Another fantastic ringing day with the light wind moving into the north and cloud cover coming and going throughout but warm and sunny in the afternoon; it was by far the biggest ringing total so far this year with an excellent 665 new birds caught during an all-day effort with the main species comprising 283 Robins, 149 Chiffchaffs and 111 Goldcrests supported by 34 Wrens, 20 Dunnocks and 26 Blackcaps.   The highlights in the day’s catch were a smart first winter Barred Warbler (the second of the autumn), a Marsh Warbler and a Great-spotted Woodpecker along with other little bits including Tree Pipit, 2 Redstarts, 3 Reed Warblers and the first 3 Bramblings of the autumn.

Today's totals in full - 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker / Stor Flagspaette;  1 Tree Pipit / Skovpiber;  34 Wren / Gaerdesmutte;  20 Dunnock / Jernspurv;  283 Robin / Roedhals;  2 Redstart / Roedstjert;  1 Marsh Warbler / Kaersanger;  3 Reed Warbler / Roersanger;  1 Barred Warbler / Hoegesanger;  2 Common Whitethroat / Tornsanger; 2 Garden Warbler / Havesanger; 26 Blackcap / Munk;  149 Chiffchaff / Gransanger;  3 Willow Warbler / Loevsanger;  111 Goldcrest / Fuglekonge;  2 Blue Tit / Blamejse;  1 Great Tit / Musvit;  4 Tree Sparrow / Skovspurv;  3 Chaffinch / Bogfinke;  3 Brambling / Kvaerkefinke;  1 Greenfinch / Groenirisk;  2 Siskin / Groensisken;  4 Lesser Redpoll / Lille Grasisken

Barred Warbler

                Birds overhead and away from the nets were few and far between (mainly because we had no time to look around!) but did include a White-tailed Eagle, a Merlin, a Common Buzzard and a few Sparrowhawks cruising around, a Spotted Flycatcher in the garden and 70+ Golden Plover while overhead passage was limited to a few Chaffinch, Brambling and Siskin flocks along with a few White Wagtails and Tree Pipits.

The garden was alive with Chiffchaffs!

For more Gedser pictures www.wykebirding.blogspot.com

Efter dagen i går med lige knap 200 ringmærkede fugle håbede vi på at vi i dag ville få årets anden dag med +200. Efter at have gået første runde og konstateret der ikke var mange fugle faldt håbet dog lidt. Men da vi kom ud til anden netrunde var der Gransangere alle steder og heldigvis også i nettene. Ud af 218 fugle mærket i dag var 104 Gransangere. Der var ikke nær så mange Fuglekonger som i går men der var stadigvæk en del. Også Gærdesmutterne er begyndt at ankomme nu og vi har i dag mærket 8.

Lige inden Rasmus skulle hjem af med bussen gik årets første Stor Flagspætte i nette, han nåede lige at ringmærke den inden Hans kørte ham af sted til bussen og han kunne glad tage hjem med den som ny mærkeart. Nu når Rasmus er taget hjem er der helt stille i huset og når man går rundt i haven, da man ofte kunne høre hvor han var når han gik rundt og sang, det var meget hygget ligt med en syngende ringmærker, måske det beroliger fuglene.

Årets første Stor flagspætte (Dendrocopos major).

En tur på Odden til eftermiddag gav ikke meget der var kun få ænder i forhold til de sidste par dage, 525 Ederfugle, 69 Pibeænder og lidt Sortænder. Over lang var der en del svaler og ellers kun en enkelt Lærkefalk. Og lige som vi var på vej hjem og stod og var ved at pakke teleskoperne sammen fløj en Sortstrubet lom lige hen over vores hoveder, typisk der altid skal komme noget spændene lige som man har hænderne fulde.

Total 218

Spurvehøg / Sparrowhawk - 4

Stor Flagspætte / Great Spotted Woodpecker - 1

Skovpiber / Tree Pipit - 2

Gærdesmutte / Wren - 8

Jernspurv / Dunnock - 11

Rødhals / Robin - 45

Gærdesanger / Lesser Whitethtoat – 2

Tornsanger / Whitethroat - 2

Munk / Blackcap – 17

Gransanger / Chiffchaff - 104

Løvsanger / Willow Warbler - 3

Fuglekonge / Goldcrest – 16

Grå fluesnapper / Spotted Flycatcher - 1

Bogfinke /Chaffinch - 2

A consistent, brisk NE wind was a constant through the day but cloud cover came and went with a clear, sunny spell mid-morning before heavy cloud and a few drops of rain arrived; the nets were busy throughout the morning without ever being hectic as we managed 199 new birds comprising mainly 83 Robins, 22 Chiffchaffs, 38 Goldcrests (the first notable arrival of the autumn) and 27 Chaffinches amongst other bits.  

Today's totals - 1 Tree Pipit / Skovpiber;  5 Wren / Gaerdesmutte;  6 Dunnock / Jernspurv;  83 Robin / Roedhals;  2 Song Thrush / Sangdrossel;  11 Blackcap / Munk;  22 Chiffchaff / Gransanger;  1 Willow Warbler / Loevsanger;  38 Goldcrest / Fuglekonge;  1 Spotted Flycatcher / Gra Fluesnapper;  1 Tree Sparrow / Skovspurv;  27 Chaffinch / Bogfinke;  1 Greenfinch / Groenirisk

Goldcrest

The overhead passage was the highlight of the day as it started off pretty slow but as soon as the heavy cloud rolled in after the sunshine at least 5,000 Chaffinches began to pour over the garden, low to the east (an awesome 33,000 were counted at the point!!) – a brilliantly fantastic sight as the sky was sometimes black with birds passing overhead, calling loudly!   Other birds overhead included big flocks of Siskins (4,000+ at the point!) together with Bramblings, Greenfinches, Tree Pipits, Swallows, White Wagtails and Meadow Pipits etc. while odd bits included a decent flock of 50 Cranes calling loudly at dawn when there was also a mixed flock of White-fronted Geese and Bean Geese which headed SW, Grey Wagtail, a few Crossbills, 3 Stock Doves, a Red Kite and a few Sparrowhawks; a fantastic, classic autumn visible migration morning defining what it’s all about!

The very concentrated spell of passage wound down by lunchtime so we headed up to Bøtø where a great flock of 105 Cranes were the most impressive sight while the raptor list was also notable as it comprised 3 White-tailed Eagles, 2 Hen Harriers (including an adult male), a Marsh Harrier, a Rough-legged Buzzard, a Red Kite, a Merlin, probably the same juvenile female Peregrine harassing the ducks and Lapwings then fighting with the Harriers and several Sparrowhawks, Kestrels and Common Buzzards.   Other bits of note were 2 Great White Egrets, 31 Dunlin, 4 Ruff, an Avocet and 7 Barnacle Geese with the Greylags before a drive across the fields north of Gedser produced more of the same with a Rough-legged Buzzard and 2 Hen Harriers with [another?] adult male.

Så er jeg i Gedser igen! :-) Men dog kun for en kort bemærkning, da jeg tager hjem igen mandag.
Da jeg jo ikke har været her, er det jo svært at sige, men jeg har fået at vide at der i dag har været noget mere blæst end de seneste dage! Det lå igennem dagen i øst-nordøstlig retning, og på trods af at vi havde håbet på, at en lille omslag ville være godt, var det en noget sløj morgen i haven... Kun 34 fugle blev det til. Men jeg har nu ingen klager, fordi jeg fik mig en ny mærkeart i form af en fin, ung landsvale!

  Landsvale (Hirundo rustica) Foto: Rasmus Gersholm Momme

Dagens mærkning:
Landsvale - 1

Rødhals - 20

Gærdesanger - 1

Munk - 4

Gransanger - 5

Løvsanger - 1

Fuglekonge - 2

Hvad haven ikke kunne levere, kunne odden derimod, og sammen med østenvinden kom mængder af ænder!
For mig der endnu ikke har oplevet så meget fugletræk, var det en mega fed oplevelse! Over 10.000 ederfugle og over 4000 pibeænder, plus en god sjat andre arter, krydret med Louis' gode beskrivelser og effektive kendetegn!
Der blev også set nogle små kjover, desværre ikke af mig, men dem tager jeg imorgen!

De musefælder som Johanne og Simon har stillet op i formiddags gav en brandmus, men da vi hældte den ned i en spand, hoppede den ligeså let ud igen... så her i aften, beredte med spand 2.0 med hjemmelavet papirslåg, fangede vi en (formentlig den samme) brandmus igen, og kunne denne gang nyde den i lang tid!

Brandmus (Apodemus agrarius). Foto: Rasmus Gersholm Momme

Johanne var så sød at lave æblekage, så jeg er godt færdig med mit andet stykke og er mere end klar til at gå i seng!

Mens de fleste nyder solen og varmen går vi her på fuglestationen og venter på efterårsvejret, det er 16 september og vi venter stadigvæk på den første gode efterårsdag.

På trods af endnu en dag med sol og varme lykkes det os at få ringmærket 67 fugle stærkt domineret af 39 Rødhalse, 7 Munke og 13 Gransangere. Variation af arter var ikke stor i dag og vi har kun mærket 9 arter.

Klokken ni fik vi besøg af et hold fra Højskolen Marielyst som var forbi for at høre om trækfugle, vi kunne kun fremvise Rødhals, Tornsanger og Gransanger for dem da der var lidt aktivitet i haven. Heldigvis er Hans og Benny gode til at fortælle en masse om trækfugle og om arbejdet her på stationen, så jeg er sikker på de gik glade herfra.

Hans og Benny fortæller. Foto: Johanne Øhlers Aagaard

Klokken 11 drog Simon og jeg mod Bøtø for at se om vi kunne være så heldige, at den Sorte stork der i går blev set ved Stevns skulle raste der. Der var ingen Sort stork, til gengæld så vi en Vandrefalk der kom flyvende og derefter landede for at tage et bad. Det var en stor flot hun fra i år som vi længe havde fornøjelsen af. Derudover er det værd at nævne to Dværgfalke, en Havørn, en Brushane, otte Strandhjejler, en Klyde, en Sortklire og fem Sølvhejrer. Efter et par timer kørte vi en tur rundt ved Birkemose på vejen hjem mod stationen for at forsætte Simons jagt på en Steppehøg, som han mangler på hans DK-liste. Vi fandt desværre ikke hverken Steppehøg eller andet spændende.

Efter lidt sen frokost, en is og lidt hvile var vi klar til en gåtur ad poststien, via Birkemose og tilbage langs stranden til Odden. Og endelig fik vi fornemmelsen af efterårsvind på stranden, det var skønt. På turen så vi en god blandet flok vadere som fløj forbi os flere gange, inden de landede så Simon kunne tage billeder og jeg kunne kikke nærmere på dem. I flokken var der lidt af hvert, tre Stenvendere, fire Islandske ryler, tre sandløbere og 11 Almindelig ryle.

Simon tager billeder af flokken med vadefugle på kort afstand. Foto: Johanne Øhlers Aagaard

Almindelig ryle og Sanløber i baggrunden. Foto: Simon Davies

Derudover kom der mange ænder forbi, primært Pibeænder, men der var også et par Krikænder, Spidsænder og Skeænder imellem. Hvor mange arter kan I finde på billedet herunder?

Endnu en flok med lidt af hvert. Pibeand, Krikand, Spidsand og skeand. Foto: Simon Davies

Total 67

Spurvehøg / Sparrowhawk - 1

Gærdesmutte / Wren - 1

Rødhals / Robin - 39

Rødstjert / Redstart - 1

Gærdesanger / Lesser Whitethroat – 3

Tornsanger / Whitethroat - 1

Munk / Blackcap - 7

Gransanger / Chiffchaff - 13

Grå fluesnapper / Spotted Flycatcher - 1

Still sunny and warm with a light easterly breeze. Improved number of birds ringed with a total of 109 new birds, including 49 Robins (mainly early on), 21 Chiffchaffs and 12 Blackcaps and smaller numbers of other warblers. Numbers of Sparrowhawks passing overheard were noticeable with 2 (both males) finding their way into the nets. Two nice surprises occured around 0700 when a Marsh Warbler and a Red-breasted Flycatcher were caught.

Looks like the weather is set to stay wam and sunny over the next few days.

Here are todays totals:-

2 Sparrowhawk / Spurvehøg, 1 Tree Pipit / Skovpiber, 1 Wren / Gærdesmutte, 2 Dunnock / Jernspurv, 49 Robins / Rødhals, 2 Redstarts / Rødstjert, 2 Song Thrushes / Sangdrossel, 1 Marsh Warbler / Kærsanger, 4 Lesser Whitethroats / Gærdesanger, 1 Whitethroat / Tornsanger, 1 Garden Warbler / Havesanger, 12 Blackcaps / Munk, 21 Chiffchaffs / Gransanger, 5 Willow Warblers / Løvsanger, 2 Goldcrests / Fuglekonge, 1 Red-breasted Flycatcher / Lille Fluesnapper, 1 Great Tit / Musvit, 1 Tree Sparrow / Skovspurv.

The definite highlight out on the point after the ringing session was Gedser's second BLACK-SHOULDERED KITE / BLAA GLENTE which flew in from the west around 14:15, headed out to the tip looking like it wanted to go off south before changing its mind and moving back north over Birkemose.

Long distance record shots of the Black-shouldered Kite

Almost exactly the same day again as it was calm, clear, sunny and warm throughout with the easterly wind picking up through the day; the total of 50 new birds in the nets was again very similar to previous days with 16 Robins and 11 Chiffchaffs along with 2 Sparrowhawks and small numbers of other warblers.   There was again some good passage overhead during the first couple of hours with a bit more variety than yesterday including several Crossbill flocks with a steady stream of Chaffinches, Siskins, Redpolls, Linnets, Greenfinches, Tree Pipits, Meadow Pipits, White Wagtails, Yellow Wagtails and Swallows; a Red-throated Diver over the garden heading SW and 2 Honey Buzzards (which may have actually roosted somewhere in the garden) were the only different species.

Today's totals - 2 Sparrowhawk / Spurvehoeg;  1 Wren / Gaerdesmutte;  2 Dunnock / Jernspurv;  16 Robin / Roedhals;  1 Song Thrush / Sangdrossel;  4 Lesser Whitethroat / Gaerdesanger;  1 Whitethroat / Tornsanger;  2 Garden Warbler / Havesanger;  8 Blackcap / Munk;  11 Chiffchaff / Gransanger;  1 Willow Warbler / Loevsanger;  1 Greenfinch / Groenirisk

Sparrowhawk

                The point however (1300-1600) was much busier than previous days with good numbers of birds heading south highlighted by a juvenile Long-tailed Skua which flew past fairly close in; excellent numbers of duck went past in this period as well including 926 Wigeon, 121 Pintail, 116 Teal and 19 Shoveler and a few raptors were also seen – again on a broad front across the fields with my first 2 Rough-legged Buzzards of the autumn, 5 Red Kites, 61 Sparrowhawks, 5 Kestrels and single Honey Buzzard, Common Buzzard and Merlin.

                The most incredible sighting out on the point though was a brilliant PINE MARTEN which ran past me as I was stood right on the tip, it ran in from the north along the cliff top, within two metres of me and carried on round the buildings before diving into the bushes on the tip where it disappeared – a bloody PINE MARTEN, on the point, in the middle of the afternoon, migrating south, ridiculous!   Other birds offshore included 3 Little Gulls, an Arctic Skua, 12 Sandwich Terns, 118 Dunlin and a Snipe; a drive round the fields in the late afternoon looking for Pallid Harriers failed miserably with just a smart male Merlin and a few Common Buzzards of note.

Record shots as the Pine Marten ran past me on the point!

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

Gorgeous weather again today for those people spending their time at Gedser Odde on holiday, but not so good for the poor English ringer.  I've said that, but it is always good to ring in a different area and with good company.

Today has again been sunny with clear skies, but with the wind still coming  from the east and freshening in the afternoon.

When bird numbers are low it does give us time to look at the birds more closer. An example is the Song Thrushes / Sangdrossel caught over the last few days. In the UK our resident Song Thrushes are from a separate subspecies, Turdus philomelos clarkei. The nominate T. philomelos philomelos occurs in Northern Europe and Scandinavia. There are subtle differences in plumage with the clarkei  birds having a warmer brown tone to the upperparts with warmer buff flanks. In central England we tend to start catching greyer Song Thrushes from November onwards, when the Redwings arrive. It is nice to see the philomelos birds and confirm my thoughts about the origin of our winter visitors.

Here are the totals from Gedser today:

1 Sparrowhawk / Spurvehøg, 20 Robins / Rødhals, 1 Redstart / Rødstjert, 1 Song Thrush / Sangdrossel, 4 Lesser Whiethroats / Gærdesanger, 1 Whitethroat / Tornsanger, 1 Garden Warbler / Havesanger, 8 Blackcaps / Munk, 11 Chiffchaffs / Gransanger, 2 Willow Warblers / Gransanger, 2 Goldcrests / Fuglekonge, 1 Chaffinch / Bogfinke, 2 Greenfinches / Grønirisk

The weather continues to be warm and sunny with little cloud today. The easterly breeze picked up late morning onwards. The nets were a bit more productive than yesterday with 54 new birds and only a handful of recaptures. Robins still dominated the catch.

Today's total of birds ringed:-

1 Tree Pipit / Skovpiber; 29 Robins / Rødhals; 3 Redstarts / Rødstjert; 1 Song Thrush / Sangdrossel; 3 Lesser Whitethroat / Gærdesanger; 7 Blackcap / Munk; 4 Chiffchaff / Gransanger; 1  Willow Warbler / Løvsanger; 1 Goldcrest / Fuglekonge; 2 Spotted Flycatcher / Grå Fluesnapper; 2 Tree Sparrow / Skovspurv

Sunny and calm still but with some high cloud and a gentle breeze which swung right round the long way from southerly to easterly through the day; the nets were very quiet especially when compared to yesterday (there were many re-traps of yesterday’s birds) with 29 new birds caught including a Sparrowhawk, 2 Tree Pipits and 3 Redstarts.   Siskins were again the dominant species overhead along with Sparrowhawk, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Tree Pipit etc.

Ringing totals today - 1 Sparrowhawk / Spurvehoeg;  2 Tree Pipit / Skovpiber;  1 Wren / Gaerdesmutte;  10 Robin / Roedhals;  3 Redstart / Roedstjert;  1 Song Thrush / Sangdrossel;  1 Lesser Whitethroat  / Tornsanger;  1 Garden Warbler / Havesanger;  3 Blackcap / Munk;  2 Chiffchaff / Gransanger;  1 Greenfinch / Groenirisk;  1 Siskin / Groensisken;  1 Yellowhammer / Gulspurv

Sparrowhawk

                The afternoon’s main feature was good numbers of raptors passing through (probably the highest numbers so far this autumn); my totals – from walking across the fields to the north of Gedser (1300-1630) comprised 110+ Sparrowhawks, 13 Honey Buzzards, 10 Common Buzzards, 23+ Kestrels, 3 Marsh Harriers and single Osprey, Merlin and Hobby but these totals are a little snapshot of the numbers which passed through as they were moving on a very broad front and many other raptor shaped dots were in the distance either side of me!   The only other bird of note was a male Serin which was flying around the garden and Birkemose late afternoon.

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