[on the way to] GEDSER, 14th - 15th July

A couple of days spent slowly travelling across to Gedser in Denmark where I will be spending the autumn; I arrived for the ferry at Harwich in the afternoon of the 14th where a little walk along the coast produced a few waders including a Greenshank, 25+ Bar-tailed Godwits and a few Ringed Plover, Dunlin and Turnstone although the highlight was a Norwegian ringed Oystercatcher with a green and white darvic ring.

                Caught the ferry from Harwich to Hoek van Holland in the morning of the 15th; the crossing was pretty quiet for birds – it was very calm, sunny and mid-July so not really surprising!   Birds seen though included an adult Mediterranean Gull while still in the harbour, one flock of 13 Whimbrel south, two Swifts over the ferry about halfway across and totals of 33 Gannets, 12 Kittiwakes and 29 Fulmars with good numbers of Common and Sandwich Terns just off the harbour in The Netherlands.

 

Turnstones in Harwich

Bar-tailed Godwits also in Harwich

Norwegian ringed Oystercatcher - T406 was ringed as a chick at Sola, near Stavanger in 2013

Adult Mediterranean Gull from the ferry before we had left the port

Lesser Black-backed Gull also from the ferry in Harwich