BTO Bird ID videos - Wetland species

A handsome little wader, runs along in front of you. Is this a Ringed Plover, or its less common cousin the Little Ringed Plover?

Small grebes in summer are gloriously-coloured birds, but two of the three species are unfamiliar to most. Let us help you separate these beautiful birds.

Every winter thousands of Whooper Swans from Iceland and Bewick’s Swans from Arctic Russia migrate into UK and Ireland to spend the winter here.

A white heron in the UK is likely to be a Little or Great White Egret, but occasionally Cattle Egrets turn up.

A black, reptilian-looking bird swims by low to the water - but is it a Cormorant or a Shag?

On paper Lesser and Great Black-backed Gulls are straightforward to separate but, in reality, many of us struggle.

In Autumn and winter we tend to see Auks flying rapidly past or bobbing around in heavy seas offering poor views. Without their distinctive breeding plumage and colouring, winter Auks can be a serious challenge to identify.

Scoters are known to most of us as winter visitors, usually far off shore. Learn to tell the difference between the species, when seen far out to sea in poor viewing conditions?

The key to differing between many small, plump waders is to become accustomed with Dunlin first. In this video we compare Sanderling and Curlew Sandpiper to their more well-recognised cousin.

A hooded gull in summer is likely to be the ubiquitous Black-headed Gull, but there are a couple of other species that sport the same summer finery.

Can you tell the silver from the gold? Golden Plover is a beautiful medium-sized wader. Its cousin, Grey Plover, can be found around our coasts in most months of the year, causing a potential ID challenge.