MIGRATION MARVELS

Britain’s smallest bird, the goldcrest is a familiar resident wherever conifers grow, though it also frequents mixed and deciduous woods. In autumn – particularly October – numbers are swollen by immigrants from northern Europe and Russia. Incomers make landfall on the East Coast, sometimes in the hundreds, their presence typically revealed by highpitched, sibilant contact calls. For birds that weigh no more than a 10-pence piece, crossing the North Sea expends significant energy resources. Tired arrivals flop into the nearest shelter they can find. FIND OUT MORE How to tell goldcrests from firecrests: www.bto.org/about-birds/bird-id