Spent the day birding off-patch with the kids. Kicked off at Västraby - which hosted up to nine dotterel over the weekend. It was clear overnight so I should have known better than to get my hopes up. On arrival at the field there was a fat looking adult peregrine sitting right in the middle. Feathers strewn everywhere! Tried a few ploughed fields thereabouts but I think the birds had flown. Migration going on this morning though with the air filled with the calls of tree pipit, yellow wagtail and the first real numbers of siskin.
Next up was Sandön, where we were greeted by a throng of geese. Checking through for colour rings, I found birds ringed in Sweden and the Czech Republic. Also had a nasty encounter with a horrible hybrid - Emperor x barnacle or bar-headed x barnacle. More siskins and five crossbills over here. Two ospreys hunted in front of us.
Yesterday Rönnen had produced broad-billed sandpiper and a couple of little stints and a large number of commoner waders. Today it felt pretty empty (if you discount the 2000-odd barnacle geese). We did get redshank (10), spotted redshank (1 adult), greenshank (5), common sandpiper (3), ruff (2), dunlin (3), bar-tailed godwit (4) and ringed plover (10).
In the evening nipped out to Glimminge but things were very quiet here too. The big surprise was 200 barnacle geese heading north. Otherwise just redshank (1), oystercatcher (2) and snipe (5). Yesterday there was yet another red-necked phalarope here apparently.
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