An exceptional movement from the east has kept Finnish birders watching as autumn advances.
Slender-billed Nutcrackers have been moving through Finland in exceptional numbers. (© Anton Cnudde/Flickr)
Finland is experiencing its strongest Nutcracker movement for three decades, with observers recording hundreds of birds in a day.
Ornithomedia reports a major arrival of Slender-billed Nutcrackers during August and September. BirdLife Finland’s own updates show both the scale of the early movement and its persistence into late autumn migration.
In its 28 August bulletin, BirdLife Finland described the passage as the busiest since 1995. More than 400 Nutcrackers had been counted at Kristiinankaupunki on 22 August, while Kalajoki and Espoo also recorded days exceeding 100 birds.
The movement was still producing conspicuous counts almost a month later. On 25 September, BirdLife Finland reported that the best daily Nutcracker totals remained in three figures.
These are counts from individual locations and days, rather than a national population estimate. They nevertheless show that this has been more than a brief flurry of unusual sightings.
For birders farther west, the Finnish reports provide a compelling reason to watch developments. They do not, however, establish that the influx will extend to Britain: its eventual reach remains to be seen.
28 Sep 2026
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