Rainy rides and goodbyes

Today I set out early in the pouring rain to give Simon his bike back. I can't say it was the most enjoyable ride, with the rain pelting down the back of my neck and the wind whipping across my face. However, the song thrushes (sangdrossel) were out in force, snapping up the earthworms as they struggled across the wet tarmac. I weaved in and out of them, watching the hares (hare) leap across the moors and the brave robin (Rødhals) belt out his melody.

For the others, a well deserved lie in allowed them to catch up on precious sleep, before they were up and joining me in the rain to put up some new nets in the old lighthouse garden for our guided tours that will be happening in the next week.
Other than this, our day was a fairly quiet one, focusing on data entry and planning our week ahead.

Our new guests, Kirsten, Brian and Ian arrived, so we had some introductions to do, and got to know each other over a delicious stir fry dinner from Joakim.

After dinner I gave a talk on a subject that I am very passionate about; human dimensions in conservation management. Though not directly to do with birds, human dimensions focuses on how we are engaging and communicating with different groups of people- local communities, hunters, conservationists, researchers etc.- to ensure our long term goals and plans are agreed on with everyone effected, and thus avoid conflicts.

This Wednesday I will be off to my second stop on the Scandinavian Triple, Lista bird observatory, in Norway. This will be my last blog post, and so I would like to thank everyone in Skagen and the station for a fantastic and fascinating month. Thank you for having me, and for teaching me so much. I have been so lucky to meet all you incredible people, keep up the amazing work!

Skagen, it has been such a pleasure.

Folk: Joakim Matthiesen, Dante Shepard, Anna Moulin, Micheal Ancher, Simon S Christiansen, Hebe Denny, Ian Heilmann, Brian og Kirsten