Falsterbo Peninsula - Sweden
Just across the Øresund Bridge from Denmark, some say, arguably the best place to bird in Europe, and I would have to agree with this. Falsterbo requires no introduction to most European birders, although visitors from outside of Europe may not be familiar with the area. Not surprisingly, Falsterbo is best known for the fantastic autumn migration of raptors , where thousands of birds can be seen in a single day. However, Falsterbo is much more than a raptor migration hotspot.
Best time to visit
The autumn migration starts already in June, with the adult shorebirds arriving. During August and early September the other long-distance migrants leaves Northern Europe. Some of the most numerous are honey buzzard which can appear in large numbers during any given day along with eurasian hobby, western osprey, marsh harrier, common swift, house martin, sand martin, barn swallow, tree pipit, yellow wagtail and several wader species. The small areas of scrubland and gardens attracts many nocturnal migrants like redstarts, flycatchers and warblers.
The migration is at its most intense from mid-September to mid-October, with large migration of passerines including (but not limited to) brambling, chaffinch, blue tit, siskin, linnet, meadow and pipit joining the growing list of raptors migrating along with barnacle geese and ducks including common eider.
The raptor migration is perhaps the most famous attraction. Here you can see most of the northern European species during a single day. Common buzzard and eurasian sparrowhawk are the most numerous. Other common raptors at this time are red kite, hen and montagu’s, merlin and European kestrel. The Pallid Harrier, Black Kite, Peregrine Falcon, White-tailed Eagle and Golden Eagle are less common, but occurs frequently.
Key Species
With more than 350 species have been seen around Falsterbo alone, the list is endless.
Spring - Lots of resting passerines, including warblers, flycatchers and thrush. Pied Avocet also arrive and a large colony breeds on the peninsula, most on a “fox proof” island. Scarcities include firecrest, wryneck and bluethroat.
Autumn - The migration starts already in June and intensifies through July. Wader, gull and tern migration are the first movers towards the end of July and beginning of August, with 25+ species of waders having passed through by the end of august.
Of the birds of prey, honey buzzard, eurasian hobby, western osprey, marsh harrier pass through during August and September.
Common buzzards and eurasian sparrowhawks consistently migrate during most of the migration period, with the larger birds of prey migrating mostly passing through from mid_September through October, including, white-tailed and golden eagles, red kites with the occasional black kite, montage’s and pallid harriers, peregrine falcons.
