Raptors are also a big attraction to Falsterbo. Big numbers of
Honey Buzzards (Pernis apivorus) can be seen during August, and then they are replaced by thousands of
Common Buzzards (Buteo buteo) during September and October.
Red Kites (Milvus milvus) are common migrants too, such as
Marsh Harriers (Circus aeruginosus), but
Hen (Circus cyaneus), Montagu's (Circus pygargus) and
Pallid Harriers (Circus macrourus) also occur regularly through the season. Also worth mentioning the
Black Kites (Milvus migrans), which are also uncommon but regular migrants over the peninsula. Eagles are always special, and usually, if any Eagle is wandering around southern Sweden it will eventually show up over the Falsterbo peninsula.
Lesser Spotted Eagles (Aquila pomarina) are probably the more regular species, but
Greater Spotted Eagles (Aquila clanga) also appear, and also eventual
Steppe Eagles (Aquila nipalensis). Not to mention the regular
White-tailed Eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) or the
Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus), which both occur regularly, especially the latter.
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Top left to bottom right: adult Red Kite, juvenile Black Kite, adult female Marsh Harrier, adult female Montagu's Harrier, juvenile White-tailed Eagle, subadult Lesser Spotted Eagle, adult Osprey and juvenile Rough-legged Buzzard. |
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Packed with Common Buzzards... |
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and also Red Kites! |
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LSE in the distance, between Buzzards. |
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Variability within Honey Buzzards. Bottom right is a first-year, the rest are all adults, sexes mixed. |
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The variation among Common Buzzards is also great! 'Scandinavian'/'white' Buzzards are regularly seen. They are so beautiful! |
In terms of numbers, it's really shocking the large amount of
Sparrowhawks (Accipiter nisus), that easily reach hundreds of individuals per day, and totals usually taking over 20.000 individuals each season. Falcons are less abundant, but also regular in good numbers, such as
Hobbies (Falco subbuteo),
Peregrines (Falco peregrinus),
Common Kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) and
Merlins (Falco columbarius).
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Sparrowhawks are very common... |
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First-year Hobby (Falco subbuteo) |
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So common that they can pass even between your tripod legs! |
Looking at the beaches, sandbars and pools close to the shore, good numbers of ducks and waders stop to feed and rest. At the beginning of the season, by late July and early August, hundreds of Terns (mainly
Sandwich Sterna sandvicensis,
Common Sterna hirundo,
Arctic Sterna paradisaea) and waders, such as
Red Knots (Calidris canutus), Bar-tailed Godwits (Limosa lapponica) and
Oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus) are seen in rather big numbers.
Dunlins (Calidris alpina) are also very common, peaking during August, and several more species appear in big numbers.
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Revlarna packed with birds: waders, gulls, terns and ducks. |
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First-year Sanderlings (Calidris alba). |
Wildfowl is also very abundant, with hundreds of
Northern Pintails (Anas acuta),
Northern Shovelers (Anas clypeata),
Common Teals (Anas crecca),
Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) and thousands of
Eurasian Wigeons (Anas penelope) gathering during September and October. Swans also gather in big numbers, especially
Mute Swans (Cygnus olor), but
Whooper (Cygnus cygnus) and
Bewick's (C.columbianus) also occur. Geese are also very very common, and leaving apart the big flocks of
Greylag (Anser anser) and local
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis), there is a lot of migration of
Barnacle (Branta leucopsis),
Brent (Branta bernicla),
Greater White-fronted (Anser albifrons) and
Bean Geese (Anser fabalis). Common Cranes (Grus grus) are also seen in hundreds on migration between the end of September and beginning of October. Seawatching provides also big numbers of
Common and
Velvet Scoter (Melanitta nigra & Melanitta fusca), thousands of
Common Eider (Somateria mollisima), numerous
Black-throated (Gavia arctica) and
Red-throated Divers (Gavia stellata), and much more...
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Mute Swans (Cygnus olor) and Barnacle Geese (Branta leucopsis) resting at Knösen. |
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Migrating Barnacles over the Flommen reedbeds. The species has increased drastically in the last decades in Southern Sweden! |
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Migrating Greater White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons). |
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Migrating Cranes (Grus grus). |
... and several unexpected stuff, as these
Short-eared Owls (Asio flammeus)!
As you can imagine, this has been just a little glimpse of how amazing can be just to go to Falsterbo, sit down and enjoy
bird migration. You can see pretty much anything migrating there... except maybe for actual seabirds, which sadly have decreased a lot around the area since the building of the bridge that connects Copenhague and Malmö. Nonetheless, in a nice, very strong westerly winds, it is worth going to some coastal places in the northern parts of Scania, where you might be lucky and enjoy big numbers of several seabird species, including sometimes very good views.
On my very last day this season we went seawatching around Torekov headland, and we saw this amazing
Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophrys) from Rammsjö!!!
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Picture by Tim Micallef. Grazzi! |