Dry hands and Warm socks

Today was a slow day. The alarm went off at 5:35 a.m., and Sarah and I biked to Kabeltromlen to set up the nets. Amira and Simon joined us for the first net round, and later Lars Bo showed up as well. As usual, it was cold outside, and for weeks now my hands have been dry, with constantly stinging cracks that have grown deeper and more bloody these past few days because of the cold. Kind as she is, Sarah lent me her homemade fingerless gloves designed for bird ringing, which really helped against the cold.

 

Personally, I was extra tired today, though I think everyone was a bit more tired than usual. I woke up several times during the night and had trouble falling back asleep, which left me drained of energy during the ringing. Because of that, I left the ringing earlier than usual to catch up on the sleep I’d missed. Amira, Sarah and Lars Bo continued ringing after I left. They ended up ringing exactly 100 birds today, with several Bramblings (Kvækerfinker) being especially common in the nets. Toward the end of the ringing, Florian joined in and ringed a few birds as well.

 

Today’s migration count was done by Florian, Miles, and Knud from Worlds End III. They had several nice species, among them a couple of Shore Larks (Bjerglærker), Snow Bunting (Snespurv), a Sooty Shearwater (Sodfarvet Skråpe) and an Arctic Tern (Havterne), which was the first of the season for us here.

 

In the afternoon, we reported today’s catches and double-checked the ringing data from earlier in the week. A couple of torn bird bags were also sewn back together. After that, the team went for a swim in the sea. On the beach, I found a few seashells that I brought inside to identify.

 

After the swim, Sarah and Miles went to the store to buy groceries for tonight’s dinner. Florian went out birding, and Amira took a walk just before dusk. I took the opportunity to rest a bit more, still feeling tired.

 

In the evening, we welcomed Esben, a former volunteer here at the station. Sarah and Miles had made a delicious Shepherd’s Pie, which we all enjoyed together. After dinner, Esben and Lars Bo went out for some nightcatching, but unfortunately they didn’t catch anything.

 

People: Gabriel Axelsson, Florian Hatt, Sarah Partridge, Amira Nuseibeh, Miles Scheuering, Knud Pedersen, Simon S. Christiansen, Lars Bo Jacobsen och Esben Hansen