Gedser Fuglestation - 13 October 2015 - Yet more crests

Another day with the minimum six nets (10 and 12 metre) open due to the numbers of Goldcrest (Fuglekoge) passing through. They hit the nets just before the second round today and this time they seemed to be feeding while migrating, so moving more slowly than Sunday but still filling the nets and stopping other birds from being caught. There were few Robins caught today but one was a Swedish control, CX49203.
Again we were ringing at the nets. Thankfully all nets were cleared and closed by11.30am.
A new species for our time here were a couple of Long-tailed Tits ( Halemejse).

The number of crests has seriously eaten into the ring stocks. The question now is whether the ordered rings arrive in time for when they are needed.

Long-tailed Tit / Halemejse

Totals: 606 ( 7)

Gærdesmutte / Wren - 22
Jernsperv / Dunnock - 1
Rødhals / Robin - 5(3)
Gransanger / Chiffchaff -18
Fuglekonge / Goldcrest - 558 (4)
Halemejse / Long-tailed Tit - 2

Gedser Fuglestation - 12 October 2015

After a 1000+ bird weekend we wondered what was in store for us today. It would be just the two of us so we had to plan which nets to use carefully. We needed to comply with standard conditions (at least 60 metres) but could not chance a huge catch of Fuglekonge (Goldcrest) as many were likely to rest over in the garden.

We eventually picked six nets that could be covered as a much reduced round. It included two of the nets that caught very well yesterday and totalled 63 net metres.

The first round was rather quiet, but wind from the east is quite chill and Goldcrests are not the earliest birds out and about first thing in the morning.

As a precaution we took rings and pliers with us to the nets and that was a good thing as there seemed to be a whole new influx overnight. There were few retraps, and those we had mostly carried little fat and had low weights.

 Retrapped Fuglekonge / Goldcrest

We have also been noticing some rather paler Gransanger/ Chiffchaff than we have been seeing of late.

Gransanger / Chiffchaff

Our final total was a more than respectable 327 new birds. 

We have already been receiving reports of Danish Fuglekonge being retrapped further west. One        ( P20230 - not one of our current series) was retrapped at Donna Nook, Lincolnshire, UK this morning. Another, P99814 (also not ours), was caught on the 10th at VRS Van Lennep, Kennemerduinen in the Netherlands. We shall wait to see if we hear about any of our birds in the next few weeks.

Totals: 327 (37)

Gærdesmutte / Wren - 7
Rødhals / Robin - 24 (18)
Sangdrossel / Song Thrush - 1 (1)
Gransanger / Chiffchaff - 10
Fuglekonge / Goldcrest - 284 (17)

Musvit / Great Tit - 1 (1)

Gedser Fuglestation - 11 October 2015 - Goldcrests galore!

Yesterday was a big day for Gedser with the arrival of a national rarity, a Red-flanked Bluetail
(Blåstjert) being trapped and ringed here. The bird arrived with a fall of Goldcrest (Fuglekonge). In a fall, birds are resting, often in considerable numbers - so if yesterday, there was a fall, then today there was an avalanche! We had reduced to 153 net metres, just 13 nets, but this still proved difficult to clear. As we went out for the first round birds began to hurtle through the garden. There were hundreds of Goldcrest (Fuglekonge) with a few Wrens (Gærdesmutte). They were moving fast and seemed intent on heading straight for Germany. Nets were cleared and furled as quickly as we could. We were in danger of running out of bags so some birds were ringed at the net. This was the first time we have needed to 'ring and fling' (a term that means birds are ringed with minimal data taken) here. Full data was taken on some birds with the heaviest weighing 6.4 grams with 4 fat. The average weight for Goldcrest is around 5.4 grams.

Goldcrest (Fuglekonge)

We were too busy for photoes today - so here's one I took earlier. Many thanks to those who came to help with extracting and ringing!

There seemed to be an arrival of Robins (Rødhals) in the late morning and many of the Goldcrests (Fuglekonge) stayed to feed up in the garden. Tomorrow should be very interesting - there will definitely be even less nets up!

There were reports of birds flying into windows of the building at the tip and Hans informs me that this is probably the largest catch of Goldcrest, in one day, at Gedser ever! It was an exceptional event and I shall let the numbers speak for themselves.

Denise

Totals:   804 (9)

Gærdesmutte / Wren - 19

Rødhals / Robin -38 (6)
Sangdrossel / Song Thrush -1
Gransanger / Chiffchaff - 10
Fuglekonge / Goldcrest - 733 (3)
Blåmejse / Blue Tit - 1
Grønirisk / Greenfinch -1
Grønsisken / Siskin - 1

Gedser Fuglestation - 10 October 2015 - Red-flanked Bluetail

It's a rare occurance that we can drop nearly all of the nets at the station. Usually we do not have enough people to deal with many birds, but today we were a team of five, so we determined to make the most of our chance. As we went out to set nets, the sky was so very clear, and I actually remarked that we may have very few birds if a lot of our longer stayers had moved on in the night. I was a little worried that we would not have enough to do. As it happened, many birds had left but this was not the full story as we also had a fall of new Goldcrests (Fuglekonge). As we cleared the nets there were clearly a lot of birds. Then, I saw a bird that was unexpected and knew that calls would have to be made.

Today was a big day for Gedser Fuglestation. No only did we have a fall of Goldcrest (Fuglekonge), but we also netted a national rarity too. The Red-flanked Bluetail (Blåstjert) was in the bottom panel of what has become one of my favourite nets.

 First year male Red-flanked Bluetail (1K han Blåstjert)

The bird was released into a hedge running from the lighthouse to the sea, alongside a beet field where it gave good views for a while.

I dare say there will be better photographs as several observers got to the fuglestation prior to its release, but we had birds to process so had to be content with a few swiftly taken shots.

Other observations included a Great Grey Shrike (Stor Tornskade) in the observatory garden.

It truly was a great day!


Totals: 345 (60)

Gærdesmutte / Wren -10 (2)
Jernspurv / Dunnock -2
Rødhals / Robin - 42 (37)
Blåstjert / Red-flanked Bluetail - 1
Solsort / Blackbird - 6 (2)
Sangdrossel / Song Thrush - 6

Gransanger / Chiffchaff - 19
Fuglekonge / Goldcrest -249 (19)
Blåmejse / Blue Tit - 1

Bogfinke / Chaffinch -1
Kværkerfinke / Brambling - 1

Grønsisken / Siskin - 6
Lille Gråsisken / Lesser Redpoll - 1

Gedser Fuglestation - 9 October 2015

Today we caught the first ( and possibly only) Skovneppe / Woodcock of the year. These birds are so large and heavy that they often manage to escape the net if caught. I was very lucky to be just half a metre from the bird when I startled it from the foot of a hedge. There was a loud burst of wings and it hit the side of the net but did not fall into a pocket - and amazingly I actually caught hold of it!

It is no surprise that these birds are passing through Gedser at this time. We have been catching Fuglekonge / Goldcrest since the middle of September with some quite high numbers over the last week. Skovneppe / Woodcock migration is usually timed a little later than Fuglekonge / Goldcrest and there is a good deal of mythology in English folklore about these two species. It’s astonishing to think that something so tiny can manage to migrate from Scandinavia and Russia, as continental goldcrests do each winter. In fact, in the past, ornithologists found this so hard to believe that it was thought that goldcrests hitched a ride on the back of Woodcocks – and so they became known as ‘woodcock pilots’!Of course thanks to ringing studies, we know that Goldcrests can, and do, make this epic journey unaided. A truly impressive feat!

 Skovneppe / Woodcock first year

It was good to see more species on the record sheet today.

Totals: 209 (52)

Spurvehøg / Sparrowhawk - 1
Skovsneppe / Woodcock - 1

Gærdesmutte / Wren - 1 (1)

Jernspurv / Dunnock -5 (2)
Rødhals / Robin - 34 (21)
Solsort/ Blackbird - 13 (1)
Sangdrossel / Song Thrush - 3
Vindrossel / Redwing -  2
Munk / Blackcap - 0 (2)
Gransanger / Chiffchaff - 6 (2)
Fuglekonge / Goldcrest - 132 (23)
Blåmejse / Blue Tit - 1
Musvit / Great Tit - 1
Bogfinke / Chaffinch - 1
Kvækerfinke / Brambling -1
Grønirisk / Greenfinch - 1
Grønsisken / Siskin - 6

Gedser Fuglestation - 8 October 2015

Lots of rain on the radar this morning with no prospect of meeting requirements for standardised ringing. The wind was less strong than yesterday but there had also been a definite drop in temperature. We could see lots of Robins feeding in the garden and even a few Goldcrests and Blackbirds. It was a perfect morning to get some supplies in, and perhaps the chance of dropping some nets in the afternoon.

After getting the food shopping and feeling staggared at the prices of some items, particularly Lamb, chocolate and hair conditioner ( good thing I don't live in Denmark permanently), we had a look at Bøtø. There was nothing special going on today, unlike a few days ago when a White-tailed Eagle was seen to take a Barnacle Goose from the scrape, but we could hear cranes in the distance. Moving on we checked out some gulls and geese on the fields before returning to the ringing house. Just as we got out of the car, I again heard Cranes and with a quick dash to a more open area to see 500+ Cranes (Trane) migrate from the tip.

Migrating Cranes (Trane)

Later we dropped a few nets as there had been no rain for a few hours but were furling within 20 minutes as a smattering of raindrops quickly developed into a sustained heavy shower. 

It confirmed that many birds were stayers from the previous day and that we should have stuck with our first instinct that today was not a day for ringing.

Total: 12 (9)

Solsort / Blackbird - 1

Rødhals / Robin -    5 (6)

Fuglekonge / Goldcrest -  6  (3)

Gedser Fuglestation - 7 October 2015

From looking at the weather forecast over the last few days there was every chance that a full standard session would not be possible today. As it was, the conditions were very windy but it appeared that the rain we were expecting was not due until much later than first predicted.

We opened fewer nets than usual and knew that much of the catch would be Robins (Rødhals) and Goldcrest (Fuglekonge). Ringing continued at a brisk pace all morning apart from time out to close nets when a few spots of rain threatened a heavier downpour. Nets were opened again half an hour later once the risk of a thorough soaking had passed.

There were a few more thrushes and Blackbirds.

 Adult male Blackbird (2k+ Solsort - han)

 First year male Blackbird (1k Solsort - han)

Apart from the Goldcrests (Fuglekonge), warblers were very few.

 First year male Blackcap (1k Munk- han)

Our only finch of the day was a first year male Brambling.

Brambling (Kvækerfinke)

There is an infection, believed to be fungal related that ringers are seeing in birds in Scandinavia. It has been most common in Robins but can occur in other species. When checking for fat white raised lumps are seen where feathers emerge from the breast. Some birds have a slight infection while others appear to be completely white. They do not seem to have particularly low weights or show signs of being sick. It is difficult to photograph but my best effort is shown below.

Infected Robin

We have not noticed this in birds at our regular sites in south-east England so far, but birds wintering in the UK and Europe, from Scandinavia, may be infected. We will be taking precautions to avoid the infection spreading, using antiseptic handwash after handling an infected bird and ensuring that bird bags are put aside to be washed before reuse.

Totals: 220 ( 51)

Rødhals / Robin - 101 (15)
Solsort/ Blackbird - 6 (2)
Sangdrossel / Song Thrush - 6
Vindrossel / Redwing - 1
Munk / Blackcap - 1 (1)
Fuglekonge / Goldcrest -  102 (33)
Blåmejse / Blue Tit - 1
Musvit / Great Tit - 1
Kvækerfinke / Brambling - 1