Harmoniously Accompanied

We have had quite the full house at the station this past month, but for the time being it looks like Morten and I will be by ourselves again. Lisa and James started their journey back to England this morning. Their enthusiasm for birding, British humour and baked goods will be missed. Eventhough they are gone, I know that my pronunciation of words like yoghurt and zebra will never be the same again! May they have a good time back home and an even better time in the Seychelles, whenever they manage to work through the cocktail laced bureaucracy of the island.

It seems that the weather, the number of people and the atmosphere have harmoniously accompanied one another here at the station. When I arrived in early March, there was a sharp and fresh winter air  all around and with only Morten and I here at the station the cold and misty conditions created a sense of isolation here at the most western point of Blåvand. Slowly the air became warmer, the sun showed itself more frequently and more volunteers arrived at the station. The sense of isolation turned into that of community. All this synchronized with the slow rise of spring.

It has been very inspiring to get to know people from different walks of life, all who have a binding interest in birds, nature and  philosophy on life. It would be fitting for the dry spell of birds to shift into an overwhelming storm of new arrivals, now that the leisurely enjoyment of social reciprocity has passed and a gentle forlorn feeling can use some tempering by busying the mind. From what I have been hearing, the weather conditions are changing in the coming days in such a manner that this storm of birds might actually show up.

This morning however was still a bit chilly, but otherwise the weather conditions were calm, and again the net count was not impressive. A total of 17 new birds and 5 recaptures. On the observation front it wasn’t any better. Most notable were the Gannets, but other than that numbers were very low.

In the afternoon something interesting did happen. While in the station garden Morten spotted six cranes flying over. After checking the database, it turns out this is only the fourth ever documented account of a group bigger than five Cranes here in Blåvand!

Six Cranes flying over the station

In the evening Morten has told me about the holiday of Store bededag, which is celebrated on April 26 this year. To end the day, we upheld the tradition of eating varme hveder the night before, which Morten grew up celebrating at home just like I’m sure many other families do.

varme hveder

People at the station: Lisa, James, Henrik, Morten and Maxim