Friday, August 30, 2019

A Trip to Sweden - Part 1

Our trip to Sweden began in the most southernmost point, Falsterbo.
Falsterbo is a birding hotspot for European birds during migration. As you can see on the map, Copenhagen was a perfect place to schedule our arrival flight. 
Our time in Copenhagen was limited to one day but we certainly learned that it is a city where getting around by bikes rules!

The view from our first stay overlooked a recently harvested field.


Blackbirds, hooded crows and jackdaws were the first new birds for us. They loved the open fields.

Why Falsterbo? It is a migratory haven but we we arrived a few weeks too early.


The interesting part of this spot is that you need to walk through a golf course to get to the nature trail leading to the premier birding. I, of course, have never done this before. When I innocently stopped to look for birds along the way, Swedish golfers were waving their arms and whistling to us to get out of the way of their flying golfballs. You need to know some etiquette before entering this area.




Although I loved this spot, I wish I was here a little later in the season to enjoy the magnificent migration that will occur in September. One lesson to share with you, don't assume the identity of birds before truly looking at the details. At first glance, we thought these sparrows were house sparrows but we discovered they were tree sparrows. 

Content and photos by Robin Roberts
Click on photos to enlarge.