Wheatears Save the Day

Today started off quite slow for me. For the first time in several weeks, the standardized ringing was unable to carried out at Kabeltromelen due to intense northerly wind. This allowed me to take a morning off and catch up on some much needed rest so that I can finish the rest of the season strong. 

The observers on the other hand headed out to Verdens Ende 3 to for the morning counts. It was very windy, however, in the first hour they had a nice flock of Western Yellow Wagtails (Gulvipstjert) and a nice push of Fulmars (Mallemukker). As the morning progressed, the wind continued to pick up and the observers were forced to move back to the sand bunker to avoid damaging their optics and their eyes from the sand in the air.

In the afternoon, the wind continued to persist but we decided to reopen the Wheatear (stenpikker) trap with hopes of catching more of them as we did the previous day. Over the course of 6 hours we were able to catch close to ten individuals. It was a very nice way to spend an afternoon studying the different plumages of Northern Wheatear (Stenpikker).

In the evening, I cooked dinner and we continued to try to catch the wheatears up until dark. A nice way to spend an afternoon.

Stenpikker Hun

And so, another day passes at Skagen Fuglestation. What will tomorrow bring? We will have to wait and see!

Ringing: Fyrhaven

Stenpikker 9

Today’s sightings from observers in the area on dofbasen

People: Lucas Corneliussen, Cora Köberle, Andrew Jacobs, Rasmus Mattiesen-Juhl, Anders & Dorte Osterby