Tuesday 24 July 2012

Kvismare fågelstation, Sweden - Day 12


Juvenile Common Tern
Juvenile Common Tern chilling on the canoe
Monster Blue Tit with a huge wing compared to British standards
'new in' Caspian Tern
Today we did a short session of ringing at Banvallen because it was very windy so we weren't catching very many bird at all. The most exciting bird was a monster Blue Tit and a moulting 2cy male Blackcap...says it all really! The benefit to a slow ringing session was it meant we had a lot of waiting around between net-rounds, so we were able to scan the horizon for migrants. Jalle is 'the man' when it comes to migrants and spotted a summer plumage Black-throated Diver flying SSW which was an 'inland tick' for me. Jalle also spotted 15 Knot flying WSW which was a nice flock as well as 2 Caspian Terns which were 'new in'.

Young Jasper and I went out on a canoe trying to catch Common Tern chicks. We managed to catch two birds which took a hell of a lot of effort, especially the 2nd bird, which was hideously already ringed! I was gutted! These were great little birds though and a real joy to handle. Whilst out ringing these birds, there were 2 Black Terns flying within 5 feet of the canoe! If it had been more stable, I might have tried to catch one...
Evening update: We arrived back from doing some manual labour clearing some net rides to find two White-tailed Eagles (adult and presumed 2CY bird) being mobbed by an Osprey! Amazing sight from our very own garden!

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