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The UK Bird Atlas

Garganey (Spatula querquedula)Where and when to see it in the UK

Status not yet classified · reporting peaks April to May · Ducks, Swans, and Geese · BOU category AF

Records to 2026-08-16 · build 2026-08-31

Garganey (Spatula querquedula)
peterichman, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Peak months
Garganey: relative reporting rate by 10 km square, September

Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (grid squares, place names from OS Open Names). Northern Ireland place names: OSNI Open Data, OGL v3.0. County and country boundaries: Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0. Coastline: Natural Earth. Bird records from the data partners listed here.

Garganey has been recorded in 659 of the 2,971 10 km squares covering UK land (22%) in records to 2026. Its strongest squares are in England, Scotland and Wales. Reporting peaks in April to May.

Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN Red List, LC)
View on the IUCN Red List
Relative to this species' best squares (how classes are calculated)
Very high
12% or more of visits
High
3% to 12%
Moderate
1% to 3%
Low
under 1%
Surveyed, not recorded
at least 20 qualifying visits, no record
Insufficient records
too few visits to say
Lighter fill
Few visits, lower confidence
Small dot
Occasional: a single record, or out of season

Seasonality

Reporting rate by month, relative to the peak month
MonthRelative to peakShare of visitsTypical class
January 1%<1%Very high
February 2%<1%Very high
March 43%<1%Low
April 100%2%Very high
May 86%2%High
June 29%<1%Moderate
July 33%<1%Very high
August 87%2%High
September 55%1%Moderate
October 16%<1%Low
November 3%<1%Low
December 0%<1%Very high

Squares with the highest reporting rate in April

SquareWhereShare of visitsClass
H96Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Northern Ireland100%Very high
HP60Shetland Islands, Scotland100%Very high
NC46Highland, Scotland100%Very high
NG62Highland, Scotland100%Very high
NK15Aberdeenshire, Scotland100%Very high
NZ26Newcastle upon Tyne, England100%Very high
SC16Isle of Man100%Very high
SD21Sefton, England100%Very high
SD27Westmorland and Furness, England100%Very high
SD42Lancashire, England100%Very high

Spotted an error in a square? Report it and it goes into the review queue. Read the methodology for how classes, flags and sensitive-species rules work. Data to 2026.