Falsterbo, Sweden

Experience the birds fall migration over the Falsterbo Peninsula

Autumn Migration at Falsterbo – The Great Journey of Birds

The Falsterbo Peninsula, in the southwestern corner of Sweden, is one of the absolute best places in Europe to experience autumn bird migration. Due to its geographical location, the area functions as a natural bottleneck, where millions of birds gather and pass through on their journey toward more southern and southwestern destinations.

Many birds prefer to fly over land and often follow coastlines to avoid crossing open sea. This results in a significant concentration of migrating birds right at the Falsterbo Peninsula. The combination of geography and varied habitats – beaches, dunes, meadows, shrubland, and wetlands – provides birds with opportunities to rest, feed, and refuel during their migration, making Falsterbo a true hotspot for birdlife. More than 350 species have been recorded in the area.

Autumn migration begins as early as June with adult waders arriving from the north. But it is especially in August, September, and October that the migration peaks and becomes most impressive. During this period, long-distance migrants such as Yellow Wagtail, Tree Pipit, Osprey, and Honey Buzzard can be seen, and later in the season, species like Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Red Kite, Chaffinch, Brambling, Blue Tit, Siskin, Linnet, Meadow Pipit, and large flocks of Wood Pigeons dominate.

No two days are ever the same – and it is precisely this variation and unpredictability that makes it so exciting.

Raptor Migration

Falsterbo is especially famous for its raptor migration, where thousands of birds of prey – buzzards, kites, sparrowhawks, harriers, falcons, and eagles – can be observed as they soar on warm thermals or glide purposefully southwestward across the sea. On good days, you may be lucky enough to see many of Northern Europe's raptor species in a single day.

Birding Tour to Falsterbo – Experience the Migration Up Close

On this guided birding tour, we start the day early at Falsterbo Lighthouse and Nabben to witness the often intense morning migration. Here, small passerines and sparrowhawks typically dominate, but we’ll also look for waders, ducks, and other birds either stopping over or migrating past.

During the late morning – depending on wind and weather – we’ll head to Skanörs Ljung to experience the raptor migration. Depending on the season, we have good chances of seeing Honey Buzzard, Osprey, kites, harriers, sparrowhawks, buzzards, and falcons. And with a bit of luck, we might even spot a White-tailed Eagle or one of the rarer species such as Lesser Spotted Eagle, Pallid Harrier, Red-footed Falcon, or perhaps even a Golden Eagle.

If raptor migration is slow or absent due to unfavorable weather conditions, we will visit other nearby sites where resting birds are often found – such as waders, geese, ducks, and small birds.