Veni, vidi Caprimulgum europaeum!

Hi everyone!

The events of this blog entry start exceptionally already in the last hours of yesterday, because as Alice announced, today, we were night active and have been Nightjar chatching in Sandmilen the whole night. But it was another successful night. Around nine o'clock in the evening, Lars Bo, Esben, Alice, Rita and I drove in a packed car to Sandmilen. After we had set up the nets there, we had to wait. It would have been quite comfortable, Esben had had the idea to bring blankets and we had the cake with us, which Mette had brought yesterday - that was good refreshment, thank you - but unfortunately the air was full of midges. Therefore, we have tried with all means to cover our faces, and that`s how we look then, on our blankets, but not quite the most successful night picnic ;)

In the first round we were rewarded, for all the torture the midges did to us, two male Nightjars „Natravn“ in the nets! Alice and I had the honor to ring the two and again marvel at their enormous gorges when they hissed at us one or the other time.

Of course this first successful round left us hoping for more, in the second round the nets were empty. Between two net rounds Lars Bo and I headed towards the sea with the thermal Binoculars and chacher net. We wanted to escape the midges and also hoped to see and catch resting birds on the beach. But after a while we realized that the beach was further away than expected. So we returned empty-handed for the next net round, but the nets were also empty. When finally already the first birds started to sing, Song Thrushes „Sangdrossel“ and Robins „Rødhals” and then soon also Goldcrests „Fuglekonge”, we set off for the last net round and put down the nets afterwards. Nothing this time either. And yet a successful night, with two Nightjars can already be satisfied. But we are wondering where the bats are, because we had not seen a single one. At sunrise we drove back to the station and soon all crawled into bed. In the morning, Knud was observing at Nordstrand. And around five o'clock in the morning Rolf heard a Zitting Cisticola ”Cistussanger”at World's End 1. At that time, we had just crawled into bed. Still, it's very cool, because it's the 5th danish record and the 4th for Skagen. and of course we hope to maybe hear it tomorrow.... We then slept late of course, I was up first and started cleaning the kitchen after a brunch, then Esben, Alice and Rita came too. Esben set off after dinner in pouring rain to Netto to do some grocery shopping. Alice, Rita and I then cleaned up the Nightjar equipment in the lab. Now we hear the mixer, because Esben makes falafel for us. We are looking forward to a good meal and maybe an evening walk?
Take care, see you tomorrow!

Hanelie

Observations of the day in DOFbasn from observers in the area

Klik her for at se opsummeret observationer af rovfugle i Skagen

People at the station: Knud Pedersen, Esben E. Hansen, Lars Bo Jacobsen, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Rita DeLucco, our Guests