The Snails Are Out, And They Are So Cute!

Hayley and I woke up this morning at 04.20 to open the nets at Kabeltromlen, however, we noticed there was still quite a bit of rain until 06.00 so we took the luxury to sleep a little bit longer. For the first time in a while, due to the delay the rain caused, the five of us had breakfast together this morning. That was a nice change! Magnus and Simon (who has recently suffered a great injury during a football match, hopefully he recovers soon!) then left for counting and Hayley and I were joined by Hanelie at Kabeltromlen. 

As to be expected by the weather conditions, things at both World’s End 1 and Kabeltromlen were very slow. We were joined by Lars Askholm a bit after opening the nets, but, although Lars was very curious and keen to learn, we had very few birds each round to show him. Of the birds we did have, almost all of them were Chiffchaffs (Gransanger)! They are always very cute to have in hand, but can be quite tricky to age accurately. 

Chiffchaff (Gransanger) in hand.

We had a brief rain shower sweep over us, prompting us to quickly close up all our nets until the conditions were dry enough to open them up again. When we were wading through the North side of Kabeltromlen, I noticed many cute little snails enjoying the rain. One of them was particularly acrobatic, hanging upside down near the nets on a branch. 

Cute acrobatic snail.

At World’s End 1, Simon and Magnus were delighted to see a large number of Red-Throated Divers (Rødstrubet Lom) migrating this morning. They also got a lovely visit from Jørgen and Igor, which always puts everyone in a good mood. 

After our morning tasks were completed, Hayley, Magnus, and Simon joined Lisa on the search for a GPS tag from a Red-Throated Diver (Rødstrubet Lom) presumed dead. They succeeded in finding it very quickly! Good job!

While we were busy in the field, Simon (Snr) who had just returned to Skagen from further South (where he was collecting ornithosis samples) was also hard at work in a meeting with several Board Members from around Denmark. 

We finished the day with data entry, cleaning, and a lovely dinner made by Hanelie, then prepared for tomorrow… 

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet)

Wren (Gærdesmutte) 1

Common Chiffchaff (Gransanger) 3

Total: 4

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area.

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People: Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Hanelie Sidhu, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Knud Pedersen, Simon S. Christiansen, Lisa Vergin, Lars Askholm, Several Board Members