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)

Resting Rosenstær. 20/09/2015

We were up early to set the nets, as usual, but were stopped in our tracks by the sound of rain pounding on the windows. A swift check of the weather forecast informed us that there had been another change and heavy showers would be rolling through the area for the next three hours.

After an extra couple of hours sleep we were up checking the weather again. It was much windier than had been predicted, but we dropped nets in the sheltered areas and were up and running by 9am. It was immediately apparent that our good spell for birds was short lived and many had cleared out, probably before the rain in the night. The wind was problematic so we continued until 12.30pm then closed. After yesterday's session the total seemed very low.

Goldcrest (Fuglekonge)

Totals:  23 (4)

Spurvehog / Sparrowhawk - 2
Jernsperv / Dunnock - 3
Rødhals / Robin - 1
Rødstejrt  / Redstart - 3 (1)
Munk / Blackcap - 1 (1)
Sydlig Gransanger / Chiffchaff - 12
Løvsanger / Willow Warbler - 1
Fuglekonge / Goldcrest - 1
Musvit / Great Tit - 0 (1)

Out on the tip briefly in the afternoon (Observer day totals added for some species):

Sort Glente / Black Kite one resting
Lærkefalk / Hobby 1
Spurvehøg / Sparrowhawk 410
Rørhøg / Marsh Harrier 35
Fiskeørn / Osprey 3
Mursejle / Swift 5
Steppehøg / Pallid Harrier 1 Juvenile resting and one juvenile Migrating
Blå Kærhøg / Hen Harrier 2
Dværgfalk / Merlin 3
Almindelig Kjove / Arctic Skua 1 resting, 1 migrated
Aftenfalk / Red-footed Falcon 1 juvenile giving amazing view before migrating 14:58.
Hvepsevåge / Honey Buzzard 10 migrated, 1 resting
Rød Glente / Red Kite 3 resting
ROSENSTÆR / Rose-coloured Starling 1 Juvenile picked up late afternoon resting with small flock of Stær / Starlings.

To sum up, that's 17 species of Raptor in the weekend.

White-tailed Sea Eagle (Havørn)

Fiskeørn / Osprey
Hvepsevåge / Honey Buzzard
Musvåge / Buzzard
Fjeldvåge / Rough-legged Buzzard
Spurvehøg / Sparrowhawk
Dværgfalk / Merlin
Lærkefalk / Hobby
Aftenfalk / Red-footed Falcon
Eleonorafalk / Eleonora's Falcon
Vanderfalk / Peregrine
Tårnfalk / Kestrel
Rød Glente / Red Kite
Sort Glente / Black Kite
Bla Kærhøg / Hen Harrier
Steppehøg / Pallid Harrier
Havørn / White-tailed eagle
Rørhøg / Marsh Harrier 

Autumn in Gedser is certainly shaping up to be a memorable one.

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