North Yorkshire · 54.47°N

Birds of Melsonby

What has actually been seen around Melsonby: 90 species, the most recorded garden birds, the busiest months, and what to put out for them.

Species on record: 90 within 5 km
Observation records: 964 since 2010
Most recorded bird: Rook
Busiest month: January
Elevation: 143 m
Daylight, June / December: 17.3 h / 7.3 h

What the records say about Melsonby

90 bird species have been recorded within 5 km of the centre of Melsonby (North Yorkshire) since 2010, across 964 public observation records shared through GBIF. The most recorded are Rook, Jackdaw and Swift.

Melsonby is a garden-bird place: 64% of the records here are small songbirds, doves, woodpeckers and the other birds that come to feeders and garden trees. Rook, Jackdaw, Woodpigeon and Carrion Crow make up the core of what you can expect at a feeder.

7 birds of prey are on record nearby, including Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel and Red Kite. 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 January and are lowest in November — about 53.7 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.

Middleton Tyas, 4 km to the south-east, has fewer species on record (80 against 90).

Daylight runs from 17 h 15 min at midsummer to 7 h 17 min at midwinter here. Sunrise is about 6:06 in mid-April and 4:30 in late June; the dawn chorus starts 30–60 minutes earlier.

Most recorded birds near Melsonby

#	Bird	Records
1	RookCorvus frugilegus	48
2	JackdawColoeus monedula	48
3	SwiftApus apus	38
4	WoodpigeonColumba palumbus	37
5	Carrion CrowCorvus corone	37
6	Blue TitCyanistes caeruleus	33
7	BlackbirdTurdus merula	33
8	RobinErithacus rubecula	33
9	Common PheasantPhasianus colchicus	31
10	House SparrowPasser domesticus	27
11	Great TitParus major	27
12	MallardAnas platyrhynchos	25
13	GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis	24
14	Northern LapwingVanellus vanellus	22
15	Graylag GooseAnser anser	21
16	Common BuzzardButeo buteo	18
17	Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus	17
18	Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus	17
19	Common KestrelFalco tinnunculus	16
20	ChaffinchFringilla coelebs	15

Records by month

What to put out in Melsonby

Foods for the most recorded garden birds here, from our species notes.

Jackdaw
Suet · Kitchen scraps
Woodpigeon
Seed mix
Blue Tit
Sunflower hearts · Peanuts (mesh feeder only) · Suet
Blackbird
Soaked sultanas · Apples · Mealworms
Robin
Mealworms · Suet pellets · Sunflower hearts
House Sparrow
Seed mix · Sunflower hearts · Suet

Seasonal bird notes for North Yorkshire

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 Melsonby?

The most recorded garden birds within 5 km of Melsonby are Rook, Jackdaw, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow and Blue Tit, based on 964 public records since 2010.

How many bird species have been seen near Melsonby?

90 species have at least one record within 5 km of the town centre since 2010 (GBIF).

When is the best month for birds in Melsonby?

Observation records peak in January and are lowest in November. Sunrise in late June is around 4:30.

Sources

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.