The Robins arrive.

For the first time in days it was relatively calm when we went out to set the nets. We knew there had been a considerable arrival as some birds were disturbed as we walked around and put the nets up, and by the amount of ticking from the garden as we set off for the first round.

There had clearly been an arrival of Robins (Rødhals) with a few Song Thrush (Sangdrossel) and some other  migrant passerines too. One Robin already had a ring issued by the Swedish ringing scheme.

 1k Rødhals / Robin carrying a Riksmuseet, Stockholm ring

 (Gransanger) and the Robins just kept appearing in the nets. The number of birds didn't decrease as sharply, as usual, after the first couple of rounds and we continued to extract birds, of a good number of species, into the early afternoon.

1k  Husrødstjert / Black Redstart

We had few recaptures but a Gulspurv / Yellowhammer was the first that we've caught at this site.

 1k Gulspurv / Yellowhammer

Totals: 251 (10)

Spurvehøg / Sparrowhawk -2
Tårnfalk / Kestrel - 1
Engpiber / Meadow Pipit - 3
Gærdesmutte / Wren -5 (1)
Jernspurv / Dunnock -16
Rødhals / Robin - 127 (1)
Husrødstjert / Black Redstart - 1
Rødstjert / Redstart - 2 (1)
Solsort / Blackbird - 0 (2)
Sangdrossel - Song Thrush - 7 
Gærdesanger / Lesser Whitethroat -3 (1)
Munk / Blackcap -7
Gransanger / Chiffchaff -62
Løvsanger / Willow Warbler - 1
Fuglekonge / Goldcrest - 5 (1)
Broget Fluesnapper / Pied Flycatcher - 1
Blåmejse / Blue Tit -2
Musvit / Great Tit - 0 (1)
Skovspurv / Tree Sparrow - 0 (1)
Grønsiskin / Siskin - 1 
Rørspurv / Reed Bunting -1
Gulspurv / Yellowhammer - 0 (1)

Fantastiske observationer på odde - Eleonorafalk

Those of you whom have regularly read the blog for the observatory, or followed the fuglestation's sightings over the years, will know that Gedser can be a place of magnificent birding; today was such a day.

Having been held back and blocked from migrating for a number of days by unfavourable conditions, last night the wind ebbed and swung northwesterly pushing migrants through the night towards their wintering grounds. We knew we would be in for a decent morning as the nets went up in the dark and robins ticked and flitted around the lamp beams.

Throughout the day 159 new birds were ringed, the highest day so far, in this (a quiet) autumn season!

Rødhals (Robin), Erithacus rubecula, 1st calendar year ­©Denise Lamsdell

Rødstjert (Redstart), Phoenicurus phoenicurus. 1st calendar year male ­©Denise Lamsdell

Spurvehøg / Sparrowhawk 6
Skovpiber / Tree Pipit 1
Gærdesmutte / Wren 1
Jernspurv / Dunnock 20
Rødhals / Robin 33
Rødstjert / Redstart 23
Sangdrossel / Song Thrush 2
Gulbug / Icterine Warbler 1
Gærdesanger / Lesser Whitethroat 5
Havesanger / Garden Warbler 1
Munk / Blackcap 5
Gransanger / Chiffchaff 38
Løvsanger / Willow Warbler 10
Fuglekonge / Goldcrest 1
Grå Fluesnapper / Spotted Flycatcher 3
Broget Fluesnapper / Pied Flycatcher 3
Blåmejse / Blue Tit 2
Bogfinke / Chaffinch 4

With a brisk northwesterly wind throughout the morning, passerines and raptors spilled over the garden with big pushes from Bogfinke (Chaffinch), Grønsisken (Siskin) and Vispjert Sp.& Piber Sp. (Wagtails and pipits); at least 2 rødstrubbet piber (Red-throated Pipit)  were around the garden during the standardised time slot. Spurvehøg and Tårnfalk (Sparrowhawk and Kestrel) passed in good numbers with over 400 Sparrowhawks throughout the day and nearly 100 migrating Kestrels, simply incredible! Nothing hugely rare, but great numbers of common migrants!

At around 09:40 a text received to the station phone alerted us to a mega from the tip, lucky observers out there, including many regulars had connected with an ELEONORAFALK (Eleonora's Falcon) migrating steadily south! This time the bird was too distant for photographs to be taken, however click here  for pictures of the previous Eleonorafalk in Gedser. This record represents only the 4th or 5th of this species in Denmark though it is the second for Gedser!!!

After such excitement the day couldn't really be bettered, but a fantastic show of migration by many species was a sight to behold. The highlights of the supporting cast (according to observers notes) were as follows:

Aftenfalk / Red-footed Falcon 1 Juvenile
Lærkefalk / Hobby 6
Dværgfalk / Merlin 3
Tårnfalk / Kestrel 90 A Great single day count for Gedser
Spurvehøg / Sparrowhawk 420 A Great single day count for Gedser
Hvepsevåge / Honey Buzzard 30
Musvåge / Common Buzzard 20
Fjeldvåge / Rough-legged Buzzard 1+
Fiskeørn / Osprey 3
Blå Kærhøg / Hen Harrier 2 Adult female migrating, male resting
Steppehøg / Pallid Harrier 1 Juvenile
Rød Glente / Red Kite 1 Resting
Havørn / White-tailed Eagle 1 Resting
Landsvale / Swallow  20'000+ migrating across a broad front for most of the afternoon. Birds could be heard and not seen, simpy impossible to number very accruately given the spectacle of all other birds throughout the day.
Red-throated Pipit 5
Rock Pipit 5
Mursejle / Swift 10 (Notable for lateness)
Småspove / Whimbrel 2
Teiste / Black Guillemot 1 Juvenile
Gråsisken / Redpoll 2 (First of the autumn)
Grønsisken / Siskin 500+
Almindelig Kjove / Arctic Skua 2
Lille Kjove / Long-tailed Skua 1 Juvenile 18:18 in the evening, the last bird in the notebook from today.

The forecast for tomorrow could mean we're in for some more fantastic migration, hopefully so, check back then to see.

Craig

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

Quackers

Today, as the title suggests, was quackers. All about them too. Records were again broken, more of that later.

Ringing was quieter than previous days. Only 41 ringed, I say only, I mean it's down on recent days.

Willow Warbler 11
Redstart 11
Whitethroat 5
Blackcap 3
Reed Warbler 3
Pied Flycatcher 2
Garden Warbler 2
Sparrowhawk 2
Robin 1
Firecrest 1

 

Firecrest 2k+ female.  Craig Brookes

So what was quackers? Apart from Louis chasing a Red-breasted flycatcher down a road on a bicycle, I'm referring of course to ducks and a record breaking number at that! Today in 12 hours of observation (Louis mainly, with me later on) counted an impressive 5873 migrating Wigeon, a new day record for early September. Also 2800+ Common Scoter throughout the day which was rather impressive. In my book are the following, Eider 91, Pintail 109, Teal 94, Shoveler 43, Gadwall 1, Common Tern 22, Arctic Tern 18, Commic Tern 6, Black Tern 3, LITTLE TERN 1, Little Gull 72, Arctic Skua 27, Long-tailed Skua 3, Dunlin 42, Bar-tailed Godwit 2, Sanderling 1, Redshank 1, Ringed Plover 1, Oystercatcher 5, Mallard 1, Red-breasted Merganser 1, Marsh Harrier 1, Sparrowhawk 1, Red-throated Pipit 1, Crossbill 3 and Siskin (1 flock - not visible).

Duck mix. Mainly Wigeon - Louis Hansen

Eiders - Louis Hansen

Resting
Spotted Flycatcher 1, Red-Breasted Flycatcher 1, Jay 4, Hobby 1, Kestrel 2, Marsh Harrier 3, Sparrowhawk 4, Merlin 1, Starling 50, Velvet Scoter 6, Golden Plover 250, Long-tailed Skua (same as prev days) and a male Wheatear.

In the evening we were invited down into Gedser town, for a fantastic farewell meal. Thanks Louis, a superb spread and fantastic company, as always! On the way back from Gedser we flushed not 1 but 2 Nightjars from the road, so now the nets are up and the churring can be heard throughout the peninsular!

Blog Craig Brookes

Photo (Firecrest) - Craig Brookes
Photo (ducks) - Louis Hansen.

So it continues...

This morning, in perfect (ringing) conditions, all nets were opened before first light. Wind-still and overcast, a Thrush Nightingale crackled from some dense vegetation.

The first round came and it was to be as the rest of the morning, steady. 2 or 3 birds in each net, a nice array of species and ages and a stress-free situation, nice! After 6 hours of the nets being opened, I closed as the rounds had 'dried up' to a stand still, I'd ringed 112 birds of 15 Species.

Willow Warbler 42
Tree Sparrow 14
Garden Warbler 11
Redstart 10
Whitethroat 8
Blackcap 7
Dunnock 6
Robin 4
Lesser Whitethroat 2
Pied Flycatcher 2
Spotted Flycatcher 2
Tree Pipit 1
Reed Warbler 1
Chiffchaff 1
House Sparrow 1

Dunnock - Craig Brookes

There starts to be a shift in birds caught in the garden along with in which nets, as the fruit bearing bushes and trees die back, other come into bloom; the wind directions are also affecting which area of the garden the birds are in. As August drew to a close, Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat and Acrocephalus warblers made the bulk of the catch. Now however there will be a sudden shift towards more typical autumn species as Finches, Thrushes, Robins, Dunnocks and wrens begin to appear; maybe it will be a little later than my stay, but there will be coverage right throughout the season here and although mostly in English, I'm sure you will all continue to read about Gedser and hopefully visit and support the station and it's work.

I had hoped to join Louis at the tip for some migration counting today but I was just too tired, I opted to sleep instead. Louis reported that migration was 1/5 of yesterday's but he still recorded a Red-throated Pipit migrating amongst the expected early autumn migrants. Also 2200 Common Scoter, which isn't a bad count by any standards.

Over the garden I noted at least 300 Siskin today, also 6 Crossbill, 2 Great Spotted woodpeckers, 36 Golden Plover, Oystercatcher, Marsh Harrier (juv), 2 Sparrowhawks and a Kestrel. None of which were seen to migrate. I did however record 1 Whimbrel and 2 Ringed Plover which seemed to be high heading South.

Tomorrow looks set to be another top day here in Gedser, if you are in the area, definitely give us a visit.

Photo and Blog: Craig Brookes

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.

 

Get to Gedser.

Needless to say, there was no ringing today.

Waking to phenomenally wet and windy conditions early this morning, I rolled over and returned to bed. I had planned to go bird watching around Gedser all day but in these conditions that just wasn't an option, visibility was less than 1km and the torrential rain along with howling Westerly winds decided for me.

Early afternoon, after a slow rise I decided that the weather was now fit enough for some migration counting at the tip; I knew there would be challenging conditions but shelter can normally be found around the exhibitions house or huddled behind a bush, I opted for the former and found a pleasantly still micro-climate overlooking the sea.

I watched from 13:45 - 18:00, wave after wave of rain showers passed by and Gedser Odde certainly felt Mother Nature's wrath. Visibility fluctuated during the day from a 'pea-souper' as we say back home ( Zero visibility) to almost 10km. Blue sky appeared once, late afternoon but the sun stayed hidden all day. After all this moaning you could be expecting me to carry on with a negative frame of mind, quite the contrary. I had a fantastic afternoon, just watching, quietly, migration in full flow!

Okay, numbers were not exceptional, but the views of some of the birds I had today were just jaw-dropping. The Long-tailed Skua of previous days continues to perform; today it chased a sandwich tern over the building at the tip calling, coming within 5 metres of me. Sensational. It repeated 'the hunt' as I left the tip this evening flying along the road at head height missing me by only a few feet. 3 Merlins harassed the Sand Martins nesting on the cliffs and also gave prolonged, fantastic views.

Arctiv Skua 1cy - Louis A. Hansen

Long-tailed Skua 1cy - Louis A. Hansen

Merlin 1cy - Louis A. Hansen

Migrants noted today were:

Honey Buzzard 8
Marsh Harrier 2
Kestrel 3
Osprey 4
Merlin 1
Sparrowhawk 1
Pintail 10
Wigeon 7
Eider 21
Common Tern 9
'Commic' Tern 1 (Common or Arctic)
Knot 1
Dunlin 1
Grey Plover 3
Swallow 18
House Martin 7

Resting birds today were:
Wheatear 17
Long-tailed Skua 1 - aforementioned juvenile.
Common Gull 3
Sandwich Tern 32
Black-headed Gull 6
Eider 78
Greater Black-backed Gull 2
Common Scoter 1 (ad male)
Whimbrel 1
Yellow Wagtail 180 - resting in the harvested crop field at the tip.
Sparrowhawk 4
Merlin 3 (all juveniles, hunting together)
Marsh Harrier 1 adult
Osprey 1 returned and perched for over 1 hour.
White Wagtail 12
Herring Gull 6
Greylag Goose 13
House Martin 25
Sand Martin 50
Cormorant 85

A Harbour Seal put in a brief appearance in the slack water, between the millpond-like Western side of the tip and the rough swelling Eastern side.

Today was one of those bird watching days when you're torn whether to leave or not, the "What will I miss?" ticks over in your head. As the autumn wears on, Gedser will become even more alive with birds than it already is as millions of birds pour out of Scandinavia and onto Southern Europe or further afield, now's the time, get to Gedser and see for yourselves!

 Below is a photo of a Lesser Blacked-backed Gull from yesterday. Very under recorded here in Gedser, please if you are down here, glance over the gulls so you don't miss a special one.

Lesser Black-backed Gull 1cy (Larus fuscus)

Photos (all from Yesterday) - Louis A. Hansen

Blog: Craig Brookes

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

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

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

Gedser Gold

In total contrast to yesterday's slow ringing day, this morning (4th August) proved relatively busy. With 154 new birds throughout the morning we certainly didn't go short of anything.

Rødhals (Robin) - 1
Nattergal (Thrush Nightingale) - 1
Husrødstjert (Black Redstart) - 1
Rødstjert (Redstart) - 2
Solsort (Blackbird) - 1
Græshoppesanger (Grasshopper Warbler) - 1
Kærsanger (Marsh Warbler) - 32
Rørsanger (Reed Warbler) - 43
Gulbug (Icterine Warbler) - 15
Gærdesanger (Lesser Whitethroat) - 17
Tornsanger (Common Whitethroat) - 9
Havesanger (Garden Warbler) - 8
Skovsanger (Wood Warbler) - 1
Gransanger (Chiffchaff) - 4
Løvsanger (Willow Warbler) - 10
Broget Fluesnapper (Pied Flycatcher) - 2
Korttået Træløber (Short-toed Treecreeper) - 2
Tornirisk (Linnet) - 4

The Robin was the first of the Autumn and a sign of things to come as we continue into August and the migration really hots up.

 

Short-Toed Treecreeper 1cy - Craig Brookes

Black Redstart 1cy (Left) and Redstart 1cy (Right) - Craig Brookes

Gert came today to empty his moth traps and didn't find anything of particular interest, it seemed.

Louis phoned to Anders mid morning to tell of a possible Two-barred Crossbill atop a tree in the garden, which he had observed from the point. Anders ran out, heard the bird calling though couldn't place it and confirmed that Louis' thoughts were correct. Thanks Louis, a lifer for Anders. I stayed to ring the birds in the lab, hopefully tomorrow I will get a 'lifer' too. I did get one today however with Short-toed Treecreeper, it's only taken me 3 Autumns in Denmark.

Photos and Blog: Craig Brookes

Black Magic.

Last night Jesper came up with a cunning plan to ground some Blackbirds ahead of his final ringing day (today). His plan was executed and this morning we reaped the rewards! An exceptional number of Thrushes have been moving the past nights and this time we had managed to ground a few! In total today we ringed a hefty 42 Blackbirds! This exceeds the previous day record by more than 50% which was also set this year and equals to my knowledge the record day total at Falsterbo, Sweden.

Blackbird 2cy+ male - Turdus merula

I also had a lovely surprise when Jesper woke me to tell me he had trapped a Black Redstart, a bird I had hoped for the entire autumn and only fitting that it came within the last 2 days of my stay! Cheers Jesper!

Black Redstart 1cy - Phoenicurus ochruros

As well as amazing totals of Blackbirds and the latest ever trapped Black Redstart here at Gedser we also managed to trap and ring 17 Waxwings today and 9 Robins (A good number in mid-late November). Also ringed a scattering of other species, Song Thrush, Redwing, Redpoll, Siskin, Goldfinch and Goldcrest. 

A Sparrowhawk was seen in the garden late afternoon though the highlight was in fact a stunning adult male Hen Harrier which flew in off the sea early morning and was lost to view behind the lighthouse. A Hawfinch was the only highlight from us at the station and this was seen to migrate, as were 35 Blackbirds this evening as the light faded! A Bullfinch was a grounded migrant as were 70+ Waxwings.

Troels arrived this evening and will be taking over the ringing for the next few weeks!


Photos and Blog: Craig Brookes

Signing off

Last night we attempted to catch some Owls and were again successful. 2 Long-eared Owls and 1 Tengmalm's Owl making it a total of 7 Long-eared and 12 Tengmalm's for the year. The latter is a new season record.

Record breakers; Jesper and Craig happy with the 12th new Tengmalm's for the season. Photo Ragnar Smith.

Tengmalm's Owl - Craig Brookes

Long-eared Owl female - Craig Brookes

This morning marked the last standardised ringing session of the year here at Gedser. It was been a great autumn and up to now we have caught over 11,500 since August. Combined with the spring total we have ringed almost 16,000 birds here at Gedser this year with is looking like our 3rd best year ever. There have been many highlights throughout the ringing season and maybe people have worked hard to achieve such a great volume of data. Thanks on behalf of Gedser Fuglestation to all whom have been involved. Particular efforts by Jesper Brinkman, Anders Nielsen, Heidi Vibe, Heather McGinty, Henrik Jørgensen, Rune Tjørnløv and myself should be noticed. We also had help from many great people along the was which we are always grateful for. Hans Lind, Benny Steinmejer and Gert Jeppesen in particular.



Today we ringed only 15 new birds a few Goldfinch and Chaffinches were the highlights.

Sightings today were limited but 3 late Barn Swallows were noted, 60 Common Scoter plus 1 Velvet, 7 Wigeon, 5 Red-throated diver, 1 Black-throated, some Goldeneye also. Ca50 Waxwings rested in the garden and the lingering Kestrel was present.

Tonight we will try for Owls again, fueled by a hearty meal provided kindly by Louis Hansen; thanks Louis!!

Photos: Ragnar Smith and Craig Brookes
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
  

More of the same.

This morning was a little windier than yesterday but I still managed to get a few nets open. Before dawn it was obvious there were a few grounded Thrushes as Blackbirds, Redwing and Mistle Thrush were all heard! When the light came many of these birds left the garden, there wasn't a massive fall but reasonable numbers for November with 30 Blackbirds, 20 Redwing, 10 Song Thrush and 6 Mistle Thrush. Anyway, more on that later.

Ringing was a little quieter than yesterday though still enjoyable. Only 14 new birds today.

Blackbird 7
Robin 2
Dunnock 1
Song Thrush 1
Redwing 1
WAXWING 1
FIRECREST 1

Fiecrest 1cy Female

Amazingly another Firecrest makes it 3 for the Autumn. Not bad! If I had only heard this bird I would have presumed it was the same bird as yesterday.

Migrants - 3 Rough-legged Buzzards, 3 Sparrowhawk, 2 Golden Plover, 5 Yellowhammer, Chaffinch/Brambling 50,

Grounded Migrants today then (excluding the Thrushes mentioned earlier). Waxwing 37, Fieldfare 580 roaming around mid-afternoon, 1 Mute Swan on top fields, Buzzard, Goldcrest 5, Blue Tit 5, Wren 2, Great tit 5, Tree Sparrow 18, Bullfinch 2, Robin 5, Dunnock 2, Greenfinch 3, Goldfinch 2, Chaffinch/Brambling 15.

Waxwing 2cy+ Female

Photos and Blog: Craig Brookes

A fantastic day!

I was very glad to be able to open some nets this morning, sitting here alone in bad weather is never any fun! So, with nets set I returned to the warm house wondering what today may deliver? First net round quiet only 7 birds, better than nothing though and 2 of them were very large Blackbirds; always nice to catch them. I also heard a Firecrest briefly. Next round, sure enough the Firecrest was sat in a net near where I had heard him previously. Throughout the morning only 31 birds were ringed in total but it was a very enjoyable day, migration was fairly steady overhead with some nice species mixed in and the ringing very relaxed. Totals as follows: Waxwing 2, Wren 1, Robin 2, Song Thrush 1, Redwing 3, Goldcrest 1, Firecrest 1, Coal Tit 1, Blue Tit 7, Great Tit 2, Chaffinch 5, Greenfinch 1 and Bullfinch 2. A really good spread of species!

Firecrest - 1cy Male

At around 11 I saw a large flock of Waxwings circling near to one of the high-nets which was closed due to wind. I put it up however and watched. Within 2 minutes a couple of these stunning birds had jumped into the net.

Waxwing - 1cy Male

Migrants today were mainly finches and buntings. Chaffinch/Bramblings numbered 700+ , Greenfinch 30, Goldfinch 25, Siskin 30, Woodlark 3, Waxwing 17, Yellowhammer 20, Reed Bunting 1 and Blue tit 40. A single Parrot Crossbill returned Northwest before 8am.

Grounded migrants - Kestrel, Buzzard, Red Kite, Mute Swan, 15 Blackbirds, 3 Song Thrushes, 2 Mistle Thrush, 5 Coal Tit, 7 Goldcrest, 24 Woodpigeon, 106 Woodpigeon. 180 Waxwing roamed around the lighthouse garden and a further 800+ Waxwings rested in the town centre at Gedser.

Photos and Blog: Craig Brookes

Empty nets

This morning was the quietest morning for a good while. After yesterdays storm and rain just before and until a little after dawn I had expected maybe a few Robins in the garden. That didn't happen. Instead, we ringed 15 birds in the entire session. 4 Great Tit, 3 Blackbird, 3 Siskin, 3 Goldcrest and singles Blue Tit and Goldfinch. A Waxwing flicked around the garden but didn't get caught.

In the afternoon I took a couple of hours birding. Preben had told me he'd had a Serin but it didn't migrate. I picked it up just after 13:45; when it did migrate. The other highlights included Black-throated Diver (1), Twite 60+ also 2 SNOW BUNTINGS (1ST WINTER PAIR)

Snow Buntings male and female

Photo and Blog - Craig Brookes

Dipping

Unfortunately there was no ringing this morning as the wind slammed hard against the Gedser coastline. Heather left late morning, thanks for all your help this season Heather, it's been great to have you. With no ringing and very windy conditions I thought a Sea-watch could be productive, I was wrong. A couple of hours at the point produced highlights of just 18 Wigeon, 2 Mallard, 1 Little Gull, 1 Scaup and a Peregrine.

A DIPPER was seen at the Southern tip today by Preben, it flew past him so closely that he couldn't get a picture of it. I however "dipped" it.

Hopefully this storm will pass before the morning though I don't expect a dawn start.

Windswept Gedser coast.

Blog and Photo: Craig Brookes

Blustery

Today the wind was quite strong from the West. We set less nets than recent days. Still we managed 103 new birds. Blue Tit 26, Goldcrest 21, Dunnock 17, Chaffinch 8, Wren 7, Robin 7, Chiffchaff 4, Sparrowhawk 4, Bullfinch 3, Siskin 2, singles of Redwing, Blackbird, Fieldfare and Tree Sparrow.

Bullfinch 1cy female

Above a picture of one of today's Bullfinches, this a juvenile female.Other notable sightings included 24 Red Kites, 18 Cranes, 10 Common Buzzard, 6 Rough-legged Buzzard, 20 Sparrowhawks. 50 Common Scoter went passed the point in a brief Sea-watch, as did 7 Brent Geese, 10 Red-breasted Mergansers and 180 Eider.

Also a reminder that there will be an Owl event held at Gedser on Saturday 27th October starting at 21:00, there is a limited amount of spaces so please be in contact if you or anyone you know may be interested, contact details may be found on the homepage. The charge is 50DKr per person!

Photo: Heather McGinty
Blog: Craig Brookes