Warblers, warblers and more warblers!

After our amazing barbeque the previous night and the constant rain our sleep was cosy and refreshing! Shortly after getting up I saw several rays of sunlight trying to make their way through the clouds. That was all the encouragement I needed for a swim in Kattegat. It was considerably windy however the water was cool but welcoming. Half an hour later and one too many gulps of saltwater I was ready for a shower and some lunch! Having said that I really can’t recommend a daily swim enough, given the opportunity of course. For me personally the list of benefits is endless: it’s an awesome way to start the day, when it’s not too wavy it is great exercise and the cold water seems to have a cleansing effect on my mind. Just gets your thoughts arranged in the right way somehow, hard to describe really. Furthermore, since I’ve turned this into a daily challenge – going in the sea on its own gives me a boost in productivity knowing I’m a day closed to completing my challenge of swimming every day while I’m in Denmark!

After lunch the time came for our much-anticipated moult & identification session with Simon. The prep work which Simon gave us over the last couple of days was to choose several species to focus on. We chose identification. Namely differentiating between the common Reed warbler (Rorsanger) (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) and the rarer Marsh warbler (Kaersanger) and Blyth’s warbler (Buskrørsanger) (Acrocephalus dumetorum). The main goal was to be able to correctly identify the species based on their subtle morphological differences while in the field. Luckily Simon pointed us in the correct direction enabling us to find the appropriate literature which greatly aided our skills. We also spoke about how important it is to have in mind that rarer species of warblers may be caught in the area.

We then moved on to the taxonomic mess known as Phylloscopus. Here the focus was on differentiating the three common species: Chiff chaff (Gransanger) (Phylloscopus collybita), Willow warbler (Løvsanger) (Phylloscopus trochilus) and the Wood warbler (Skovsanger) (Phylloscopus sibilatrix) from rarer species from the South and East such as Dusky warbler (Brun Løvsanger)  (Phylloscopus fuscatus) and Hume’s leaf warbler (Himalayasanger) (Phylloscopus humei).

When we had reached the point where now new information could be absorbed Christina and I started discussing dinner. Since we take turns cooking each day, it takes a bit of creativity and prep work in order to prepare a meal that would please both vegetarians and meat-eaters. Just as our food brainstorming session was starting to bear fruit Simon told us to be ready to meet him at his house in an hour in order to meet his friend Andreas on time. Much to our surprise we were scheduled to be eating at his house in two hours. A gentle details our dear friend Anders neglected to mention at any point the previous days.. thanks Andreas.

The evening was lovely and relaxing. Andreas was an outstanding host and we are forever grateful for inviting us to his home!

People: Simon S. Christiansen, Martin Y. Georgiev, Christina Ninou, Anders Odd Wulff Nielsen, Heidi Vibe Frederiksen, Sander HB Villumsen, Andreas Egelund Christensen.