magpie.
Brentwood is a garden-bird place: 76% of the records here are small songbirds, doves, woodpeckers and the other birds that come to feeders and garden trees. Woodpigeon, Blue Tit, Magpie and Robin make up the core of what you can expect at a feeder.
10 birds of prey are on record nearby, including Common Buzzard, Red Kite 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 September — about 4.5 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.
Ingrave, 3 km to the south-east, has fewer species on record (121 against 127). Birds logged far more often around Brentwood than there include Tufted Duck and Mute Swan.
Daylight runs from 16 h 40 min at midsummer to 7 h 49 min at midwinter here. Sunrise is about 6:04 in mid-April and 4:40 in late June; the dawn chorus starts 30–60 minutes earlier.
Most recorded birds near Brentwood
| # | Bird | Records |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | WoodpigeonColumba palumbus | 698 |
| 2 | Blue TitCyanistes caeruleus | 633 |
| 3 | MagpiePica pica | 622 |
| 4 | RobinErithacus rubecula | 604 |
| 5 | Carrion CrowCorvus corone | 583 |
| 6 | JackdawColoeus monedula | 534 |
| 7 | Great TitParus major | 494 |
| 8 | BlackbirdTurdus merula | 493 |
| 9 | WrenTroglodytes troglodytes | 354 |
| 10 | GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis | 349 |
| 11 | Great Spotted WoodpeckerDendrocopos major | 306 |
| 12 | StarlingSturnus vulgaris | 306 |
| 13 | NuthatchSitta europaea | 297 |
| 14 | ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita | 275 |
| 15 | DunnockPrunella modularis | 267 |
| 16 | Long-tailed TitAegithalos caudatus | 265 |
| 17 | JayGarrulus glandarius | 263 |
| 18 | Green WoodpeckerPicus viridis | 262 |
| 19 | Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus | 260 |
| 20 | MallardAnas platyrhynchos | 248 |
Records by month
What to put out in Brentwood
Foods for the most recorded garden birds here, from our species notes.
Seasonal bird notes for Essex
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 Brentwood?
The most recorded garden birds within 5 km of Brentwood are Woodpigeon, Blue Tit, Magpie, Robin and Carrion Crow, based on 14,157 public records since 2010.
How many bird species have been seen near Brentwood?
127 species have at least one record within 5 km of the town centre since 2010 (GBIF).
When is the best month for birds in Brentwood?
Observation records peak in April and are lowest in September. 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.