Falsterbo 2015 - pt.2
Allmänt / 2015-10-27 / 15:47:03
The season is drawing closer and closer to it's end and I have less than two weeks left in Falsterbo before it's time to return home. Fortunately I have enough pictures to last me 10 blogposts!
So far this season we have caught more than 20 Sparrowhawks (Accipiter nisus). The big migration of small songbirds is a feast for them and they are a pest to have around the nets - except for when they get caught!
The Sparrowhawks vary a bit in color and I think this rufous young male is unusually good-looking. Notice the heart-shaped pattern on the breast and undersides of the wings.
Firecrest (Regulus ignicapilla), a species that is becoming a more and more common sight in Sweden. This season we've caught a record-breaking 19 birds so far, but it's got a long way to go to beat it's cousin the Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) though, which is closing up on 2000 birds ringed.
Something nice brought by easterly winds - a Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus), another species thas is becoming increasingly common here in Sweden.
I guess everyone has already heard the falcon-story, but here it is again.
Me and Marc were walking around in Falsterbo Park when a Peregrine Falcon (Falco Peregrinus) (next picture) caught a Hobby (Falco subbuteo) and the two, fighting, fell out of the sky and tumbled to the ground only 30 meters ahead of us on the path. They were locked in each others claws and therefore unable to lift from the ground as we ran up and grabbed them. In a shocked/delirious state, continuously laughing/swearing (I mean, what are the odds!?), we brought the two birds back to the house where they got ringed before regaining their freedom. I guess it was the Hobby's lucky day!
A gorgeous young male. I'm so curious as to where he's from, I almost wish he would have been ringed already, though this individual became the first Peregrine ever for Falsterbo Bird Observatory, and the 200th species ringed!
A few weeks earlier, another falcon was caught in Flommen (and I'm suddenly sensing an accidental theme for this post - I hope you all like birds of prey). This Merlin (Falco columbarius) was the 5th one for the station.
And so, finally, came the time for my favorite kind of extra ringing - owlnights! Here Timmy and Sophie are discussing the age of a Tengmalm's Owl (Aegolius funereus).
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus). We catch the owls by luring them towards the nets with a speaker playing a mix of calls from owls and skylarks (prey), it's very effective and the first night we caught 8 birds.
This Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) on the other hand, was caught with a lamp and a hand-net. Since the owls are nocturnal (even though this particular species is actually partly diurnal..) they are extremely sensitive to bright lights. It is possible to get very close to them by dazzling them with for example a head-torch, sometimes you can even get close enough to grab them by hand!
To be continued...
Kommentarer
Roger Ivarsson
Hej Josefina!
Hoppas allt är bra med dig därnere söderut.
Kollar bilderna på fåglarna som du har på bloggen och tycker de är grymma.
Ha de gott, så ses vi framöver. Saknar dig i Vallby. Kram Roger
Svar:
Josefina
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