Butterflies and moths

This morning started out at the ringing for Dylan and I. A calm morning like the past few days and we started opening nets as usual. When we came to the last net, Dylan shouted at me that he had seen a Green Sandpiper (Svaleklire) being chased by a Sparrowhawk (Spurvehøg) and that both birds where behind me in the net I had just opened! I immediately ran back to the net but the Sparrowhawk (Spurvehøg) escaped, and I could only manage to extract the Green Sandpiper (Svaleklire) which was left in the net. Unfortunately the bird got a little injured by the raptor and had to be released quickly, unringed. The release gave us hope for the little bird as it flew off really strong and even called a few times though. 

Quite the stressful experience, but a learning one also. My first wader handling and a special situation of dealing with an injured uncommonly caught bird. A powerful start to the morning that Dylan and I took a little bit to recover from and to discuss afterwards. 

Another highlight of the morning was the finding Simon made by taking a small walk around Kabeltromeln, a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Lille Flagspætte)! Very rare for the area, we had a chance to see it in flight and were really excited about it. Good spotting Simon! 

The rest of the morning was filled with our usual visitors, a majority of Wrens (Gærdesmutte), Robins (Rødhals), or Willow warblers (Løvsanger) and Chiffchaffs (Gransanger).

Chiffchaff (Gransanger) on the left and Willow Warbler (Løvsanger) on the right

For the observers, the morning was also a beautiful one and they had decided to count in a different spot we call « the pencil », which is Skagen’s West Lighthouse. 

Migration spot

They had hopped to see a lot of Harriers there as it is a place where they usually fly lower and more frequently, but only saw one upon their arrival and none for the rest of the morning unfortunately. 

The passerine migration was pretty good with some good numbers of Siskins (Grønsisken), Redpolls (Gråsisken) or even some Tree Pipits (Skovpiber). 

Sea-wise, the migration was rather slow but that made it manageable and enjoyable for a single observer to tackle on their own, and Julian who was tasked with sea watching today could notice that the Guillemot (Lomvie) migration seems to be coming to an end with a total of 7 birds migrating over the 4h observation period. Some highlights of the sea would be some Long-tailed Ducks (Havlit), and 7 migrating Bar-Tailed Godwits (Lille kobbersneppe).

During the morning, the observer team was also lucky to spot a beautiful Camberwell Beauty (Sørgekåbe) butterfly, and Saxe managed to take some good pictures of it.

Camberwell Beauty (Sørgekåbe)

After everyone got back from our morning activities, we could have a look at our moth trap which was set up during the night. We were pleasantly surprised by a beautiful female Emperor Moth (Natpåfugleøje)! Our biggest catch so far, and everyone was very happy to see the beautiful specimen.

Female Emperor Moth (Natpåfugleøje)

With each days passing we manage to trap more and more moths, of varying species, which makes us look forward to the continuing season.

 

Link to today’s observations in DOFbasen from observers in the area

People at the station: Alvin Johansson, János Schadl, Alix Bortolussi, Julian Helbig, Dylan Daunt, Simon S. Christiansen, Saxe Lind Christiansen, Anne & Bjarne, Michael Ancher.