Aarhusbirder: Mandø 4-5/10 2014

The old aarhusbirder-team was reunited for one last weekend of birding on the magical island of Mandø, well maybe not quite... Expectations were high with Shetland having megas from far east and the west. This time we were forced to stay in a cabin at the camp site as our usual housing were all booked. Not sure that overnight-tourist-plan-thingy is a good thing for us birders.

Saturday morning was a bit windy which meant that all migrating passerines were passing quite low. Stephan and I decided to check the town and then move north while Rune went to the southern point. Good numbers of common migrants were present but during the first hours of the day we failed in finding anything good until a Little Bunting (RC-bird in DK) decided to land on the dike in front of Rune. He managed to fire 5 record shots before it flew of north never to be seen again. This represents the fourth record for Mandø. In the north best birds were Stonechat, Woodlark and a pipit that could have been something good. At lunch we decided to try some small bushes west of town in a chainlike manner to see if we could flush something. Before the flushing we twitched an incredibly approachable Long-eared Owl in the eastern part of the island.

4/10 Long-eared Owl, Mandø. Daytime roost in a small willow bush. Photo SSL

We did flush quite a lot of birds, mainly reed buntings but about halfway a nice Wryneck (late record) flew up and we just managed to fire away some record shots. The rest of the day was pretty quiet with no more good birds found. In the evening we celebrated Runes bunting with a local Mandø beer – quite tasty!

4/10 Wryneck, Mandø. Only the 5th record from October in DOFBasen.

4/10 European Whitefronts leaving the magical island. Photo SSL

The weather forecast for Sunday had changed from fantastic to really bad so many times during the week so when we woke up to a grey sky and relatively calm winds we knew that new birds must have arrived. We decided on the same strategy as the day before. A Yellow-browed Warbler in town was the first good bird and it was evident that new birds had arrived with goldcrests and wrens zipping in numbers. Coming back from the northernmost bushes I discovered a Golden Oriole flying over a small farm and quickly got Stephan who managed to see the bird fly away. Golden orioles are rare from September and onwards and this could represent the latest Danish record. The bird was subsequently seen shortly by Sigrid and Tim in a garden a bit further east. Shortly after a nice Honey Buzzard went south and was also seen by Rune in the south and an European Rosefinch passed south with crap views but at least uttering its call several times. Stephan and I then decided to give Halevej and the eastern most bushes another go. We didn't find anything good and decided to split up for the long return walk to cover more ground. As I returned past the willows on Halevej I found a group of Goldcrests but quickly turned my attention towards a distinctive call, a one-toned hyyiit. A nice Siberian Chiffchaff appeared and I managed to get some ok shots. I called it out to Stephan but he was to tired/far away to come look at the bird. It was harrassed constantly by a common chiffchaff. After five minutes I lost the bird as it was on another escape flight. After two hours of very good birding it was time for lunch

5/10 Golden Oriole, Mandø. Latest record ever from Denmark?

5/10 Golden Oriole, Mandø. Truely record shots.

5/10 Honey Buzzard, Mandø. The strong south-easterlies have brought more birds than usual to the western part of DK

5/10 Siberian Chiffchaff, Mandø. Found on call in the willows on Halevej. Strong super, greenish tinge to the wing, pale
underparts, brown ear coverts, tendency to wingbar, black legs and dark bill

5/10 Siberian Chiffchaff, Mandø. The bird was chased away by three "normal" Chiffchaffs.

We had lunch outside with two Yellow-browed Warblers (a total of 7 on the island this day), a Firecrest and a White-tailed Eagle overhead, very nice. After lunch we packed our stuff and cleaned the small cabin. Stephan gave the town another go and I went with Rune to look for the siberian chiffchaff at Halevej. I went to the bushes where I saw the bird the last time but instead of the SCC I heard a chattering call that I could not place. I soon located the bird in a willow and to my surprise it was Lesser White-throat, a very sandy brown looking one. I shouted for Rune, who thought that I had relocated the SCC but soon got on the bird. The next 30 minutes the bird was silent but giving some kind of views most of the time. We phoned the others and just as they arrived the bird started calling several times and gave quite good views. Rune did several recordings with his Iphone, they can be heard here and here. Links to the ssp. halimodendri (verified from DNA results) seen at Grønningen in 2011 can be found here and here.

6/10 "Eastern" Lesser Whitethroat, Mandø. White outer tail feather (T6).

6/10 "Eastern" Lesser Whitethroat, Mandø.

6/10 "Eastern" Lesser Whitethroat, Mandø. Brown back onto nape and crown.

6/10 "Eastern" Lesser Whitethroat, Mandø.Very sandy-colored back, short primary projection and brownish hue continuing onto the nape and crown of the bird.