A day of Stealth

We awoke to a beautiful sunny morning so a change from the cloudy weather of yesterday. The plan was to head to a local beach and catch some Turnstone (Stevender) and Purple Sandpiper (Sortgrå Ryle) which Jørgen spotted yesterday. We picked up Simon and headed to the site with all the kit including some bait.

Picture 1: The Beach – spot Thomas!!

Once reaching the site we located the birds and set up the trap. The beach was rather frozen so it was interesting to see how the birds would react to the cold. Initially it looked promising but as the wind started to pick up, less success was had. Me and Thomas took shifts lying on the beach whilst Jørgen and Simon attempted to walk the birds in. Whilst at the beach we also saw a Knot (Islandsk Ryle), a cool sight to see which was Jørgen’s highlights for the day. It was getting rather cold with no success, so we decided to head to the harbour for some gull feeding.

We headed to the Harbour via the Bakery, as some sweet treats were needed all round after our somewhat cold morning. Thank you, Simon, for getting some Fastelavn Buns, these were enjoyed all round when back at the station.

Picture 2: A colour ringed Great Black-Backed Gull (Svartbag)

In the harbour we located a large group of Herring Gulls (Sølvmåge) and Great Black Backed Gulls (Svartbag) fighting over some freshly used fishing net. The Gull feeding site was full of activity with boats reeling and nets, so the Gulls were rather excited over the stench of fish. The harbour was busy with boats but a lot of them seemed to be grounded due to the ice. It was impressive how ice had formed overnight showing how cold it really was. From the flock we collectively ring read four Norwegian rings so a very successful trip. The gull feeding was slightly less successful compared to the last time we went, when we fed them a gourmet fish, with bread not up to their standard!!

We headed to a new location for some more feeding which was a little more successful, but the Gulls were a little shy. We headed to a few more sites where Simon explored some of the ice but came back looking rather cold. We decided to head back for some food and to warm up. Some of our highlights at the harbour was a Caspian Gull (Kaspisk Måge), Herring Gulls (Sølvmåge), and Great Black-Backed Gull (Svartbag) so a great mix of species.

Picture 3: Kabeltromlen Sunset

After some lunch we headed out to finish oiling the Kabeltromlen which is finally complete and went for a short walk. The sunshine and setting sun were rather beautiful and a lovely end to the afternoon.

Picture 4: Beach Sunset

On the way back we saw a Purple Sandpiper (Sortgrå Ryle), so Thomas headed back to grab the kit whilst I stayed with the bird. We attempted to catch the bird with no luck so went back to the lighthouse to warm up and made some dinner.

Highlights:

-   Knot (Islandsk Ryle)

-   Purple Sandpiper (Sortgrå Ryle)

- Caspian Gull (Kaspisk Måge)

Link to Dofbasen here.

Observers: Thomas Weston, Eleanor Harris, Jørgen Hulbæk, Simon S. Christiansen