Short abstract from the book: The sand martin is a common breeding bird on sandy slopes
all over the country. The first bird was ringed in Denmark in
1921, with the majority ringed in the second half of the 1960s.
The recovered birds were mainly ringed in eastern parts of
the country, and were mainly Danish birds ringed as fully
grown in the colonies. Some birds have been ringed at roost
sites in August–September. The Danish sand martins migrate
south in late August: at this time birds have been recovered
in Germany, Switzerland and France, and in September also
in Italy and Malta. In September the mean position is south
of Denmark. The first sand martin was recovered south of
the Sahara, in the Central African Republic, on 31 October.
Only one bird was recovered during winter, in Senegal. The
return migration begins in March and recoveries indicate a
rather direct route, passing the Mediterranean from Spain
in the west to Malta in the east. Most birds have returned to
Denmark by the end of May. Eighty per cent of the birds that
were recovered in a subsequent breeding season were recovered
at the ringing site, and 93 % were recovered within 10 km of
the ringing site. Of 77 sand martins ringed as chicks or juveniles and recovered in a subsequent breeding season, 55 were
recovered at the ringing site, 40 as one-year-olds. Eighty-one
per cent were recovered within 10 km of the ringing site. A few
birds from Norway and Scania in Sweden have been ringed
or recovered in Denmark, mainly in August and September.
Read more about the species in the chapter from The Danish Bird Migration Atlashere
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