So long and thanks for all the fish - birds, I mean

Martin went to World’s End 3 one last time this morning. The weather wasn’t really cooperating, as it was drizzling, and the visibility was poor. There weren't a lot of birds; however, he still enjoyed those hours, especially since he had hot tea and delicious cookies that Amelie made yesterday:

Meanwhile, we continued cleaning the station and wrapping up the ringing year. That includes counting the leftover rings, packing up equipment and cleaning the lab, checking the last remaining ringing data sheets, cleaning up the freezer, cleaning and storing away the bicycles, and taking down the base station for the ICARUS project until it can be resumed.

Once the rain stopped later in the morning, Amelie opened the nets in the lighthouse garden. We caught three Greenfinches (Grønirisk) and recaptured one Blue tit (Blåmejse). So, the three of us each got to ring one last bird:

In the afternoon we heard that a Bonaparte’s Gull had been sighted in Hirtshals, so we jumped in Martin’s car and drove there in record time. Bonaparte’s Gull is a North American species that is rarely seen here. With the overcast sky, the light was already beginning to fade quickly when we arrived, but Martin spotted it in the harbor within minutes of our arrival. Incidentally, we ran into Conny who was also twitching the bird. The gull was closer to another pier than where we were. We wanted to get a closer look and take some pictures, so we jumped back in the car to drive to the other pier. To our chagrin, we could no longer find the bird – it flew away just as we were heading over there! 

We continued to search for it until it became too dark and then decided that we still had a good twitch after all, even if we only saw it for a few minutes.

When we got back to the lighthouse, a large package was waiting for us: the hoodies we ordered with the Skagen Fuglestation logo on them!

Simon got a call from a local who found a dead Greenfinch (Grønirisk) that was ringed here at the station last year in December. Simon enjoyed a nice cup of coffee with the locals and then took the bird back to the station and put it in the freezer. It will stay there until it can be analyzed for pesticides. If you find a dead bird, always feel free to let us know - we would love to have it for our records and for our research.

Tonight we enjoyed a pizza dinner with Simon and had Kirsten's champagne that she got for us - thank you, Kirsten! :)

This is my last blog entry for the station, as Martin and I will be leaving tomorrow. It really hit me when we drove back from Hirtshals this afternoon and saw the lighthouse in the dark. This place has left a profound impression on me, and I think that it will take me several weeks to process the three months I had here at the station. So many memories, so many good people! And, of course, so many amazing birds.

Many thanks to all of you who crossed paths with me. Each one of you taught me something valuable, even if our encounter was only brief! 

Ringmærkering (Fyrhaven):

Grønirisk – Greenfinch: 3

Total: 3

Klik her for at se dagens observationer indtastet i Dofbasen af observatører i området

People: Amelie Zeller, Martin Grienenberger, Simon S. Christiansen, Christina Stinn, Conny Jensen, Kirsten