Press Releases - Mar/Apr 2006 - Item 3

No. 2006/03/10
March 2006

Migrants arrive in a shiver

The first Swallows of the spring have been recorded in Britain, in North Yorkshire on 12 March, followed by another on the Isle of Wight on 14 March.

Over the last 10 days we have seen the first signs of migrant birds arriving from their wintering grounds in Africa. In addition to the two Swallows, BirdTrack has recorded the following migrants:

Wheatear – 1 March in Kent
Little Ringed Plover – 5 March in Norfolk and 6 March in the West Midlands
Sand Martin – 6 March in East Riding of Yorkshire and 14 March in Cornwall
Garganey – 10 March in Kent

Several migrant species have also been recorded during the winter months, the most unusual being a Lesser Whitethroat in Lancashire (9 January), Common Whitethroat in Suffolk (1 January) and Ring Ouzels in Hampshire (11 February) and Kent (25 February to 12 March) and a Garganey in Greater London (7 January). All these species normally winter in Africa!

The weather has not been favourable for migration with cold northerly winds across much of Northern Europe. Even in Spain and Portugal, the first European landfall for many of our migrants, the weather has been cold and migration slow at traditional migration hotspots like Gibraltar.

The ideal weather conditions for migration is high pressure over North Africa and Southern Europe, with light winds. The clear skies enable migrants to use the stars to migrate.

Birdwatchers can contribute to our understanding of the timing of arrival of migrants by contributing to BirdTrack (www.birdtrack.net), the online bird recording project. Records of all species, but particularly migrants are welcome.

BirdTrack is organised by the BTO on behalf of BTO, RSPB and BirdWatch Ireland

Notes for Editors

1. BirdTrack is an online bird recording scheme www.birdtrack.net organised by BTO on behalf of BTO, RSPB and BirdWatch Ireland.

2. To register for BirdTrack visit the BirdTrack website www.birdtrack.net and click on the 'Register for BirdTrack' link. Registering is free.

3. Birdwatchers are encouraged to enter their birdwatching lists online to support species and site conservation at local, national and international scales.

4. We need to gather a large number of lists at all times of the year. Complete lists (all species seen and heard) are preferred but incomplete lists and casual records will also help build our understanding of populations.

5. Results produced by BirdTrack will help us to map the migration and movements of birds and monitor of scarce birds in Britain and Ireland. Maps are available from for use in publications.

6. BirdTrack follows on from the successful Migration Watch project that looked at spring migration in 2002-2004. BirdTrack will run all-year and gather information on spring and autumn migration. We know very little about the timing of arrival and departure of winter visitors and this is just one area where BirdTrack will provide useful information.

7. Most of our summer visitors winter in Africa. Swallows winter at the tip of South Africa whilst Common Whitethroats winter in West Africa. In contrast, Lesser Whitethroat is the only warbler to winter in East Africa with records from Egypt, Sudan, Chad and Ethiopia. Ring Ouzels winter in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco whilst Wheatears spend the winter in the deserts south of the Sahara.

8. Images are available from

9. The BTO has an ISDN line available for radio interviews.

For further information please contact:

Dawn Balmer, Graham Appleton or Martin Fowlie
BTO, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2PU.
Tel: 01842 750050 , E-mail: or

Grahame Madge
Media Officer, Conservation PR, RSPB, The Lodge, Sandy, Beds SG19 2DL
Telephone: +44 (0) 1767 681577 Mobile and out of hours contact: 07702 196902
Pager: 07654 344078 , E-mail:

For information about BirdTrack in the Republic of Ireland contact Olivia Crowe
BirdWatch Ireland, Rockingham House, Newcastle, Co. Wicklow, Ireland
Tel: 353 - 1 - 2819878 Email:

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