Look skywards for high drama
Nature’s greatest spectacle has taken place – without a wildebeest or zebra in sight.
The marvellous sight of vast herds of herbivores marching across the Serengeti has captivated wildlife filmmakers and nature lovers for decades.
However overhead, something even more wondrous is happening. With winter approaching, up to three billion birds are fleeing Europe to find sanctuary across African rainforests and savannah, or in the jungles of south-east Asia.
This migration is fraught with danger. Natural hazards, predatory falcons and human hunters all take a toll. But some wander thousands of miles off course to provide exciting viewing for birdwatchers.
Such rarities make up a substantial proportion of the 626 species accepted on the official British List of birds. Many are once-in-a-generation occurrences, but there are others that turn up from time to time during migration times and get the heart thumping. Known as scarcities, these wayward visitors arrive in dribs and drabs from Europe and beyond every springtime and autumn.
Late August, in particular, is a good time to catch glimpses of such elusive birds, some from the near continent, such as marsh, icterine and melodious warblers, and others from deep within Asia.
A new report in the journal British Birds reveals the long-term trends of these wanderers, charting those species whose visits are in decline and others that are reaching record levels. What stands out from the study is that several scarce species, whose numbers are increasing in Britain, hail from the Russian heartlands.
In 2019, more than 500 Siberian chiffchaffs were recorded, while the dusky warbler was counted on 17 occasions. The grandly named Blyth’s reed warbler, which breeds from the Baltic through to north west China, also follows a continuing trend of increased sightings, with 27 reports.
Although such numbers may be attributed to the way birdwatchers are becoming more familiar with the warbler’s tricky identification features, there’s also the likelihood of a strong westwards expansion of this unassuming but beautifully voiced bird. Perhaps one day we could even see this species breeding on our shores.
Wayward visitors known as scarcities get hearts thumping