Our first week on the island of Landsort is completed. Today has been glorious sunshine, after a clear and calm night that brought a heavy frost to the netting area, so that at 0530 when we started work the ground was white and the sea/marsh had a thin covering of ice. It soon melted though and 47 new birds were caught, to give a total of 310 caught in six days.

Some highlights were the first 8 Chiffchaff of the spring, a male Brambling, two Great Spotted Woodpecker, both males, and a good variety of other species - 21 in total. Most birds caught were on active migration, moving through the island on the way north, including Wren, the species of European bird with the shortest wings, about 50mm, but they still cross the Baltic!!

Have had members of the Observatory staying for most nights so far this week and it's been busy settling back into (smaller) island life, meeting old friends. This afternoon we spent a very pleasant couple of hours having 'Fika', (coffee and a chat) with Hannah, Inga (who run the pub and shop) and a few others, sitting in the sun outside the pub and next to the harbour looking over a flat calm Baltic.

A few photos below show how calm the sea was

 Transport for the 'harbour run'!!!

 



Flat calm

 

Our home - new cladding going on, with windows out being re-furbished!!!

Nets set and ready to catch

Nice pair of Goldfinch - doing as well on Landsort as back home on the IOM

Male Great Spotted Woodpecker

 

Coltsfoot

 

Early spring flowers

Fika in the sunshine!!

Gentle reflections at North Harbour

Pair of Goosander

 The lighthouse is still here, looking majestic

Tufted Duck on the Baltic