Netting a Knot

With a lull in the winds today, expectations were high for seawatching this morning. Often after strong westerlies, seabirds that have been blown into the Kattegat can then be seen passing Grenen on their way back out into the North Sea. Sarah and I joined Knud at World’s End 3 for dawn, and he soon picked up the first Little Auk (Søkonge) of the autumn. In the meantime the wind had dropped just enough for Simon to open the Lighthouse Garden nets for a couple of hours, giving Helga and Kristian another chance to watch some ringing.

As it was our last day with Simon, we all went out for lunch and a beer at the Skagen Bryghus, where we ate some delicious fish dishes and sampled some great ales.

Lunch at the Skagen Bryghus: Simon, Sarah, Kristian, Helga and James

This evening we went out for the final night catching opportunity for Sarah and I. Simon came with us and we decided to target the Purple Sandpipers (Sortgrå Ryle) which have been roosting along the sea defences by the Lighthouse.

Simon and James dazzling waders

We didn’t get lucky with the Purple Sandpipers, but we did manage to net a Knot (Islandsk Ryle)! This time instead of waiting for pitch dark, we went just as dusk was falling, and it worked well as we were able to see and therefore approach the birds much more carefully. After many nights spent unsuccessfully chasing flighty Sanderling (Sandløber), it was great to end our stay with a successful catch.

Success at last! A 1st year Knot (Islandsk Rule)

For dinner, Simon made some delicious (and enormous!) calzones, which we followed up with a movie night by watching The Big Year – fast becoming the Observatory’s signature film it seems!

Birds Rung (3): 1 Knot (Islandsk Ryle), 1 Blue Tit (Blåmejse) and 1 Rødhals (Robin).

People: Sarah Bedford, James Butcher, Knud Pederson, Simon S. Christiansen and Helga & Kristian Rudolf