Honey Buzzards in northern Germany -- Schleswig-Holstein and Helgoland
In correspondence on GermanBirdnet, a rather dismissive judgement is given on the view that Honey Buzzards were drifted over the North Sea by the easterly winds around the time of the movement in Britain.
In Die Meldungen aus SEPTEMBER 2000:Zurück zur Hauptseite Bird News at German BirdNet , Chris Engelhardt writes from Lübeck as follows:
GBN: Wespenbussard-Zug Datum: Mon, 25 Sep 2000 11:47:05 +0200
Von: "Christopher Engelhardt"Chr.Engelhardt@gmx.de An: "GermanBirdNet (Mails)" GermanBirdNet@rrze.uni-erlangen.de Peter Finke Peter.Finke@t-online.de schrieb zum Subject: Re: [EBN] Movement of Honey Buzzards
Brian Unwin schrieb:
>................ So, the way I see it, everything points to the influx involving hundreds of birds, which had crossed from Sweden to Denmark much earlier in the month and had advanced a good way further south to somewhere like Holland, being drifted in a north-westerly direction towards the coast of eastern England in a south-easterly gale. ........
Mir fällt angesichts dieser Vermutungen von Brian Unwin auf, daß ich in diesem Herbst noch keine größeren Gruppen ziehender Wespenbussarde gesehen habe. In den meisten Jahren sieht man solche auch hier im Bielefelder Raum. Sind diesmal viele verdriftet worden und haben einen anderen Zugweg genommen? Bei zwei Besuchen im Dithmarscher Speicherkoog an der SH Westküste fiel mir dieser Tage der ungewöhnliche Durchzug von Wespenbussarden auf: 1 im Speicherkoog am 24.09. 4 im Speicherkoog am 17.09.00 Gensböl / Thiede ("Greifvögel") schreiben dazu: "Ostwind... veranlaßt... eine Zugabweichung westwärts. Auf diesem sog. Alsenzug können z.B. Wespenbussarde... bis über die Nordsee verdriftet werden, wo sie dann den Kurs gegen den Wind korrigieren, zum Festland zurückfliegen und über Dithmarschen südwärts weiterziehen." So isses ja wohl diesmal gewesen!? Grüße Chris Engelhardt, Lübeck
The response refutes the suppositions of Brian Unwin. No large groups of Honey Buzzards have been seen this autumn in the Lübeck area, which lies on the southern extreme of the Jutland peninsula in Germany. Two topical records involving small numbers of birds are mentioned (also sent to the GermanBirdnet web pages cited above):
1 at Speicherkoog on 24.09.00 (in strong easterly winds "und starkem Ostwind")
4 at Speicherkoog on 17.09.00
Further, an observation of the birds is reported in the easterly winds of 17/9. Honey Buzzards were observed to be drifting westwards until they were over the North Sea. They then corrected their course, regained their flight over the mainland and flying southwards continued their passage over Dithmarschen Speicherkoog in the western part of Schleswig-Holstein.
Another interesting observation on the German Birdnet pages for September 2000 is the absence of reports of Honey Buzzards from Helgoland. If birds were indeed being drifted over the North Sea from Denmark or Schleswig-Holstein, some would surely have been detected here.
See an account of Griffon Vultures in Holland Griffon Vultures did not cross the North Sea for similar behaviour.
