Whilst many of the birds have now left Gedser to escape the clutches of winter, there is still enough passing through to keep us on our toes. Over recent days whilst many species have been seen in fewer and fewer numbers, Blackbirds (Solsort) is one of the few that is bucking this trend. Each morning we ring around 6 or 7 which makes then the commonest bird in the nets at the moment. Such is winter...

Blackbird (Solsort) -  This is a nice example of  a young male who has completed his post juvenile moult (where some old brown feathers are kept and some changed to new black ones). This is an easy way to tell the age, where an adult would be completely black.  

Many of these birds will spend the winter in western europe and these scandinavian blackbirds bolster the resident populations in places like the UK, where every winter I see the, smaller local birds trying to defend their territories from these visitors. Danish birds are generally longer winged and heavier so are possible to identify.

Overhead passage has been dominated by Barnacle Geese (Bramgås) and Whooper Swans (Sangsvane) which are now moving in good numbers. The flock of Bramgås that has taken up temporary residence in the fields around the fuglestation remains and is currently 600+ large. Sangsvane travel in smaller numbers (10 - 20) but are as noisy with their distinctive calls alerting us to their presence. Incredibly, they travel in a close knit family group all the way to the wintering grounds. This is so the juveniles learn the migration route and don't get lost. We look forward to more of them filling the skies with sound and music.

Today's Ringing Numbers: 

People at the station: Henrik Jørgensen, Daniel Whitelegg, Ole Friis Larsen