Raptor migration

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Map: Falsterbo, the famous raptor migration point at the southern tip of Sweden with Stevns (Denmark) on the left.
Photo: one of the Red Kites (first winter) that cruised past Stevns on Saturday afternoon.

On Saturday I was offered a lift to Stevns Klint, one of the few parts of the Danish coastline that consists of cliffs, by a Danish birding friend. This is one of the best places in Europe to see raptor migration. Of course, the most famous place of all is Falsterbo in Sweden but for birds leaving Falsterbo, Stevns is the closest land and so most (around 70 per cent) of raptors that leave Falsterbo make landfall at Stevns. And Stevns has the advantage that birders in Falsterbo can tip off birders in Stevns as to what is coming their way! It takes about 40 minutes for the average raptor to make the journey from Falsterbo to Stevns and , usually, the birds are lower at Stevns having lost height over the water (most rely on 'thermals' over land to gain height). This particular Saturday was forecast to be perfect conditions for raptor migration - light to moderate south-westerlies with clear skies. On such days in September one can expect thousands of birds of prey ranging from Honey Buzzards, Ospreys, Red Kites and Marsh Harriers to eagles, including, if you are lucky, the rare Greater and Lesser Spotted Eagles, Imperial Eagle, Short-toed Eagle etc... Unfortunately the weather didn't do as it was told and it was cold with cloud cover, so the migration was somewhat muted. However, I did see 8 Red Kites, 3 Peregrines, 22 Common Buzzards, a Merlin and a Marsh Harrier. Not bad, but completely eclipsed by Sunday when the birders present saw one Lesser Spotted Eagle, 284 Red Kites, 271 Common Buzzards, 12 Rough-legged Buzzards, 2 Honey Buzzards, 80 Sparrowhawks, 4 Hen Harriers, 3 Marsh Harriers and a Merlin. Whilst the bird of prey migration can be spectacular, it is a mystery as to why passerine (small, perching birds) migration is so poor. Falsterbo sees spectacular migration of both birds of prey and passerines and yet Stevns really only gets bird of prey migration (it is estimated that Stevns sees 70 per cent of the raptors that leave Falsterbo and only 10 per cent of the passerines). One of the mysteries of migration!