Trip report - Helgoland 2011 October 14 th -17 th, 2011

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1 Trip report - Helgoland 2011 October 14 th -17 th, 2011 Participants: Romke Aukema, Daan van Werven, Leendert van Bergeijk, Marcel Verhaart, David Spelt, Michiel van Ettinger, Frank van der Wielen, Marnix Jonker, Jasper Klaver Photographs: Leendert van Bergeijk Author: Michiel van Ettinger General information The 9 of us were picked up on various locations throughout the Netherlands in two cars in the early morning of Friday, October 14 th and left for Cuxhaven, Germany. We had booked the 10:30am ferry from Cuxhaven to Helgoland at Helgoline ( two months in advance. In Helgoland, we stayed at the Youth Hostel which was OK. The food was basic and there was no bar, so we spent the evenings at the town instead. Breakfast buffet is served between 8-9am and dinner between 6-7pm. The Youth Hostel is located at an easy 20 minute walk in the NE part of the island. As we wanted to bird straight after arrival, we sent our luggage with a cargo handler to the hostel which costs approx. 6 euros per piece. Upon our return, we carried it ourselves which was no problem. Our return trip was with the fast ferry. This was very convenient and well worth the extra money. You even have the opportunity to bird at the rear of the ship, although that s quite a challenge... Also this ferry arrived right on time. Helgoland consists of two islands: the main island Kringel where the ferries from the mainland arrives. Basically, the island consists of a high western part (cliffs) and a low eastern part (bushes, town). In the north(east) close to the hostel is a nice beach with lots of passerines, the south consists of the harbor and some dune/ grassy areas. You can walk a complete circle of the island in two hours. The other island is Dune, which consists of a tiny airfield, a small harbor, apparently the only camping of Helgoland (have not seen it though), gulls, sand and Common and Grey Seals. It is connected to Kringel by a small ferry which runs every half hour from the pier opposite the Atoll Helgoland hotel (with the glass tower). Tickets are available on the pier itself. For detailed maps of the islands I refer to the trip report by Verdonck, The weather was fantastic throughout the weekend: blue skies, light winds and only in the mornings it was a bit chilly. Bring your walky-talkies and tune in on channel 7 as all recent sightings are reported on it. And don t forget to train your German bird names For recent information on sightings and about the walky-talkies, search the websites of the Helgoland bird community and Birdforum. Friday, October 14 th We set off on the early morning of Friday, October 14 th to Cuxhaven. We took the slow ferry by. The moment we left Cuxhaven harbor we saw the first birds: Great, Pomarine and Arctic Skuas, Little Gull, Kittiwake and regularly a Guillemot appeared. Behind nearly all fishing vessels we encountered, a Skua was present. The further we got onto the sea, the less birds we saw. After one hour, a Goldcrest flew along the ferry and eventually landed. Close to Helgoland several raptors were circling above the sea, including Buzzard, Marsh Harrier and Rough-legged buzzard. We arrived right on time in the tiny harbor, gave our luggage to a cargo handler (quite expensive, but alright) and immediately started birding. The weather was splendid and the area around the harbor was crammed with Redwing, Fieldfare, Goldcrest and several Tit species. Near the helicopter base, a mixed group of House and Barn Swallows were foraging. Singing (!) Skylarks were a nice addition.

2 We strolled through the town and were amazed by the large amount of very close Goldcrests in the flowerpots along the harbor. The other conspicuous thing was that every second shop in town is a whiskey & chocolate -shop as the island is tax-free. So we continued along the eastern part of the island towards the youth hostel and checked in. Thereafter, some tried their luck at the swimming pool (near the tennis court) for a Thrush Nightingale, but in vain. The beach in the north(east) contained lots of passerines feeding on the seaweeds, Lapland Longspur, Brambling, Rock Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Purple Sandpiper, Chaffinch, Fieldfare, Redwing, Blackbird, Turnstone and Ringed Plover. We then visited the southwestern part, where at least 4 Short-eared Owls resided. Unfortunately, some other birders chased them away by entering their roosting area The next day, only one was present and on Sunday all had left. In the concrete flooding basin near the helicopter landing area a Richard s Pipit was reported and was very nicely visible. The sound of this giant pipit was very impressive to some of us! We returned to the hostel via the swimming pool for another try at the nightingale, but in vain. However, a very wrecked Pied Flycatcher crashed onto the footpath and remained in the area for the afternoon. Woodcock and Hawfinch were briefly seen/heard flying overhead. Saturday, October 15 th Woke up at 7am to do some birding, earlier is not necessary as it s still dark. A Hen Harrier resided on this part of the island during our stay. At 8am breakfast was served at the hostel and after this, we walked towards the cliffs at the western part of the island. The bushes at the soccer field near the stairway up the cliffs at the northwestern part of the island held Ring Ouzel (the only spot where we saw them regularly). Redwings and Fieldfares turned out to be abundant everywhere on the island. On the cliffs, our first Peregrine Falcon was hunting. Two birds were resident on the island, just like a pair of Sparrowhawks. Some distant Gannets were flying over sea. In summer they breed on these cliffs, which was visualized by some dead birds hanging in fishing nets on the cliffs, a sad sight. We birded The Mittelland then, but a surprisingly low amount of birds was seen here. The staircases down to the town were also not very interesting, although the area is promising. A Bullfinch was heard here and a Merlin rocketed overhead heading south. But, in general, the whole SW part of the island was low on birds. So, we went back to the swimming pool to get another chance at the Thrush Nightingale and we got lucky with Marnix rediscovering the bird! Mistle and Song Thrushes were present amongst the zillions of Fieldfares and Redwings. Reports of a Barred Warbler tempted us to the bushes near the youth hostel, some of us were lucky, others weren t. A Common Snipe flew over. So, we shifted to the beach in the late afternoon to watch and photograph the foraging birds on the seaweed. During the day, Short-eared Owls were seen flying from the sea to the island. Watching over sea, Jasper discovered a Little Auk flying to the beach. After crashing down in the sand, the bird flew up but only to crash horribly on the boulders of the pier, making a somersault... Ouch The bird was not found afterwards, but we found a Black Guillemot out at sea instead, which came close to the pier. Also, Red-necked Grebe was spotted from here. On the pier itself, Rock Pipits were common. Sunday, October 16 th Kringel The day started with the Barred Warbler reported again from the bushes near the hostel. Apparently, a second bird was present as well. We took the path opposite the swimming pool, leading up to the upper part of town. A Yellow-browed Warbler was irregularly seen

3 and heard in the bushes down at the second corner. A Red-flanked Bluetail was reported near the big staircases. When ascending on the path, take the first staircases on your left going down, close to some toilets. This was the spot. But no Bluetail. Nice pictures were shown by other birders but despite an extensive search it was not reported the rest of the weekend. Düne In the afternoon, the four of us (Leendert, Daan, David, Michiel) decided to go to the Dune island. Just after arrival we walked the island in a clockwise direction over the beach. Soon enough we encountered some Common and Grey Seals. Looking over the sea we saw quite some Red-throated Divers and even a Slavonian Grebe. After 20 mins we reached the pier and some hilly dunes, Here, some interesting foraging birds appeared including Horned Lark and Snow Bunting. Suddenly, a tiny sandpiper flew past which turned out to be a Red-necked Phalarope. It gave excellent views along the pier and soon numerous birdwatchers could enjoy it. Upon returning to the harbor to catch the ferry back to Kringel, both a Black Guillemot and a Guillemot were present in the bay area. Monday, October 17 th Finally, I had the Barred Warbler which gave very good views directly after sunrise in the bushes near the Youth Hostel. The rest of the morning we spent hanging around the staircases in search for some passerines. A walkie-talkie call came in for a Pallas s Leaf Warbler in the garden of a house close to the firehouse, close to the ringing station. The bird displayed nicely from time to time and was seen by hundreds of birders. This was a nice species to end our trip with, we got the afternoon fast ferry back to Cuxhaven and tried to do some seawatching along the way at 70 km/hr... Some Great, Pomarine and Arctic Skuas were seen. Conclusion: Helgoland is a really nice island for birdwatching indeed! Total number of bird species seen: 102. References David Verdonck Helgoland October 10 th -13 th 2010 (in Dutch but the island maps and species list are in English) Helgoland bird community - Birdforum Helgoland info - Helgoline Ferries -

4 Firecrest at Helgoland habour (photo: Leendert van Bergeijk) Short-eared Owl (photo: Leendert van Bergeijk) Peregrine Falcon above the cliffs (photo: Leendert van Bergeijk) The Cliffs (photo: Leendert van Bergeijk)

5 Northern Nightingale-Thrush (photo: Leendert van Bergeijk) Black Guillemot (photo: Leendert van Bergeijk) Black Guillemot (photo: Leendert van Bergeijk) Grey Phalarope (photo: Leendert van Bergeijk)

6 Horned Lark (photo: Leendert van Bergeijk) The Bushes around the Youth hostel with view on the cliffs (photo: Leendert van Bergeijk) Twitching Pallas s Leaf Warbler (photo: Leendert van Bergeijk)