Estonia Sees Mass Arrival of Nutcrackers
Far more nutcrackers, birds native to Siberia, are being seen in Estonia this year than usual. A nature school teacher calls it an invasion and links it to a food shortage.
Estonia is experiencing an invasion of nutcrackers, according to Marko Valker, a teacher at the Nõva Nature School. These birds, which live in Siberia, are turning up in Estonia in much larger numbers than normally seen this year. Valker spoke about it to the newspaper Lääne Elu.
Valker said this is an irruptive migration, in which birds move in large numbers beyond their usual range. According to him, Finns say the previous major invasion took place in 1995.
Numbers and sightings
On the Sõrve peninsula, in western Estonia, 135 nutcrackers were counted in a single morning. Valker himself saw 10–15 of the birds last week.
Last week a nutcracker was also spotted in England, which is an exceptional case. The birds reach England very rarely and only during the largest invasions. Valker recalled that the last time this happened was in 1998.
The reason
Valker explains the invasion by a shortage of food. When there are few cones, nutcrackers set off in large flocks toward Western Europe in search of food.
The source does not say how long the invasion may last or whether the birds will remain in Estonia.
