Whether flying from the south to breed in the spring, from the north in the winter in search of food and milder weather, or simply passing through on their journey, bird migration is one of the UK’s most impressive natural events.

Autumn migration has a very different feel to the great northerly rush of spring. The urgency is gone, birds slowly working their way south towards their wintering grounds, often stopping off for days or even weeks to refuel for the rest of their journey.

As our own summer visitors gradually disappear, birds that spent the summer in more northerly countries start to pass through on their way south. Huge numbers of flycatchers, chats and warblers arrive on our coasts from Scandinavia, all with one thing on their mind: the journey to Africa.

This is often the best time to find rare birds amongst the more common migrants. Inexperienced young birds making their first journey south are more likely to stray off-course, so species that would normally not be seen in the UK sometimes turn up.

Late summer into autumn is also a great time for seabird watching - wrap up warm, find a comfortable spot on a headland and scan for migrating seabirds. Thousands of auks, kittiwakes and gannets leave their colonies and head out into the Bay of Biscay and the North Atlantic for the winter – an incredible sight to behold.