European cold snap may increase bird migration to UK

This year’s RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, which begins on Friday, could reveal ‘some surprise migratory visitors’ Yassin El-Moudden Fri 23 Jan 2026 06.00 CET

The chances of spotting a fieldfare or redwing in 2026 have risen, thanks to cold and unsettled weather in Europe, prompting a bumper year in birds migrating to the UK.

The RSPB highlighted the trend on the eve of the Big Garden Birdwatch, an annual event that constitutes the world’s largest garden wildlife survey, which will take place between 23 and 25 January.

Such migratory birds tend to inhabit the continent for a large part of the year before spending winter in the UK to avoid the extreme cold in places as far as Poland and Scandinavia. Other reasons that prompt the journey include scarcer availability of food for the birds.