Weatherwatch: Constant rain is a pain for visiting birds

Prolonged wet weather delays migrant species' arrival and causes problems once they get hereWill it ever stop raining? That's the constant refrain from my Somerset neighbours - especially the local farmers - after flooding this winter to match the famous events of a decade ago. As in the rest of southern England, the first quarter of 2024 here has certainly been very wet.How is the rain affecting resident and migrant birds? Birdsong has been as loud as ever in our garden, with blackbirds, song thrushes and the newly arrived chiffchaffs all contributing to the spring dawn chorus. Chiffchaffs don't go anything like as far as other migrants, spending the winter in Spain and north Africa, or in recent decades staying out in the milder south and west of Britain, helped in the past few years by very mild winters. Continue reading...