When compared with places such as Norway and Sweden, the UK has relatively warm winters, and we get large numbers of migratory birds from all over Europe, which travel here seeking shelter, food and water. But numbers change every year depending on what the weather is like there and here with the recent cold spell you may see some surprise migratory visitors outside your window
Birds throughout the US have adopted a disturbing habit that could have devastating implications for human society if it continues. Researchers have found that birds are abandoning their usual migration patterns, with warmer temperatures in their winter habitats disrupting their annual flights While delaying their yearly flight south may not sound like a major problem, a visiting scientist at Cornell University, Andrew Farnsworth, warned that it could lead to many bird species dying out and drastically altering nature.
In so-called "granary trees," acorn woodpeckers drill remarkable pegboard-like patterns in which they store thousands upon thousands of acorns for food over the winter. And the Austral pygmy-owl, endemic to parts of Argentina and Chile, can be identified by its high-pitched toot. These are just a few of the incredible array of bird species represented by the top entries in this year's Audubon Photography Awards.
The Arctic Tern is not the only bird that spends its breeding season in the Arctic. Billions of birds belonging to nearly 200 speciesfrom small sparrows such as the Smith's Longspur to large waterfowl such as the Greater White-fronted Goosemake their way to the far north every spring to reproduce and then make the return flight south for the winter.