Ørnevåge dag

There's a saying in English that 'lightening never strikes twice', today however such prophesies were swept aside when a call from exasperated birders on the tip announced the presence of a second Long-legged Buzzard (Ørnevåge). The bird was much darker than it's counterpart, which migrated midweek. Staff at the obs missed the bird as it turned and returned North before anybody could get onto it, if you're in Gedser or the surrounding area in the next few days, be aware that this bird will probably attempt to migrate again and hopefully it will be picked up along the way.

Ørnevåge, Buteo rufinus 2K+ © Gert Jeppesen

Ørnevåge, Buteo rufinus 2K+ © Gert Jeppesen

Ørnevåge, Buteo rufinus 2K+ © Gert Jeppesen

Ørnevåge, Buteo rufinus 2K+ © Gert Jeppesen

Ørnevåge, Buteo rufinus 2K+ © Gert Jeppesen

Other than the flurry of excitement mid-afternoon, ringing was fairly standard for an August morning with a notable catch of Lesser whitethroat and Willow warbler. Totals for the morning were as follows:

Thrush Nightingale (Nattergal) - 1
Redstart (Rødstjert) - 1
Marsh Warbler (Kærsanger) - 1
Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger) - 28
Whitethroat (Tornsanger) - 8
Garden Warbler (Havesanger) - 4
Willow Warbler (Løvsanger) - 19
Great Tit (Musvit) - 1
Short-toed Treecreeper (Korttået Træløber) - 1
Red-backed Shrike (Rødrygget Tornskad) - 1
Tree Sparrow (Skovspurv) - 2
Linnet (Tornirisk) 1

Total of 68 new birds.

On the tip there was little in the way of passage migrants. 85 Common Tern (Fjordterne) and 63 Arctic Tern (Havterne) were the highest counts of the afternoon with lesser numbers of Black Tern (Sortterne) 10 and Little Gull (Dværgemåge) 4. 7 Marsh Harrier, 7 Kestrel, 2 Sparrowhawks, 2 Buzzards, a Honey Buzzard and 3 White-tailed eagles rested around the area today and were reluctant to migrate. An Arctic Skua was a sign of things to come as their passage will take place over the coming weeks. Also worth looking out for is the Long-tailed Skuas which will also pass Gedser in the coming weeks.

In the evening Jon Kennedy arrived from Copenhagen to help with the ringing in the coming days.

Birding in the wind

The weather this morning was poor, a brisk southwesterly wind bringing horizontal rain and low visibility. With no option to open the nets, bird watching was the only thing.

A couple of hours at the tip in the morning produced a few quality birds, no quantity.

Migrants from the tip included

Dunlin 8
Curlew Sandpiper 1
Grey Plover 5
Redshank 1
Greenshank 1
Curlew 1
Snipe 2
Black Tern 2
Little Gull 1

With the migration tap switched off it was back to the station. Gert arrived and the three of us headed to Bøtø. A brief look between showers produced an impressive list of migrant waders.

Dunlin 35
Curlew Sandpiper 3
Ruff 17
Ringed Plover 18
Little Ringed Plover 1
Whimbrel 26
Curlew 2
Wood Sandpiper 21
Green Sandpiper 4
Common Sandpiper 3
Greenshank 7
Snipe 2
Temminck's stint 1

Also an impressive show from 2 Great white egrets, amongst 16 Grey Heron and a pair of White-tailed eagles were also observed.

In the afternoon a net was opened briefly but no new birds were caught. Hans brought Anton to the station in the evening, he will stay a fortnight, learning to ring and bird watching. Some wader traps were dusted off and placed by the freshwater pond in the south field, where common and green sandpiper have been frequenting. Fingers crossed for some success.

The weather tomorrow is improving with a dry but windy morning. We should be able to complete standardised, though conditions aren't favourable for migration.

Thanks for reading,

Craig

The surge after the storm.

This morning, again, rain greeted the dawn and any hope of a nice day ringing were swiped from my head. Never one to miss an opportunity, I returned to bed for an hour or two. It was around 8am when the dry conditions and a cacophony of bird calls roused me from my morning daze, Redstarts chacking, a Red-breasted Flycatcher ticking and continuing the theme of red (through no fault of my own) a Red-throated pipit called as it flew over the lighthouse. A quick check of the phone confirmed Louis was at the tip and had already had a Red-throated Pipit migrate an hour before. Great, a second bird. Anyway, I hurriedly opened a few nets unsure about the catch or the weather I kept it low-key. 10 nets were opened. I returned to the house,noting that there were 'many' Willow Warbler, Redstart and Pied Flycatcher's in the garden.

I only had the nets open for 4 hours and in that time I managed 101 new birds. Very impressive given the little effort and late start. Birds just kept entering the garden and thus, the nets; it is also worth mentioning that given more effort I could have continued to catch birds throughout the day, but the tip was calling, migration was in full flow!

Ringing totals

Willow Warbler 50
Redstart 20
Lesser Whitethroat 11
Pied Flycatcher 8
Whitethriat 3
Garden Warbler 3
Robin 2
Blackcap 1
Spotted Flycatcher 1
Linnet 2

Gert was working on the Ringing shed briefly today but also decided he would take some birding at the tip after his recent efforts in the house. Louis' enthusiasm from the point was just too much to ignore. We rushed into Gedser to shop, picked up some bits and bobs, cakes and other bird station essentials and headed for the point. On arrival, Louis pointed my scope into the sky and said, "Here, young man, 66 Honey Buzzards and rising" I was awestruck, never before have I seen such numbers! Me and Gert settled down alongside Louis and watched and counted as hundreds of Honey Buzzards migrated across the Baltic.


In my notebook went 330 Honey Buzzards but Louis had been counting all day, reaching a final sum of 990 Honey Buzzard. A new day record for Gedser, nice!  We joined Louis at 14:00 and I stayed with him until 18:30 or so, Gert left a little earlier. A few rain showers passed by and again the visibility fluctuated from > 50km down to just 1 or 2 in the dense rain/mist. Below is a brief summary of Louis' highlights and my observations mixed together....

Migrant highlights (By Louis) today included

Common Scoter 2305
Pintail 305
Wigeon 465
Little Gull 42
Black Tern 14
Osprey 8
RED-THROATED PIPIT 2
Arctic Skua 24
Long-tailed Skua 6
Yellow Wagtail 970
Tree Pipit 117

Other migrants in less impressive numbers (Relatively speaking and from my notebook)
Teal 7
Dunlin 9
Common Tern 44
Eider 288
Marsh Harrier 1
Oystercatcher 30
Arctic Tern 2
Commic tern (Common/Arctic) 28
Unidentified Arctic or Long-tailed Skua 8
Unidentified large dabbling ducks 70
Tufted Duck 4
Velvet Scoter 2
Ringed Plover 2

Resting birds (in my book) were

Golden Plover 160
Red-breasted Flycatcher 2 (1 at tip, 1 in Garden)
Oystercatcher 4
Merlin 1
Honey Buzzard 1
Sparrowhawk 3
Kestrel 1
Hen Harrier 1 (very pale ring-tail)
Goldeneye 3
Black-throated Diver (adult in summer plumage)
Red-necked Grebe Juvenile.
Yellow Wagtail c400 (Inc. 1 thunbergi )
Gannet 1 4k+
Siskin 30
Eider 70
Wheatear 4
Red-throated pipit 2 (along with the aforementioned 2 which migrated bringing the day sum to 4)
There were also 80+ Willow Warbler in the garden today, 30+ Redstarts, Firecrest (presumably the moulting female), 30 Tree Pipits, Great Spotted Woodpecker, 5 Robins and a Thrush Nightingale.

Red-throated Pipit - Louis A. Hansen

After such a heavy migration in Falsterbo today, who knows what tomorrow will bring?

I know that today certainly had me buzzing, excuse the pun, it was intended.

Another memorable day in Gedser.

Blog: Craig Brookes

Photo: Louis A.Hansen.

 

Fogged off

Setting the nets in the still twilight hour this morning, I was hopeful for some more birds. The night sky was clear and the moon illuminated the garden. Shortly after 5 am however, a thick mist rolled in and hung around almost all day; visibility was reduced (unlike previous days) and the brisk wind just didn't shift it.

34 Birds is all we ringed today

Sparrowhawk 2
Icterine Warbler 1
Redstart 1
Robin 1
Dunnock 1
Garden Warbler 2
Whitethroat 5
Lesser Whitethroat 5
Willow Warbler 10
Tree Pipit 1
Blackcap 2
Chiffchaff 3

Sparrowhawk 1cy female

Quite a quiet day compared with the last couple. Nice for Mathias, the trainee to get time for some hands on training.

During ringing we noted only few birds. An ad female type, Marsh Harrier, 28 Crossbills and several Yellow Wagtails were the best. In the afternoon we ventured to the tip, hopeful of a Skua repeat of yesterday.It didn't happen. In 3 hours, our best bird was an Arctic Tern.

We recorded as follows.

White-tailed Eagle 2 (Flying in off sea, resting and thermalling)
Sandwich Tern 22 (intent looking migrants), others were blogging too.
Dunlin 4
Grey Heron 1
SWALLOW 116
Goldeneye 3 birds North
Yellow Wagatail 22
Eider 17
Common Tern 4
Arctic Tern 1
Sparrowhawk 1
Herring Gull 5

Mathias was asleep throughout the watch, Gert drank Cider. Luckily nothing was happening as I was flying fully solo.

Lille Flue Two

With a continued Northwesterly airflow over night, many of yesterday's birds seemed to have left the garden! At first light the garden seemed quieter than yesterday,though diurnal migrants were certainly evident. We recorded many hirundines early on, along with 28 Crossbill, 50+ Tree pipits and 40+ Yellow Wagtails.

The first rounds were slower than yesterday, though we kept busy throughout the morning and finished ringing with a very respectable 95 birds.

Willow Warbler 23
Lesser Whitethroat 18
Whitethroat 12
Tree Sparrow 11
Blackcap 10
Linnet 5
Garden Warbler 3
Tree Pipit 3
Redstart 3
Marsh Warbler 2
Icterine Warbler 2
Robin 1
Pied Flycatcher 1
RED-BREASTED FLYCATCHER 1

Yes, that's two Red-breasted Flycatcher (Lille Fluesnapper) in 2 days. After yesterday's juvenile bird, this adult female was a smart specimen.

Red-breasted Flycatcher (Ad female) - Craig Brookes

Red-breasted Flycatcher (Adult female) - Craig Brookes

Birding highlights of the day - Honey Buzzard (Dark adult) migrating mid-morning. A sea-watch from 14:45 - 17:45 produced the following migrants.

Arctic Skua 3
LONG-TAILED SKUA 1
Wigeon 4
Dunlin 44
Whimbrel 1
Bar-tailed Godwit 1
Yellow Wagtail 17 (Migrated)
Red-necked Grebe 2
Common Tern 5
Sandwich Tern 25

Around though, there were more Sandwich Terns, A Marsh Harrier (ad male), Merlin (1cy), Sparrowhawk 6, Meadow Pipit 2, 4 Common Gull, 5 Greater Black Backed Gulls; also mammals, 1 Harbour porpoise and 1 old looking Grey Seal!

Photo and blog: Craig Brookes

With Northerlies, come birds.

First off, apologies for no post yesterday 27th August, ringing was as low as low could be with 0 new birds, plenty of re-captures but the garden was devoid of new life. I took the opportunity to clear some large bushes and make a general mess around the garden,it was great!

Today then, with the wind shifting to the North over night I had hoped the migrant floodgates would swing open and birds flood through on their southward migrations. It wasn't a 'mega day' in the history of Gedser, but it was good enough to keep myself, Mathias and Hans busy for a few hours.

190+ were ringed today then.

Highlights and top scorers were;

Willow Warbler 53
Whitethroat 28
Lesser Whitethroat 26
Blackcap 20

Grasshopper Warbler 1
Red-breasted Flycatcher 1
Thrush Nightingale 1
Sparrowhawk 3

Lesser Whitethroat (2cy+) - Craig Brookes

What would make this a good story other than adding the one that got away? Well first round today, one did get away! In the half light and the mist of the twilight hour we took the first round almost silently. As we approached a net in the corner of the garden a bird (presumably at this stage) scurried out in zig-zags in front of me. I looked harder and sped up, the bird took off and slammed into the net, all hell broke loose for what seemed like forever (dramatic, I know) as I struggled to reach the net and keep this leggy visitor in the net. I failed. Many bad words which are not appropriate for this blog, nor any young man my age were thereafter blurted out. The SPOTTED CRAKE had left the building! Truly gutted I didn't get to see it in the hand, life goes on!

Birding highlights today.

Marsh Harrier 3
Red Kite 3
White-tailed Eagle 1
Kestrel 5 (3 migrated)
Sparrowhawk 32 (12+ Migrated)
Buzzard 5 (3 Migrated)
Arctic Skua 1 Juv, lingering off the point, harassing terns. 

Photo and Blog: Craig Brookes

LATE UPDATE - AUGUST AT IT'S BEST

With a persistent Easterly wind buffeting the coast here in Gedser, grounded migrants are fairly thin on the ground, therefore ringing totals are down on numbers expected.

This morning (Sunday 25th) was no exception. In 5 hours of standardised ringing (20 nets) I caught only 24 new birds.

Tree Pipit 3
Redstart 2
Marsh Warbler 2
Reed Warbler 1
Icterine Warbler 2
Lesser Whitethroat 2
Whitethroat 2
Blackcap 1
Willow Warbler 4
Pied Flycatcher 1
Linnet 3
Greenfinch 1

So why the title 'August at it's best'? Well, this is due to the birdwatching day which was had today around the peninsular.

Henrik, John and Anders (3 weekend guests) kicked up an ORTOLAN BUNTING somewhere between the Odde and the station and managed to Re-locate it very close to the station. A stunning adult male which fed on the short grass paths behind the station before flying over the lighthouse garden and presumably into the crop fields on the otherside. A great find at Gedser.

Whilst this was going on Louis and a few others continued to count the migration at the tip, a fine job they did too. Below are a fraction of Louis' totals from total.

"Gedser Point 05:15 - 19:00 - Arctic Skua 86, Long-tailed Skua 5, Little Gull 470, Kittiwake 6, Black Tern 24, Gannet 1, Crane 15, Teal 1030, Scaup 1" Also Garganey (Ad male), Shoveler 82+, Wigeon 254+ and Pintail 55+

An amazing amount of birds for late August. The aforementioned Scaup was actually the first record for August, in Gedser.

Also around today, Montagu's Harrier, Hen Harrier and Marsh Harrier.

It was great to see so many people migration counting and birding here and at the tip today. The data produced by more coverage of the site and migration records is truly spectacular. I hope to see as many people out at the tip next weekend as there were this, after some amazing birdwatching today. Below are a few pictures taken by Louis Hansen at from the tip today.

Arctic Skua - Louis Hansen

Cranes, 8 adults 1 Juvenile (Marked by red arrow)

Montagu's Harrier adult Male - Louis Hansen

Blog: Craig Brookes
Photos: Louis Hansen

Skua day. Sat 24th August

Saturday morning the wind blew briskly from the East 10m/s as a result ringing was rather quiet compared with recent days. Only 30 or so birds ringed. Garden Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Willow Warbler and Whitethroat the main species ringed today. Also 3 young Goldfinches.

As the begins to change from summer to autumn, we can notice a shift in the ages of birds being caught along their migration routes, the beginning of autumn normally shows the arrival of juveniles en masse, this is because: 1, there are more juvenile birds present at this time of year than at any other, compared with ratio to adults. 2, Juveniles disperse from their nesting grounds earlier and undertake shorter hops (a slower migration) than the adults which arrive later on as they surge for their wintering grounds.

Saturday morning however, I noticed a shift amongst Garden Warblers, Lesser Whitethroats and the Whitethroats with regards to their ages; after weeks of only catching juvenile birds today we caught the 2nd,3rd and 4th Adult Lesser Whitethroats of the autumn, the same trend was shown by the other species.

Garden Warbler-2cy+ note the worn (and 1 replaced) Tertials. Craig Brookes

As ringing was slow and the wind picked up, after standardised ringing was finished, I packed up the nets, intent on grabbing some lunch and heading out to the point; that didn't happen. I fell asleep almost instantly once I had sat down, which is a shame as Louis' totals below show he had a rather nice day out on the point.

Louis Hansen: "05:15 - 17:25 : Teal 800, Arctic Skua 60, Long-tailed Skua 5-7, Little Gull 265, Black Tern 15, Osprey 4, Shoveler 310, Red-Throated Pipit 1" also a Juv Mediterranean Gull was seen.


Photo and Blog : Craig Brookes

The Autumn arrives.

Firstly, sorry for not blogging yesterday evening,tasks mounted up and once we had sorted them all, I fell asleep; poor excuse, I know. So I hope to bring you up to date here.

19th August

Quite a busy morning, more so than previous days. I can only post ringing totals as migration wasn't counted yesterday.

Tree Pipit 3
Thrush Nightingale 3
Black Redstart 1
Redstart 7
Sedge Warbler 2
Marsh Warbler 12
Reed Warbler 2
Icterine Warbler 3
Lesser Whitethroat 13
Whitethroat 27
Garden Warbler 17
Blackcap 4
Willow Warbler 23
Spotted Flycatcher 2
Pied Flycatcher 1
Red-backed Shrike 1
Linnet 7

Total 128.

Bird highlight, 3(+) TAWNY OWLS calling in the garden overnight.

A Canary-shouldered Thorn (Moth) was found whilst clearing some trees, my first in Denmark.

20th August 

Today was Thorkild's last morning at the station, we opened nets as usual prior to dawn in near still conditions. Shortly after opening a breeze developed and if I'm honest, I wasn't too hopeful for a good day. I was wrong. By the time Thorkild left around mid morning we had ringed 150 or so birds. By the end of the day, we had ringed 350.

An exceptional day, with the first 'proper' arrival of the Autumn.

Ringing totals then

Willow Warbler - 195
Marsh Warbler - 29
Whitethroat - 25
Lesser Whitethroat - 19
Garden Warbler - 18
Pied Flycatcher - 15
Reed Warbler - 9
Blackcap - 6
Redstart - 5
Icterine Warbler - 5
Spotted Flycatcher - 5
Tree Pipit - 4
Thrush Nightingale - 4
WRYNECK - 2
Greenfinch - 2
Linnet - 2
Yellow Wagtail - 1
Black Redstart - 1
Grasshopper Warbler - 1
Sedge Warbler - 1
Red-backed Shrike - 1

Total 350!

Wryneck - 1cy. Craig Brookes

Gert continued to work on the ringing house today and did a great job with the windows, all that's left to do now is to paint the insides. Hans appeared mid-morning and got stuck in helping with the birds. I am very grateful for all the help we've recieved. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Photo and blog: Craig Brookes

Breaking records.

Today, as we'd hoped was much better for birds, the wind swung from Southwest to Northwest yesterday funneling migrants down to Gedser through the night. This morning, opening nets, we were hopeful.

It wasn't as good as we've been waiting for and we did have to work at it all day to reach the 100 mark, finally finishing on 125 new birds today.

Willow Warbler 29
Garden Warbler 27
Whitethroat 24
Lesser Whitethroat 12
Icterine Warbler 6
Blackcap 5
Marsh Warbler 4
Pied Flycatcher 3
Linnet 3
Reed Warbler 2
Redstart 2
Chiffchaff 2
with singles of  Sparrowhawk, Tree Pipit, Spotted Flycatcher, Red-backed Shrike, Tree Sparrow and Yellowhammer.

Sparrowhawk 1cy Female - Craig Brookes

Nothing record breaking there though, so what was it.

The record broken today (as far as we are aware) is the Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) Longevity record. Previously in Denmark being around 5years. Today, I re-captured a bird originally ringed back in 2006! A massive 6 Years 11 Months and 21 days after ringing (Therefore falling 9 days short of the British record) this now Adult Female was caught in good health and showing signs of recent breeding (Brood patch/ Rugeplet). More amazingly, the bird was caught in exactly the same net as she was originally ringed back in 2006 by Jesper Brinkman. Congrats Jesper, (and me I suppose).

Aside all of the ringing work done today, we've also had visits from Hans, bringing materials for the lab. Benny and his dog, helping around generally. Brian and his Wife, painting the ringing lab. Also Gert, whom has spent most of the day sealing and finishing off the windows inside the ringing lab.


Birding highlights:100+ Tree Pipits over, 25+ Yellow Wagtails, 50 Crossbills, Grey Heron and 7 Greylag geese (odd).


Photo and blog. Craig Brookes

Late start

With rain threatening on every forecast, this morning we didn't open the nets until 09:30.

When we did, it wasn't really surprising to catch only 13 new birds.

Willow Warbler 1
Redstart 2
Lesser Whitethroat 1
Icterine Warbler 3
Whitehtroat 3
Garden Warbler 2
Linnet 1

Linnet 2k female - Craig Brookes

The highlight bird of the day was a Honey Buzzard. There were also a few Crossbills moving through again and Swifts graced us for one of the last days this autumn?

The windows arrived to put the finishing touches to the ringing house. Which will be great, once installed.

Photo and Blog, Craig Brookes

Hard at work

Today, myself and Anders had a fairly busy day.

With the prospect of rain in the early hours we were reluctant to open too many nets, by 6 am the rain clouds had passed and we were able to open all the nets in the garden. Throughout the day, we caught 57 new birds.

Gærdesanger (Lesser Whitethroat) 17
Gulbug (Icterine Warbler) 6
Tornsanger (Whitethroat) 4
Rørsanger (Reed Warbler) 4
Grønirisk (Greenfinch) 4
Rødstjert (Redstart) 3
Løvsanger (Willow Warbler) 3
Tornirisk (Linnet) 3
Kærsanger (Marsh Warbler) 2
along with singles of...
Nattergal (Thrush Nightingale)
Husrødstjert (Black Redstart)
Sivsanger (SedgeWarbler)
Havesanger (Garden Warbler)
Munk (Blackcap)
Skovsanger (Wood Warbler)
Gransanger (Chiffchaff)
Blåmejse (Blue Tit)
Træløber (Treecreeper)
Rødrygget Tornskad (Red-backed Shrike)
and Skovspurv (Tree Sparrow).

Treecreeper 1st CY - Craig Brookes

Wood Warbler 1st CY - Craig Brookes

We also undertook some much needed maintenance work on the garden,with some bushes and grass being removed. In doing so, we came across at least 2 naked people resting along the beach, nice!

Migration highlights included 30 Curlew, 25 Whimbrel, 200+ Crossbill, 1+ Dunlin (Heard pre dawn), 1 Snipe, 1 Kestrel and 2 Black Kite!

Heidi returned with fresh supplies and smiles and we look forwards to tomorrow having a visit from 35 people. Though the weather may put a hold on any ringing, we'll still have high spirits, if we get a lie in of course.

Photos and Blog, Craig Brookes

Ringing recoveries

With not much to talk about due to the horrendous conditions putting an end to any ringing activities or migration here at Gedser today, I will touch upon some recent ringing recoveries.

Back in October the Song Thrush was a common migrant in Gedser and were caught almost daily in fluctuating numbers. 161 of them have been ringed this year and 1 of which has recently been found by a member of the public. 8184222 was ringed by me on 11th October this year. We have recently heard from the Zoological Museum in Copenhagen that this individual has been found in the Netherlands some 511km away from Gedser and in just 15 days. This bird was unfortunate in that it was killed by a cat and freshly dead, so we can only guess at where this bird was heading! Below is a map of this recovery.

Song Thrush movement 511km in 15days (shown by the yellow pins and line)

Another astonishing recovery received today involved a Blue Tit. What is astonishing is not the distance that the bird moved; a mere 82 km but that the ring was actually read in the field by 2 bird watchers! See map below.

Blue Tit recovery, 82 km in 24days (Ring read in the Field)

Ringing really can throw up some surprises and it always worth checking out your local area be it a park, harbour or a field! Often there are ringed birds out there ready to be seen and reported. Always check any dead birds you come across for rings too; though be careful when dealing with these. Findings of ringed birds can be reported by sending an E-mail to ringing"@"snm.ku.dk or by writing to the Museum at the address below.

Copenhagen Bird Ringing Centre
Zoological Museum
Universitetsparken 15
DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø
Denmark
Tel +45 3532 1029
Fax +45 3532 1010

Birds seen in the horrible conditions today were just 5 Goldcrests and 20 Waxwings. (Through the window of course) 

Blog and maps by Craig Brookes
  

Trying.

Last night I attempted to catch Tengmalm's Owls for the first time this season, none were caught. However last night at Falsterbo they caught 30 Tengmalm's and the previous day at bingsmarken another 30 were caught so they should definitely be in Denmark by now. There were signs of a Teng in the garden but no proof unfortunately. This morning then after and clear calm night the nets were all opened. No birds were in the garden at first light and it was silent! The days ringing total finished on 39 new birds as follows. Goldcrest 24, Robin 4, Blue Tit 3, Chiffchaff 2, Wren 2, Song thrush 1, Great tit 1, Sparrowhawk 1 and Jay 1. Below is a picture of today's Jay.

Notable sightings were 17 Red Kites migrating.

Photo and Blog: Craig Brookes

Flat calm

Today the weather was flat calm. The sea resembled a mirror and the sky was cloudless, no wind could be felt in the garden. I had a feeling many birds would have migrated overnight then. Migration was heavy over land and Sea and we ringed 95 birds as follows: Robin 22, Goldcrest 20, Wren 9, Chiffchaff 8, Song Thrush 7, Dunnock 7, Reed Bunting 5, Great Tit 5, Blackbird 4, Tree Sparrow 2, Redwing 1, Blackcap 1, Coal Tit 1, Chaffinch 1, Greenfinch 1, Redpoll 1. Below is a picture of today's Tree Sparrow.

Tree Sparrow 1cy+ Passer montanus

Migrating today; 6 Red Kite, 15 Common Buzzard, 3 Rough-legged Buzzard, 2 Kestrel and 23 Sparrowhawks were seen. Also 2500+ Eider, 8 Red-breasted Merganser, 300 Common Scoter, 10 White-fronted Geese. 380+ Barnacle Geese, 56 Brent Geese (29 Resting on the sea), 25 Greylag Geese and 5 Cranes. Finches moved in good numbers with Siskins and Chafflings dominating (500 or so of each). Redwing, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush and a few Fieldfare moved. 38 Jays were counted today, the biggest count so far this Autumn.

Photo and Blog: Craig Brookes

Almost perfect...

This morning there were many birds in the garden, we were very optimistic after seeing the first few nets sagging with birds, however rain came in too quickly and we resorted to drinking coffee and watching the rain hit the window. It was 10.30 before we opened the nets again and from here we only ringed until 2. 158 birds ringed today then, could have been much more had we kept all of our nets open and the rain didn't come. Robin 50, Chiffchaff 29, Song Thrush 24, Dunnock 15, Wren 9, Blue Tit 6, Goldcrest 6, Chaffinch 5, Great Tit 5, Reed Bunting 4, Tree Sparrow 2, Redwing 2, Blackcap 1 and Brambling 1. Thanks to Benny and Brian for their help today. It's always nice to have many hands to make light work of the birds.The picture of a Bullfinch below is not from today, but I have included it as many are starting to pass overhead now on their migration South.

Bullfinch 2cy+ Male

Other notable sightings today include 300 Barnacle Geese, 10 Whooper Swan and 380 Eider moving South. Also 3 Common Buzzards and 4 Red Kites seen by the garden.

Photo and Blog by Craig Brookes

Rain stops play, temporarily.

When setting the nets predawn it was clear that there was many birds grounded due to last nights bad weather. Song Thrushes and Robins Ticked in the dark and some thrush sp. were whizzing around the Lighthouse. The day wasn't as busy as it could have been, had rain not put an end to the ringing mid morning. We did manage the standard 5 hours though, just. 90 birds caught today was reasonable including Chaffinch (30), Robin (17), Chiffchaff (10), Song thrush (7), Goldcrest (7), Dunnock (5), Blue Tit (only 4, plus a control of a Swedish ringed bird), Brambling (4), Blackcap and Wren (2), Blackbird (1) and a very unseasonal Redstart (1). Migration was halted by the reduction in visibility and rain and so around 200 Mistle Thrush were grounded around the Obs. A juvenile Marsh Harrier and a Jay the only other notable sightings.

 

Brambling 1cy Female

In the afternoon I opened 4 nets for an hour, well that was the plan. Within 20 minutes these nets had filled with Blue tits. The total of Blue tits then was pushed up to 83 plus another Swedish control. A Sparrowhawk attended the party too and I managed to grab him before he flipped out. Total birds at the day's end, 172!
Photo and Blog: Craig Brookes.

Migration slows

Last night I attempted to catch Owls. Again succeeding which was nice. Just 1 Long-eared Owl, better than a night with nothing however (I've had plenty of those).

This morning, 14th November. 11 new birds were caught.

1 Stor Dompap - Northern Bullfinch
1 Fuglekonge - Goldcrest
3 Solsort - Blackbird
3 Lille Gråsisken - Lesser Redpoll
1 Rødhals - Robin
2 Stillits - Goldfinch

Hopefully I can catch another Owl or 2 this (my last) evening.

I will blog tomorrow with an Update

Craig Brookes

2 in a week.

Today very quiet in the garden.

15 Robins, 4 Goldcrests, 1 Siskin, 1 Blackbird and 1 Common Redpoll (Ssp. flammea).

The title refers to a control (the recapture of an already ringed bird) Robin. Earlier in the week we caught a Robin from Poland and today I caught a Robin from Germany. I imagine this isn't too much of a surprise and it happens quite often? We will have to wait for the ringing information but I would guess this bird bred further North of Gedser and is in fact migrating South again.

It was very quiet bird wise but a few Red kites drifted over. One in particular very high and imagine this didn't turn around as others seemed too? Also a couple of Rough-legged Buzzards and Sparrowhawks but it really seems to be quieting down now, raptor migration wise.

I will try to catch Owls again tonight after the sightings of Long-eared's in the garden during the past week.

Craig Brookes.

30th October

67 New birds were ringed today (30th October).

15 Species which was quite nice.

16 Robin
13 Redpoll (flammea)
13 Goldcrest
5 Wren
3 Bullfinch
3 Sparrowhawk
2 Blue Tit
2 Great Tit
2 Blackbird
2 Fieldfare
2 Chaffinch
1 Blackcap
1 Chiffchaff
1 Dunnock
1 Coal Tit.

Sighting highlights: Peregrine falcon, 10 Common Crossbill, 80+ Mistle thrush, 4000+ Barnacle geese and 7 Bewick's Swans (Just before dusk.)

Craig Brookes