Birds and Dragons in the Nets

Hi all!

A lovely sunning morning at Grenen was accompanied by a nice selection of birds for the ringing team – including crested tit (Topmejse), reed bunting (Rørspurv), spotted flycatcher (Grå Fluesnapper), adult male lesser redpoll (Lille Gråsiskin), and a redwing (Vindrossel), which was moulting its primary flight feathers and had a brood patch, meaning it must have bred in the region!

The above photo shows a spotted flyctacher (Grå Fluesnapper).

 
In one of the nets we also had a beautiful male emperor dragonfly (Stor Kejserguldsmed). Not quite a feathery bird, but very cool to see up close, as they are one of the largest dragonfly species in Europe! Luckily it was easy to free from the net, and then rested on my hand for a quick photo before flying away. 

This ringing session was also joined by several visitors. It was the last session for our guest Kirsten, who has provided a helping hand all week, which we’re very grateful for. It was nice to catch a crested tit (Topmejse) for her final session, as this is one of her favourites. We were also joined by a young boy from BirdLife Denmark’s youngest member group: the Eagle Club, as well as some visitors with children from Switzerland. It’s always nice to be able to show these birds to children and inspire the future generation, as many of us volunteers started our bird journeys the exact same way!

Meanwhile, Joe was on observations with Knud Peterson, as Lucas was busy seeking penduline tits (Pungmejse) in Aalborg, before saying goodbye to James. The highlight of Joe and Knud’s session was three great skuas (Storkjove), which came close to shore while chasing gulls. They were also able to read several lesser black-backed gull (Sildemåge) and greater black-backed gull  (Svartbag) colour rings, so we look forward to finding out the history of those birds.

We have a busy day planned for tomorrow, with the usual standardised ringing and observations, as well as a moult strategy workshop from Simon to develop our skills and knowledge, which we're all looking forward to.

Ringing  (Kabeltromlekrattet)

Lille Gråsisken - 4

Grå Fluesnapper - 1

Gærdesanger - 1

Rørsanger - 2

Topmejse - 1

Rørspuv - 1

Munk - 2

Gransanger - 5

Total: 17

People at the station: Rosa Hicks, Asia Kane, Joe Zeno, Lucas  Corneliussen, Simon S. Christiansen, Kirsten Bregn, Lisa Vergin

Link to today's observations from observers in the area.