First Montagus Harrier of the season

It was me, Alvin and Saxe on migration count today, and with the easterly winds, expectations were high, and we were hoping for many Harriers. We arrived at Nordstrand 30 minutes before the start of the count, but it stayed very quiet until 7am, when the first passerines started moving. It was a very cold morning, and we had mostly Meadow Pipits (Engpiber) migrating, as well as some Linnets (Tornirisk) and Chaffinches (Bogfinke). We also saw a few Hen Harriers (Blå Kærhøg) and over all three Pallid Harriers (Steppehøg).

Pallid Harrier (Steppehøg) at Nordstrand

When a White-billed Diver (Hvidnæbbet Lom) was called out further west of us, we were hoping to see it, and when it did not come up, we decided it must have landed somewhere. After the end of the count, we went to search for it, and walked about three kilometers up the beach without success. The way back was through Nedermosen. We probably had taken the wrong path at some point since we ended up standing in the middle of a swamp, needing to find a way back to the right track. To make up for the struggles, we were rewarded with the first Montagu's Harrier (Hedehøg) of the season hunting in the area.

Adult female Montagu's Harrier (Hedehøg) at Nedermosen

In the meanwhile the ringers had a very quiet morning at Kabeltromlen, ringing only six birds. A highlight, though, was a Blackcap (Munk) with some pollen around the face, which looked quite cute. The best bird of the morning was a 2nd CY Pallid Harrier (Steppehøg).

We all went back to the lighthouse to have lunch and some leftover cake from yesterday. Dylan also went to twitch the Montagu's Harrier (Hedehøg), and he also saw two more Pallid Harriers (Steppehøg) and the first Grasshopper Warbler (Græshoppesanger). Another good find was a Camberwell Beauty (Sørgekåbe) which is a rare butterfly in Denmark.

Camberwell Beauty (Sørgekåbe)

After that, Saxe and Dylan went to Batteriskoven, where they also met Simon. They saw a Pied Flycatcher (Broget Fluesnapper) and a Comma and Peacock Butterfly (Det Hvide C, Dagpåfugleøje).

People: Alvin Johansson, János Schadl, Alix Bortolussi, Julian Helbig, Dylan Daunt, Simon S. Christiansen, Gustav Juel, Lisa Vergin, Anne & Bjarne