Today felt much more like summer than autumn, with clear skies and a warm southerly breeze for most of the day. Migrants were present in smaller numbers than the past few days too, although we still managed 63 new birds, plus another 8 in the late afternoon. The catch was again dominated by Sylvia warblers - the majority Lesser Whitethroat, with another Red-backed Shrike a highlight. The Swedish-ringed Whitethroat from a few days ago was retrapped too. 

Totals for the day were as follows:

Yellow Wagtail/Gul Vipstjert - 3, Dunnock/Jernspurv - 1, Robin/Rødhals - 1, Redstart/Rødstjert - 3, Marsh Warbler/Kærsanger - 5, Reed Warbler/Rørsanger - 2, Icterine Warbler/Gulbug - 4, Lesser Whitethroat/Gærdesanger - 15, Whitethroat/Tornsanger - 13, Garden Warbler/Havesanger - 8, Blackcap/Munk - 5, Chiffchaff/Gransanger - 1, Willow Warbler/Løvsanger - 1, Pied Flycatcher/Broget Fluesnapper - 1, Rødrygget Tornskad - 1, Tree Sparrow/Skovspurv - 1, Starling/Stær - 5, House Martin/Bysvale - 1.

A Hobby and a Sparrowhawk were seen over the Obs today, with a couple more of each in the surrounding area, along with good numbers of Whinchat, Red-backed Shrike and a Wheatear.

 The Swedish ring on the Whitethroat (note Stockholm inscribed) 

One of today's Icterine Warblers

A change in the weather meant that light rain from first light delayed the ringing to such a degree that we couldn’t put in a standardised session for the first time this autumn; when we did get underway we managed a good total of 105 new birds with the dominant species (both in the nets and in the field) were 42 Tree Pipits and 9 Yellow Wagtails caught.   Throughout the day there were big numbers of these two species around with many flocks passing over the garden in the morning totalling hundreds of each but we couldn’t really get any accurate counts.

                Other birds caught included a Red-backed Shrike, the first Grasshopper Warbler of the autumn, 19 Whitethroats and a House Martin; a Golden Oriole which was seen briefly in the garden and an Osprey which drifted south were the day's other highlights with Dunlin and Curlew overhead and 4-5 Thrush Nightingales present in the garden.

Todays totals comprised - 1 House Martin / Bysvale;  42 Tree Pipit / Skovpiber;  9 Yellow Wagtail / Gul Vipstjert;  1 White Wagtail / Hvid Vipstjert;  2 Redstart / Roedstjert;  1 Grasshopper Warbler / Graeshoppesanger;  1 Marsh Warbler / Kaersanger;  1 Reed Warbler / Roersanger;  3 Icterine Warbler / Gulbug;  8 Lesser Whitethroat / Gaerdesanger;  19 Whitethroat / Tornsanger;  6 Garden Warbler / Havesanger;  2 Blackcap / Munk;  4 Willow Warbler / Loevsanger;  2 Pied Flycatcher / Broget Fluesnapper;  1 Red-backed Shrike / Roedrygget Tornskad;  1 Goldfinch / Stillits;  1 Linnet / Tornirisk

Grasshopper Warbler

For more pictures from around Gedser see www.wykebirding.blogspot.com

We had a good day's ringing today, depsite most of it happening within the first two hours of catching! Clear skies meant birds cleared out from the garden early and despite evidence of some birds passing overhead, few moved through the garden later in the day. The total at close of nets was 121 birds ringed of 25 species, the highlights of which were yet another Wryneck (the 5th this autumn), another Sedge Warbler and 3 Thrush Nightingales. The bulk of birds caught today were Sylvia warblers, with a notable increase in Blackcaps. Walk-in traps on the pond were set with birds coming to bathe and drink in the heat, catching a few Wagtails. After the first Robin yesterday, 5 were caught in the first round of the day today.

Totals were as follows:

Wryneck/Vendehals - 1, Tree Pipit/Skovpiber - 5, Yellow Wagtail/Gul Vipstjert - 3, White Wagtail/Hvid Vipstjert - 1, Dunnock/Jernspurv - 1, Robin/Rødhals - 6, Thrush Nightingale/Nattergal - 3, Redstart/Rødstjert - 1, Song Thrush/Sangdrossel - 1, Sedge Warbler/Sivsanger - 1, Marsh Warbler/Kærsanger - 8, Reed Warbler/Rørsanger - 4, Icterine Warbler/Gulbug - 1, Lesser Whitethroat/Gærdesanger - 16, Whitethroat/Tornsanger - 22, Garden Warbler/Havesanger - 17, Blackcap/Munk - 15, Chiffchaff/Gransanger - 1, Willow Warbler/Løvsanger - 3, Spotted Flycatcher/Grå Fluesnapper - 3, Pied Flycatcher/Broget Fluesnapper - 2, Red-backed Shrike/Rødrygget Tornskad - 1, Starling/Stær - 1, Tree Sparrow/Skovspurv - 4.

A Black Kite drifted south over the Obs in the late afternoon, and good numbers of common migrants were present in suitable cover in the surrounding area. 

 Today's Wryneck - stunning birds

Detail of the head and eye - incredibly intricately patterned feathering

Rain at dawn delayed proceedings by about an hour but after it had passed it was another fine day with good netting conditions; numbers were slightly down though with [only] 92 new birds caught including 3 Red-backed Shrikes (adult male, adult female and a juvenile) and a Thrush Nightingale (with one of the last few days birds re-trapped); totals of common migrants were headlined by 11 Marsh Warblers, 4 Icterine Warblers, 20 Lesser Whitethroats and 15 Whitethroats.   Golden Plover, Green Sandpiper, Greenshank and a few Tree Pipits were heard overhead through the morning.

Today's totals comprised - 1 Tree Pipit / Skovpiber;  1 Robin / Roedhals;  1 Thrush Nightingale / Nattergal;  4 Redstart / Roedstjert;  1 Black Redstart / Husroedstjert;  1 Sedge Warbler / Sivsanger;  11 Marsh Warbler / Kaersanger;  4 Reed Warbler / Roersanger;  4 Icterine Warbler / Gulbug;  20 Lesser Whitethroat / Gaerdesanger;  15 Whitethroat / Tornsanger;  7 Garden Warbler / Havesanger;  3 Blackcap / Munk;  8 Willow Warbler / Loevsanger;  4 Spotted Flycatcher / Gra Fluesnapper;  3 Pied Flycatcher / Broget Fluesnapper;  3 Red-backed Shrike / Roedrygget Tornskad;  1 Yellowhammer / Gulspurv

Red-backed Shrike

                Bøtø was then fairly quiet mid-afternoon with wader counts down but birds present did include 15 Wood Sandpiper, 6 Spotted Redshank and 4 Ruff; Ducks on the other hand were well up on the last visit as counts consisted of 410+ Teal, 40+ Gadwall and 15+ Shoveler while other birds of note were 4 Cranes and at least 6 Water Rails (mostly juveniles).

                A random drive round then produced a few farmland birds including White-tailed Eagle, Marsh Harriers, Buzzards and Yellow Wagtails before I ended up at Skelby Strand where there were a few bits and pieces feeding on the large quantities on seaweed along the shore with 2 Whinchats, an array of flavas including an adult male Grey-headed Wagtail, a smart summer plumaged Grey Plover, 6 Greenshank, 12 Redshank, 15+ Common Sandpipers and a Sedge Warbler hopping along the beach.

More pictures from around Gedser can be found at www.wykebirding.blogspot.com

A similar day to the past couple, with calm and clear conditions meaning we had a rush of birds caught in the first hour or so, followed by a significant drop-off in numbers as birds cleared out from the garden and the sun hit the nets. An increasing breeze throughout the day also limited our catching later in the day. Despite this, we still managed to ring 157 new birds of 22 species, with two Wrynecks being the clear highlights. Willow Warblers were the most numerous species, and 16 Pied Flycatcher was again an impressive total for this species.

We had a visit from a school in Nykøbing today for a few hours - the kids enjoyed seeing how bird ringing worked, and getting up close and personal with a head-twisting Wryneck!

Species totals were as follows:

Wryneck/Vendehals - 2, Tree Pipit/Skovpiber - 2, Dunnock/Jernspurv - 1, Thrush Nightingale/Nattergal - 1, Black Redstart/Husrødstjert - 1, Redstart/Rødstjert - 9, Sedge Warbler/Sivsanger - 1, Marsh Warbler/Kærsanger - 9, Reed Warbler/Rørsanger - 7, Icterine Warbler/Gulbug - 3, Lesser Whitethroat/Gærdesanger - 21, Whitethroat/Tornsanger - 19, Garden Warbler/Havesanger - 14, Blackcap/Munk - 6, Chiffchaff/Gransanger - 2, Willow Warbler/Løvsanger - 37, Spotted Flycatcher/Grå Fluesnapper - 2, Red-backed Shrike/Rødrygget Tornskad - 1, Starling/Stær - 1, Tree Sparrow/Skovspurv - 1, Linnet/Tornirisk - 1. 

 The first of today's Wrynecks - always a crowd-pleaser!

One of today's 2 Spotted Flycatchers 

Another great ringing day with very light NW winds and plenty of sunshine (although that’s probably why totals were slightly less than yesterday) with another all-day session – minus a small rain delay mid-afternoon producing another good total of 171 birds; highlights today included 4 Thrush Nightingales and a second Wryneck of the autumn along with plenty more common migrants, most notably influxes of 31 Lesser Whitethroats and 19 Pied Flycatchers while 10 Redstarts, 7 Marsh Warblers, 28 Whitethroats, 11 Garden Warblers, 41 Willow Warblers, 6 Blackcaps (started to appear the last two days) and a Treecreeper were of mention.   Swedish ringed Whitethroat and Willow Warbler were also much appreciated.

Totals today - 1 Wryneck / Vendehals;  2 Tree Pipit / Skovpiber;  4 Thrush Nightingale / Nattergal;  10 Redstart / Roedstjert;  7 Marsh Warbler / Kaersanger;  2 Reed Warbler / Roersanger;  31 Lesser Whitethroat / Gaerdesanger;  28 Whitethroat / Tornsanger;  6 Blackcap / Munk;  1 Chiffchaff / Gransanger;  41 Willow Warbler / Loevsanger;  19 Pied Flycatcher / Broget Fluesnapper;  1 Treecreeper / Traelober;  2 Tree Sparrow / Skovspurv;  4 Goldfinch / Stillits;  1 Lesser Redpoll / Lille Grasisken

The Swedish duo - Willow Warbler and Whitethroat

                Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Curlew and Golden Plover were heard overhead through the morning while a couple of Sparrowhawks whizzed through and a juvenile Great-spotted Woodpecker was in the garden.

For more pictures from around Gedser please visit www.wykebirding.blogspot.com

With ideal weather conditions of a gentle north-westerly breeze and cloudy skies for standardised ringing today, we had our hopes up for good numbers of birds, and we were not disappointed. With a busy first few nets rounds we had Hans lending a hand, and thanks to birds continuing to move through the garden for most of the day we closed the nets in the evening with 209 birds ringed. Whitethroats and Willow Warblers made up the bulk of birds (45 and 44 respectively) with Garden Warblers close behind on 39. 12 Pied Flycatchers and a whopping 20 Redstarts were caught too - always a pleasure to ring. The high numbers of birds meant we had our fingers crossed for something rarer to appear too but it never transpired - tomorrow perhaps. The Barred Warbler was retrapped later in the day however, and found to have put on an impressive 6.5g since it was first caught.

Today's totals were as follows:

Tree Pipit/Skovpiber - 5, Dunnock/Jernspurv - 2, Redstart/Rødsjert - 20, Marsh Warbler/Kærsanger - 3, Reed Warbler/Rørsanger - 1, Icterine Warbler/Gulbug - 6, Lesser Whitethroat/Gærdesanger - 19, Whitethroat/Tornsanger - 45, Garden Warbler/Havesanger - 39, Blackcap/Munk - 4, Chiffchaff/Gransanger - 2, Willow Warbler/Løvsanger - 44, Spotted Flycatcher/Grå Fluesnapper - 1, Pied Flycatcher/Broget Fluesnapper - 12, Starling/Stær - 1, Tree Sparrow/Skovspurv - 2, Goldfinch/Stillits - 3.

One of today's good number of Pied Flycatchers

Bright and breezy throughout the day with the wind strong enough to be annoying but not strong enough to prevent 62 new birds in the nets with the highlights including a Thrush Nightingale, the first Nuthatch of year to be ringed, 7 Icterine Warblers and a Marsh Warbler in amongst small numbers of common migrants with 13 Whitethroats the most numerous; all three of the recently caught Common Rosefinches were re-trapped through the morning.   The male Red-backed Shrike was still in the garden where a female Sparrowhawk was hunting for a while; overhead a few Tree Pipits, a couple of Greenshank and a Golden Plover were seen.

This morning's totals - 1 White Wagtail / Hvid Vipstjert;  1 Thrush Nightingale / Nattergal;  5 Redstart / Roedstjert;  1 Marsh Warbler / Kaersanger;  1 Reed Warbler / Roersanger;  7 Icterine Warbler / Gulbug;  6 Lesser Whitethroat / Gaerdesanger;  13 Whitethroat / Tornsanger;  7 Garden Warbler / Havesanger;  9 Willow Warbler / Loevsanger;  1 Spotted Flycatcher / Gra Fluesnapper;  3 Pied Flycatcher / Broget Fluesnapper;  1 Nuthatch / Spaetmejse;  1 Starling / Staer;  1 House Sparrow / Graspurv;  3 Tree Sparrow / Skovspurv;  1 Linnet / Tornirisk

Nuthatch

Swallow over the fields to the north of the station

                A walk north of the station in the afternoon didn’t produce anything unusual but the whole area seemed to be full of birds with at least 8 Marsh Harriers and a Buzzard were floating around, every garden had a few Spotted Flycatchers, Pied Flycatchers, Redstarts, Willow Warblers, Whitethroats etc. and every cut field had a few Yellow Wagtails and hundreds of Swallows and Sand Martins feeding low over the open areas.

More pictures from Gedser at www.wykebirding.blogspot.com

It was a slow day for ringing today, with just 28 new birds ringed in over 8 hours. However the nets did produce one star bird - a brilliant Wryneck! The bulk of the rest was made up by Whitethroats, just making it into double figures. Redstarts are still numerous in the garden with 5 new birds caught, and a Yellowhammer was the first caught for a while also. 

Totals consisted of:

Wryneck/Vendehals - 1, Redstart/Rødstjert - 5, Marsh Warbler/Kærsanger - 1, Reed Warbler/Rørsanger - 2, Lesser Whitethroat/Gærdesanger - 1, Whitethroat/Tornsanger - 10, Garden Warbler/Havesanger - 7, Yellowhammer/Gulspurv - 1. 

Overcast conditions and a significant easing in the wind led to an excellent arrival of migrants with the weather also allowing us to keep the nets open through until drizzle moved in at around 16:00; it was the first very busy ringing day of the autumn with 185 new birds caught with the highlights being a cracking RIVER WARBLER (actually the first bird of the day!), 2 Thrush Nightingales (plus a re-trap from 5th August), 2 adult male Red-backed Shrikes, another juvenile Common Rosefinch (plus a re-trap from two days ago), 13 Icterine Warblers and 11 Marsh Warblers.

                These came in amongst good numbers of common migrants most significantly 56 Garden Warblers (most of them with extremely high fat scores, weighing up to 25g!), 19 Reed Warblers (a dramatic shift in the proportions of Reed versus Marsh Warbler numbers), 16 Whitethroats, 6 Tree Pipits, 9 Pied Flycatchers, 11 Redstarts and 25 Willow Warblers but only 8 Lesser Whitethroats – again, a dramatic shift in the percentage of the catch as these had been by far the commonest Warbler species.   Also of note was an adult Reed Warbler bearing a Swedish ring.

Today's excellent totals comprised - 6 Tree Pipits / Skovpiber;  2 Thrush Nightingale / Nattergal;  12 Redstart / Roedstjert;  1 River Warbler / Flodsanger;  1 Sedge Warbler / Sivsanger;  11 Marsh Warbler / Kaersanger;  19 Reed Warbler / Roersanger;  13 Icterine Warbler / Gulbug;  8 Lesser Whitethroat / Gaerdesanger;  18 Whitethroat / Tornsanger;  56 Garden Warbler / Havesanger;  25 Willow Warbler / Loevsanger;  1 Spotted Flycatcher / Gra Fluesnapper;  9 Pied Flycatcher / Broget Fluesnapper;  2 Red-backed Shrike / Roedrygget Tornskad;  1 Common Rosefinch / Karmindompap

River Warbler

Tree Pipit

                There wasn’t much time for anything else through the morning but overhead 2 Green Sandpipers, a Wood Sandpiper, a Snipe and numerous Tree Pipits were heard.   A token look from the point (1500-1545) before the weather closed in produced 18 Arctic Terns, 11 Common Terns, 17 Sandwich Terns, 2 juvenile Shelduck, a flock of 6 Herons which came in off the sea, 61 Eider, 5 Common Scoter, 2 Dunlin and a Whimbrel.

More pictures from around Gedser at www.wykebirding.blogspot.com