It might be a Nutcracker autumn on the east coast.
27th October 2026
The Spotted Nutcracker, a member of the corvid family inhabits conifer plantations and hazel forests which are their primary source of food.
A small stocky bird with an overall chocolate coloured plumage covered with dense white spots but with a solid black cap amd a clear white undertail which is conspicuous in flight. Slightly smaller than our Eurasian Jay but with a larger beak, it has similar habits i.e. burying food, notably nuts and seeds and retrieving them later when needed. This habit is a common regenerator of these forests because much of their cached food is not found and therefore goes onto germinate and form new growth.
Many birders (notably the twitching community) have been longing for a movement of these birds to reach the UK, the last time numbers were seen in the UK was in the late sixties where unbelievably over 300 birds were recorded. Two other sightings were recorded in Kent and Scotland in 1998 and 2021 respectively.
There was an early sense of anticipation that a Nutcracker might be seen in the UK when large movements of these birds were recorded in northern and western Scandinavia. Finnish birders were reporting the largest movement since 1995, this movement continued west into Europe with many birds then subsequently turning up in Holland – a stone’s throw away in ornithological terms. These movements are always tied to food shortages within their normal range, causing these westerly irruptions - Cold north easterly winds at the same time did the rest.
Finally, this week a lucky birder in Mundesley, North Norfolk found a bird in his garden, what a moment that must have been!! This bird is the Slender-billed Nutcracker (Caryocatactes, Macrorhynchos ssp) a native of high Taiga forests in Siberia and even Japan. Usually not migratory but are given to mass irruptions during food shortages.
These birds are much more confiding than birds found in Europe.
Spotted Nutcrackers found typically in northern, central and south eastern Europe are the (Caryocatactes Caryocatactes ssp).
Photographed in Bulgaria by me.
Notice the thicker beak of this ssp
These birds do not usually move west, so it was always going to be a Slender-billed bird that reached the UK.
Over a thousand birders converged on Mundesley in Norfolk on the weekend such is the rare nature of this sighting. More birds could arrive on the east coast of the UK, notably Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk and many birders will be on high alert in these areas.
The only bird that would likely surpass this sighting would probably be a Black Woodpecker, seen fairly easily on the near continent but as yet never recorded in the UK.
A small stocky bird with an overall chocolate coloured plumage covered with dense white spots but with a solid black cap amd a clear white undertail which is conspicuous in flight. Slightly smaller than our Eurasian Jay but with a larger beak, it has similar habits i.e. burying food, notably nuts and seeds and retrieving them later when needed. This habit is a common regenerator of these forests because much of their cached food is not found and therefore goes onto germinate and form new growth.
Many birders (notably the twitching community) have been longing for a movement of these birds to reach the UK, the last time numbers were seen in the UK was in the late sixties where unbelievably over 300 birds were recorded. Two other sightings were recorded in Kent and Scotland in 1998 and 2021 respectively.
There was an early sense of anticipation that a Nutcracker might be seen in the UK when large movements of these birds were recorded in northern and western Scandinavia. Finnish birders were reporting the largest movement since 1995, this movement continued west into Europe with many birds then subsequently turning up in Holland – a stone’s throw away in ornithological terms. These movements are always tied to food shortages within their normal range, causing these westerly irruptions - Cold north easterly winds at the same time did the rest.
Finally, this week a lucky birder in Mundesley, North Norfolk found a bird in his garden, what a moment that must have been!! This bird is the Slender-billed Nutcracker (Caryocatactes, Macrorhynchos ssp) a native of high Taiga forests in Siberia and even Japan. Usually not migratory but are given to mass irruptions during food shortages.
These birds are much more confiding than birds found in Europe.
Spotted Nutcrackers found typically in northern, central and south eastern Europe are the (Caryocatactes Caryocatactes ssp).
Photographed in Bulgaria by me.
Notice the thicker beak of this ssp
These birds do not usually move west, so it was always going to be a Slender-billed bird that reached the UK.
Over a thousand birders converged on Mundesley in Norfolk on the weekend such is the rare nature of this sighting. More birds could arrive on the east coast of the UK, notably Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk and many birders will be on high alert in these areas.
The only bird that would likely surpass this sighting would probably be a Black Woodpecker, seen fairly easily on the near continent but as yet never recorded in the UK.