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

A nice mix.

An attempt last night to catch Owls was ended at 2.30 this morning, the wind had increased and low cloud had moved in. We ended with the one Long-eared which featured in yesterday's blog.

This morning the fog was still lingering at dawn as the nets were checked. It seemed a few birds had been grounded in this weather. Song Thrushes, Redwings and Robins mainly. The ringing today was steady with 40 birds caught. Highlights were a late Blackcap, Bullfinches, a Dunnock and a Waxwing. A few Siskins also respond to the tape lures and were nice to catch.

Siskin 1cy male - Carduelis spinus - Craig Brookes

Bullfinches Adult Female (Left) Juvenile Female (Right)- Pyrrhula pyrrhula - Asbjørn Jensen

Birds seen today included Kestrel, a Serin (which turned and returned inland), 55 Waxwings migrating, whilst a Woodpigeon, Skylark, White wagtail and 3 Black Redstarts rested along the coast, the Black reds being in the Harbour at Gedser.

Jesper was interviewed this morning by P4 Radio and this will appear soon on air.

Photos : Craig Brookes and Asbjørn Jensen
Blog: Craig Brookes

A quiet day.

This morning the standardised ringing was very slow, only 3 birds ringed. 1 Goldcrest and 2 Wrens. The nets came down as the wind increased! Early afternoon Gert arrived and dropped Jesper off who will stay here for the next week or so. Jesper, keen as always, set some nets. By dusk 15 birds had been ringed: 1 Goldcrest, 4 Wren, 1 Siskin, 2 Blackbird, 4 Fieldfare, 1 Bullfinch, 1 Redwing and catch of the day was a Starling.

Starling - Sturnus vulgaris. Craig Brookes

Migration wasn't too heavy but 50 Redpoll, 50 Siskin, 30 Chaffinch, 80 Greenfinch, 90 Brambling, 10 Goldfinch, 17 Starling, 25 Rook, 1 Sparrowhawk and 20 Yellowhammer.

Resting birds: FIRECREST, 500 Fieldfare, 24 Waxwing, 10 Blue Tit and a handful of Blackbirds.

Hoping for more migration over the next few days as the weather seems a little more settled.

Blog and Photo: 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
  

Tails from Sweden

This morning the ringing was exceptionally quiet, the wind ripped through but I managed to get enough nets up to fulfill standardised ringing. Only 7 Birds were newly ringed today. 2 Blackbird, 1 Chaffinch, 1 Bullfinch, 1 Blackcap, 1 Robin, 1 Long-tailed tit. Interestingly the Bullfinch seemed of the "Northern" variety but then started trumpeting whilst in the hand. It measured large too, wing 92mm and weight 29.6 grams. I now suspect it was from the East?

Another interesting thing today is that we controlled 5 Long-tailed tit from Sweden (in 1 net) each had consecutive ring numbers. CS80031-35. I suspected these were from Falsterbo, but it seems not. It will be interesting to find out when and where they were ringed and so we can see how fast these birds are migrating, that is one of the great things about marking and re-capture in bird ringing.

Long-tailed tits

The photo above shows 2 races of Long-tailed tit, plus a hybrid type; not today's photo. Observation wise it was quiet with a single Waxwing over the garden and Ca 1000 Fieldfare and some Redwing mixed in!

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

Moskva Musvit

Today was quieter than recently. 138 new birds is all. Blue tit dominated again with 46. Great tit 17, Dunnock 17, Wren 13, Chiffchaff 13, Robin 11, Chaffinch 5, Song Thrush 4, Tree Sparrow 3, Brambling 3, Sparrowhawk 2, Goldfinch 1, Reed Bunting 1. A control of another Swedish Blue tit was nice but the control of a RUSSIAN marked Great tit was exceptional, probably a first for Gedser and maybe significant in answering many questions about this Blue, Great and Coal Tit invasion from the East which has recently swept across Scandinavia. The bird in the spot light today is pictured below, looking like any other Great tit caught today, but very special indeed!

Great Tit - Parus Major. Adult female. Craig Brookes

A Nutcracker was seen in the garden (only briefly). Few Red Kites and Buzzards moved across to Germany in favourable conditions.

Photo and Blog: 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

Empty Easterlies

This morning a brisk wind gripped the garden. The hedges swayed in the wind. A limited amounts of nets were opened and dawn broke. It was then clear there had been a clear-out. Throughout the day only 5 birds were caught in 10 hours of netting. These were 3 Robins (Erithacus rubecula), 1 Goldcrest (Regulus regulus), 1 Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus c. collybita) and 1 Sparrowhawk  (Accipiter nisus.) Only one recapture from recent days was represented by a Robin.

Sightings included a few Crossbills, Yellowhammers and Bullfinches. Raptors represented by a Red Kite, a Buzzard, a Rough-legged Buzzard, few Sparrowhawks and a young White-tailed Eagle.

Reports of Pygmy Owl's in Northern Denmark are becomming promising and hopefully we can catch one soon.

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.

Wrong winds

The wind stopped any full attempt at ringing today as dawn broke, however I managed to get a few nets up late morning and caught a few birds.

4 Robins, 4 Goldcrest, 3 Sparrowhawk, 2 Redpoll (caberet and flammea) and a lone Blackbird.

As I was setting nets I flushed a Long-eared owl, later on I possibly flushed a different individual. Other sightings today include: a Serin (probably yesterday's bird), no fewer than 10 Red Kites, 25+ Rough-legged Buzzards, 25+ Sparrowhawk. There was also quite a movement of Yellowhammer and Bullfinch with at least 30 of each. The Bullfinches seem to be mixing with flocks of Chaffinch and Brambling. A juvenile Little gull was seen late afternoon.

I will try to catch Owls this evening. I'll update on this in tomorrow's post.


Craig Brookes

Pea-Super

A Pea-souper today, you couldn't see a thing. But the title reads 'super' this reflects the days ringing.

So the first net round in the dense fog and the dark yielded a little over 70 birds. The day turned out to be quite good although the dense mist failed to clear many birds were in the garden and so found the nets.

In total 118 New birds were ringed.
86 Robins,
13 Redpoll,
8 Sparrowhawks,
6 Greenfinch,
4 Wrens,
1 Dunnock.

Many more Sparrowhawks hunted in the garden but obviously didn't feel like migrating in such horrible conditions when they had an all you can eat Robin-buffet in the garden.

We also controlled (caught an already ringed bird) 2 birds from 2 different countries.

The first a Juvenile Robin which was originally ringed in Poland.

The second a Juvenile Greenfinch which was originally ringed in Sweden.

I wouldn't have been able to cope with so many birds in such a short time if it wasn't for the help I recieved from Frants, Benny and Hans. Thanks guys.

Craig Brookes

Misty morning

Last night we tried (unsuccessfully) for Owls. Unfortunately it was very misty and not so cold so I believe the Owls stayed put last night and certainly weren't interested in migrating.

This morning as I was clearing the nets of dew ready for the standardised to begin I could hear many birds in the hedges, Chiffchaffs, Robins, Song Thrushes, Wrens the usual then. Unusually I could also hear Yellowhammer and Bullfinches. I thought the morning would be a busy one.

In total 96 new birds were ringed today. 68 Robins, 9 Wrens, 9 Goldcrest, 3 Blackbird, 2 Yellowhammer, 2 Brambling, 1 Redwing and one late Blackcap. Many thrushes circled the garden in the thick mist but failed to find any of the nets. Recaptures included a Bullfinch and a few Robins. It appears many birds left the safety of the garden in the early morning as they were not seen or heard since.

Migration highlights included. Bullfinch, Crossbill, Linnet and Yellowhammer - Literally nothing else was seen high up in the mist!

Craig Brookes

Busy evening

This morning it was too windy to open any nets. In the afternoon the wind died down and many nets were put up. Between 5 and 7pm 32 new birds were caught. Mainly these were Goldcrest, Robin and Wrens with a couple of Blackbirds and (Northern) Bullfinch. Singles of Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Sparrowhawk were also caught. In the evening we tried for Owls. We will update on progress of this tomorrow.

Highlights included - Rough-Legged Buzzards, Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Sparrowhawks, a Red Kite and a Long-Eared Owl. Many Bullfinches passed overhead this evening as did Yellowhammers.

Photo: Craig Brookes
Posted by: Craig Brookes

Avalance Migration

Today (26th October) saw an "Avalance Migration" over Gedser. As dawn broke the finches began en masse to leave Scandanavia. A small rain shower came just after dawn and this pushed many birds to fly at low altitude. Thrushes began moving heavily between 8 and 11 am and an estimate is 3000 Fieldfare, 2000 Redwing, 1500 Starling and a scattering of Blackbirds, Mistle and Song Thrush. Also throughout the morning 1800 Chaffinch/Bramblings, 700 Siskin, 200 Greenfinch, 25 Redpoll, 15 Bullfinch and 3 Crossbills a few dozen Linnet and Twite too; 100+ Skylark, 20 + Yellowhammer, 16 Rough-legged Buzzards, 1 Kestrel, 30 Sparrowhawks along with 24 Stock dove, 8 Wood Pigeons and a probable Lapland Bunting.

Standardised ringing was quiet with just a few Robins, Wrens, Blue and Great Tits. After the Standardised had finished we put Redwing call on and managed to catch 39 Redwings!

We also caught 6 Sparrowhawks throughout the day.

Highlight birds : Short-eared Owl in the garden and a probable Lapland Bunting flying over.

In the evening we tried for owls but up until mid night hadn't caught any.

Craig Brookes