Ringmærkningen: Conditions were too rainy and windy for ringing today. Hans came by the station today and picked up the nets taken down by Henrik earlier this week. 

Trækket på Odden: Sea foam tossed up by the high winds littered my path as I walked to the tip before sunrise this morning. These high winds were set to continue for the duration of the count, so I sought shelter in the Marine Station. Very few birds counted by me today. A flock of Bean Geese/Sædgås was a nice treat, flying by relatively close. Also several Razorbill/Alk recorded. A solo count for me today meant that I had to find ways to entertain myself with the low number of migrating birds. Singing 80's songs seemed to do the trick. Depeche Mode and Duran Duran, mostly. Apologies to any beach goers for my pitchy renditions (particularly my version of Personal Jesus), but I hoped the blankets of rain and strong wind drowned me out. The weather is forecast to be similarly galey over the coming days, but we will see if the wind blows in anything exciting. 

Se alle dagens observationer fra Gedser Odde i DOFbasen.

Folk på stationen: Larissa Britton, Lara Winsloe, Ole Friis Larsen, og Henrik Jørgensen

Ringmærkningen:

Da nettene skulle op regnede de, så de kom først op 7.30. Vinden var lige på kanten og allerede 8.30 valgte vi at lukke da der kom regn og vinden havde taget lidt til.

Heldigvis var det ikke forgæves da en enkelt solsort gik i det ene af de 5 net.

I morgen ser det ud til at der ikke  kan sættes net op pga alt for meget vind.

Dagens ringmærkning/Todays ringing:

Solsort/Blackbird 1

Migration:

by Lara W

Today brought a total of 2,609 birds of 30 species on migration past Gedser Odde, plus a fair number of resting birds out to sea (Common Eider/Ederfugl being the most prevalent at approximately 2,500 individuals). 1 Sparrowhawk/Spurvehøg, a White-tailed Eagle/Havørn, 1 Common Buzzard/Musvåge, 6 Snow Bunting/Snespurv, and 600 Golden Plover/Hjejle were also counted around the point, although not actually migrating.

The activity of the Eider once again commanded most of our attention. A similar number to yesterday were out resting at sea, seemingly unconcerned by the choppy waves brought by the rather high winds. Two pairs of Eider we observed close to shore even performed courtship displays, which are commonly performed both in and out of the breeding season. Both males displayed what has been dubbed “Cooing-movement 1 and Bill-toss” (see the images below and accompanying references if you are interested to learn more), which has been noted in Common Eider and Spectacled Eider/Brilleederfugl. A rapid backward toss of the head so it invariably touches the back, causing the chest and neck to raise upwards, displaying their rather striking pink feathers in this region. The movement is often accompanied by a cooing ak-kooo call, although sadly the birds were drowned out by the rather violent crashing of the waves so we were unable to hear if they made these sounds. In any case, the two female birds seemed pleasantly entertained, responding with bill-tosses of their own to these attentions.

Above: Image showing a Common Eider/Ederfugl performing “Cooing-movement 1”, taken from Johnsgard, P.A., “Comparative Behaviour and Relationships of the Eiders” (1964), Papers in Ornithology, 63.

Still taken from a youtube video (credit to Michael Billerbeck – Birds & Nature) illustrating the Cooing-movement 1 behaviour as described in the paper above (Johnsgard, 1964). 

Other birds of note on migration were 10 Whooper Swan/Sangsvane; 4 Gannet/Sule, one of which sped by extremely quickly, looking rather like a finned torpedo; 3 Black-throated Diver/Sortstrubet Lom; 19 Red Kite/Rød Glente; 353 Brambling/Kvækerfinke, and 755 Siskin/Grønsisken.

In those moments of relative peace, we watched the skies. Strong winds scudded the clouds and rain showers along above us, we saw a brief hail/snow downpouring off to the north-west as a sheet of white against the grey cloud behind, even a rainbow came out to say hello. The waters remained stubbornly opaque, a kind of soapy green topped with white crests for the most part, though the skies above changed colour as often as blinking. Sulphur yellow, white gold, payne’s gray, ultramarine, slate and pink and cerulean and chalk.

Skies over Gedser Odde, photo credit: Lara W

På stationen: Lara Winsloe, Larissa Britton, Henrik Jørgensen

Ringing: 

Due to fairly strong winds, none of the nets were opened at the station today. As the season for standard ringing is almost over, Henrik took the opportunity to take down all the nets barring 5, and he also powered through all the data checking, so we are now fully up to date! Thanks Henrik!

Migration count at Gedser Odde:

We had an exceptional day at the point, particular with regards to the number of Common Eider/Ederfugl on migration. A total of 15,402 Eider were counted migrating, with a further 2,400 resting on the sea, a remarkable number for November. Sometimes, when the birds rest on the sea like this, we see them almost circling around - flying south for a little ways only to come back north, or simply moving a few hundred metres from one "restaurant" to another. We made doubly sure that those birds counted "migrating" were absolutely moving purposefully south. The numbers were truly incredible, and at one point, the pilot boat chugged its way right across the area of the sea where we had spotted most of the Eider resting - a veritable swarm of birds arose, stacked perhaps 20m off the water and stretching for 300m at least north-south. These birds came back down to rest after the boat had passed, but it gave us a much better idea of just how many birds were resting on the water. We think this vast number of Eider have finally been pushed to migrate south (as numbers have been significantly lower for a good fortnight or more) by approaching low pressure from further north in the Baltic Sea. 

In total, 17,242 birds of 24 species were counted migrating; as stated above, the vast majority of these were Eider. However, larger numbers of Common Scoter/Sortand and Long-tailed Duck/Havlit were also seen migrating, with 930 and 358 counted respectively. Red-breasted Merganser/Toppet Skallesluger were also seen in good numbers (287), along with a few less common species such as Red-necked Grebe/Gråstrubet Lappedykker (4) and Razorbill/Alk (22). 

A single Gannet/Sule was spotted relatively close to shore, plus 14 Great White Egret/Sølvhejre, which at first glance I thought were Swans/Svaner, given they flew from the north low over the water - every other time we have seen this species over the point, they have flown much higher and only in flocks of up to 6. 

Great White Egret/Sølvhejre on migration at Gedser Odde, approximately 1km off-shore. Photo credit: LAH

All in all, a very blustery morning with plenty of birdlife to distract us from our increasingly numb fingers and toes! 

People at the station: Larissa Britton, Henrik Jørgensen, Lara Winsloe

Ringmærkningen: 

Der var lidt mere vind i dag så igen forblev nogle få net lukket da de fanger for mange blade.

Det var helt stille i haven med fugle så de net som ikke var oppe blev taget ned for i år.

Der var også tid til at få lavet datatjek mellem runderne, så der er nu kun det som er i de 2 mapper tilbage.

I dag var sidste dag med standardringmærkning, så fra i morgen vil de fleste net blive taget ned for i år, men nogle få forbliver oppe til en gang slut december alt efter vejret.

Om lidt vil vi tage lidt flere net ned da de lover skidt vejr med både kraftig blæst og regn den næste uges tid.

Vejret den næste uges tid ser skidt ud for fangst i haven, men forhåbenligt kan der komme et enkelt net op.

Dagens ringmærkninger og kontrol/Todays ringing and recapture:

Fuglekonge/Goldcrest 1

Rødhals/Robin 1

Solsort/Blackbird 1(1)

Total 3(1)

Trækket på Odden: Today, it was just Louis and I at the tip (we were missing Ole and Lara). The weather was not as pleasant as yesterday, but a greater movement of birds for which I was grateful. We had yet another (!) Great Northern Diver/Islom – the third counted at the tip over the last month. Then, a burst of avian activity. Louis heard a Serin/Gulirisk in a flock of Twite/Bjergirisk, making us jump to our feet. Then, a Hen Harrier/Blå kærhøg interrupted our chatting as it flew just metres from us. Almost simultaneously, we heard a Snow Bunting/Snespurv as it flew by. A really exhilarating few minutes. Later on, we heard and observed two more Snow Bunting, though these individuals were not migrating. Near the end of the count, we had a group of 13 Red Kite/Rød glente fly overhead, which was a perfect conclusion to a sweet morning of quality birding.

Se alle dagens observationer fra Gedser Odde i DOFbasen.

Folk på stationen: Larissa Britton og Henrik Jørgensen

Ringmærkningen: 

Der var lidt vind så nogle få net der var udsat for vind(og så også en masse blade) blev ikke åbnet.

Der var meget stille da nettene skulle op så vi vidste at det nok ville blive en ret stille dag. Stille blev det så også for der var kun fugle på første runde og de 2 sidste.

Da jeg havde god tid kunne jeg vaske fugleposer(som også bliver brugt om 2 dage når nettene skal pakkes ned i dem).

Lara og hendes forældre tog til København, men Lara er tilbage i morgen eftermiddag/aften.

Der loves 8 m/s vind i morgen så det bliver ikke alle net som kommer op på dagens sidste standarddag.

Trækket på Odden: I took over the count from Ole at around 9:30 today, just as the cloud was lifting. Conditions cleared up nicely, but the light made it tricky to sex Eiders, for example. There was good raptor movement this morning, with Sparrowhawk/Spurvehøg, Red Kite/Rød Glente, Common Buzzard/Musvåge, one Rough-legged Buzzard/Fjeldvåge, and a single Hen Harrier/Blå kærhøg. I had good views of Gannet/Sule, too. Ole and I recorded a single late Sandwich Tern/Splitterne, as well. Once back at the station, we had a sleepy afternoon. We also went to collect some firewood to light the fire. With my hands full of logs, I went to return to the house but stacked it and fell backwards. Henrik and I laughed, but now come to think of it, my leg hurts... 

Ringmærkningen: Et hurtigt kig på dagens vejr meldte om kommende regn i løbet af standardtiden, men vi satte næsten alt op da det kun var lyseblåt på radaren (let regn). Det dryppede kun men en times tid kom der lidt regn men heldigvis så lidt at vi sagtens kunne fortsætte.

Fuglekonge havde vi kun 1 af i dag, det har ellers været en af dem som vi har fanget flest af de sidste mange dage.

Hans var en kort tur forbi fuglestationen.

Lara og hendes forældre kørte en tur til Lolland ved middag.

I morgen skulle det holde tørt, men med lidt mere vind (dog ikke meget).

Efter middag kom Tina ud på fuglestationen så vi alle kunne få handlet da vi var løbet tør, stort tak for det!

Trækket på Odden: Morgenen startede smukt med en glødende solopgang mellem skyerne over havet, og der var fuld knald på farverne i nogle få øjeblikke, før det hele lukkede til, og vejrradarens varsel om regn forekom realistisk. Vi endte med at få et par timers finregn og ellers gråt i gråt gennem de fem timer. Det betød ikke, at det blev en kedelig dag.

Selv om dagens tal endte i den lave ende af skalaen med lige under 1.900 fugle fordelt på 30 arter, var det smukt at se lidt Spurvehøge (Accipiter nisus) flyve ud over havet. En af dem var endda så venlig at lande og stå til skue et øjeblik på græsset ved klinten, en stor gråblå hun med ravfarvede øjne, næsten som en Duehøg (Accipiter gentilis). På et andet tidspunkt fortrød en gruppe på 8 Røde Glenter (Milvus milvus) deres udtræk, vendte om og satte sig et stort træ i haven til en af gårdene i baglandet. Da de senere lettede, sluttede de sig til 29 nye Røde Glenter, og alle 37 trak ud i samlet flok, meget smukt.

I havtrækket var der god underholdning og udfordring for dagens hold – Lara, hendes far Mark og undertegnede – i mere end et halvt hundrede lommer, godt med skalleslugere, hvoraf de Toppede Skalleslugere (Mergus merganser) nåede op over 200, og endnu en pæn dag for de lysryggede Bjergænder (Aaythya marila), som nåede over 100 i tætte flokke. Værd at bemærke var også trækket på næsten 100 Fløjlsænder (Melanitta fusca).

Træk af Bjergænder er et forholdsvis almindeligt syn ved Gedser Odde i det sene efterår, men intensiteten har de seneste dage været usædvanlig på dette tidspunkt af november. De røde søjler viser trækket i dette efterår, de grønne søjler sidste års træk, og kurven er gennemsnittet over flere år. De seneste dages træk svarer til gennemsnittet midt i december og ligger desuden langt over sidste  års mere beskedne træk af Bjergænder. Grafik: Trektellen

Se alle dagens observationer fra Gedser Odde i DOFbasen.

 Folk på stationen: Lara Winsloe, Laras forældre, Larissa Britton, Henrik Jørgensen, Ole Friis Larsen.

Ringmærkningen:

af Larissa Britton

Another day with lower expectations (regarding number totals) has surprised us. As with previous days, we had some time in between rounds, so Henrik utilised this productively and did some data checking. I, on the other hand, used this time to catch some zzz's - rest is productive, too.

Whilst extracting a couple of Goldcrest/Fuglekonge, we both watched as a Eurasian Treecreeper/Træløber flew straight into the net (the first Træløber ringed in Denmark was in 1922, according to The Danish Bird Migration Atlas). Other than this, the usual suspects today: Blackbird/Solsort, Robin/Rødhals, Dunnock/Jernspurv, Wren/Gærdesmutte, and a single Redwing/Vindrossel. As always, I keep a holistic eye out around the gardens for other flora and fauna - and fungi. Today, a nice species of Waxcap/Vokshat (Hygrocybe, pictured below).

After the count, Lara and I met with Ole, Tina, and Mads, to discuss our return to the station next Spring. Much to our delight, they brought Cinnamon cake to said meeting - lækkert!

Hygrocybe sp., foto: Larissa Britton

Trækket på Odden: 

by Lara W

A little less fog and a few more birds today at the point, with a total of 2,660 birds counted of 32 species. There were also quite a number of birds resting on the sea, most of which were Common Eider/Ederfugl (925), although there were also a few Long-tailed Duck/Havlit dotted amongst them.

1,263 Eider/Ederfugl were counted migrating, along with 557 Scaup/Bjergand, 274 Common Scoter/Sortand, 94 Long-tailed Duck/Havlit, 41 Velvet Scoter/Fløjlsand, and 16 Goldeneye/Hvinand. 3 Great Crested Grebe/Toppet Lappedykker, 14 Red-throated Diver/Rødstrubet Lom and 5 Black-throated Diver/Sortstrubet Lom also made an appearance.

A few raptors made the drop today, with 4 Rough-Legged Buzzard/Fjeldvåge, 4 Sparrowhawk/Spurvehøg, 2 Red Kite/Rød Glente, and a single 1K/1cy Hen Harrier/Blå Kærhøg spotted migrating, although 3 other Red Kite/Rød Glente approached the cliffs but eventually decided against it today. We did spot a very smart looking Black Redstart/Husrødstjert perched in a bush nearby, which Ole managed to photograph after much sneaky stalking (see below)!

Black Redstart/Husrødstjert. Photo credit: Ole Friis Larsen. 

There was a small disaster today that absolutely needs to be reported. As I reached into my rucksack for my coffee mug, my trusty Thermos flask fell out, and with a somewhat pathetic sound of demise, smashed to the ground. I still had hope, right up until I unscrewed the cap to find the inner glass tube had broken into a thousand jagged pieces. Having rushed myself to hospital at one point in the past after determinedly eating homemade jam from a broken jar (I clearly didn’t die as I am sitting here writing this rather long and involved story (you’re welcome)), I decided against using the flask. It was definitely a good day for my father to have visited from the UK, as he very soon after returned to the station to retrieve a replacement thermos – five hours is, afterall, quite a long time to sit without coffee on a cold and blustery cliff.  Thanks Dad :)

En meget mørk Hvid Vipstjert (Motacilla alba), som ledte efter mad på stranden sammen med to andre meget lysere Hvide Vipstjerter viste sig ved nærmere undersøgelse at være den britiske underart yarrellii, som åbenbart har taget en stor omvej i sit træk mod varmere himmelstrøg. Foto: Ole Friis Larsen/GFU

Se alle dagens observationer fra Gedser Odde i DOFbasen.

Folk på stationen: Lara Winsloe, Lara's Family, Larissa Britton, Henrik Jørgensen, Mads Elley, Tina Elley, og Ole Friis Larsen

Ringmærkningen: 

Vi tjekkede både vejrmelding og radar da der var lovet regn, og begge viste at der ville komme regn så derfor satte vi ikke alt op. 

Vi hørte kun en solsort og en vindrossel da vi satte nettene op så vi tænkte at det ville blive en af de stille dage.

Første runde gav som altid de fleste fugle og allerede der var der flere end vi havde regnet med sammenlagt for dagen.

Regnen udeblev og det ligger nu og snurrer rundt over Lolland.

Tina og Anne-Marie var forbi fuglestationen et par timer og Anne-Marie fik hentet lidt mangler til os så nu kan vi klare resten af året.

Lige efter nettene var lukket tog vi de 2 net ved søen ned for i år, så nu er der kun havens net tilbage.

Snart kommer Lara med sine forældre som skal være her i nogle dage.

Vindrossel, 2K+, foto: Larissa Britton

Se alle dagens observationer fra Gedser Odde i DOFbasen.

På fuglestationen: Larissa Britton, Henrik Jørgensen, Lara Winsloe, Lara's Family, og Ole Friis Larsen

Ringmærkningen: Steady ringing today, with a strong total of 50 birds. We had no rounds with zero birds this morning, which is always a plus. Another Blackbird/Solsort-filled day, with 15 new birds ringed. We decided, as we were still hearing flocks of Siskin/Grønsisken during our closing round, to continue ringing after the standard time and see what we could catch. We were lucky and caught another six Siskin (we had one during our standard time). With the quieter days, we have time to get some administrative tasks done in preparation for Winter and the end of standard ringing. Two nets, that were not seeing much action or use, were taken down by Henrik and put away in storage for the next season.

This morning, I heard both Fieldfare/Sjagger and Redpolls/Gråsisken, so I hope some time in the near future to ring my first of these species (fingers crossed!).

Trækket på Odden:

by Lara W

Winter is definitely upon us. After weeks of unseasonably warm days, the chill is now pervasive, the wind bracing - now is the season of frozen toes through double-layered socks, nostril icicles, and fingers that refuse to turn the zoom dial on binoculars fast enough (it was probably a Merganser, let's face it). 

It was slim pickings at the point today. An absolutely abysmal seawatch was gratefully supplemented by a bumper crop of Siskin/Grønsisken, of which 1,470 were counted. Additionally, 555 Brambling/Kvækefinke, 3 Reed Bunting/Rørspurv, 10 Starling/Stær and 3 Goldcrest/Fuglekonge helped make the total up to 2,563 birds, represening 32 species in all across standard time. 

A couple of Red Kite/Rød Glente, a male Hen Harrier/Blå Kærhøg, and a single Sparrowhawk/Spurvehøg were the only raptors seen passing. Gulls/Måger provided most of the action, with 59 Common gull/Stormmåge, 4 Caspian gull/Kaspisk måge, 11 Herring gull/Sølvmåge and 8 Black-headed gull/Hættemåge counted. We were also blessed to see two pairs of Kittiwake/Ride pass us, all 1k/1cy birds! First calendar year birds are identifiable by the inky black "W" shape on the wing upperparts, and the white crown which contrasts with the strongly demarcated black bar on the hindneck. The short, delicate black legs and feet are a relative oddity amongst the common cohort of gulls sporting yellowish or pinkish legs around the point. 

1st calendar year(1K/1cy) Kittiwake/Ride seen on migration off Gedser Odde this morning. Photo credits: LAH. 

Se alle dagens observationer fra Gedser Odde i DOFbasen.

På fuglestationen: Larissa Britton, Henrik Jørgensen, Lara Winsloe

Ringmærkningen:

Der var en del drosler som blev skræmt da nettene skulle sættes op så det lovede rigtigt godt.

Første runde gav både solsorte, sangdrosler og vindrosler.

Det blev dog hurtigt stille så jeg fik sat mærkater på alle net så det er klar til at blive taget ned for i år når sæsonen slutter den 15(dog bliver få net stadig oppe en længere periode til vejr og vind ikke tillader det mere).

Vejret i dag var en del koldere end de foregående dage med lige omkring 5 grader, så om eftermiddagen måtte vi tænde op i brændeovnen da vi begge frøs.

I aften står den måske på en film hvis vi ikke er for trætte.

Migration at Gedser Odde:

by Lara W

A very cold day on the point today, with fog offering limited visibility south and east, and westwards behind us along the coast to Gedser. A total of 1800 birds were counted, representing 40 species. 

2 Gannet/Sule passed, one NE/NØ and one SW/SV, the second coming close enough for a good photo opportunity. Looking closely at the plumage, one can see the "piano keys": black secondary flight feathers along the rear edge of the wing, marking this bird as a fifth calendar year bird. Full adult plumage is only attained once the bird reaches 6 years of age. 

5k/fifth calendar year Gannet/Sule on migration at Gedser Odde. Note black & white "piano keys" on the wing. Photo credit: LAH

Long-tailed duck/Havlit and Scaup/Bjergand numbers are slowly building, with 67 and 51 individuals counted respectively. A single late Great White Egret/Sølvehejre offered a pleasurable sight, although it was the arrival of 4 Kittiwake/Ride which really took the prize! One adult, and three 1st calendar year (1k/1cy) birds swept gracefully by on black-tipped wings.

Passerine numbers continue to dribble through, including 4 Redpoll/Gråsisken, 1 White Wagtail/Hvid Vipstjert, 32 Goldfinch/Stillets and 718 Sisken/Grønsisken. Thanks LAH for focusing on these!

Se alle dagens observationer fra Gedser Odde i DOFbasen.

På fuglestationen: Larissa Britton, Henrik Jørgensen, Lara Winsloe