Where are My Thrushes?

Ringing: 

Observation: Today we were hoping for great numbers. If you have been reading the blog the last couple of days, you might know that the last few sessions haven't brought as big numbers of birds as hoped for. The wind hasn’t been the best, and the last couple of days have been mediocre quantity-vise

That is why today was supposed to be a big day! The wind switched to the east (which can be very dangerous) and I expected either great numbers of passerines and/or (ESPECIALLY) thrushes. And honestly… I can’t say that I was disappointed per se, but my hopeful expectations were not met.

The finches were moving, with 4250 Chaffinches/Bramling (Fringilla coelebs/F. montifringilla) flying by - with more Bramlings than usual - and the thrushes have finally started migrating with 67 Songthrushes (Turdus philomelos), 95 Redwings (Turdus iliacus), 7 Mistle Thrushes (Turdus viscivorus), and a single Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) flying by. While these numbers aren’t bad (especially compared to the last couple of days) I had hoped for more. In other parts of the country there have been great numbers of migrating thrushes, but for some reason did they refuse to fly by me...

And if today wasn’t a numbers game, you might think that the hits would be there. The big highlights of today were two Horned Grebes (Podiceps auritus) that Mikkel spotted flying past us, and one male Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus) foraging in the area. Again, these aren’t bad hits, but I would have hoped for more.

So all in all a day characterized by mediocrity and slight disappointment.

Today's observations