No Storm Petrels, but we persevere

Early this morning, we continued our efforts to catch Lille Stormsvale (European Storm Petrels) and Natravn (Nightjars) on the beach and near the lighthouse. We checked our nets every 45 minutes, hoping to find a bird in one of them, but unfortunately we were unsuccessful. A lot of interested people showed up to come with us on our rounds, which created a sense of community and helped us stay awake through the night. Mette even brought us some delicious cupcakes, which helped give everyone some extra strength.

It felt like no time at all before we saw the sun coming up in the east – at this time of year, the nights are so short that we only had a few hours of complete darkness in which to catch nocturnal birds. Although we didn’t catch anything, we hope to try again at some point!
Around 04:00, Lucas, Benjamin, Myrthe, and Seán headed out to Grenen to do some seawatching. Myrthe headed home a bit early, which turned out to be a wise decision – as soon as she left, the others were caught in a sudden rain shower and were forced to return to the lighthouse.
Later in the day, I went for a walk along the beach and saw two Almindelig Kjove (Arctic Skuas). There were also plenty of Fjordterne (Common Tern) and Almindelig Ryle (Dunlin). While I was out, Lucas and Myrthe visited the Natravn nest to remove some twigs that were in the way of the camera. The parent birds were still incubating eggs, which will hopefully hatch soon.
Finally, Lucas, Benjamin and I washed some of our bikes to keep them in good condition. Then Myrthe cooked us a delicious dinner, and we are now getting ready for ringing at the CES site tomorrow. Who knows what we might catch?

People: Lucas Corneliussen, Benjamin Bech, Asia Kane, Myrthe Van Brempt, Simon S. Christiansen, Mette Christensen, Seán Walsh, Ragnar Smith, Sakari Kauppinen, Nicolai Jeppesen, Mark Desholm & co 

 Link to today's observations