First full day of ringing at Blåvand

Even though we only were ringing during the standard time yesterday, the birds we caught were absolutely incredible! We ended with 22 birds, and even got 8 birds in a single net run. 

Highlights included multiple young Icterine Warblers (Gulbug), a Yellowhammer (Gulspurv), three first year Crested Tit (Topmejse), and a European Blackbird (Solsort).  

This young Blackbird (Solsort) was one of the highlights for me

Icterine Warblers (Gulbug) were the species of the day, with multiple new birds ringed and some recaptures.  We even caught two with the heligoland trap, a recapture adult and an new bird still growing in its primaries.  Since these guys are early migrants, most adults we catch are likely lgetimately moving south (as opposed to many of the recaptures which are likely local breeders. 

One of the young Icterine Warbler (Gulbug). You can see the shafts where the primaries and secondaries are still growing in. 

Despite the western wind decreasing our chances for the impressive bird movement we hope for during our surveys, we still found some great birds! The highlight were a pair of Parasitic Skua (Almindelig Kjove) and good numbers of Oystercatcher (Strandskade) as well.