Great Tits indeed!

Another lovely, bright, sunny day - a bit breezy but we won't mention that as it turned out to be a very productive Sunday; an improvement in ringing numbers with 36 new birds caught including one of the female Stonechats, another Firecrest, a Chiffchaff and a mini-influx of Great Tits and Dunnocks.   When I'm back ringing in the UK and come across a net full of Great Tits I usually swear, curse and mutter to myself as I'm extracting them, its a bit different here as they are proper migrants, doing interesting things and not just hanging round a feeder!   Its brilliant to see them flying high overhead giving a unique little call that I haven't heard back home which I assume is a contact / migration call?

Stonechat and Redwing from today

A nice selection of birds were seen round the station through the morning including a Hawfinch over, a Woodlark, a few Siskins, a Red Kite low overhead, three Herons high to the north, c40 Jackdaws and 10 Rooks heading north.

Worth a separate mention is what is maybe turning into a record influx of Stonechats to the area with the two females still around the station, two separate males seen by me just up the coast and a pair near town seen by Louis - I wasn't sure I believed that they were actually scarce birds here!   There have been many reports today from other sites in Denmark and in Sweden so a good influx is indeed underway.

Louis put in a long shift out on the tip today (joined by Michael and Anders for a time) and was definitely rewarded with a cracking adult drake King Eider in amongst a total of 13,400 Eiders which passed by; other birds recorded included the first Serin of the year, two Marsh Harriers, a White-tailed Eagle, two Sparrowhawks, 6 Cranes, 119 Red-breasted Mergansers, 48 Wigeon, 75 Pintail and a 1st winter Kittiwake - well worth the effort!

Snap shot of the King of Eiders by Louis A. Hansen