Redpoll Hiatus

…And somehow the weather got even worse. With wind gusts of up to 34 mph and an overcast sky, the morning looked uninviting in just about every way. Nonetheless, Johanna and Magnus made their journey over to Nordstrand for the migration count since it’s slightly more sheltered than World’s End 3. 

While they were there, Simon, Mira, and I went on a stunning walk to Jenne Sø hoping to meet Michael Ancher and his mist nets. 

Mira and Simon on the boardwalk.

When we saw that he was not there, we headed over to an old abandoned building nearby where Simon K. told us about a mythical photo of Simon C. playing the piano in sunglasses. We all had a laugh and then headed towards Michael Ancher’s house to see if he was ringing over there. We found Michael there and introduced ourselves. Unfortunately, although Michael had his nets open, there was not a single bird today. Not even one Common Redpoll [Gråsisken]! So we were destined to continue our walk down towards the town of Skagen, through some beautiful woods, and then finally along the main road back to the lighthouse. 

Mira and Simon on a dock.

At Nordstrand migration was slow. Johanna and Magnus were grateful for the shelter from the wind, but sadly saw almost no inland migration and very little happening at sea. During a quick pause from looking through the scope, Johanna and Magnus stumbled upon a little beetle that is actually quite important! This beetle is called an Early Blister Beetle [Klitplasterbille - Apalus bimaculatus] and has not been reported in Denmark in recent years!

Early Blister Beetle [Klitplasterbille - Apalus bimaculatus]. (Picture by: Johanna Veentjer).

After our adventures in the morning, we took some time to unwind together in the afternoon. Some of us read through the ringer’s manual, some of us entered data into DOFbasen, and some of us studied. It was very nice to take a little break together. Magnus went into town to see a game of basketball and managed to run into some snow! He was then met by the rest of the team to go look for some Bohemian Waxwings [Silkehale] in town. This trip was unsuccessful, but we did get a nice amount of groceries to last us for the next few days!

Snow in town. (Picture by: Magnus Houen Lauritsen).

Finally, in the evening, Mira prepared some amazing summer rolls for us and we discussed all the strange different culinary habits that exist in Scandinavia and around the world. We considered having a movie night, but in the end decided it was much too late and we had to be up early again tomorrow, so the movie will have to wait another day. 

All the fresh ingredients Mira prepared for our summer rolls.

That’s all for today! See you again soon…

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: Johanna Veentjer, Mira Kieckbusch, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Michael Ancher