An estimated half a million migrating songbirds made an unexpected landfall along a 24-mile stretch of the English coastline in 1965, an event known as the “Great Fall”. This mass arrival, primarily along the Suffolk coast, was triggered by a severe weather system.
The conditions, which included cloud, winds, and heavy rain, caused songbirds migrating south across the North Sea from Scandinavia to become exhausted. While many reportedly drowned, those that survived landed to rest and feed before continuing their journey to sub-Saharan Africa.
Such large-scale 'falls' are now less common, not due to changes in weather patterns, but because fewer songbirds breed in northern Europe and migrate through Britain. Smaller versions of these events still occur, such as at Spurn Head on the East Yorkshire coast, where birders gather annually for MigFest.