Knot & Nightjar

Hej!

After our success with a Leach's Storm-Petrel the night of Aug. 29/30, we decided to try catching storm petrels again last night.  I had nightwatching duties, while the rest got some sleep.

I'll quell your anticipation now: we did not catch any storm-petrels.

However, after putting on some audio lures for shorebirds in the early hours in the morning, we caught a single Red Knot (Islandsk Ryle) juvenile.  Additionally, while it was still dark, I had seen some nightjars circling above the nightjar nets.  When I went to do the final net check & close just at sunrise, I found one nightjar (natravn) caught in the net!  

A knot and a nightjar may not be Leach's Storm Petrel, but they're timelessly pleasant birds nonetheless, so all-in-all it was a successful night!

Red Knot (Islandsk Ryle)

Worldwide, there are several subspecies of Red Knot, Calidris canutus, all breeding in high latitudes of the northern hemisphere.  Here in Denmark, two subspecies occur on migration: canutus, which breeds in central Siberia, and islandica, which breeds on islands in extreme northern Canada and northern Greenland.  These two subspecies appear highly similar, and only show subtle morphological differences (with much overlap).  While we likely can't identify this bird to subspecies, it's fascinating to think that it was born just a few weeks ago in a place as far away as the Canadian arctic, Greenland, or Siberia.

In the morning, Hanelie and Simon went to Kabeltromlen to ring, catching a Jay (skovskade) as a highlight, and some more goldcrests (fuglekonge).  

Frank and Elena went to World's End 3 for a brief seawatch as well, and heard a spotted redshank (sortklire) flying over.

Two of our guests, Pia and Jan left today in the afternoon.  It was lovely having them here.

In the evening we welcomed our new volunteer Solenn, who will be staying here until December.  We'll be attempting to catch storm-petrels again tonight, so hopefully we succeed and can give Solenn a warm storm-petrel welcome to Skagen!

Have a good night!

Max

People: Max Laubstein, Frank Osterberg, Hanelie Sidhu, Elena Turac, Solenn Boucher, Simon Christiansen, Karin, and our guests Henrik, Pia, and Jan.

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)

Goldcrest (Fuglekonge): 3

Chiffchaff (Gransanger): 1

Redstart (Rødstjert): 7

Lesser whitethroat (Gærdesanger): 1

Marsh warbler (Kærsanger): 1

Common whitethroat (Tornsanger): 1

Eurasian Jay (Skovskade): 1

Ringing (Stranden, Det Grå Fyr):

Red Knot (Islandsk Ryle) 1

Ringing (Fyrhaverne)

European Nightjar (Natravn) 1

Total: 17

Observations of the day in DOFBasen from observers in the area