Short abstract from the book: The sandwich tern is a common breeding bird in Denmark
with an estimated population of 4,000–5,000 pairs. It is a
common passage migrant in July–August and April–May.
In Denmark the first sandwich tern was ringed in 1910,
with many birds ringed from the late 1920s to the 1980s.
The recovered terns were ringed in colonies all over Denmark
in May–July. Eighty-five per cent were ringed as chicks. The
first birds have been recovered outside the colonies in June,
and in July–August more birds have been recovered in many
different directions. In this period several birds ringed in
northern Germany and the Netherlands have been recovered
in Denmark. Some birds have already travelled considerable
distances in July, and from mid-August many birds have been
recovered migrating SW. Sandwich terns migrate along the
west coast of continental Europe. In late August some birds are
recovered in southern Spain and Portugal. In September the
mean position is in France. The first sandwich terns have been
recovered in northwest Africa in late September and in the
Bay of Guinea from October. From November, most Danish
sandwich terns have been recovered along the west coast of
Africa, from Morocco to South Africa. During winter most
have been recovered in Senegal, Ghana and Sierra Leone. A
few birds have been recovered east of the Cape of Good Hope.
A few Danish sandwich terns have been recovered in Europe
during winter, mainly in Spain and Portugal. The spring
migration starts in March, and in April the mean position
is in North Africa. Birds seem to follow the same route as in
autumn, and the first are recovered in Denmark in April.
Forty-eight birds have been recovered in Africa during summer, 39 of these as one-year-olds. Many return to their birthplace in subsequent years, but some have settled in north
Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and France. Although
most adult sandwich terns return to their breeding colony,
there are several examples of exchange between the different
Danish colonies or with colonies in north Germany, Sweden
and the Netherlands.
Read more about the species in the chapter from The Danish Bird Migration Atlashere
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