GEDSER - 30th September

Same same again with strong winds and clouds coming and going but with occasional heavy showers scudding through in the afternoon; the ringing was even quieter with only 8 new birds caught including a young male Sparrowhawk.   There was more activity overhead though with several each of Tree Pipit and Grey Wagtail with decent flocks of Chaffinch, Brambling, Siskin, White Wagtails and Meadow Pipits passing over the garden.

                I headed off mid-morning for a walk up the coast but I failed to find any eastern vagrants but there were good flocks of Chiffchaffs and Goldcrests in the forest which contained pretty much nothing else; there was more passing south along the coast though with big flocks of Siskins the main feature (3,000 were counted at the point through the day) along with a few Crossbill flocks amongst smaller numbers of other Finches and Pipits.   An Osprey and 4 Honey Buzzards also went south while there were several Rough-legged Buzzards and Red Kites across the fields just drifting about.

                Little else through the afternoon with 3 Black Redstarts in the harbour and another couple of each of Honey Buzzard and Rough-legged Buzzard during a drive along the lanes criss-crossing the fields to the north of Gedser.

 

Honey Buzzard

Black Redstart

Kestrel

Baby Grass Snake

Red Admiral

 

GEDSER - 29th September

Seems like we’re stuck in another Groundhog Day scenario as it was a pretty identical day to yesterday with a howling force 8 south-easterly backing south-westerly and overcast skies; the ringing was also very similar with 16 new birds which included a nice first year Kestrel.   The big gull flock feeding in the fields just in front of the garden produced the highlights as it contained a classic 1st winter Caspian Gull and a 2nd winter Mediterranean Gull while a single Red Kite overhead was the only other bird of note.

                There was little different at Bøtø at lunchtime with 3 Hen Harriers, a Marsh Harrier, 2 White-tailed Eagles, c80 Cranes and 2 Spotted Redshanks with the usual large numbers of birds while the following drive around the fields just produced 39 Barnacle Geese at Kroghage of note.

 

Kestrel

Buzzard

Hooded Crow

Rook

Barnacle Geese

 

GEDSER - 28th September

Overcast with a blazing force 7-8 south-easterly wind which meant that, perhaps for the first time it actually felt like autumn but the conditions severely limited how many nets we could open as we only just managed to carry out a standardised session; the very meagre total of 15 new birds caught did however include another smart first winter Red-breasted Flycatcher.

                Not too much else to mention in difficult conditions (sunny and bright in the afternoon but the strong wind remained) with 3 Rough-legged Buzzards, 3 Red Kites and a smattering of Kestrels and Sparrowhawk across the fields north of Gedser before a walk up the coast just produced 2 Rock Pipits and a Wheatear on the beach.

 

Rock Pipits

Common Gulls

Hooded Crow

 

GEDSER - 27th September

An awesome start to the morning, the kind of morning that makes every autumn worthwhile; very calm and overcast with the garden full of calling Robins and Goldcrests from before dawn while overhead there was the constant calls of Song Thrushes and Redwings – fantastic!   The ringing was predictably very busy with an excellent 487 new birds caught – although it tailed off after mid-morning when the sun came out turning the day once again warm and tropical.

                The total was dominated by 178 Goldcrests, 114 Chiffchaffs and 100 Robins along with 40 Wrens and 17 Song Thrushes while the highlights were another Yellow-browed Warbler and another Red-breasted Flycatcher.

                There wasn’t much time for much else but random birds over the garden included several Grey Wagtails with small numbers of Chaffinches, Bramblings, Siskins, Redpolls, Tree Pipits, Meadow Pipits and Skylarks etc. while raptors included Red Kite and Rough-legged Buzzard with a handful of Sparrowhawks and Kestrels.

 

Red-breasted Flycatcher

Chiffchaffs

 

GEDSER - 26th September

Warm and tropical still with light winds and some high cloud which thickened by late afternoon; another good total of 111 new birds were caught through the morning with the highlights consisting of 2 Firecrests and a first winter Red-breasted Flycatcher, these came in amongst a good arrival of 63 Chiffchaffs whereas a total of 22 new Robins was relatively low (many of yesterday’s birds were re-trapped).

                Overhead passage was quite light through the first half of the morning but a few raptors started to appear by mid-morning so I had a little watch from the NW corner of the garden (1040-1240) which produced a steady trickle of birds including 12 Rough-legged Buzzards, 6 Honey Buzzards, 23 Sparrowhawks, an adult male Hen Harrier, 4 Red Kites, 7 Common Buzzards, a Merlin and 5 Kestrels; there were also many passerines (and others) heard overhead including Chaffinch (with the typical rush of birds late morning with c550 today), Brambling, Siskin, Skylark (the first day with multiple birds going over), Meadow Pipit, Coal Tit, Yellowhammer, Swallow, White Wagtail, Grey Wagtail (one), Dunlin, Grey Plover and Ringed Plover.

                Re-opened some nets in the afternoon and finally finally caught a Yellow-browed Warbler (it certainly took its time with the hundreds and hundreds in Western Europe at the moment!) along with a few more Chiffchaffs, Robins and Chaffinches while another 3 Rough-legged Buzzards went over the garden.

 

Yellow-browed Warbler

Second year female and first year male Sparrowhawks

Rough-legged Buzzards

 

GEDSER - 25th September

Still warm and sunny with a noticeable easterly breeze but there were again good numbers of birds in the nets despite the far from ideal ringing conditions with 140 new birds caught through the morning with the highlight being a smart Firecrest; numbers were made up of 83 Robins and 30 Chiffchaffs with small numbers of other things such as Song Thrush, Brambling and Chaffinch.   Other birds overhead included a group of 5 Mistle Thrush, a single Honey Buzzard, a short burst of 500+ Chaffinches which went east over the garden late morning and a few Bramblings, Siskins, Greenfinches, Tree Pipits and Swallows.

                I didn’t really do much else in the afternoon with a short watch across the fields from the front gate at lunchtime producing a group of 3 Rough-legged Buzzards which headed east and a handful of Sparrowhawks and Kestrels.

 

Firecrest

Kestrel

Hare

 

GEDSER - 24th September

Another late September warm, tropical day with clear skies, light winds and more or less wall to wall sunshine; there were good numbers of birds in the nets with 139 new birds caught, with the bulk made up of 47 Robins, 18 Chiffchaffs and a good 23 Bramblings (mainly from a big flock of 100+ in the garden late morning tempted down with playback); also caught was the first Coal Tit and Reed Bunting of the autumn, a smart frosty looking Northern-type Treecreeper, a Nuthatch and another 2 Sparrowhawks.

                There were a few other bits around through the morning including a big flock of 300+ Barnacle Geese which came in from the east and flew around the fields for a while, the first Mistle Thrush of the autumn, a Red Kite swooping into the garden and some decent flocks of Bramblings passing over with smaller numbers of Chaffinches, Siskins, Swallows, White Wagtails, Meadow Pipits etc.

                Not much else to report through the day with a little drive round the fields to the north of Gedser producing 2 White-tailed Eagles and single Rough-legged Buzzard, Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard and Red Kite but none of them came very close.

 

Treecreeper

Coal Tit

Gulls following the plough

 

GEDSER - 23rd September

A pleasant morning, bright with light southerly winds and varying amounts of cloud coming and going and a warm, sunny afternoon; a decent total of 111 new birds were caught through the morning again dominated by 48 Robins and 36 Chiffchaffs with the usual others thrown in but the overhead passage was almost non-existent with hardly anything seen over the garden with the notable exception of a Hawfinch which circled a few times calling away.

                A little look at Bøtø at lunchtime produced the usual array of nice birds including 20+ Cranes, a couple of Rough-legged Buzzards, a Hen Harrier, 3 Merlins (including a lovely adult male which landed in the water for a drink), 4+ White-tailed Eagles, 2 Spotted Redshanks, 3 Ruff and a few Sparrowhawks drifting south before a drive across the fields to the north of Gedser produced a further 8 Rough-legged Buzzards and a Honey Buzzard lazily heading vaguely south.  

                A very brief look at the point mid-afternoon then saw 4 more Rough-legged Buzzards and an Osprey heading more determinedly south before a few nets opened in the evening saw a few more Robins and Chiffchaffs caught along with two Sparrowhawks including a cracking adult male.

 

Adult male Sparrowhawk

Rough-legged Buzzards

Honey Buzzard

Sparrowhawk