Home
Weather London
WeatherRadar
RainfallRadar
TemperatureRadar
WindRadar
LightningRadar
Weather News
Editor's Pick
Discover the app
Weather widget
Contact us
Apps
Career
    Home / Editor's Pick /

    Bird watcher hot spots: Birds shifting with jet stream

12:00
23 October 2022

Bird watcher hot spots
Birds shifting with jet stream

Yellow Warbler during autumn migration on the Shetland Islands, Scotland
Yellow Warbler during autumn migration on the Shetland Islands, Scotland

Both birds and birdwatchers alike rely heavily on the weather for their movements, and this autumn, they're headed north, thanks to the jet stream.

'Twitchers' are a term for birdwatchers who travel long distances to spot rare birds, and this season, they're hoping for westerly winds. For the amateur, westerly winds sound rather unappealing, as the wind direction often carries wet and windy weather from the Atlantic. But for Twitchers, it brings North American songbirds.

For the first time ever, a rare songbird, known as the Blackburnian Warbler, was recently spotted in the Isles of Scilly. The bird is native to eastern North America and is thought to have been migrating southwards to South America, when it got blown off course by strong winds.

Privacy Policy

The Isles of Scilly used to be the optimum place for watching these non-native birds, but with the northward shift of the jet stream, there are now increasing numbers of songbirds across Shetland and the Western Isles instead.

There are also fears that there is a reduction in garden birds, due to the hot weather we experienced over summer.

Weather & Radar editorial team
More on the topic
Equinox marks the start of autumn. Days start to get shorter. . . Wednesday, 23 September 2026
Split image showing Stonehenge in warm sunlight beside a tree-lined park glowing with vivid orange, red, and golden autumn leaves.
Wednesday, 23 September 2026

Days start to get shorter

Equinox marks the start of autumn
Europe split in two distinct patterns. Autumn meets summer. . . Tuesday, 22 September 2026
Weather maps show a storm over the North Atlantic and temperatures of up to 37 degrees in Spain and Portugal.
Tuesday, 22 September 2026

Autumn meets summer

Europe split in two distinct patterns
Hurricane POLO remains dangerous. Many storms in the Pacific. . . Thursday, 24 September 2026
Thursday, 24 September 2026

Many storms in the Pacific

Hurricane POLO remains dangerous
All weather news
This might also interest you
New records for England and Wales. Broken again tomorrow?. . . Thursday, 25 June 2026
Temperature map of southwest Britain on 25.06 showing extreme heat across southern Wales and southwest England, with Bute Park in Cardiff highlighted at 34.2°C and Yeovilton at 36.4°C amid widespread deep red heat zones.
Thursday, 25 June 2026

Broken again tomorrow?

New records for England and Wales
Bright and warm conditions take hold. Spring-like outlook. . . Thursday, 23 April 2026
Split UK map showing warm temperatures up to 21 degrees in orange on the left and clear sunny conditions with temperatures from 12 to 18 degrees on the right, with sun icons across the country.
Thursday, 23 April 2026

Spring-like outlook

Bright and warm conditions take hold
Seasonal warmth between spring thunder. Your weather - Your shots. . . Sunday, 19 April 2026
Split image showing coastal sunset with layered lenticular clouds over rooftops and palm trees on the left, and a green valley with river and hills under soft daylight on the right.
Sunday, 19 April 2026

Your weather - Your shots

Seasonal warmth between spring thunder
All articles
Weather & Radar

Weather & Radar is also available on

Google Play StoreApp Store

Company

Contact us Privacy Policy Legal info Accessibility statement

Services

Uploader

Socials

facebooktwittertikToklinkList