Variety in the Nets and Escapades in the Dunes

With a Northerly wind and sunshine in the morning, the expectations for many birds in the nets were low. With a total of 12 new birds ringed and 9 recaptures the total amount of today did not exceed our expectation, but the number of 15 different species definitely did! Among the group a Gold Finch and Tree Pippit were the most notable ones, with the Pippit being the first of the season. A beautiful male Linnet also made quite the impression on us. Usually with only a few birds each round Michael and I don't get too excited about the day, but today was different. If nothing else, today showed us that variety is the spice of life. What made the day even better was that we were able to share our joy of all these different birds with our guests Dorte and Anders who stayed overnight.

Gold Finch

Tree Pippet

Inspired by today's ringing I decided not to sit behind the desk agian (like I have been doing all week) and add some more variety to my day. So, I joined Michael on his daily escapades in the dunes, trying to find and catch Stonechats, and Shrikes and the like. It was already great fun for me to get off the beaten path and look in all types of nooks and crannies for anything interesting that moves. It reminded me of my childhood where I would aimlessly wander local parks looking for anything I found interesting. There is something satisfying about aimlessly wandering and carefully looking at your surroundings. It is definitely something I plan on doing more frequently while I'm here (and back home). Michael showed me some of the Stonechat nests he had found over the past days and a breeding pair of Red-backed shrikes. While walking around the dunes we spotted a Crane flying in the direction of the sea changing its mind and heading back north along the coastline. We also spotted a Sedge warbler!

Dune escapades

After finding a breeding pair of Stonechats Michael and I spend quite some time observing them, trying to figure out where their nest was located and setting out a clap trap in the hope of catching one of them. In the end we had no luck and after a short nap in the sun I went back to the station while Michael ventured further into the dunes in hope of finding another target (without success I learned later in the day).

In the evening Morten returned to the station right before dinner. We enjoyed some drinks and shared stories about our travels and discussed the effects of the current political climate on nature conservation in Europe. Not before some extensive bird talk, of course. This is a bird observatory first and foremost!

Tonight, Morten, Michael and I plan to go out and hopefully watch the northern lights that have already been clearly visible in other parts of Europe in the past night.