Smew Mergellus albellus
The Smew is a rare breeding bird in northernmost Sweden. It is however a regular wintering species in the southern part of the country. Numbers counted at the three country-wide surveys show marked increases. In 1971 about 350 Smews were counted, whereas the totals for 2004 and 2015 were 3700 and 8000, respectively. The indices show a marked increase over the years which is highly significant both for the long-term and short-term. In January 2019, the highest index för the entire series was obtained.
Most Smews in the early years were found in the archipelago of Blekinge and in Skĺne, but with the increase the Smews have spread to other areas, especially in the Kalmarsund and around Gotland.
The marked increase of the wintering numbers of Smews in Sweden can probably be related to a shift in the winter distribution of the species towards north-east (Pavón-Jordán et al. 2015. Diversity and Distribution 21:571-582).
Smew January 2015
