GEDSER - 3rd August

Again, bright and breezy but this time it soon degenerated into cloudy, rainy and windy; the nets were open until 0930 when persistent rain moved in but we managed 41 new birds including 7 Icterine Warblers, 6 Marsh Warblers and a little influx of 4 Pied Flycatchers.

                The rain more or less moved through by lunchtime so a look out from the point (1330-1445) produced a few little bits with a 6 Shoveler, a Teal, 11 Tufted Ducks, 18 Common Scoter, a Goldeneye, 5 Grey Plover, a Dunlin, a Curlew, 2 Whimbrel and an adult Little Gull heading south with the juvenile Black Guillemot was still present.   The main feature though was a fantastic gathering of 500+ Swifts over the point obviously reluctant to continue south over the sea in the poor weather; quite a few did head out across the water towards Germany but the majority were just wheeling around, low over the fields and the station – brilliant!

                Opened the nets again briefly in the afternoon producing another Pied Flycatcher, a couple of Icterine Warblers and a juvenile Black Redstart amongst a few other bits but the weather closed in again forcing us to close once again.