Migratory birds in March-April

During the winter months, many bird species leave the north temporarily and move south to avoid the cold. Several of these migratory birds return in March - April. Let's take a closer look at some of these:

The Kingfisher

The kingfisher's specialty is, as the name implies - fishing. They like to sit on a branch above a river or a stream and wait until it sees a fish. It then throws itself straight down at top speed and catches its prey, a very special but effective method!

It is a small bird that likes to spend the winter in northern countries when the winter is mild. But sometimes it moves south to Europe - even to Africa during cold winters when the waters where they usually fish freeze. There are 7-8 different subspecies of the Kingfisher, they differ, among other things, by the shimmering blue-green tone on the top and on the intensity on the orange underside

Greater Woodpecker

Within the genus Woodpeckers there are several subspecies as well. They like to spend the winter in the north and cope with the cold relatively well. If, on the other hand, there is a shortage of food, a large number of individuals move to the southern parts of Europe. A single bird can consume up to over 3000 cones during the winter so it is easy to understand that they need to move to where the food is.

As the name suggests, it pecks a hole on tree trunks to make a nest to raise its young. It feeds mainly on insects and larvae it finds under the bark of trees, but during the winter it is mostly seeds that it chops out from cones.

The Blackbird

This species is considered a partial migratory bird - large parts of the population move to Europe and Africa during the winter. When it stays, it likes to hover in dense evergreen shrubbery to keep warm. The blackbird is an omnivore; they eat seeds, insects and are often seen pulling worms out of the ground.

It is a common bird with a very beautiful song and one of the first to start singing in the spring. Due to its beautiful song and popularity, it has been selected as the national bird in Sweden. A Blackbird can get up to be 20 years old!