We’ve just come back from a birding holiday in Scotland. We weren’t sure what we’d find — though eagles were high on the wish list — but one of the birds that kept us company was the wagtail. On the Dalveen Pass we stopped at a little cascade, camera at the ready, but it flitted through the spray before I could even focus. All I brought away was a photo of the waterfall itself, wagtail-free.
A week later, back in the garden, there it was again — a wagtail perched neatly on the pond filters, tail bobbing up and down as it scouted the filter searching for food. The same species we’d watched in the Highlands, now in our back garden in Milton Keynes. And just as in previous years, it feels like a familiar friend returning. This is the fourth autumn running that a Grey Wagtail has dropped in. Tongue firmly in cheek, I can’t help but wonder: did it hitch a lift from the Dalveen Pass?
Grey Wagtails on Tour
In reality, Grey Wagtails are partial migrants. They spend summer in the uplands of Scotland, Wales, and northern England, nesting along fast rivers and waterfalls. Come autumn, they drift south and downslope in search of milder weather and reliable insects. Our pond makes an ideal stop: warmer air, a steady supply of midges, and black fly larvae from the filters. Some birds clearly return to the same wintering spot year after year — and I like to think this one knows our garden well by now.
But Wait… Isn’t It Yellow?
Here’s the twist: Grey Wagtails are anything but grey underneath. Their lemon-yellow bellies and vents glow in flight, which is why they’re so often confused with the Yellow Wagtail.
I’ve even fallen into the trap myself. Earlier this year my brother claimed he’d seen a Yellow Wagtail. I practically cross-examined him on the spot — “Where? What colour was the back? How long was the tail?” At the time I was sure he’d muddled it with a Grey Wagtail. Looking back, I admit… he was probably right. Sometimes it really was a Yellow Wagtail. 🙂 sorry Bro!
Quick ID check:
- Grey Wagtail → long tail, slate-grey back, bright lemon underparts, almost always near water.
- Yellow Wagtail → shorter tail, olive-green back, summer males are dazzling yellow, often in fields with livestock.
Same Bird, Different Backdrops
I love connections: wagtails flicking through waterfalls in the Highlands, then bobbing tails by our garden pond a week later. Maybe it’s even the same individual tracing its way south, recognising our pond as a reliable winter stopover. Either way, it ties our holiday to home in a neat little thread.
Bird stories don’t end when the holiday does. Sometimes they really do follow you home.
Thanks for reading, Happy birding.
