OOSTERVELD EB & KLOP E (2019) What determines the arrival of migrants from Africa into their breeding grounds in Northeast-Friesland?. LIMOSA 92 (3): 192-200.

We studied correlations between arrival date at breeding sites in the northeast of the province of Friesland and temperatures in the breeding area and along the migration route of five migrants (Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus, Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla, Common Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus, Common Whitethroat Sylvia communis and Garden Warbler Sylvia borin). Arrival dates were derived from counts of singing birds along two cycling routes of about 10 km in hedgerow landscapes around the village of De Westereen (Fig. 1-2). We studied the influences of temperature at different locations along their migration route (breeding area, middle of the Netherlands, France and Gibraltar).
The strong correlations found in this modest dataset suggest a strong effect of temperature on arrival. Temperature seems to mainly affect first arrivals, as weaker or no effects of temperature were found on the dates on which half or the whole local breeding populations had arrived (Tab. 1). Effects of temperature were mostly found for the breeding site and the middle of the Netherlands, and to a lesser extent for France. This contrasts to results by Halkka et al. 2011 who found the strongest correlations with temperatures at sites at larger distances from the breeding area (500-2000 km southwards). We found no difference between a short-distance migrant (Blackcap) and long-distance migrants (Willow Warbler, Garden Warbler), suggesting that these groups respond similarly to weather conditions en route.

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