Cold weather could benefit bird watchers

Monday 31st January 2011, 2:29PM GMT.

Group Leader RSPB Guernsey group Donna Francis SEVERE cold weather in northern Europe could give local bird watchers a treat.

Amateur ornithologists were told by the RSPB to ‘expect the unexpected’ this year as they took part in the annual Big Garden Birdwatch.

Unusually cold and unstable weather has forced rarely seen breeds off the beaten track in search of food due to a shortage of berries in their native Scandinavia and Russia.

Speaking at the RSPB Guernsey Group’s annual lunch, group leader Donna Francis (pictured) said the idea of the Birdwatch was that people counted the number of different species of birds which appeared in their garden at any one time.