Not so long ago it was common to put the binoculars on the shelf when the spring migration was over. One took a break until the returning waders began to appear again in late July.
This has changed, and not even Midsummer Eve and day is birding free now, even though Midsummer Eve is kind of sacred here in Sweden. For example, Öland’s only second Little Bittern was found in Gårdby harbour on Midsummer Day in 2007.
Sometimes June can be seen as an extension of the spring and some spring rarities stays occasionally well into the early summer. Other summer findings can be about rarities that have arrived earlier but escaped detection.
Sometimes laziness can be the best strategy to find rarities. A moment, or a day, in a sun lounger at the beach, with plenty of sunscreen, and eyes directed towards the sky, can lead to the discovery of rare birds of prey like Short-toed Snake Eagle and Lesser Spotted Eagle.
Little Bittern, © Lars Lundmark
At late afternoon, when the worst heat is over, is a walk along the beach recommended. More than other birds, it is the waders that stand for the surprises on the island in the summer, mainly after midsummer and onwards.
Pectoral Sandpiper, © Lars Lundmark
On their way between nesting grounds along the coast of the Siberian tundra and the wintering areas in the southeast, from France to South Africa, lies the island of Öland with its shallow, nutrient-rich beaches right along the migration route.
Probably have the birds arrived after a non-stop flight of over 1000 kilometers and it is time to stock up some new energy now.
No less than 35 wader species have been recorded on Öland that can be considered as rarities. Among the more regular rarities are Pectoral Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, Terek Sandpiper, species that can also be seen in the late spring, the Pacific Golden Plover seems however to be a regular summer visitor on Öland.
Pacific Golden Plover, © Lars Lundmark
For other fairly regular rare summer visitors on Öland can the following be included: Ruddy Shelduck, Lesser Grey Shrike and southern European heron species, like Black-crowned Night Heron, Great Egret and Little Egret.
Little Bittern, Egyptian Vulture, Griffon Vulture, Eleonora’s Falcon, Baillon’s Crake, Lesser Sand Plover, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Stilt Sandpiper, Hudsonian Godwit, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Grey-tailed Tattler, White-throated Robin, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, Sykes’s Warbler, Southern Grey Shrike and Trumpeter Finch.
Eleonora’s Falcon, © Lars Lundmark
Black-crowned Night Heron, © Lars Lundmark
Southern Grey Shrike, © Lars Lundmark
Griffon Vulture, © Lars Lundmark
Source: Ölands Fåglar © Ölands Ornitologiska Förening ÖOF (authors this chapter: Anders Waldenström)
Translation: Visitoland.com
Pictures: see each picture
The book: Ölands Fåglar, 496 pages (only in Swedish), can be ordered at Naturbokhandeln
ISBN: 9789188124555
