"A wrap without chokolat is like birding without binoculars"

The morning started freezing cold. Mio and I went to open the nets at Kabeltromlen, but the nets were frozen because of the low temperatures. Although we were not able to open all the nets, we were able to open most of them, even though it took us a little bit longer than usual (one and a half hours). Sarah joined us for the first round, and Leon joined us for the third round. Youri was also going to join us, but had the bad luck of getting a flat tyre minutes after setting off.

The day was really slow, with a lot of rounds without birds, but a Firecrest (Rødtoppet Fuglekonge), what I call a 'rave bird' (because it looks like it has makeup on for a rave), delighted us halfway through the ringing session. 

A female firecrest (Rødtoppet Fuglekonge). Photo by Christina Liu, 11-07-2026.

Great company and also a great cake Jørgen brought (thank you, Jørgen!) made the slow morning a great morning.

Great company, featuring Mio trying to train Igor (11-07-2026)

Meanwhile, Louise-Marie, Leon (for the first round) and Rosie went to the migration count. Things were also slow on their side, but a White-tailed Eagle (Havørn) and a Mediterranean Gull (Sorthovedet Måge) spiced things up.

After the field activities, we came back to the lighthouse and opened the garden net. We were lucky to catch two Common Redpolls (Gråsisken)!

In the afternoon, we had a small family outing (the highlight of my day!). Sarah, Rosie, Mio, Leon and I went into town to get some hot dogs from a hot dog stand. It was the first Danish hot dog I had here, and it was really good.

Hotdog family outing (07-11-2026)

After that, we went for coffee, hot chocolate and cake at the bakery. Extremely hygge! And then we did some shopping. Meanwhile, Louise-Marie decided to stay home to do some cleaning and cook dinner (it smells amazing!).

Jørgen and Youri are going away tomorrow. It was really nice having you here! I hope we will meet again in the future.

Finally, dear reader, today's 'movie' recommendation: a lesson on redpolls (subspecies differentiation, sexing and ageing). We are going to watch it after dinner with some popcorn and drinks. I'm sure it is going to be really interesting and extremely hygge! 

Link to today’s observations in the Dofbasen from observers in the area.