Great tit

The most common songbird of the park. Even at times when all is quiet, one can almost always hear the Great tits and the Blue tits.

Blue tit

Less frequently spotted than the Great tit, but just as noisy and not always pally with each other, the colourful Blue tits are fearless acrobats when in search of food.

Robin

The Robins seem to divide the park in tiny territories. At times you can hear them calling to each other from different spots, making it clear that intruders are not welcome. Robins sing in all seasons, even in midwinter.

Wren

The tiny wrens, 10 cm and 12 g, are some of the noisiest inhabitants of the park. In spring the males sing beautifully, but they can also start an endless typewriter-like call.

Chaffinch

Often seen feeding in small groups on the ground, this photo shows how well the patterned plumage of this male Chaffinch helps to make it less conspicuous.

Greenfinch

Chaffinches can be seen regularly in the Muinkpark, especially in Winter. Their cousins the Greenfinches are much rarer. Fifty shades of green might be an overstatement, but these birds sport a lovely varied green-yellow plumage. While they might prefer seeds, blossoms seem to be a delicacy as well.

Goldfinch

The Goldfinch with its amazing red mask gradually made its appearance in the city. If they don't come in small and noisy flocks, foraging in the tree tops, single birds can sometimes be heard singing 'con sordino' on a branch. A most bewitching sound.

Firecrest

A gorgeous bird, only a bit less tiny than its cousin the Goldcrest, but just as restless in its search for insects and arguably even more striking with its orange crest, bronze collar and black and white eye-stripe.

Goldcrest

The tiniest of the Muinkpark songbirds, 9 cm long and weighing maximum 8 g, the goldcrests enjoy the conifer trees in the park., hopping between branches, continuously in search for insects.

Chiffchaff

A lovely, delicate bird that announces spring with its typical two-note "chiff-chaff" singing.

Blackcap

A magnificent and loud singer, competing with the Wrens and Chiffchaffs in springtime and early summer. The Blackcap boys have a jet black cap, the girls are redheads.

Long-tailed Tit

Long-tailed tits are irregularly spotted in the park, usually in small groups of 2 to 10, foraging in the tree tops for insects.

Blackbird

Blackbirds are common inhabitants of the park throughout the year. In autumn they can be very active on the ground, scrounging amongst dead leaves. The lawns are favorite places for unearthing worms.

Common Moorhen

You will find Moorhens more often on land than in the water, scurrying for food, but quickly running for cover as soon as they spot you. It has been a fine year for them with several breeds and shared motherhoods.

Treecreeper

An amazing little bird, perfectly camouflaged and with a white beard, the Treecreepers are obviously relishing the old trees in the park, in their search for insects. Their technique is amazing: climbing upwards, they turn their head against the trunk, as if trying to detect the insects before they probe the crevices.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

An occasional visitor to the park, woodpeckers are more often heard rather than spotted high up in the trees.

Mallard

The Mallards are the most familiar and beloved inhabitants of the park, living in and near the pond. Most seem to be residents, although occasionally ducks migrate to other waters in the city. Unlike Mallards in the wild they are used to people, which is not always to their advantage.

Wood Pigeon

An occasional visitor, this large but extremely shy pigeon is often seen feeding on the lawns in small groups, although this one seems to enjoy the blossoms up in the canopy too.

Eurasian Collared Dove

The recent history of the familiar Collared Dove is one of a very successful migration. Originally from the Middle East (as its Duch name "Turkse tortel" still implies), the bird only arrived in Western Europe in the 1940-50s from the Balkans, but can now be found all over Europe, with the exception of Iceland. In the 1970s they were introduced to the Bahamas and have subsequently been colonizing most of North America.

Magpie

Magpies have become very frequent in our cities and can now be seen almost everywhere, parks, streets and rooftops. Often venturing in pairs (they are monogamous) and very noisy, the company of magpies isn't particularly appreciated by the other birds and for good reason, especially when they have nests to protect.

Carrion crow

The impressive and very noisy Carrion crow usually roams in the canopy.

Jay

The Eurasian jay is occasionally spotted in the park, yet more often heard with its harsh, rasping screech than seen. As the other Corvids they prefer to remain in the upper branches.

Common Starling

Starlings rarely venture on the lawns, if ever for a stiff fight. Usually they can be found high in the canopy where they make all sorts of noises - purring, rattling and trilling, sometimes mimicing other birds.

Dunnock

A rare and shy visitor, the Dunnock or Hedge sparrow is often overlooked when it's quietly hopping through dead leaves or near hedgerows.

Grey wagtail

The beautifully coloured Grey wagtail with its distinctive call is seen throughout the year in Ghent, mostly near waterways and pools. Occasionally they venture in the Muinkpark where they forage in the pond or on the lawns.

Grey heron

The tallest bird and the most formidable predator to find its way to the park, the Grey heron is spotted more frequently in the last years. It is not a welcome guest, especially when other birds are nesting and the ducklings appear. The Grey heron loves standing in statue-mode on the wooden poles bordering the pond, but can also be seen perching in the trees.