Birding Hotspots Sweden

Where is Falsterbo?

Falsterbo is located at the southern tip of Sweden. It is a small peninsula that sticks out from the mainland in the southwest corner of the country.

Måkläppen is a nature reserve at the tip of the peninsula. There is also a bird observatory.

Why go?

Large numbers of raptors can be seen at Falsterbo in the Fall, including Honey Buzzard, Red Kite, and Rough-legged Buzzard. In addition to raptors, there are finches, tits, waders, pigeons, Spotted Nutcracker and others. One speciality to look for is the Black Woodpecker.

Falsterbo is one of the best places in the world to watch bird migration. Millions of birds pass through here on their fall migration. There has been a bird observatory here since 1955. Birders have counted up to 14,000 raptors in a single day. Average seasonal counts are as follows:

Eurasian Sparrowhawk – 15,300

Common Buzzard – 10,500

European Honeybuzzard – 5,000

Rough-legged Buzzard – 1,100

Western Marsh Harrier – 630

Common Kestrel – 400

Osprey – 240

Hen Harrier – 210

Merlin – 200

White-tailed Eagle, Golden Eagle, Montagu’s Harrier, Eurasian Hobby, Peregrine Falcon, Greater Spotted Eagle, Lesser Spotted Eagle, and Pallid Harriers also pass through in small numbers.

Falsterbo is also one of the best places in Europe for sightings of small birds such as finches, piptis and many others. About 10,000 will pass through daily, with seasonal totals as follows:

Common Wood Pigeon – 207,000

Western Yellow Wagtail – 32,000

Western Jackdaw – 30,000

European Greenfinch – 26,000

Tree Pipits – 20,000

Blue Tits – 17,000

Check the Lighthouse garden for Spotted Nutcracker, Red-throated Pipit, Lapland Bunting and Black Woodpeckers.

When to go?

The best time of year is from August to the end of October. The smaller birds are there all summer, but fall is when the raptors pass through. Each species has its peak time as follows:

Western Marsh Harrier and European Honey Buzzard – Late August to early September

Red Kite – Third week of September

Common Buzzard and Rough-legged Buzzard – Mid October

for the most variety of species – Mid-September

for the largest numbers – October

Photo Credits

Black Woodpecker by Petr Salinger

Red Kite by David Pickles

White-tailed Eagle by Ulfxpy

(M) Write a review