If you live in the UK or northern Europe, do you ever see any exotic birds in your garden or general area ?

[IndigoSpritz]

I'm in Leeds and I'm told there are wild parakeets living in nearby Bradford. I've yet to see any where I am; in fact, I was surprised to learn they lived this far north. The most colourful bird I've seen (and heard) recently is a greenfinch - not many of those round here. And a greater spotted woodpecker in the country park nearby. I've heard the green woodpeckers call but never seen one. I would like to see a parakeet - I appreciate they're not native and potentially harmful.

Fascinating. Clearly the parakeets prefer London and the Home Counties but nice to know there's a handful out in the provinces too. It would be great if Hyacinth macaws could survive in the wild in northern Europe but, as an Amazonian natives, it's doubtful.

I think a house very close to me once had a peacock in the back garden. It's been a few years but I'm sure I remember hearing its distinctive yowling. Perhaps it was a clever crow mimicking the sound.

redstart
rook
blackbird
sparrow
sparrowhawk
swallow
pigeon
blue tit
coal tit
great tit
marsh tit
robin
wren
song thrush
hooden crow
magpie
woodcock
black cap
crested tit

Live near a wood and some lakes and the beach, so have heard and seen buzzard, heron, duck (lots of types), swan, geese, cuckoo, skylarks, egret, woodpeckers among others. Not really a birdwatcher but tend to spot new ones and wonder what they are.

In our garden :

Goldfinch
Blue tit
Greater spotted wood pecker
Great tit
Robin
Jack daw
Crow
Black bird
Trush
Starling
Swen
Heron
Dove
Sparrow
Wren

We had a heron land in our garden last year and take a little paddle in the children's pool. He was beautiful.

And we've had a woodpecker turn up recently, but the squirrels chase him because they're bolshy bastards.

At least one heron lives at the ponds over the road from my home. I often see one perched absolutely still on the rooftop of the neighbouring office building. I say at least one because they live in colonies rather than alone so I've probably seen all of them.

As far as exotic native birds go, I have yet to see a kingfisher.

Buzzards are very common, I drive to work through agricultural land and see them every day then as well as at the sports pitch I am regularly at.
Red kites are getting more common as well but not as much as buzzards are. I find it amusing when tourists see the buzzards and think they have seen an eagle.

No exotic species here in our garden, mainly sparrows/starlings. We get the odd blue tit and great tit. I did see a wren in our hedge last year. The most exotic bird I've seen was a firecrest whilst out walking. Plenty of red kites, buzzards, sparrow hawks and owls though whilst out walking in the Yorkshire Wolds nearby. DP did see an eagle in Wykeham forest a few years ago, think it was a white tailed eagle

Live in Flanders; we have parakeets, green woodpeckers, lesser spotted woodpeckers, finches, pheasants, nut hatches, tree creepers, tits, robins, a heron, jays.

I once had a hoopoe on my drive in Cornwall!

Buzzard numbers have (appropriately!) soared

www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35916515

I quite often see a pair circling over my area.

I'd be really surprised if you saw a white tailed eagle in Yorkshire, they are sill not common and are mostly seen in Scotland.

Lots of parakeets live near my house/yard/Park. Noisy bastards. Flocks of budgies, who are a muddy blue colour, apparently from a pair of escaped birds some years ago. There was a pair of lovebirds a few years ago, clearly lost and panicked. I hope they were lured home.

A guy flies his falcon over the yard, bugger took an Indian running duck a while back.

Lots here...
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Heron
Wren
Hen harrier
Golden eagle ( flying over)
Grey wagtail
Jay
Siskin (some years lots other years none)
Often see red kites nearby
Cockoos
I really need to start keeping a record!

Ive seen parakeets near me in County Durham. And as lovely as they look they are invasive escapees that are quite destructive.
Pied and spotted fly catcher
All the common garden and woodland bireds
Black cap
White throat
And on dhs local patch avocet breed and there is a common crane roosting.

@floraloctopus it was a surprise for sure. There have been several sightings of the eagle, it seems it may now be resident in the area surrounding the forest. It's mentioned on several of the birdwatching sites for the NY moors

Just remembered the yellow wagtail walking in front of me in Durham marketplace, one quiet Monday morning, a couple of years ago. Never seen one before, or since. They like water, so it probably lives near the river, somewhere.

The Parakeets were originally in SW London/Surrey as they came from Shepperton Film Studios. They were released from there after they were in a film.
There are still lots around that area (beautiful but very noisy at times) but they seem to be spreading all over now.

The Yorkshire eagle is presumably this one - a lone escapee, poor thing.

www.richmondshiretoday.co.uk/white-tailed-eagle-photographed-eating-goose/

Was recently on holiday in the outer hebrides and saw 2 pairs having a bit of a set-to.

From a caravan window and balcony in N Yorks we see the usual birds, magpies, crows, jays, blackbirds , wood pigeons but we usually see pheasants in the field beside us but not this year...
Red kites, the odd owl or two, the owners chickens strutting their stuff round the vans..in fact I chucked a piece of orange pith onto the grass and it was so funny to see them come running...I just had to feed them something.
I love it when the wild geese fly overhead honking as they go
Five miles away is a beautiful lake stuffed full with ducks, geese , other birds I’m not sure about and a huge collection of swans...that was amazing when they all took to the air at once I’d never seen that..about twenty of them
We were also rewarded by a young deer who crossed over the road in front of us, a hare who ran along the road till it escaped into a field , the occasional fox and on our drive back to the van we passed the farm where a mare was in a paddock at the side of the road with her new foal.
Love it here...me

Unless there was a crowd of birders standing under it your London eagle is what is known in Scotland as a "tourist eagle" e.g. a buzzard

Our garden is apparently 90% sparrows. the little buggers are definitely loud.

Robins and blue tits come to my garden frequently. I used to see a heron in the pond in the garden that backed into us. Alas the bastards sold up and now there are ugly houses there. I miss the wildlife we had as had squirrels, foxes and the occasional duck land in our garden. It’s a conservation area

We've seen Kingfisher's near our local river.
Tiny but bright :)

I live in Herts and get the Parakeets, also saw some in a cemetary at Stamford Hill last week
We also get

Blue tits
Great tits
Long tail tits
Coal tits
Robins
Blackbirds
Wren
Thrush
Dunnock
Magpie
Crows
Greater spotted woodpeckers
Green woodpecker

Mother and baby tit on my feeder yesterday

I am in Switzerland. We generally have a lot of hawks, tits, sparrows, turtle doves and a large green woodpecker

I forgot the wood pigeons and collared doves and tawny owls at night

We get parakeets; twice we have had a peregrine and once a white peacock!