Did wild birds reach Britain in 1994?
The 1892 and 1994 invasions clearly involved wild birds. In the latter year, some 351 were recorded in western Europe, including 262 in Fenno-Scandia, mainly in July-August. It has been suggested that British records in 1994 were not part of that invasion. This is because the total of 55 for that year was in fact slightly less than in the previous three years. Nevertheless, the important point is that this total included several significant flocks, including eight at the Point of Air, Flintshire, on 24-25 July, which subsequently went on to form the nucleus of a gathering of up to 12 on the Wirral (which included a known colour-ringed escape from previous years). Can we tick them? So where does this leave us with the current British records? Or, to put it bluntly, can we tick them? The answer to this question has to be ‘yes’. Current records in Britain are no doubt a mixture of a few escapes from captivity, perhaps a few wild vagrants, and, particularly in eastern areas, birds that hav
