Catch and Recatch

Last night we set up nets again. It didn't take long and when Seán checked the net for the first time, he could see a Nightjar (Natravn) flying around the net. Unfortunately it didn't fly into the net and flew off after a while. But when Seán went closer to the net, he saw that there was one hanging. For him and me, this was the first ringed Nightjar. What a cool bird! It was an adult female. It's totally exciting to see how the species is adapted to the darkness with its big eyes. The beak looks tiny, but when the nightjar opens it, it would fit a ping-pong ball. Perfect for catching all those pesky mosquitoes away.

  Nightjar (Natravn) - female ad. (pic: Simon Kiesé)

As today was a quiet migration day, there is not too much else to report. A pair (male and female) of Bullfinches (Dompap) made us very happy in Kabeltromlen.

Bullfinch (Dompap) - male (pic: Seán Welsh)

In the morning, Hans guided a bird watching tour from the lighthouse to Grenen beach. Several interested tourists were joining him. Their first stop was at the ringing at Kabeltromlen, where they got to observe the ringing of a reed warbler (rørsanger) and a whitethroat (tornsanger). Then they walked on to the beach and got some introduction to identifying gulls (måge) and the few shorebirds (ryle) that are still left out there. They also observed the gannets (sule) diving for fish.

The highlight of the day was something else. When Simon (the 1st) told us that one of our Storm Petrels (Lille Stormsvale) had been recaptured, we could hardly believe our ears. The first bird we had ringed last week was recaptured only 48 later, 370km away as the crow flies. It weighed 2.7 grams less, which makes sense given the distance this little bird must have travelled. This is the first reading of a Storm Petrel ringed in Denmark. Brilliant! Simon has also written an article about it in which the story is explained with a few pictures, feel free to check it out: The article about the Storm Petrel recatch.

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet)

Gulbug (Icterine Warbler) - 2

Gærdesanger (Lesser Whitethroat) - 3

Rørsanger (Reed Warbler) - 1

Løvsanger (Willow Warbler) - 1

Munk (Blackcap) – 3

Tornsanger (Common Whitethroat) - 4

Dompap (Bullfinch) - 2

Gransanger (Chiffchaff) – 1

Total: 17

People: Seán Walsh, Martina Hillbrand, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Lisa Vergin, Hans Christophersen, Peter Kristensen, Lise, Tine and Elinor

A link to today's observations from volunteers and local observers.

A link to the results of the latest NocMig-Recordings on Trektellen.