GEDSER - 23rd August

A real change in the weather with overnight rain and a switch in the wind to the west; hopes were high that this change would produce good numbers of birds but it was a pretty quiet morning with just 33 new birds with the autumn’s first Sparrowhawk and a Thrush Nightingale the highlights.   A Green Sandpiper bounced out of the nets around the pond.

                An excellent hour spent on the tower hide at Bøtø at lunchtime produced a brilliant array of birds with good numbers of waders including a Temminck’s Stint (a Danish tick!), 3 juvenile Little Stints, a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper, 20+ Wood Sandpipers, 12+ Ruff, 2 Spotted Redshanks, 6 Greenshank, 2 Whimbrel, 2 Little Ringed Plovers and 10 Snipe.   Ducks had also increased as well with counts of 459 Teal, 18 Wigeon, 40 Gadwall, 25 Shoveler and a single Pintail made.

                It was also excellent for raptors with a Honey Buzzard drifting over the trees, a female Hen Harrier quartering the fields, 2 White-tailed Eagles, a Hobby, 2 Sparrowhawks chasing Yellow Wagtails and several Kestrels and Marsh Harriers (an Osprey was seen heading south over the fields to the north of Gedser on the drive back).   Other birds in no particular order included 8 Cranes, 4 Great White Egrets, at least 6 Water Rails, a Wryneck hopping along at the base of the reeds, a single Garganey, some Bearded Tits in the reeds, some Crossbills heard going over and another yellow darvic ringed Cormorant but it was too far away to read.

 

Sparrowhawk