Smew

Seen one? Add it to your free UK BirdedexHear its song and see the mapFree, no app download. Rare bird: +8 points when you log it.

Smew in the UK

Smew is a scarce winter visitor and does not breed here. The UK winter estimate is about 130 birds, and some recent winters have fallen well short of that. Numbers have dropped sharply since the mid-1990s. Milder winters leave more water ice-free around the Baltic and in the Netherlands, so fewer birds push west to Britain. A hard freeze on the Continent can still bring a small influx. Most are in lowland England, mainly the south-east, with few in Scotland, Wales or Ireland. Red-listed in the UK.

Where and when to see a Smew

Look on gravel pits and reservoirs in south-east and central England from November to March. Late winter is best. Traditional sites include Wraysbury Gravel Pits, the Lee Valley, Dungeness RSPB and Cotswold Water Park, but none is guaranteed now and counts are far lower than twenty years ago. Check bird news after a cold snap with easterly winds: new arrivals can appear within days and often stay for weeks. Smew dive constantly, so scan the same water more than once.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Gravel pits, reservoirs (winter).
Diet: Small fish.
Field note: Male is striking white with black mask.

How to identify a Smew

A small, compact sawbill, between Teal and Tufted Duck in size. The drake is white with a black mask, black back and fine black lines on the breast sides, like cracked ice. Females and first-winter birds, known as redheads, are grey with a chestnut cap and clean white cheeks and throat. Most British birds are redheads, so a drake is a good find. In flight both show black and white wings. Smew sit low, dive often and regularly mix with Goldeneye.

Call and song

Usually silent in Britain. Displaying drakes in late winter can give a quiet, dry rattle, but you are very unlikely to find one by ear. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Common Goldeneye: Female Goldeneye has a whole chocolate-brown head with no white cheek, a triangular head shape and a yellow eye.
• Goosander: Redhead Goosander is nearly twice the length, with a long red bill and only a small white chin patch.
• Slavonian Grebe: Winter Slavonian Grebe also shows a dark cap over white cheeks, but it has a thin neck, a pointed bill and no chestnut.

Month by month

A winter visitor, typically in the UK from November through to March. Numbers peak in January. See the January birding guide for what else is about. More on the season in Bird migration in Britain.

Taller bars mean more birds about. Grey means it is usually absent.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Smew is a Rare tier bird, worth +8 points when you log one. It is Red-listed in Birds of Conservation Concern 5, the highest level of concern in the UK.

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Black-necked GrebeRare · Reservoirs
• Common TernUncommon · Coast and inland gravel pits
• Little Ringed PloverUncommon · Gravel pits
• Ruddy ShelduckEpic · Lakes
• White WagtailUncommon · Coast
• American WigeonRare · Wetlands (winter vagrant)

Smew: quick answers

Where can I see a Smew in the UK?

Flooded gravel pits and reservoirs in south-east England give the best chance, with the Thames Valley, Lee Valley and Dungeness the traditional areas. Birds are faithful to favoured pits and often return to the same water each winter. Outside that region any Smew is a local event, so follow county bird news.

When is the best time to see Smew?

January and February. The first birds can arrive from October, but numbers build through the winter and peak late, above all when lakes freeze in the Netherlands and Germany. Most have gone by the end of March.

Is the Smew rare in the UK?

Yes, and getting rarer. A five-year average of about 300 wintering birds in the early 2000s has fallen to an estimate of about 130. The species is not in trouble globally: the birds are simply wintering further north and east.

Kit that helps

Best spotting scopes for UK birding. Affiliate links, our own picks, no extra cost to you.