Passage Migrants
Some species neither regularly breed nor winter in Great Britain, but pass through on migration often in large numbers. Arctic breeding waders are a good example, with species such as Little Stint and Curlew Sandpiper usually being fairly common on passage.
The numbers of some passage birds depend on weather conditions. There will be more Mediterranean visitors like Hoopoes and Alpine Swifts in spring if there are winds from the south encouraging an overshoot of the breeding areas.
In both spring and autumn, the numbers of Scandinavian breeders such as Bluethroat and Wryneck are linked to the prevalence of easterly winds.
Perhaps also best placed in this category are a few seabirds which breed in the southern hemisphere, but "winter" in the northern hemisphere during the northern summer. These are seen off the south west of Britain in autumn. They are the Great Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater and the rare Wilson's Petrel.
Read more about this topic: British Avifauna
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