Wood Warblers

Summer migrants are now starting to stream into Denmark and it is interesting to compare relative abundance in Denmark with Britain. Lesser Whitethroats seem to be everywhere, Whinchats are pretty common, too. But I have seen only one Wheatear to date and no Swifts or Sand Martins yet. One pleasing difference here is the number of Wood Warblers. In Kongelunden (the woodland on the south-east tip of Amager), they are common. The pictures here are of one that I watched singing and displaying (a sort of slow, floppy twisting flight) on the early morning of 3 May. It is telling that, on my last visit to Winterton in Norfolk 10 days or so ago, the discovery of a Wood Warbler singing caused much excitement (they are very scarce in east Norfolk).

Also a feature at the moment are the flocks of Barnacle Geese that are crossing the country. With the easterly winds they are crossing in quite large numbers (some observers have seen over 5,000 in the last couple of days), often very close to the shore at Kongelunden.

With sunrise now around 4.45am, it is getting ever more challenging for me to get out first thing... But the light mornings mean that it is possible to do the occasional few hours birding before work... (something I could never do in London!).

With migrants arriving steadily and today's addition of Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Whinchat and Garganey, my total now stands at 119.