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Flying ants in Bulgaria

(Bottom translated into Danish)

For many years I have followed the migration of birds of prey near Burgas on the Black Sea in Bulgaria. It is exciting and not least when something unexpected happens.

One year we witnessed several hundred evening falcons passing by and on the same day thousands of dragonflies migrated the same way as the falcons along the Black Sea coast. Evening falcons are known to forage during migration and, among other things, on dragonflies. So, it was smart to have fresh food with us on the journey. But one of the trips also offered another interesting natural phenomenon.

Flying ants are a natural phenomenon

About flying ants, you can read: “Flying ants are seen at midsummer, when they suddenly take to the air. It may seem strange that all ant colonies can agree on when to send the flying ants off, but it is actually the weather that dictates when the spectacular flight performance takes place”.

On 24.9. In 2015, I was standing with some bird friends and watching bird migration. We had chosen “Rampen”, which is a location just outside Burgas.

In the period from 11:00 to 11:30, we noticed that many of the resting birds were flying “confusedly” around in the air, apparently in search of something. The restless flight was not without reason. A look with the telescope showed a gigantic occurrence of flying ants, which are hardly seen in Denmark. Like dark clouds, they moved in formations. Many of the flying ants were flying over a large reed forest. Then there was a feast! We noted the following bird species hunting ants: Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus), Red-footed Falcon (Falco vespertinus), Hobby (Falco subbuteo), Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus), Mediterranean Gull (Ichthyaetus melanocephalus), Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio), House-Martin (Delichon urbica), Swallow (Hirundo rustica), Red-rumped swallow (Cecropis rufula) and Starling (Sturnus vulgaris). In addition, there were probably many small birds that we just couldn’t see because of the distance.

Just as quickly as the flying ants arrived, they were gone again and the birds calmed down, probably well-fed by the abundance of food.

Jørgen Terp Laursen,  Eastern Jutland Biological Association, Denmark.

Flyvemyre i Bulgarien

I en lang årrække har jeg fulgt rovfugletrækket nær Burgas ved Sortehavet i Bulgarien. Det er spændende og ikke mindst, når der sker noget uventet. 

Et år var vi vidne til, at flere hundrede Aftenfalke trak forbi og samme dag trak tusindvis af guldsmede samme vej som falkene langs Sortehaveskysten. Aftenfalk er kendt for at fouragere under trækket og blandt andet på guldsmede. Så det var smart at have frisk føde med på rejsen. Men en af turene bød også et andet interessant naturfænomen - flyvemyre.

Flyve-myrer er et naturfænomen

Om flyvemyrerne kan man læse:” Flyvemyrerne ses til midsommer, hvor de på én gang pludseligt stiger til vejrs. Det kan virke mærkeligt, at alle myrekolonier kan blive enige om, hvornår de sender flyvemyrerne afsted, men det er faktisk vejret, der dikterer, hvornår den spektakulære flyveforestilling finder sted”.

Den 24.9. 2015 stod jeg sammen med nogle fuglevenner og så på fugletræk. Vi havde valgt ”Rampen”, som er en lokalitet lige uden for Burgas by.  

I perioden kl. 11.00-11.30 bemærkede vi, at mange af de rastende fugle fløj ”forvirret” rundt i luften tilsyneladende på jagt efter noget. Den raskløse flugt var ikke uden grund. Et kig med teleskopet viste en gigantisk forekomst af flyvemyre, som næppe kan ses i Danmark. Som mørke skyer bevægede de sig i formationer. Mange af flyvemyrerne fløj over en stor rørskov. Så var der ædegilde!  Vi noterede følgende fuglearter på myrejagt: Rørhøg, Aftenfalk, Lærkefalk, Hættemåge, Sorthovedet måge, Rødrygget tornskade, Bysvale, Landsvale, Rødrygget svale og Stær. Dertil var der sikkert også mange småfugl, som vi bare ikke kunne se på grund af afstanden.

Lige så hurtigt flyvemyrerne kom, var de væk igen og fuglene faldt til ro formentligt godt mætte af den overflod af mad.