A Corvid in the Hand is Worth Less than 800 in the Sky

Ringing: 

Observation: Today was an awesome day at obs! The forecast said clear skies with a mild wind from southwest (always a recipe for a good day at obs), and with the temps dropping all the way down to 3 degrees celsius, I (Anton) expected that some birds might have been reminded, that winter is coming (cue the GoT intro theme).

And like clockwork, at 0745 in the morning, when obs started today, a flock of almost 200 Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) flew right overhead - I knew that today was going to be a good day for numbers…

And while we didn’t manage the staggering 11.000 finches from earlier in the season, we did manage to get an impressive 1650 Starlings, and a whopping 800 Jackdaws (Coloeus monedula) and Rooks (Corvus frugilegus) at obs. Furthermore, we also produced a good 17 Grey Wagtails (Motacilla cinerea), which are one of my favourites at obs. And as for the other passerines, we saw 238 Meadow Pipits (Anthus pratensis), 341 Chaffinces/Bramblings (Fringilla coelebs/F. montifringilla), and a single Red Crossbill (Luxia curvirostra). We were also lucky enough to have a resting Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor) at obs, as well as a hunting Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus).

Today was also a decent day for Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima), of which we had a pretty good 273, along with a single Black-throated Loon (Gavia arctica) - always a great addition to a good obs.

Today's observations

Other Things: Today is Storms first day back after his graduation in Bruxelles. We are so very glad to have him back at the station, not only for the manpower, but also for his great disposition. Hopefully we can get some good birds in his hands to make up for the lost time.

At the Station: Strummer Edwards, Anton Ræbild Jensen, Johan Them Steffensen & Storm Borum