Big Divers, Big Marine Mammals and Big Rain Showers

As we woke up this morning, we noticed that there might be some rain in the morning and that it was also quite windy outside. Sarah and Jule agreed that the weather was too bad for ringing but still good enough for the count. This meant that we could all go to the count together! Because of the strong southeasterly wind, we all went to Nordstrand to get more shelter at the observation spot that Knud created there.

When we arrived at the count, Knud and Alex were already there and had started counting. All in all, there were far fewer Razorbills (Alk) than yesterday, but more Guillemots (Lomvie). This meant that we could spend some time observing the differences between these two species very clearly!

Observing at Nordstrand. Photo by Alex Sand Frich

During the second hour, we spotted a flock of four Orcas (Spækhugger), consisting of one male with a very large fin and three females or young individuals. They came quite close to the shore today, so everyone could enjoy watching them.

Bad picture of our great observation of one of the Orcas (Spækhugger) by Mio Brix

And that wasn't the only highlight of the count! A little later, we spotted two large divers that came quite close to us. After observing them for a while, we were sure that one of them was an adult Great Northern Diver (Islom), still in its breeding plumage, while the other was an immature, probably a third-calendar-year (3CY) White-billed Diver (Hvidnæbbet Lom)! So, not only great marine mammals but also some amazing birds!

After we had all cycled back against the strong wind, we rested for a bit and briefly met Jule's parents, who will pick her up tomorrow because, sadly, her time at the station has come to an end.

This is quite hard for me to realise, as I have been here the whole time since July with her, and we have had so many great experiences up here. I will definitely miss her here!

In the afternoon, we followed our daily afternoon routine and had our evening meeting. Simon told us a very interesting story about a bird tag on a Short-eared Owl (Mosehornugle), which you can read about in a few days on our social media channels (Facebook and Instagram).

After the meeting, we all really enjoyed the pancakes that Cora made for dinner. They gave Cora and me the motivation to go night-catching behind Ellekrattet again, and annnd we succeeded once more! This time, we caught another Woodcock (Skovsneppe) and a Jack Snipe (Enkeltbekkasin)!

Jule ringing her last bird for her stay: The Jack Snipe (Enkeltbekkasin). Picture by Mio Brix

And the Jack Snipe (Enkeltbekkasin) from above! Picture by Sarah Partridge.

After we ringed the birds, we welcomed Christina, who will stay here at the station until Dezember!

Highlights of the observation:

White-billed Diver (Hvidnæbbet Lom)-1

Great Northern Diver (Islom)-1

Orcas (Spækhugger)-4

No ringing at Kabeltromlen today due to the wind and rain

Ringing fields behind Ellekrattet:

Woodcock (Skovsneppe)-1

Jack Snipe (Enkeltbekkasin)-1

People: Mio Brix, Cora Köberle, Luis-Marie Gourmelon, Sarah Partridge, Jule Tappe, Christina Liu, Simon S. Christiansen, Knud Pedersen, Alex Sand Frich, Lars and Lone