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[edit] Overview

Despite being a large and busy city, the Danish capital of Copenhagen has excellent birding both within and around the city.

The urban parks and nearby woodland areas have an interesting range of passerine breeders, raptors pass over the city in good numbers and the lakes and coasts attract wintering waterfowl, waders and seabirds.

[edit] Birds

[edit] Notable Species

[edit] Utterslev Mose

Utterslev Mose, to the north-west of the city centre, is one of the best parks with lakes that hold grebes in summer including Great Crested Grebe, Red-necked Grebe and sometimes Black-necked Grebe which were once regular breeders but now mainly spring visitors. Greylag Goose and Common Pochard also breed as well as Marsh Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler and Reed Bunting. Bearded Tit and Penduline Tit may also be present. Great Bittern, a rare bird over most of Denmark, has been seen in several recent winters and has also stayed on into spring raising hopes that one day breeding may occur.

Marsh Harrier occurs as a regular migrant but has bred on occasion and both Little Gull and Black Tern pass through. Thrush Nightingale is among the many breeding passerines.

The park is also good for passage migrants particularly during west and north-westerly winds. There are lakes at Ishoj Strand that are good for wintering waterfowl including regular Greater Scaup and Smew.

[edit] Amager

The island of Amager in the south of Copenhagen has several excellent birding areas including Sjaellandsbroen overlooking the harbour where wintering waterfowl and seabirds occur in good numbers especially in severe weather when other waterbodies are frozen.

The Gronjordssoen is a lake at Amager Faelled just north of Sjaellandsbroen with breeding Little Grebe, Red-necked Grebe and Black-necked Grebe, Penduline Tit and Thrush Nightingale.

The large and rather open, former military area of Vestamager (also called Kalvebod Faelled) attracts raptors in winter often including Hen Harrier, Rough-legged Buzzard and sometimes also White-tailed Eagle and very occasionally Golden Eagle, Greater Spotted Eagle and Lesser Spotted Eagle.

This area of more than 2,500ha covers grassland and woods, open beaches, marshes and lakes and is the best birding area within easy reach of Copenhagen. Grasshopper Warbler breeds here in numbers unmatched anywhere else in Denmark with more than 150 singing males recorded in some years. Whooper Swans of dubious origin bred here from the 1970s until the 1990s. As it was once used as a firing range it is advisable to keep to paths as there may be unexploded shells in the area.

[edit] Kongelunden

To the south is the mixed woodland area of Kongelunden with Barred Warbler and Icterine Warbler and sometimes Golden Oriole among the many breeding passerines and sometimes Tengmalm's Owl in winter.

[edit] Rarities

Rarities are frequently seen in this well-watched area and have included Little Egret and Terek Sandpiper, Lesser Kestrel, Gyr Falcon and Lesser Grey Shrike. White-winged Tern attempted to breed in the Vestamager in 1997 after a large spring influx but unfortunately failed due to a rise in water levels.

[edit] Check-list

Birds you can see here include:

Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Great Cormorant, Great Bittern, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Greylag Goose, Common Shelduck, Eurasian Wigeon, Common Teal, Mallard, Garganey, Northern Shoveler, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Greater Scaup, Common Eider, Long-tailed Duck, Common Scoter, Velvet Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Smew, Goosander, Red-breasted Merganser, Western Honey-Buzzard, White-tailed Eagle, Western Marsh Harrier, Hen Harrier, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Rough-legged Buzzard, Osprey, Common Kestrel, Merlin, Northern Hobby, Common Pheasant, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Common Crane, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Pied Avocet, Ringed Plover, Golden Plover, Northern Lapwing, Red Knot, Sanderling, Temminck's Stint, Little Stint, Dunlin, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Ruff, Common Snipe, Whimbrel, Eurasian Curlew, Spotted Redshank, Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Red-necked Phalarope, Little Gull, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Caspian Tern, Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Arctic Tern, Little Tern, Black Tern, Feral Rock Dove, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Long-eared Owl, Short-eared Owl, Tengmalm's Owl, Common Swift, Common Kingfisher, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Skylark, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Northern House Martin, Red-throated Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Blue-headed Wagtail, White Wagtail, Bohemian Waxwing, Common Dipper, Common Wren, Dunnock, Thrush Nightingale, Eurasian Robin, Whinchat, European Stonechat, Northern Wheatear, Eurasian Blackbird, Fieldfare, Song Thrush, Redwing, Mistle Thrush, Common Grasshopper Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Marsh Warbler, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Icterine Warbler, Barred Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Common Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Goldcrest, Spotted Flycatcher, European Pied Flycatcher, Bearded Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Nuthatch, Common Treecreeper, Penduline Tit, Eurasian Golden Oriole, Great Grey Shrike, Common Jay, Common Magpie, Eurasian Jackdaw, Rook, Hooded Crow, Common Starling, House Sparrow, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, Brambling, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Linnet, Twite, Northern Redpoll, Common Bullfinch, Reed Bunting

[edit] Other Wildlife

To do

[edit] Site Information

[edit] Areas of Interest

Nearby to the west and south are saltmarshes that attract passage waders. Raptors can be seen over most parts of the city when on migration with the highest numbers from the end of August until mid or late October.

The most numerous autumn raptors are Common Buzzard and Western Honey-Buzzard and Eurasian Sparrowhawk and Common Crane passes over the area in good numbers in spring.

[edit] Access and Facilities

For those without their own vehicles all the areas mentioned above can be easily reached by public transport from the city centre.

Copenhagen has plenty of accommodation to suit a range of budgets and is an ideal birding location for those on short city breaks or business trips with little time to spare.

[edit] Contact Details

To do

[edit] External Links

• Visit Copenhagen
• Copenhagen and surrounding area on Google Maps

Content and images originally posted by Steve