Spoonbill

I visited Vestamager for a couple of hours early morning. The Spoonbill was asleep in the corner of Klydesøen, species number 250 for me in Denmark! Wader passage was evident with 22 Wood Sandpipers, 5 Spotted Redshank, 3 Greenshank, 2 Ruff, 3 Dunlin and good numbers of Common Redshank. Perhaps the most notable sighting was an unseasonal Grey Wagtail that flew overhead and headed south-west out to sea.

On the way back I popped into the small wooden hide at Sydmøllevej, where I bumped into one of the rangers. He was about to give a live interview on Danish radio via his mobile phone about the importance of Vestamager as a nature reserve. He asked me if I had seen anything exciting and I mentioned the Spoonbill. He promptly mentioned it live on air. Interestingly, after the radio interview, I was talking to him about the viewing conditions at the site and how it would be fantastic to have more hides, ideally overlooking the western part of the lagoon. He told me that, after the current work to raise the flood barrier around the margins of the reserve, they were planning to install three wooden hides that would overlook that part of the reserve, with new pedestrian access granted along the dyke. This would be a brilliant development and would significantly improve the viewing of waders at this excellent site. Unfortunately it will happen after I have left Denmark but I look forward to hearing about more exciting sightings from Vestamager once the birders can see all parts of the area, including those hidden from current viewing positions.

This Little Ringed Plover is one half of a breeding pair, viewable from the Sydmøllevej hide.