Leaving so soon?
30 Jul 2013
Mid summer may seem a quiet time for birds (and birding!) but it's actually a time of great change. Some summer migrants are already well on their way south, with every one of the BTO-tagged Cuckoos now having left the UK for example! Swift will soon follow suit: over the next 3 weeks they'll go from appearing on more than 30% of complete lists to less than 10%. Waders that breed further north have started to move through Britain and Ireland, reflected in the reporting rates of the likes of Green and Curlew Sandpipers. Non-breeding seabirds including scarce shearwaters like Cory's and Great are beginning to appear offshore too, and there have been several inland records of Common Scoter. The most remarkable movement of the last couple of weeks has involved Two-barred Crossbill, an irruptive species usually breeding no nearer than northeast Europe. Whilst the Northern Isles regularly get a few of these birds, this July saw unprecedented numbers arriving in East Anglia and northwards along the east coast. Common Crossbill records have been on the increase too, presumably also involving continental immigrants.
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