I am told that there have been sightings of waxwings in the village this week.
Waxwings are what is known as an irruptive species, which is to say that they appear in the UK when food is in short supply in their normal, more northern feeding grounds. Their arrival is therefore traditionally taken as evidence of an impending cold winter.
(Weather, not climate, of course.)
The normal pattern of waxwing irruptions is for sightings to extend gradually southwards across the UK, but this year seems to be rather different, with the birds arriving all at once.
This graph (source) tells the story. The red line is this year, with the peak both earlier and higher.
;)
Better lay some firewood in.