Here We Are Back - 2018

Ice-skaters

Red-flanked Bluetail

The first of the season!

Red-breasted Flycatcher

Bluethroat

Pale-shouldered Cloud Moth

Cycle through the Wood Anemones

Puss Moth

The lighthouse

Pale Prominent Moth

Male Goldcrest

Chris!

The Hall of Fame

April/May 2018

Well, here we are back again on the beautiful island in the Baltic.  Although we made the decision last year that that would be our last season, by February this year we were already missing the place.  So another Spring and Autumn monitoring the migration of the birds on Landsort.
We had an interesting journey here where we encountered quite a heavy fall of snow in Denmark which followed us over 'The Bridge' to Sweden.  By the time we reached Landsort the snows had stopped but the lakes and coastal bays on Töro were still thick ice, with the sun shining it made a very beautiful sight.
The start of the season through April was very good with lots of birds caught and ringed but once May arrived the winds changed and the birds were obviously following a different route North.  Despite that, we have caught plenty of birds and a nice selection of species.  The highlight bird was the Red-flanked Bluetail, we have seen one once before here last Autumn but have never ringed one (only two others have ever been ringed here).  Always a pleasure to see are the Bluethroat and an Ortolan Bunting was another species we hadn't ringed before.
A lot of Willow Warblers and Lesser Whitethroat which we ringed in previous years have returned to the site, which is always a source of amazement, but that's exactly why we do this! We have also caught a Blackbird which was ringed in Holland, a Robin ringed in Poland, a Chiffcaff from Norway and a Goldcrest from another observatory in southern Sweden.
Talking of migrants, Steve Taggart arrived on our doorstep on Monday!  A complete surprise but lovely to see a fellow Manxman.  After eating all our food supplies he is now on his way back home (he did leave us a supply of Whiskey and Gin though!).
Another guest, Chloe, who we met in Madagascar in 2015, has been staying with us for the last two weeks.  After a hectic end to her Phd she decided a bit of Nature Therapy was required, Landsort was the perfect place! She leaves today and will spend the next few weeks cycling through the Scottish Isles.

Apologies for Lack of updates

Well what can we say!  Sorry for the lack of posts but as Chris updates the Landsorts Fågelstation website dairy each day it seems a bit pointless doing it again here, so here's the link incase you would like to catch up with what we have been catching over the past few months:

http://iloapp.landsort-birds.se/blog/dagbok?

I've also added a few pictures, hope you like them!

A selection of pictures July - October

Mark Cowley came to stay - July

A Rough-legged Buzzard on Bernt's roof

Sorcha came to stay - August

Tree fungi

Yellow-browed Warbler

Fly Agaric

Red-flanked Bluetail

Autumn colours

A family of hedgehogs

Lesser Whitethroat

Wood Warbler

Barred Warbler

Waxwing

Pallas's Leaf Warbler

It rains here sometimes!

Lonesome Whooper Swan

 Snipe

Birds ringed on Landsort by Chris & Kay w/e 20th August 2017

Species	w/e 20th August  2017
	As at 13th	Kay	Chris	Total
Barred Warbler	5	1		6
Black Redstart	1			1
Blackbird	88	1	1	90
Blackcap	118	1	6	125
Bluethroat	25			25
Blue Tit	52		2	54
Brambling	4	1		5
Bullfinch	3			3
Chaffinch	99			99
Chiffchaff	166			166
Collared Flycatcher	1			1
Common Crossbill	4			4
Common Redpoll	9			9
Cuckoo	1			1
Redpoll flammea	2			2
Lesser Redpoll	14			14
Common Rosefinch	31			31
Crested Tit	1			1
Dunnock	35			35
Fieldfare	2			2
Firecrest	1			1
Garden Warbler	61	1	1	63
Goldcrest	39			39
Goldfinch	21			21
Great Grey Shrike	1			1
Great Spotted Woodpecker	5			5
Great Tit	165	1		166
Green Woodpecker	2			2
Greenfinch	144	7	7	158
Greenish Warbler	4			4
Hawfinch	2			2
House Martin	7			7
Icterine Warbler	59		1	60
Jackdaw	1			1
Lesser Whitethroat	293	15	12	320
Linnet	45			45
Long-tailed Tit	8			8
Marsh Tit	5			5
Marsh Warbler	15			15
Meadow Pipit	1			1
Nuthatch	12			12
Pied Flycatcher	18	2		20
Red-backed Shrike	23	2	1	26
Red-breasted Flycatcher	10			10
Redstart	69			69
Redwing	11			11
Reed Bunting	11			11
Reed Warbler	37			37
Robin	759	1		760
Sedge Warbler	17		1	18
Siskin	10			10
Song Thrush	73			73
Sparrowhawk	1	1		2
Spotted Flycatcher	30	1	1	32
Starling	70			70
Swallow	14			14
Thrush Nightingale	26	1		27
Tree Pipit	6		1	7
Tree Sparrow	49	8	3	60
Treecreeper	2			2
Twite	1			1
Two-barred Crossbill	1			1
Waxwing	1			1
Wheatear	16			16
Whinchat	2	1		3
Whitethroat	91	4	1	96
White Wagtail	47			47
Willow Warbler	384	8	1	393
Wood Warbler	8			8
Wren	37			37
Wryneck	15			15
Yellowhammer	82		2	84
Total	3473	57	41	3571