High winds bring rare songbirds to the British Isles

Just blown in! High winds bring rare songbirds to the British Isles in once-in-a-lifetime event for birdwatchers

  • Uber-rare species spotted include the Tennessee Warbler and Baltimore Oriole

High winds have blown rare songbirds across the Atlantic to the British Isles this week.

The sightings of more than a dozen small songbirds, one which has never before been seen in Britain before, between September 20 and 21 has created a once-in-a-lifetime event for birdwatchers and avian enthusiasts.

Birding website Rare Bird Alert described the ‘spew of uber-rare land birds’ as ‘one of the most memorable couple of days in British and Irish birding history’.

Species include a Tennessee Warbler, a Baltimore Oriole and a Philadelphia Vireowas.

However exciting to see these rare birds, their arrival is a bittersweet one.

Species of uber-rare land birds spotted for the first time in Britain include the Tennessee Warbler (pictured)

A Baltimore Oriole. Unless the birds acclimatise to the colder British climate they are unlikely to survive or be able fly across the Atlantic to a warmer destination

These birds are unlikely to fly across the Atlantic to get to their warmer destination unless they find a sufficient amount of food, meaning they will not survive unless they acclimatise to the colder British climate.

With climate change ringing in more extreme weather globally, many migratory birds are in free fall as species struggle to cope with multiple environmental changes.

John White, co-founder of birdwatching app Birda, said the Canada Warbler was logged on his app for birdwatchers.

He said yesterday: ‘It’s been amazing for us to have seen species such as the Canada Warbler turning up in the UK and being logged on the Birda app.

‘It’s an incredible opportunity to be able to see these birds here in the UK, however, their presence is bittersweet given that the birds survival rate is low having been blown this far off-course.’

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