GEDSER - 16th September

Same same again in the morning – calm, clear, sunny and warm but there were fewer birds in the nets with 67 new birds caught made up of 39 Robins, 13 Chiffchaffs and 7 Blackcaps amongst others; the morning’s highlight was an Ortolan which flew low over the garden calling along with smaller numbers of Chaffinches, Siskins, Redpolls, Tree Pipits etc.

                We finished ringing a bit earlier as numbers dropped off rapidly and went for a look at Bøtø before the sun went round to blind anyone looking east; the highlight was probably a total of 86 Cranes (two flocks of 50 and 36) which flew south.   There were a few waders passing through with flocks dropping in, often literally for a few seconds before heading off including 55+ Dunlin, 2 Knot, a Ruff, a Spotted Redshank, 9 Grey Plover and 5 Bar-tailed Godwits.   Raptors comprised 2 Merlins, a beast of a juvenile female Peregrine which landed in the water, a White-tailed Eagle, a couple of Sparrowhawks and distant Red Kite and Rough-legged Buzzard while other birds included 4 Great White Egrets, the two resident Cranes and plenty of ducks.

                The easterly wind really picked up in the afternoon with quite extensive cloud cover and a walk up the beach produced a few more waders on the beach with 4 Knot, 3 Sanderling, 13 Dunlin, 3 Turnstone, 2 Grey Plover and 4 Oystercatchers while offshore 700+ Wigeon went south in big flocks with small numbers of Pintail, Teal and Shoveler with the first 5 Brent Geese of the autumn.

 

Cranes

Sanderling

Dunlin and Sanderling

Mixed ducks