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WildWings, 577 Fishponds Road, Fishponds, Bristol. BS16 3AF.UK
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Birding in southern Sweden during the autumn is very exciting. As the Nordic countries mostly are populated by migratory birds, and September is the first real month of autumn, birding at this time of year can be very rewarding. Not only can you see many species but the numbers of birds can be really impressive. For instance it is not unusual to see several hundreds of thousands of birds leaving Falsterbo in one single day!
Day 1
Hence, expectations were high among the participants as they made their way through the arrivals hall at Malmo airport. Once everybody had got their luggage we went straight to the van and headed for the Näsbyholm-area. The weather was not exactly the best, with quite a stiff southerly wind and light rain, but as soon as we parked by Lake Näsbyholm the skies started to clear up and the wind dropped. The lake is a restored one, and is usually a very good spot for wildfowl and birds of prey. Today was no exception with several thousands of Greylag Geese were on the lake together with good numbers of Mallard, Wigeon, Teal, Tufted Duck and Pochard. Several Red Kites were circling over the lake, being the first, but definitely not the last, encounter with this species.
After half an hour of combined birding/repacking/getting into birding gear, we headed for Öland, going on small roads eastwards trying to find some good birds on the way. A lot of birds of prey were on the move, with Red Kite being the most numerous species and during the day we saw at least some 50 birds. Other birds seen on the way to Öland included some 40 Common Buzzards, several Marsh Harriers, Kestrels, Sparrowhawks, a ringtail Hen Harrier, a Black Woodpecker flying by and a beautiful juvenile Red-backed Shrike posing on a fence close to the road. Unfortunately, a Nutcracker crossing the road just in front of the car was only seen by two people. Arriving on Öland at about 5 pm we went to Risinge hamn along the coast south from Mörbylånga. Here Christian Cederroth, the co-leader for the Öland part of the trip, joined us and together we birded until dusk. Highlights were a Water Rail seen very well on the edge of the reedbeds, two Little Stints and two Spotted Redshanks. Before going to our home for next three days, the old lighthouse in Segerstad, we had dinner in Mörbylånga. After the list had been made in the cosy apartment in Segerstad, six rather tired people went to bed. Day total: 78 species.
Day 2
Staying at Segerstad is as close to ideal for birding as you can get. The seabird migration is splendid and the garden itself is a very good for migrants. The house we stayed in is in the middle of the garden, so once you had breakfast you can go straight to birding. The mornings on Öland were all hazy, and the seabird migration couldn´t be fully appreciated. This morning, however, offered the best sight conditions and we saw quite a few birds going south. Some 400 Red-breasted Mergansers were noted, along with several hundreds of Wigeon, 67 Pintail, two Gadwall, 10 Shoveler and a Peregrine. This was clearly a day of many wagtails. Several thousands were seen during the day, and among them two Red-throated Pipits were heard. The garden hosted good numbers of Robins and Goldcrests along with the odd Blackcap and Spotted Flycatcher and it was not long until we all had very good views of the first Red-breasted Flycatcher for the trip. On the sea just offshore, 26 Black-throated Divers were counted, and just as we were leaving for lunch, a White-tailed Eagle flew by. Driving the road leading to the lighthouse in Segerstad is an experience. The road marks the lowest part of the surrounding meadows making it the main drain during spring and autumn. This makes it slightly difficult to drive, but the good thing is you see more birds that way. On our way to lunch we stumbled on a lovely adult male Red-backed Shrike along this road, an unusual sight this late. Unfortunately, the bird’s left wing seemed to be in a bad condition. Arriving at Ottenby, the southernmost point of Öland, we quickly made our way to the restaurant. The view from the lunch tables here is difficult to match, today illustrated by two juvenile Honey Buzzards passing 20 meters over our heads while we were having our meal. Sparrowhawks were hunting in the gardens nearby for White Wagtails that were flying past. We now headed for the south end of Ottenby Lund, a forest some 2 kilometers north from the lighthouse. This is a good spot for watching migrating birds of prey, and soon after we parked the van a juvenile Rough-legged Buzzard came into view. A lot of raptors were seen from here, including two Hobby, a juvenile Goshawk, 40 Comon Buzzards and several hundred Sparrowhawks. Walking through the forest we found a nice flock of Long-tailed Tits. In Sweden it is represented by the nominate race, and we all agreed that this race is simply gorgeous with teir gleaming white heads! The birds were all around us, nearly perching on Adam’s head at one point. Back at Segerstad we did some afternoon birding before going for dinner in Mörbylånga. On the way we saw a juvenile Goshawk perched on a fencepost close to car, offering splendid views. Sea watching this evening was a little slower than in the morning, but still produced a Red-necked Grebe and two Scaup along with some large flocks of Wigeon and Common Scoter. Day total: 103 species.
Day 3
Today´s itinerary was initially the same as that of yesterday. Since the wind had turned from southwesterly to straight southerly, the migration over the sea was significantly better than yesterday, with for instance a lot more Common Scoter moving. During the morning we counted at least 2,000. Also, we had some 1,200 Wigeon, 100+ Teal, 20 Pintail, 50 Brent Geese and more than 600 Red-breasted Mergansers. It’s strange that all mergansers that migrate here are male, when do the females migrate? In the copse of trees just south from the lighthouse, a Hobby was sitting in a dead tree before flying off to the south. After enjoying a morning with very good views of migrating ducks and geese we once again headed for Ottenby and lunch. Before settling at our table we had splendid views of a 2nd calendar year Caspian Gull by the Ottenby lighthouse harbor. While having our meal we saw another one, this time an adult bird. Hoping to see some more raptors we had a quick lunch and headed for the cars to go a few kilometers north. By the car park we saw two Avocet and a White-tailed Eagle. Arriving at the raptor watch-point we found that not very many birds were moving due to the misty weather so we decided to go looking for Cranes instead. A couple of stops later, after finding only single cranes by the roadside, we found a nice flock of about 80 birds settled in a field for us to feast our eyes on. Overhead, a White-tailed Eagle flew past, and we moved on trying to find more Common Cranes. By the village of Mörbylånga we found a field with loads of gulls and Lapwings. We couldn´t find any odd ones among the thousands of birds, but a Peregrine put on a wonderful performance chasing a Ruff up into the sky until they disappeared several kilometers above us. That Ruff certainly had a really rough day… Unable to find any more cranes we headed towards the Nature Book Shop, stopping on the way to have a closer look at the botanical and geological specialties of Öland. The island holds one endemic plant, the Ölandstok, which is abundant in the right habitat. Also, several species of insects found here, can´t be found anywhere closer than in the deserts of Asia. After visiting the book shop and making a brief stop at Peter Nilsson´s art gallery (where the participants cursed the airlines for not allowing more weight) we went back to Segerstad. Before dinner we watched the evening migration, getting good views of an adult Little Gull and large flocks of Common Scoter. The dinner at Gammalsbygården was a real treat and a worthy conclusion of the visit to Öland. Day total: 97 species.
Day 4
The final morning on Öland begun as the previous ones. This was the best day for migration so far on the trip, but the haze was ever present making sea watching a tad frustrating. Up to 10.30 am we had some 3,000+ Common Scoter, 600+ Red-breasted Merganser, 1 Red-necked Grebe, 60 Goldeneye, 150+ Wigeon and three adult Little Gulls among large numbers of the more common species. Especially the scoter numbers were impressive, with some of the flocks containing over 600 birds. Over the sea a Short-eared Owl migrated south, showing no sign of wanting to come ashore for a day roost and we had cracking views of an almost adult White-tailed Eagle passing very close to the garden. Alan got brief views of a Red-breasted Flycatcher in the garden (nobody else saw it until the evening when Christian found it on exactly same spot) just before we started packing our things. Having said goodbye to our hosts we went to Färjestaden for lunch before setting off towards Skåne. The weather wasn´t the best for birding with an almost constant drizzle, but we still made a stop at Lake Hammarsjön. Two White Storks were in a field close to Håslövs Ängar. The birds were probably a part of the reintroduction program running just a few kilometers from here. Introduced or not, they are lovely birds to look at … and appeared to be rather “wild” too... Going for a short walk across the meadows at Håslövs Ängar we flushed quite a few Common Snipe, Yellow Wagtails, Linnets and Meadow Pipits. A Merlin watched us from a small rock and some late Swallows was looking for a suitable tree to sleep in. We soon decided to leave for Falsterbo. After having had an enormous pizza in Höllvikens prime pizzeria we arrived at Hotel Norregård at 8.30 pm. Day total: 86 species.
Day 5
In the Falsterbo area, birding tends to be at its best from dawn to 3 pm. Knowing that we asked the hotel to pack us breakfast which they did every day – with honors. At 6.30 am we picked our breakfast bags up in the restaurant and went out birding. We started in Falsterbo, near the lighthouse, in order to have our breakfast sheltered from the wind (a rather stiff northwesterly one). After breakfast we continued down over the golf course to Nabben, the most southwesterly point in Sweden. This day was very good for migrating passerines. Actually it turned out to be the best day so far this season. Chaffinch and Brambling were totally dominant, and until 10.30 am when we left we saw some 90,000 Chaffinch and 50,000 Brambling! This year is an invasion year for Siskin with far higher numbers than usual. Today’s count was 3,000+, and among a lot of other birds we also saw 50 Crossbills, 11 Grey Wagtails, 22 Woodlarks, 500 Meadow Pipits, 250 Linnet and a Penduline Tit. However, the highlight of the morning was the incredible show performed by two Black Woodpeckers circling around us at very close quarters for five minutes before going back into Falsterbo village. Those views really made up for the poor ones obtained from the car earlier. Nabben is not just a very good migration spot, but the estuary surrounding it is excellent for wildfowl and waders. Unfortunately, the water level was too high, but we still saw some 500 Wigeon, two Gadwall, 700 Teal, two Avocet together with loads of gulls, Dunlin and Mallard. By 11.00 am we left Nabben going to Falsterbo Kanal to watch the raptor migration. The canal is located some 15 kilometers east from Nabben and on our way there we made a very quick stop on Anna´s bakery to pick up some pastries. The wind had now turned to a southerly making the raptor watch difficult as the birds are then tending out over the sea. In spite of this, we saw nine Honey Buzzards, a Peregrine, 42 Red Kites, 130 Common Buzzards and 200+ Sparrowhawks as well as numerous Kestrels. The birds came fairly low and provided us with good views most of the time. By 2. 30 pm the migration had almost stopped and we continued to Lilla Hammars näs on the very base of the peninsula. It´s an estuary-like area with lots of birds, and today was no exception. Trying to find Lapland Bunting and Red-throated Pipits we took quite a long walk. We dipped those two species, but saw a lot of other birds including 7,000+ Golden Plovers, 1,000+ Lapwings, 500+ Wigeon, 1,000+ Teal, 500+ Coot, 10,000+ Greylag Geese, 1,000+ Barnacle Geese and a Peregrine. Of course, with such good numbers of birds, we also had smaller numbers of Pintail, Shoveler, Gadwall etc. To round the day up, we went back to the Falsterbo lighthouse. In the beautiful evening light we got splendid views of three Red-breasted Flycatchers and a juvenile Honey Buzzard migrated very low over our heads. After dinner at Gästgivaregården in Skanör we went back to the hotel. Day total: 91 species.
Day 6
Again we picked up our breakfast bags and went to Nabben by 6.30 am. Migration was clearly slower than yesterday but the weather looked promising for raptors. Already in the first light the buzzards started soaring over the point and by the time we left at 0930 we had seen about 20. The biggest difference, compared to the previous day, was the amount of finches and today´s count was less than 10% of yesterday’s. Apart from the “lack” of finches (just 15,000 today), the other species seen yesterday were also noted today. We had some 25 Woodlarks, 10 Grey Wagtails, 300 Jackdaw, 100 Rook (yes, these two corvids are migratory!) before going to the canal. Arriving at the canal by 10 am it looked very promising with moderate winds and semi clear skies. Until 1 pm when the migration stopped due to too much cloud-cover and increasing wind, we had good views of 1 adult Black Kite, 2 juvenile Honey Buzzards, 150+ Red Kites, 300+ Common Buzzards, 300+ Sparrowhawks and an adult Peregrine. In the gardens behind our watch-point we had a Red-breasted Flycatcher and two nice male Redstarts. By 1 pm the birds began heading back for the inland and we had some nice flocks of more than 100 birds passing low going east. We too decided to head towards the inland, and to try to find more birds there. The afternoon was spent in and around Näsbyholm. The lake in Näsbyholm held some 3000+ Greylag Geese, 500+ Wigeon, 80 Pochard, 300+ Teal, 500+ Mallard and small numbers of Pintail and Shoveler. A juvenile Peregrine flew past and a Rough-legged Buzzard showed off really well. On our way back to Falsterbo four Whooper Swans flew across the road and a flock of 40 Cranes migrated south right over us, calling continuously. We then took dinner at a very local, but nice, pizzeria in Skanör. Day total: 103 species.
Day 7
The wind had picked up during the night, now reaching 15 m/s from the northeast. These conditions are usually very good for seabird migration in eastern Skåne, whereas they are lousy for Falsterbo. In short, we started out with a longish drive to Brantevik in eastern Skåne. By the time we got there it had started to rain, but the migration was definitely on. We stood behind a small fishing hut in the small village of Brantevik for about 3 hours, seeing 10,000+ Common Eider, 700+ Wigeon, 1 Arctic Skua, 11 Little Gulls, 2 Goosanders, 40+ unidentified divers and a Red-necked Grebe. The birds all came very close, but the rain made it difficult watching them. After lunch at a restaurant in Kåseberga we headed back to Falsterbo slightly earlier than the other day´s realizing that birding isn´t that good in these weather conditions. We reached the hotel at about 4 pm, and we spent the afternoon packing for tomorrow, strolling around Falsterbo or merely resting. On our way to dinner, yet another enormous pizza in Höllviken, we came across 250+ Cranes going for night roost on the Falsterbo peninsula. Day total: 70 species.
Day 8
Since the flight was scheduled at 10 am, there wasn´t any time for birding so after the first sit-down breakfast in Falsterbo we headed back to Malmo airport. The flight left almost on time and marked the end of an exciting birding week.
