TY - JOUR

T1 - Consistent delay in recent timing of passerine autumn migration

AU - Søderdahl, Adam Sahl

AU - Tøttrup, Anders P.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Climate change affects important biological processes, bird migration phenology beinga particular well-documented one. While spring migration have been found to advanceby numerous studies, autumn migration is less studied and show more variable change intiming. Few studies of autumn migration are based on data from after 2000, leaving thelast two decades to be relatively less studied. Here, we investigate recent change in autumnmigration phenology of European passerines. The most recent available bird ringing datafrom Denmark is used to analyse phenological change of median and late migration of 14passerine migrants between 2003–2021. We find an overall delay of autumn migration,mainly driven by short-distance migrants. All short-distance migrants, one out of fivemedium-distance and three out of five long-distance migrants delay autumn migration.None of the included species advance autumn migration significantly. As climate changehas continuously resulted in milder conditions in north-western Europe, we expect this tocause further effects on migration phenology also in recent decades. Our results providenovel insight into recent migration phenology trends, and the observed delay in long-distance migrants may illustrate a changed response to climate change.

AB - Climate change affects important biological processes, bird migration phenology beinga particular well-documented one. While spring migration have been found to advanceby numerous studies, autumn migration is less studied and show more variable change intiming. Few studies of autumn migration are based on data from after 2000, leaving thelast two decades to be relatively less studied. Here, we investigate recent change in autumnmigration phenology of European passerines. The most recent available bird ringing datafrom Denmark is used to analyse phenological change of median and late migration of 14passerine migrants between 2003–2021. We find an overall delay of autumn migration,mainly driven by short-distance migrants. All short-distance migrants, one out of fivemedium-distance and three out of five long-distance migrants delay autumn migration.None of the included species advance autumn migration significantly. As climate changehas continuously resulted in milder conditions in north-western Europe, we expect this tocause further effects on migration phenology also in recent decades. Our results providenovel insight into recent migration phenology trends, and the observed delay in long-distance migrants may illustrate a changed response to climate change.

M3 - Journal article

VL - 100

SP - 159

EP - 169

JO - Ornis Fennica

JF - Ornis Fennica

SN - 0030-5685

IS - 4

ER -