Short abstract from the book: The whitethroat is a very common breeding bird in open areas
in all parts of Denmark. It arrives at the breeding grounds in
May and departs in August-September. Migrants pass through
Denmark in May-June and August-October. The first whitethroat was ringed in Denmark in 1921, with the highest number ringed in 1992 (2,136). The majority of the recovered
birds were ringed during migration in May-June and August-September, most ringed in western Denmark. The ringed
birds are mainly breeding birds from southern Scandinavia
and only to a small degree from the rest of Scandinavia and
the Baltic Countries. From Denmark the whitethroat migrates SW via the Iberian Peninsula. The first birds depart in
August, with the first bird recovered in Spain on 15 September.
The fastest bird flew 1,077 km SSW from Denmark to France
in eight days in August (134 km/day). Only one bird, ringed
on Christiansø, migrated SE to Egypt. Only one bird has
been recovered during winter (in Denmark). Two birds have
been recovered in the presumed winter quarters in West Africa
south of the Sahara, in Ghana (unknown date) and Mali (4
May). Only a few birds have been recovered during spring,
mainly in the western parts of the Mediterranean (21 April
to 19 May). Only a few Danish breeders have been recovered
on migration, one in Italy (April) and one in Spain (May).
The first bird on spring migration was recovered in Denmark
on 30 April. The mean position is in Denmark in May. Both
birds ringed as chicks and as adult breeders have returned to
the ringing site in a subsequent breeding season. Most of the
recovered birds were recorded by ringers (86 %). Of 82 dead
birds, most had collided with vehicles or windows or had been
hunted.
Read more about the species in the chapter from The Danish Bird Migration Atlashere
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