Birds including robins, thrushes and ducks that would normally fly south from Scandinavia, for instance, have been seen in December -- long after snow usually drives them south. And Siberian swans have been late reaching western Europe.
"With increasing warmth in winter we suspect that some types of birds won't bother to migrate at all," said Grahame Madge, spokesman of the British Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
Many individual birds were leaving later, and flying less far.
One Swiss study this month suggested that Europe has just had the warmest autumn in 500 years. Frosts have crept south in the past week -- chilling any birds gambling that the entire winter will be balmy.
Madge said that Bewick's swans, for instance, which usually arrive in Britain in October from Siberia in Russia had apparently stopped for longer than usual in countries such as Estonia or the Netherlands because of plentiful food.
Birds cutting down on migration save vast amounts of energy on dangerous flights -- such as from the Arctic to Africa and back -- and can have the pick of northern breeding sites in spring. But they risk being killed by a snap cold spell.
One Swiss study this month suggested that Europe has just had the warmest autumn in 500 years.
And still no snow in the alps - it looks like it will be a green Christmas in Europe.
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It's certainly been warmer here (Helsinki) this autumn. I didn't check the stats, but the geese seemed to be here later (they migrate from Russia to central Europe in the autumn, along the Gulf of Finland).
I think spring arrivals have been getting earlier in Europe as well.
Bob
Where I'm currently working in Switzerland, we've had some trees flowering early, as in right now, in mid December.
Hedwig, was that you?
(via PZ .)