About autumn migration

Migration is often not so obvious in the autumn as it is in spring with summer visitors ‘disappearing' gradually, often without notice. Recording the departure dates of migrants is often considered more difficult than noting arrival dates. By submitting lists regularly to BirdTrack we will be able to get a clear picture of the timing and pattern of departure of summer visitors. 

Winter visitors tend to arrive over a longer time period and are not in such a rush as spring migrants; the urgency of the breeding season is not there. Despite this, it's a really exciting time, with winter thrushes, flocks of geese and swans arriving and the dispersal of raptors to their wintering grounds.

For birdwatchers interested in rarities and scarcities, autumn brings a huge sense of anticipation. If the winds blow from the east during September and October will there be a good arrival of far eastern species like Pallas's Warbler, Radde's Warbler or perhaps something rarer like a Pechora Pipit? 

Birdwatchers in Ireland and the west of Britain will be closely following the weather maps looking for fast-moving depressions moving across the Atlantic that could bring an arrival of American vagrants like Red-eyed Vireo, Buff-breasted Sandpipers and rare thrushes or warblers.

Birdwatching inland during the autumn can also produce some good birds with Pied Flycatchers, waders and terns moving through. It's worth spending some time looking at tit flocks as these often harbour warblers like Blackcap and Chiffchaff. Even rarer species like Yellow-browed Warblers are sometimes found amongst tit flocks in October and November.

Latest departure dates of summer visitors  

The table below gives the latest departure dates for summer visitors in Hampshire, West Midlands, Leicestershire, Lancashire and Shetland. 

• For up-to-date information on a wider range of species and regions see Maps and Reports.

Average arrival dates of winter visitors

There is a paucity of information regarding the arrival dates of winter visitors and this is where your contributions to BirdTrack can really help. Few bird reports give long-term average arrival dates; those for Hampshire and West Midlands are shown below, but you will see there is no information available for scarcer species.