Good things come to those that wait…

The day started with Mara, Emma and I getting up and ready for migration counts at World’s End 3. Ragnar away from the obs doing other jobs. The wind was a strong North/North westerly wind that blew a few clouds over throughout the morning, but stayed predominantly sunny throughout which was most welcome. However, the wind’s direction meant a cold chill in the air which is a good sign for migration over the sea, and a near clear out of passerines in the bushes.

Me at migration, thanks to the sneaky photo by Mara.

We arrived at our spot and began counting. The first hour was really good, there was over 1000 Common Scoter (Sortand) moving NW with over 50 Velvet Scoter (Fløjlsand) moving the same way. The auk numbers were high, but migrating into Kattagate, so SE. Full details on DofBasen at the bottom of this post. There was nice numbers of Kittiwake (Ride) but surprisingly few Gannets (Sule). Maybe the have already headed south ahead of the cold? Mara became quite cold and left to go shopping which was much appreciated as we were running out of food. Emma and I continued to count the remaining three hours.

A very apt photo for this hour, taken by Emma this evening but fits nicely here in the blog.

The second hour slowed but there were still good numbers of auks (Lomvie og Alk) and Common Scoter (Sortand) moving. However, the diversity was low and nothing outstanding flew by. The Sanderling (Sandløber) were enjoying their new pools created by the high spring tides and full moon.

The third hour was different again. Colder and slightly sandier lead to a sandy breakfast for Emma and a face full of sand for myself. Highlights in this hour included a large flock of Red-throated diver (Rødstrubet Lom) heading NW totalling 75 individuals which was impressive and a brief view of what was probably a Porpoise. A nice little bit of cetacean action in the very high winds.

The 2K/2nd CY White-tailed Eagle (Havørn) by Emma.

The fourth hour was an hour of sitting watching and enjoying the view. Numbers of Kittiwake (Ride) increased again, and some Common Scoter (Sortand) were moving. But the standout highlight was at 11:55am when a Little Auk (Søkonge) flew about 5-10m off the beach and was flying just behind the first wave crashing. We watched it for about a minute or two and a pleasure to see – it was an amazing little bird and a sign of the wind change bringing some Arctic goodies. Exciting enough, I peered over the dunes packing up my equipment to see a White-tailed eagle (Havørn) being mobbed by Hooded Crows (Gråkrage). The eagle was heading straight towards us, being blown by the wind, and resulted in some epic views of the bird as it flew right overhead. It even spotted us, dropped slightly and then headed back NW. We could see it had colour rings from Denmark but unfortunately not enough to see where it was from. So two very nice species and worth the sub-optimal conditions. Hence the blog title for today. Good fun!

Nocturnal migration sonogram with Redwing calls.

We returned for lunch, Lone and Lars have no departed but left some nice treats and some Christmas goodies – thank you very much!! We all did some personal tasks whilst taking a breather from the wind. Nocturnal migration listening was completed for myself so totals will be published on Trektellen very soon. In the meantime, here is a screenshot of the most frequently recorded species, the Redwing (Vindrossel).

A little arrival of Hooded Crow (Gråkrage) on the beach this evening.

I went for a short walk to the south, enjoying the last of the sun, and Emma ended up going North. Mara stayed put and called up family. Personal walk highlights included Hooded Crows (Gråkrage), an Eider (Ederfugl) and some Red-breasted mergansers (Toppet skallesluger). All three species are daily occurrences up here and we can never get complacent with their presence.   

Highlights from the observatory:

• First Little Auk of the autumn (Søkonge)
• White-tailed sea eagle (Havørn)

Ringing totals

Too wind today.

Overall total: 0

Today’s observations on Dofbasen from observers in the area

People: Thomas Weston, Emma Fabre, Mara Glane.