A pallas pal

Hi everyone,

The weather today was rather mild and provided good enough observation conditions that the team at World End 3, although having a slow morning, had the surprise to see two little auks Søkonge coming from inland above their head ! And by « team », I meant everybody except Aksel, whose persistent lack of luck made little auks his new nemesis. It didn’t prevent him to see the first of his three new species today – the slavonian grebe Nordisk Lappedykker.

Soon after he was called to the Kabetromlen by the ringing team for his second new species of the day : a firecrest Rødtoppet Fuglekonge ! It was quite a surprise as this is the station’s 4th ever individual, the last one being caught in 2020. It cheered up the ringing team that also had a slow morning, apart from the first and last round which each brought up a third of all individuals caught today. A few people visited during the morning and we made the kids release some birds ; it’s always nice to see them approaching birds and being amazed by such small feathery creatures.

What about the third species, you may ask ? After lunch, Aksel and Louis, soon joined by Diana, Prescillia and our guest, went out to try and find the Pallas’s warbler Fuglekongesanger announced on Zello sooner in the morning. Much to their delight, the sharp eye of Louis had soon caught the precious little warbler. This is one of the smallest palearctic warbler, breeding at high altitudes (up to 4000m !) between Himalayas, Altai and northern China. It is highly migratory and winters in southern China, India and Indochina ; but in recent decades, increasing number have been found accidentally in Europe, « regularly » in Denmark since 1980s.

Picture courtesy of Erik Christophersen.

In the meantime, I was at home entering the data and preparing for my presentation, which I (finally !) gave at the end of the day before we all took off for a beer in town ; it was then time for me to leave for my next adventure. I feel very lucky for all precious moments spent with my amazing colleagues, and grateful for everything I’ve learned, but mostly for the lovely people I’ve met for a short or longer time, and that made my stay unforgettable. Thank you all, and take care !

People at the station : Solenn Boucher, Olof Lou, Knud Pedersen, Aksel Y. Munkholm, Louis Kristoffer Poulsen, Diana Sciandra, Prescillia Lemesle and our guest Jørgen Hulbæk

Today’s observations in the area on DOFBasen

Ringing (Kabeltromlen) :
Gærdesmutte : 6
Rødhals : 3
Solsort : 1
Munk : 4
Gransanger : 1
Fuglekonge : 2
Rødtoppet Fuglekonge : 1
Blåmejse : 8
Nordlig Træløber : 1
Bogfinke : 3
Lille Dompap : 1
Gulspurv : 1
Rørspurv : 1

Total : 34