A brief note from Sweden to let everyone know we are leaving Landsort tomorrow morning, the 1st December to start our journy home.

Over the last few days the ringing has been quieter, but it has allowed us to spend some time enjoying some rare November sunshine, as well as getting some paperwork finalised and taking down most of the nets. We have caught a lot of Waxwing this month and today, just as we were closing the last net for the last time we caught our final 3 which made 2014 the best year ever for the species here.

Tonight we have been invited to dinner with Hannah and Inga who run the shop and pub here, jsut a few locals and the two of us, and this is so typical of the way we have been treated here by everyone: welcomed and made to feel part of the small community that lives here.

Just like last year it will be hard to leave, although nice to get home to the Isle of Man again, arriving on the 5th. No time for pictures or a ringing update this week and, as we are travelling for a while it won't be until after the 5th that we will get the chance.

Nearing the end of our trip

It has been a couple of weeks since we updated the blog with a bit of chatter. Not been that busy ringing, but time just seems to be slipping past as we head towards the end of our trip. In fact a week today will have left Landsort and should be settled into over-night digs in southern Sweden for the night.

But back to the last couple of weeks. Some good birds caught, even if numbers have not been so great. A late Chiffchaff was quite pleasing, but these can stay late into the year. What was more surprising was a VERY late Willow Warbler, caught on the 19th November and the latest record ever for the species this far north in Sweden. By now it should be munching flies in Africa, so it is going to have a tough job getting far enough south to survive. So to is the Hume's Leaf Warbler that has been here for the last 8 days, deftly avoiding the nets. This tiny Warbler should be in Asia now, but is here having headed west instead of east as it left it's northern breeding grounds. 

Other good catches include a female Hawfinch, a species we had been hoping to catch and a ringing tick for Chris. The Waxwings are still moving through the island in varying sized flocks, and so far we have caught over 50, a pretty good year and with calm(ish) weather forecast we might get more yet. 

Today has been very windy - over 20 metres per second - Force 8, so have been going through some of the end of season paperwork with Gunilla, the Secretary to the organisation, as well as taking some of the nets down and working on some year-end statistics. 

On Saturday we had an unexpected trip out on their boat with Lasse and Lena, island residents. We headed off from West Harbour and toured round some of the outliying islands; next stop Latvia!!!

Saw a few seals, as inquisitive as ever, a few White-tailed Eagles and a flock of 170+ Purple Sandpiper, which we learnt later to be the largest flock ever recorded in the Nynashamn municipality.

So, our trip is almost done, hopefully able to ring every one of the remaining 6 days and reach our self-imposed goal of 12,000 birds for the year.

Some pics from the last couple of weeks

 Two White-tailed Eagles leaving their lookout 

 Close up of a Hawfinch bill - it crushes cherry stones!!!

 Silver-gray panels in the secondaries show this is a female

 A lovely bird, and a ringing tick for Chris

 One of the 50+ Wawing ringed in the last two weeks

 A flock of over 160 Purple Sandpiper, the largest flock ever recorded in the Municipality

 Settled ready to start feeding

Close up of a Waxwings head

Birds ringed by Chris & Kay w/e 23rd November 2014

	w/e 23rd  Nov
Species	As at 16th	Kay	Chris	Total
Barred Warbler	6			6
Bearded Tit	3			3
Blackbird	93	1	4	98
Blackcap	267			267
Black Redstart	1			1
Bluethroat	2			2
Blue Tit	207	1	2	210
Blyth's Reed Warbler	1			1
Brambling	17			17
Bullfinch	32	3	2	37
Chaffinch	119	7		126
Chiffchaff	74	1		75
Chiffchaff abietinus	5			5
Coal Tit	14			14
Common Redpoll	219	10		229
Common Redpoll cabaret	120	9		129
Common Redpoll flammea	52	9	1	62
Common Rosefinch	10			10
Dunnock	36			36
Dusky Warbler	1			1
Fieldfare	8	2		10
Garden Warbler	67			67
Goldcrest	2607			2607
Goldfinch	5	3	1	9
Great Grey Shrike	1			1
Great Spotted Woodpecker	2			2
Great Tit	197			197
Greenfinch	236	14	6	256
Greenish Warbler	2			2
Hawfinch	0		1	1
House Sparrow	3			3
Icterine Warbler	44			44
Jack Snipe	1			1
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker	2			2
Lesser Whitethroat	240			240
Long-tailed Tit	177			177
Magpie	1			1
Marsh Tit	8			8
Marsh Warbler	2			2
Meadow Pipit	6		1	7
Nuthatch	3	1		4
Pied Flycatcher	31			31
Red-backed Shrike	76			76
Red-breasted Flycatcher	9			9
Redstart	36			36
Redwing	3			3
Reed Bunting	103			103
Reed Warbler	6			6
Robin	1012	13	2	1027
Sedge Warbler	6			6
Siskin	65	9		74
Snipe	1			1
Song Thrush	53			53
Sparrowhawk	15			15
Spotted Flycatcher	38			38
Swallow	49			49
Thrush Nightingale	20			20
Tree Pipit	15			15
Tree Sparrow	87			87
Treecreeper	181			181
Twite	5			5
Waxwing	5	32	16	53
Wheatear	4			4
Whinchat	1			1
White Wagtail	34			34
Whitethroat	88			88
Willow Warbler	333		1	334
Wryneck	1			1
Wood Warbler	10			10
Wren	123	2	2	127
Yellow-browed Warbler	3			3
Yellowhammer	27	1	1	29
Total	7331	118	40	7489

Great Grey Shrike

 Our only Great Grey Shrike of the autumn, showing some of the features consistent with the Eastern race homeyeri

 Extensive white in the primaries and secondaries

 Pale feathering over eye and bill

Pale rump, though the amount of black in the outer two tail feathers is not typical of homeyeri

Juvenile male Black Redstart of the race phoenicuroides

This splendid young male of the eastern race of Black Redstart was a bit of a bonus on a quiet day!

 Not often you see such a well marked bird

You can see the 5 old greater coverts which indicate it was a bird born this year.

Birds ringed w/e 16th November 2014

	w/e 16th  Nov
Species	As at 9th	Kay	Chris	Total
Barred Warbler	6			6
Bearded Tit	3			3
Blackbird	85	3	5	93
Blackcap	266		1	267
Black Redstart	0	1		1
Bluethroat	2			2
Blue Tit	199	7	1	207
Blyth's Reed Warbler	1			1
Brambling	17			17
Bullfinch	26	5	1	32
Chaffinch	114	5		119
Chiffchaff	74			74
Chiffchaff abietinus	5			5
Coal Tit	14			14
Common Redpoll	219			219
Common Redpoll cabaret	119	1		120
Common Redpoll flammea	50	2		52
Common Rosefinch	10			10
Dunnock	36			36
Dusky Warbler	1			1
Fieldfare	8			8
Garden Warbler	67			67
Goldcrest	2607			2607
Goldfinch	5			5
Great Grey Shrike	0	1		1
Great Spotted Woodpecker	2			2
Great Tit	185	9	3	197
Greenfinch	227	4	5	236
Greenish Warbler	2			2
House Sparrow	3			3
Icterine Warbler	44			44
Jack Snipe	1			1
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker	2			2
Lesser Whitethroat	240			240
Long-tailed Tit	170	7		177
Magpie	1			1
Marsh Tit	8			8
Marsh Warbler	2			2
Meadow Pipit	6			6
Nuthatch	3			3
Pied Flycatcher	31			31
Red-backed Shrike	76			76
Red-breasted Flycatcher	9			9
Redstart	36			36
Redwing	3			3
Reed Bunting	102	1		103
Reed Warbler	6			6
Robin	997	12	3	1012
Sedge Warbler	6			6
Siskin	64	1		65
Snipe	1			1
Song Thrush	53			53
Sparrowhawk	15			15
Spotted Flycatcher	38			38
Swallow	49			49
Thrush Nightingale	20			20
Tree Pipit	15			15
Tree Sparrow	85	1	1	87
Treecreeper	177	3	1	181
Twite	5			5
Waxwing	4	1		5
Wheatear	4			4
Whinchat	1			1
White Wagtail	34			34
Whitethroat	88			88
Willow Warbler	333			333
Wryneck	1			1
Wood Warbler	10			10
Wren	122	1		123
Yellow-browed Warbler	3			3
Yellowhammer	26	1		27
Total	7244	66	21	7331

A poor start to the week, with heavy rain and strong winds preventing nets being opened. 

Things improved on Friday and the last three days have been good; 186 birds ringed by the two of us and 202 in total, the others being used by Sonja who was out for the weekend. Probably the last time we will see her and it brings home the fact that we leave here in 21 days time, so more and more of those we meet now we will be seeing for the last time this trip.

More Long-tailed Tits and Bullfinch caught this week, but the star of the show has to be the five Waxwing we caught yesterday and today (see pics below). Over the last week or so there have been small flocks passing through the island, some staying for a while and others just going straight past. Eventually though our efforts paid off and we caught some. Although we have ringed the species before it never fails to give the 'wow' factor when you catch one, and is a firm favourite with any members of the public who pass by. 

We are netting all daylight hours now, usually starting at 0645 and closing the nets at about 1500 just in time to release any late birds we catch before dusk. We are getting temptingly close to our 'target' of catching 12,000 birds for the year, less than 500 to go and 21 days to do it in - much will depend upon the weather. 

This week Kay, who has done most of the ringing between us during this trip and last year has now ringed 8424 birds on Landsort, putting her 8th in the overall totals since ringing started here in 1978. Pretty good going in just two autumns as some of those higher up the table have virtually lived here in the past!! 

Rain forecast tomorrow, but that is a 'wait and see' one, but after that the week looks promising with dry days and light winds - so fingers crossed. 

Waxwing - four caught in the last couple of days.

 Wonderful birds with a very soft plumage

 The waxy tips to some of the wing feathers that give the bird its name

 The number and length of these tips help us to identify male from female

So does the throat pattern. On the left the black grades out into the brown feathers - female. 

On the right there is a more clear-cut change - male.

Early morning views from today

 Looking south along the 'main road'

 Chris and Tore heading to the Obs to ring some birds

 One of the many flocks of Waxwing heading past the island this week

 

Stopped off to enjoy the sunshine