The Effects of the severe 1962/1963 winter on Britain”s Birds In link Published October 1964!!

Thanks Thomo, a fascinating read. I particularly liked this:  

'...there is evidence that when a new food habit has been learnt by a few individuals, it will spread quickly through most of the species. The opening of milk-bottles is the classic example of this, while the appearance of Great Spotted Woodpeckers at bird-tables is something which has probably developed since the 1946/47 hard winter and may have had positive survival value this time. Grey Lag Geese began eating swedes during the 1946/47 winter and have continued to do so ever since in one part of Scotland. One effect of a severe winter may therefore be to cause birds to discover new food supplies which they can then utilise afterwards, and in some cases this could help an eventual increase in numbers. The winter of 1962/63 may perhaps have done this for some species and, slender though the evidence is, attention might profitably be paid now to Reed Buntings, which were already beginning to acquire the habit of visiting gardens well away from water and did so on a much larger scale during the severe weather'

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