A Quail at Dawn

My day started extra early at two o’clock in the morning, as I went out to try night catch one of the Quails (Vagtel) that have been singing all throughout the Storsig area in the past nights. Already on my first hundred meters in, I heard at least three males vocalising their characteristic trisyllabic song that reminds of water drops. Locating them precisely however turned out to be very challenging, because they usually only sing a few times and then pause for a minute or more. The thermal binoculars I brought with me weren’t of any use, since the overall temperature was already to warm. But somehow I managed and was able to approach one of the birds, the overcast sky and strong northwesterly winds probably helped me get close enough. I found the tiny nocturnal singer in the beam of my flashlight and caught it with the hand net. With the Quail (Vagtel) in hand, I called Alvin to wake him and the others up and meet them in the lab to ring the bird. János and Hannah only had time to take a quick look at the Quail (Vagtel) before heading out to Kabeltromlen, but Alvin and I could take our time to process the bird, which was behaving very calmly, and take good photos. It was my first ever steel ring closed, so now I can call myself a more experienced ringer than I was before. Not only the song, but also the throat and breast pattern proof the bird to be a male; we aged it as 3cy+ (3rd calendar year or older), as it doesn’t show a moult limit in the primaries. As dawn slowly broke, we released the Quail (Vagtel) at the same spot where it was caught and watched it fly off well immediately. What a great experience, I will definitely try again as it worked so well on my first try.

3K+ male Quail (Vagtel). Such a lovely little bird. 

János and Hannah came back early from Kabeltromlen: After opening only very few nets due to wind, and having caught one single bird, they decided to close everything, and were back at the station at 07:00. Alvin tried some birdwatching first, but there was almost no movement out at sea, and so he quit soon after and caught a bit more sleep instead. János and I occupied ourselves with indoor work, Hannah went for a walk to the Pencil first. After lunch, Alvin and I checked some ringing sheets. Our dear guests Anne and Jesper went into town, where they visited the museum and had lunch at the restaurant. Back in the apartment, they watched the flocks of birds resting along the shore, just through the window – one of the most convenient forms of birdwatching there is. Towards the evening, we all went out again. Despite the winds still present, it was quite warm and both Hannah and Alvin had a little swim. After dinner, Alvin picked up Alix at the train station. She will stay with us until the end of June, and we are all so happy to have her back again!

People: Alvin Johansson, János Schadl, Julian Helbig, Hannah Bangard, Anne & Jesper