Windy waders

Today the wind and rain pelted the tip, here at Gedser. As a result, no standardised ringing. Lydia joined Gert and Benny for a birding trip in Jutland today, leaving the boys at home.

The Common Sandpiper we've been playing cat and mouse with for a couple of days finally baffled itself in the wader trap and was duly ringed.

Common sandpiper - Actitis hypoleucos. Photo: Anton Liebermann

Craig and Anton battled the elements for a couple of hours out at the tip watching migration. With visibility less than a kilometre and the wind gusting well over 20 m/s any birds were a result! We managed a few bits and bobs, all the waders were in very smart summer plumage, which is great to see.

Migrating between 11:15-13:15

Eider 95
Arctic Tern 9
Common Tern 48
Grey Heron 3
Common Gull 5
Black-headed Gull 34
Herring Gull 6
Great Black-backed Gull 1
Lesser Black-backed Gull 1 Juvenile
Teal 2
Sandwich Tern 2
Spotted Redshank 2
Redshank 1
Common Scoter 99
Curlew 1
Ruff 2
Golden Plover 1

Apologies, these are straight from the notebook and therefore not in taxonomical order.

Resting at the tip

Cormorant 46
Eider 440
Great Black-backed Gull 1
Common Scoter c250 (hard to count in the swelling sea)
Sandwich Tern 6
Common Sandpiper 1
Wood Sandpiper 1
Herring Gull 1
Mute Swan 4
Common Gull 1

A grey seal was about just offshore.

The forecast tomorrow looks a little more pleasant than recently, fingers crossed for some ringing and migration. It's starting to hot up though.

Craig

A lesser whitethroat was the only new passerine caught today.