Vi Ses, Jørgen Hulbæk!

Howdy y’all, it is an honour to finally bring to you our daily blog as scheduled, although there are still some wifi issues at the lighthouse. Today was bittersweet in every which way, on one hand, the mosquitoes were blown away by the wind (god bless!), on the other hand, we lost our legendary Cake Man, expert birder, and kind Dane: the one and only Jørgen Hulbæk. We all wish him the best of luck in his migration back to Copenhagen, though his absence will be felt heavily here. 

 

Departure gifts from Jørgen Hulbæk, mange tak Jørgen!

 

As for ringing, the numbers were okay, and the day passed by very fast. There were no crazy species, but we enjoyed a very late (and quite sick) Redwing (Vindrossel).

 

Opening the nets.

 

Hayley caught a Blackbird (Solsort) she had ringed last autumn, which was also a very cute surprise!

 

Hayley with her Blackbird (Solsort).

 

We were also joined in the field by our guests Karen-Marie and Søren Leth-Nissen at Kabeltromlen, Karen-Marie even helped with ringing! She got to ring 3 Eurasian Blackcaps (Munk). I think they’re a wonderful species, especially to practice with, since they are a nice size and have a very calm personality. So we had plenty of fun regardless of the lack of variety in species!

 

I also stumbled upon the cutest little Newt today, we named him Isaac.

 

Isaac NEWTon. Smooth Newt - Lissotriton vulgaris (or Lille Vandsalamander in Danish).

 

At the count, there was also nothing in particular worth mentioning. Their highlights were high numbers of Northern Fulmars (Mallemuk) and a Montagu’s Harrier (Hedehøg).

 

When we got back to the station, we indulged in two traditional forms of herring on rye bread (thank you Magnus). They were very delicious, though I definitely prefer the curry sauce method. Then we had some pineapple, which was also delicious!

 

Magnus cutting the pineapple.

 

So overall, our day was not very interesting bird-wise, but we definitely had a lot of delicious things to remember. 

 

In the evening, we made an effort to catch up on all our data entry and blog posts which we’ve fallen behind on due to the lack of internet. We also heard from Simon (Sr) that Jan Eske and our guests made generous donations to our food collective today, mange tak! We will be sure to use your donations for good purposes, and we will continue to work hard!

 

Simon (Sr) also brought Colin McShane and his wife to the station, they were both very kind. Colin tags Jack Snipes (Enkeltbekkasin) in the UK, which is very interesting! You can find some footage of the region where he works in you search Jack Snipe Winterwatch into Youtube. (I have also linked to his video in this sentence).

 

At the evening meeting we were joined by Lars Yttte, Morten Christensen, our guests, and the SKAF team, so our little living room felt very lively and full. We planned our trip to Hirtshals and shared about our days, as well as preparing for the field tasks we need to complete throughout the week. 

 

That’s all I have for you today! 

 

Skifte.

 

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet)

Reed Warbler (Rørsanger) - 1

Eurasian Blackcap (Munk) - 10

Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger) - 1

Marsh Warbler (Kærsanger) - 2

Icterine Warbler (Gulbug) - 1

Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) - 1

Redwing (Vindrossel) - 1

Willow Warbler (Løvsanger) - 1

Total: 18

 

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: Seán Walsh, Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Jørgen Hulbæk, Karen-Marie and Søren Leth-Nissen, Jan Eske, Lars Yttte and Morten Christensen