Lots of birds, too many mosquitoes!

 Another fine and hot day. I started ringing at Grenen at 4.30, and was joined by Knud at 5.30 and Asger about 8.00. Luckily I was because it turned out to be the busiest session at Grenen this year. First round saw me extracting 20 birds and that became the norm for the next few rounds. Highlights were a 2k Male cuckoo, a female red backed shrike and several marsh warblers. It was a good day for flycatchers with 11 pied and 2 spotted being ringed throughout the day. We had a good diversity of warbler, with willow, icterine, garden, marsh, and reed, and blackcaps. Surpassingly not a single chiffchaff, which, whilst not surprising as they’ve mostly finished migrating, it was odd not to get one. Mosquitoes were at their highest number this season during this morning, which was incredibly unpleasant, especially for the one stuck at the ringing desk in the shade, with no way to avoid them! Needless to say I have somewhere in the realm of 2-300 uncomfortable bites from this . . But ASIDE from that it was one of the most enjoyable days ringing I’ve had here, and it was great to have two enthusiastic extractors to help me.

On the way back I found another red backed shrike, just south of the Grenen car park, and throughout the morning we’d had plenty of common rosefinch singing, some tauntingly close to the nets . .

There was a great passage of honey buzzards, seen by Asger, around about 400 throughout the day. I missed most of these, having to come back, dry off, and rehydrate after the full on ringing in the morning. I still caught up with at least 30 of them but despite heading out to Batterivej I somehow missed the majority of them .

Back to the observatory and those of us who were in made our own dinner (Asger and I) before taking the evening meeting and planning our movements for the next day. I went to bed early as I was due to be up again for ringing at 3.30 am, only to jump out of bed 30 mins later for a sitting red footed falcon male just a 5 minute bike ride from the observatory. I also heard a displaying snipe whilst I was out there, the first I’ve heard in about a month.

2k male cuckoo, the undoubted highlight of the day, and a first in the hand for me.