Falsterbo
is
an
outstanding
place
to
enjoy
massive
bird
migration
in
autumn.
The
main
factor
behind
the
large
concentration
of
migrating
birds
to
the
Falsterbo
headland
is
its
geographical
location,
being
the
south-westernmost
part
of
the
Scandinavian
Peninsula.
About
500
million
birds
leave
the
Nordic
countries
every
autumn.
The
majority
of
these
migrate
to
south-west,
the
direction
from
which
their
ancestors
came.
How
many
of
these
that
pass
Falsterbo
is
unknown.
The
standardised
counts
carried
out
every
autumn
at
Nabben,
the
south-westernmost
tip
of
Falsterbo
headland,
give
total
numbers
of
between
one
and
three
million
birds
.
This,
however,
represents
but
a
fraction
of
the
true
number
as
most
birds
pass
too
high
above
or
too
far
away from Nabben to be seen by the observer(s), or during the night.
How
shall
I
describe
this
to
my
friends
at
home,
so
they
understand
it?
Is
that
possible?
Probably
not.
Very
likely,
you
just
have
to
experience
it
yourself!
These
were
some
of
the
comments
tour
members
made
after
a
memorable
morning
at
Nabben.
We
had
for
hours
been
surrounded
by
thousands
and
thousands
of
birds
rushing
to
their
winter
quarters.
It
was
like
standing
in
the
middle
of
a
fast-floating
river,
made
up
of
birds
instead
of
water.
And
they
passed
so
close,
that
we
had
to
put
away
both
telescopes
and
binoculars,
because
we
had
no
use
of
them.
More
than
half
a
million
birds
passed that morning.
There
have
been
a
lot
of
memorable
days
during
the
earlier
tours;
of
large-
scale
migration
as
well
as
of
rarities.
Migrating
daily
totals
of
471,400
Chaffinches/Bramblings,
83,000
Siskins,
70,000
Eiders,
68,100
Wood
Pigeons,
9,300
Blue
Tits,
8,050
Song
Thrushes,
3,468
Sparrowhawks,
2,702
Buzzards,
2,360
Jays,
1,900
Linnets,
1,400
Cranes,
1,109
Stock
Doves,
335
Mistle
Thrushes,
331
Gold
Finches,
303
Red
Kites,
203
Parrot
Crossbills,
53
Marsh
Harriers,
41
Merlins
and
15
Two-barred
Crossbills
are
some
of
the
numbers
we
have
enjoyed.
Lesser
White-fronted
Goose,
Red-breasted
Goose,
King
Eider,
Great
Northern
Diver,
Sooty
Shearwater,
Greater
Spotted
Eagle,
Lesser
Spotted
Eagle,
Steppe
Eagle,
Eastern
Imperial
Eagle,
Eleonora’s
Falcon,
Great
Snipe,
Pectoral
Sandpiper,
Pomarine
Skua,
Ring-
billed
Gull,
Whiskered
Tern,
White-winged
Tern,
Eagle
Owl,
Calandra
Lark,
Horned
Lark,
Richard’s
Pipit,
Red-throated
Pipit,
Water
Pipit,
Siberian
Stonechat,
Desert
Wheatear,
Yellow-browed
Warbler,
Hume’s
Leaf
Warbler,
Radde’s
Warbler,
Dusky
Warbler,
Siberian
Chiffchaff,
Red-
breasted
Flycatcher,
Rustic
Bunting
and
Little
Bunting
are
some
of
the
less
common birds we have observed, many of them on several occasions.
The
most
exciting,
however,
is
to
leave
Stensoffa
in
the
morning
without
knowing
what
to
find
during
the
day.
Which
is
the
most
promising
site(s)
to
visit?
Will
it
be
a
good
migration
day
at
Falsterbo,
or
is
it
a
better
idea
to
go looking for staging birds, and in such case where?
The total number of bird taxa recorded during earlier tours amounts to
293.