Just For Laughs

With 21 ringed birds and 4 recaptures one would think today was not an overly exciting day in the life of a ringer, but you would be wrong!

This might be a bit controversial for birders to hear, but I can't say I have a strong passion for seeing a new species for the first time. I can appreciate the beauty or the unique demeanor a bird can have while handling them, but like all my interests I love the overall idea of ??something, but never a specific part of it. Sure, I have my affinity for passerines and raptors, and on the other hand I have had little interest in shore birds thus far. I much rather have one bird in hand, than a thousand in sight (through a lens). But today I might have found my niche when it comes to birds. I was so surprised by this species that I burst into laughter while observing its bizarre behaviour. It has truly stolen my heart with its "weirdness" and the sense of humor I found in it.

The species I'm talking about is the Wryneck. Before getting it out of the net, I asked Morten what species it is and all he said was: "It's a good one". I can't imagine hearing Morten make a bigger understatement ever again. When I started getting the Wryneck out of the net "it" started immediately, its namesake, while loosening its feet the bird started wiggling its head from left to right in a butter smooth motion. The sight of this bird partially entangled in the net and wiggling its head was the funniest thing to me, I couldn't stop laughing about it. So, there you have it, I love birds that make me laugh! 

The one and only Wryneck

Lisa (and the other volunteers) seemed to have the same affinity for the Wryneck and its beautifully weird head dance.

Another notable catch today was this lovely pair of Redpolls

The morning observations were not equally as exciting for Lisa and James. Most of the counting was done during their first hour or so, with Terns showing up in the biggest numbers. After all the birding was done we enjoyed the sunny weather, cleaned up the observatory and patched up some of the bikes for our next outings. 

To end today's post here is a Tree Pipit James spotted while enjoying the sunny weather this afternoon.

People at the station: Lisa, James, Morten and Maxim