The Bird King Has Come

We thought yesterday’s numbers were amazing, but today proved to be even more crazy! Although the amount of species was not super high, we did have loads of Goldcrests [Fuglekonge]. Hayley, Hanelie, and I tore our eyes open at 04.00 in the morning to open the nets at Kabeltromlen, oblivious to the chaos that would befall us shortly after… All of our nets were full! Full of Goldcrests [Fuglekonge]. Luckily Simon (Big) was there to help us with ringing while some of us wrote and others continued doing net rounds. There were so many birds that every net round just blended in with the next, there was no time to take any breaks. In the end we had 219 newly ringed Goldcrests [Fuglekonge] at Kabeltromlen, Simon (Big) said it might even be one of the best days we have had for March ever! In addition to all the newly ringed birds, we had plenty of recaptures today, including one foreign recapture from Arnhem, Holland. A large flock of 36 guests took part in an easter tour, guided by our very own Magnus and Anders Østerby around our working area. They got to experience some of our ringing work at Kabeltromlen this morning and I,'m sure they enjoyed the flurry of Goldcrests [Fuglekonge] floating around. 

 

Goldcrest [Fuglekonge] from Arnhem, Holland.

 

Simon S. Christiansen addresses a crowd of curious individuals.

 

But that is not all! Two adult Sparrowhawks [Spurvehøg], one male and one female, tried to make a quick snack out of the birds we had caught, unfortunately for them, it ended up in a tangle of nets and feathers. Do not worry though, no one was injured during these processes. They were both absolutely stunning, and some perfectly timed visitors even got to participate in releasing the male! 

 

Adult female Eurasian Sparrowhawk [Spurvehøg].

 

Adult male Eurasian Sparrowhawk [Spurvehøg].

 

There was one last surprise during ringing today –although I believe all birds are very interesting and worth mentioning, it would be entirely impossible to give every single bird a moment under the spotlight of this blog entry. While closing the nets we noticed a little bird that did not quite look like all the rest with a pale belly and a curved bill… wow! A Eurasian Treecreeper [Træløber] was sat in the net gazing back at us. What a day. 

 

Eurasian Treecreeper [Træløber].

 

While all of this was happening at Kabeltromlen, Simon (Little) and Jonas were equally hard at work with Knud at Nordstrand. With high numbers of migrating birds, in particular: Eurasian Chaffinches [Bogfinke], Common Scoter [Sortand], Common Wood Pigeon [Ringdue], and Mistle Thrushes [Misteldrossel]. Around 19 THOUSAND Eurasian Chaffinches [Bogfinke] were counted this morning. They also managed to spot a migrating Great Grey Shrike [Stor Tornskade] and even some Bearded Reedlings [Skægmejse]. After counting, Simon (Little) came to join us at Kabeltromlen to provide some (very much needed) help along with Lisa Vergin. 

 

After all of this, it was still only late noon. We went back to the apartment for a very needed lunch (although we had to scrape away at whatever scraps we found in the fridge since none of us had the time nor energy to grab some quick groceries). After lunch, Hayley, Hanelie, and I got straight to work entering all the ringing data for the day. Then we had a little time to rest before our evening meeting and received a few updates from Simon (Big). 

 

Finally, after a long long day, Hayley made some delicious pasta for us, we all enjoyed an early dinner and lots of fun conversation as always. Let’s see what surprises tomorrow has in store for us…

 

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet)

Wren (Gærdesmutte) 19

Sparrowhawk (Spurvehøg) 2

European Robin (Rødhals) 21

Eurasian Blackbird (Solsort) 5

Dunnock (Jernspurv) 2

Song Thrush (Sangdrossel) 1

Common Chiffchaff (Gransanger) 7

Goldcrest (Fuglekonge) 219

Eurasian Blue Tit (Blåmejse) 1

Great Tit (Musvit) 3

Eurasian Treecreeper (Træløber) 1

Total: 281

Ringing (Jenne Sø)

Common Chiffchaff (Gransanger) 2

Goldcrest (Fuglekonge) 9

Eurasian Siskin (Grønsisken) 1

Common Redpoll (Nordling Gråsisken) 52

Total: 64

Ringing (Nordstjernevej)

Common Redpoll (Nordling Gråsisken) 32

Goldcrest (Fuglekonge) 1

Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Skovspurv) 1

Total: 34

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area.

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People: Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Hanelie Sidhu, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Jonas Pedersen, Simon Kiesé, Knud Pedersen, Simon S. Christiansen, Lisa Vergin