The Second Great Snipe Adventure

Last night we went on a second Great Snipe (Tredækker) adventure! We travelled down to the same fields as last week, just outside of Støvring. Our guests, Ole and Birgitte, were really keen to see a Great Snipe too so kindly gave Rebecca, Simon Jr. and I a lift to the location, whilst Gustav and Antonia went with Simon Sr.

We started the catch at 10pm once it was completely dark. Simon Sr. used a thermal camera to spot birds roosting in the fields and then used a flashlight to dazzle them. Gustav walked with him with the hand net ready to catch the dazzled birds. Simon Jr. also got to practice his hand net catching technique.

There were a few near misses with Skylark (Sanglærke) but no Great Snipe (Tredækker) were seen at all. We think they have now left the area and have started their migration south to Africa. Although it was disappointing not to see or catch any Great Snipes it was still a very enjoyable adventure. We heard several Lapwing (Vibe) and enjoyed some star gazing. We were even lucky enough to see a couple of shooting stars!

As we got back late last night, there were no early starts today. Which fitted well since Grenen was covered in fog early in morning. However, later in the morning there was a call over Zello; a Barred Warbler (Høgesanger) had been spotted at World’s End 1. We grabbed our bikes and rushed over there as quick as we could. Again, we were unlucky and didn’t see the bird but were fortunate to get great views of an Osprey (Fiskeørn) flying past, a flock of Common Crossbill (Lille Korsnæb) and a very pretty Yellowhammer (Gulspurv) sat in a tree.

In the afternoon, Simon Jr. went to do the Cormorant (Skarv) count and buy more groceries. Whilst he was at the harbour, he also spotted Razorbill (Alk), Black Guillemot (Tejst) and a Merlin (Dværgfalk) which were nice to see. Also today data from the Fulmar (Mallemuk) survey was inputted, preparations were made for a guided walk tomorrow, and Simon Sr. had a meeting with the directors of DOF, the Chairman of the Bird Observatory and the our partners in the Nature Agency.

People: Hayley Land, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Rebecca Cheape, Antonia Greil, Simon S. Christiansen, Ole and Birgitte.

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