Loon or Lunatic?

Today was very cold in the morning and we were all a bit sleepy after the excitement of night catching last night, but Amira and I still woke up excited for ringing to see what we will catch in the nets. It was a busy morning with many birds in each round, and good thing Simon was there to help us pick up the pace with so many birds. We saw all of Skagen’s CUTEST birds in the nets today: Treecreepers (træløber), wrens (gærdesmutter), and goldcrests (fuglekonge). We also had the first Brambling (Kværkerfinke) of the season which Amira was very happy about.

First brambling (Kværkerfinke) of the season

One of the outrageously cute treecreepers (Træløber)

Meanwhile, Florian, Gabriel, and Miles were at World’s End III with Knud for the observation, where they also had a very busy day! We could hear them over the radio calling out birds regularly throughout the morning, and we were also luckily able to see two of their four sooty shearwaters (Sodfarvet Skråpe). They also saw yet another Leech’s storm petrel (Stor stormsvale) but with a better look than yesterday. This one we could not see from Kabletrommeln.

Amira and I got back a bit late from ringing after the busy morning, and then went for a very cold swim. Miles also joined us after his first run of the season. After a pleasant afternoon of napping, birdwatching, and various other bits, we joined together for a tasty mediterranean meal from Florian. We learned some new information about Swiss people; they eat their fondue very frequently and with high stakes—the rules vary, but sometimes, if someone drops a piece of bread off the fork then they have to remove a piece of clothing. This is why they only have fondue in wintertime.

The Red-throated Loon (Rødstrubet Lom) from yesterday was a very cool catch and only the second one to be ringed here at the observatory. We almost missed it because Simon didn’t want to get his feet wet, but luckily Lisa was there to quickly talk some sense into him. It was an adult bird moulting its flight feathers, meaning it will stay here for a while until it can grow the new feathers and fly away again. Birds with shorter wings compared with body size (such as ducks, divers, and auks) are more likely to have this strategy of moulting flight feathers all at once, because their wings need to carry proportionally more weight, so losing one feather at a time is more costly. Therefore it is better for them to risk being flightless for a short period of time and retain all of the flight feathers and maximum function for the rest of the year. We hope this beauty will have a pleasant stay and a safe onward journey.

Highlights from Grenen:

Sooty shearwater (Sodfarvet Skråpe) 3

Leech’s storm petrel (Stor stormsvale) 1

Great skua (Stor Kjove) 5

Long-tailed skua (Lille kjove) 1

Fulmar (Mallemuk) 126

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):

Musvit 3

Munk 13

Gærdesmutte 20

Rødhals 5

Jernspurv 4

Lille Gråsisken 1

Rødstjert 1

Rørspurv 2

Kvækerfinke 2

Bogfinke 6

Gransanger 5

Trælober 5

Fuglekonge 18

Total new birds: 85

Ringing (Jennes Sø):

Gærdesmutte 4

Rødhals 4

Gransanger 5

Fuglekonge 11

Topmejse 1

Blåmejse 2

Musvit 1

Træløber 1

Lille Gråsisken 27

Rørspurv 1