Sanding and Sorting

Picture 1: Observatory Sanding

With the wind blowing strong from the east again, snow falling, and temperatures not reaching zero, we decided today was going to be a day of completing tasks. Washing was essential, but the biggest task was sanding the surfaces in the kitchen. Primed with the relevant equipment we set out sanding all the surfaces which took most of the morning. Dust was everywhere and we would usually put species seen from the window in this section, but the stormy weather and dust filled room led to very few being seen this morning – a few passing Cormorants (Skarv) and a handful of Herring Gulls (Sølmåge) the best!

Picture 2: Dunes between Ellekrattet and Jennes Sø

Once complete, lunch was had, and we waited a little to see if the snow would stop and then maybe we could complete the second session of oiling the Kabletromlen. With such cold temperatures and no sun at all, we decided to set off for some food shopping, and recycle some of the glass bottles via a spot where a Great Grey Shrike (Stor tornskade) was recently seen. We cycled between Ellekrattet and Jennes Sø to use our binoculars to search for the bird as this has been a favoured site for them previously. The sound of the glass bouncing in the bike basket was not ideal, but we did see a Rough Legged Buzzard (Fjeldvåge), a distant Gannet (Sule), and a couple of Blackbirds (Solsort). No luck with the shrike this time, but we will try again. Moving onwards, we recycled our bottles, said “hi” to the local horses featured previously in the blog, and went into Skagen to do our shopping before heading back just after sunset.

Highlights:

-             Rough Legged Buzzard (Fjeldvåge)

Link to Dofbasen here.

Observers: Thomas Weston and Eleanor Harris