Fem godt påkledde menn og en hund møttes på brygga i Sandøsund klokka 10 i dag.
Stig, Anders og Fredrik var på vei hjemover etter en kort dag med kun én fugl i nettet, men det var da også en flott hornugle. Hans Petter og Halvard tok over båten og reiste utover og fanget også én fugl - en blåmeis.
Planen i dag var mini-dugnad for å legge bryggebord på de glatte stokkene på østsiden av havna. Terje tråkket på et brekkjern rett før avreisen og dermed ble dugnadsgjengen ganske liten, men vi fikk gjort ferdig 2/3 av indre havn og lagt papp på den øvre trappa opp til hytta som var blitt veldig glatt. I morgen satser vi på å få stengt av vannet da det allerede har vært kuldegrader her ut - og tatt inn noen av nettene.
Det ble tid til en liten tur innom Hoftøya hvor 3 snøspurv møtte oss på fjellet mot SV, men bortsett fra disse var det ikke mange overraskelser. En tur til Speidersletta ga enda magrere resultatet så - "Winter is coming".

​Hans Petter og Halvard

Kjølig morgen med kun et fåtall plussgrader, rim på bordet ute. Sol og vind fra nord 6-9ms  Netta oppe hele dagen. Ringmerket 25 fugl: 1 spurvehauk, 1 svarttrost, 3 sidensvans, 2 fuglekonge, 2 trekryper, 2 gjerdesmett, 3 blåmeis, 1 munk, 1 rødstrupe, 9 grønnfink.  , Av obser kan den stasjonære fjellvåken nevnes, ellers 2 alkekonge, 2 stjertmeis, 40 blåmeis, 15 kjøttmeis, vannriksa osv. Henta Anders, Stig og Maja i SS kl 1455. Stig har med kjøtt og snart blir det føde. 

Kom ut på mårran før vindøkning fra nord. Satt opp runden, utenom de mest vindutsatte plassene. Ringmerket 15 fugl:  3 fuglekonge, 9 stjertmeis, 1 svarttrost, 1 gråtrost, 1 rødvingetrost. Observert bla: 1 fjellvåk, 1 vandrefalk og 13 sangsvane pt SV. Fredrik

Typiske sene høstarter ringmerket i dag var blant annet 3 gulspurv og 6 dompap. Her en hunn til venstre og en hann til høyre.

Hei,

Nordlig vind 2-4 m/s, lavt skydekke og lett tåke med sikt over fjorden. Fortsatt varmt, og på onsdag/torsdag meldes det attpå til sydvest kuling og regn. Ingen kulde i sikte med det første. Per Espen kjørte veterinær Jon Martin Arnemo ut til stasjonen ved 14-tiden. Han er navngitt veterinær for den forsøksdyrvirksomheten stasjonen nå er. Han blir vist stasjonsbygninger og ringmerkingsrutiner slik at får en forståelse av den praktiske stasjonsdriften og kompetansenivået vi besitter. Alt dette er viktig for at vi skal kunne opprettholde vår status som en forsøksdyrenhet. Det er igjen viktig for oss dersom vi ønsker å gå videre med eksempelvis å søke om forsøkstillatelse til å bruke Ornitela GPS-sendere på troster. Vi rakk et par introduserende nettrunder før vi måtte sperre for natten, og i morgen satser vi på flere sene høstfugler. Observasjoner i dag var blant annet 20 sidensvans, 50 gråtrost, en stor, ung hønsehauk hunn og mange herlige vånd rundt hytta og på runden. Vi overtok i går 6 nanotagger fra Mølen fuglestasjon, og disse ble i dag montert på henholdsvis 4 svarttrost, 1 måltrost og 1 gråtrost. Vi fikk også i ettermiddag en hyggelig email fra Tiemo ved Universitetet i Oldenburg om at en av høstens  fugler med nanotag har, som den første, blitt logget av en radiomottager på en installasjon i Nordsjøen. Det gullet var trivelig.
 
Vennlig hilsen
Hans Erik og Jon Martin

A young Eurasian Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) was ringed yesterday and observed several times throughout the day, ranging from the “Plassen” net site to the “Double Goldcrest” net site. This was the second individual ringed this autumn and the eighth of the year. In total, 145 Woodcocks have been ringed at the station during the period 1970–2025.

Hi,

The day began with northerly winds at 1–2 m/s, 9 °C, overcast conditions, and light fog at 06:30. The wind quickly subsided, resulting in an unusually calm day with complete sea stillness from 09:00 onwards. Sebastien and Henry were transported to Sandøsund by 11:45, where Terje took over and drove them to Tønsberg to catch the bus to Gardermoen and their flight back to France. Few birds were present in the bushes, so all nets were closed at 10:15. We then took a longer boat trip past Knappen and southward around Tristein with Færder Lighthouse, returning to Sandøsund via the west side of Hoftøya and south of Sandøya. Observations during the trip included 1100 Common Eiders, 11 Long-tailed Ducks, 40 Common Scoters, 2 Velvet Scoters, 4 Goldeneyes, 3 Red-breasted Mergansers, 60 European Shags, 3 Grey Herons, 2 Black-legged Kittiwakes, 2 Razorbills, 17 Common Guillemots, and 9 Little Auks - two of which repeatedly dived and swam only 2–3 m from the boat. The mist nets were reopened at 13:30, but only 23 birds were ringed today, distributed as follows: 1 Wren, 1 Blue Tit, 2 Goldcrests, 6 Long-tailed Tits, 2 Robins, 2 Greenfinches, 8 Blackbirds, and 1 Song Thrush. So far this autumn, a total of 5,333 birds have been ringed—comparable to the productive years of the 1970s. Autumn totals include 323 Greenfinches, 164 Long-tailed Tits, and 394 Blue Tits. Observations from Store Færder included one Northern Wheatear and one juvenile Barn Swallow. We wish Sebastien and Henry a safe journey back home.

​Kind regards,
Sebastien, Henry and Hans Erik

A light green Phylloscopus was seen hanging in the lower pocket of the “Kope-mistnet” during the 08-round. Thoughts immediately went to a Yellow-browed Warbler, but then suddenly a Woodcock came whizzing by in a sharp turn and flew straight into the neighboring net behind the station. The surprise was so great that it turned into a 5-meter sprint toward the Woodcock to get it out of the net first. Then a quick return to the Kope-net where the potential Yellow-browed Warbler had, quite literally, flown away and disappeared. So it was very nice when Sebastien caught the “Yellow-browed Warbler” in the “Fuglekonge-net” on the next round. This was the second Yellow-browed Warbler of the autumn, and the 25th to be ringed at the station in the years 1967–2025. The Yellow-browed Warbler was a young bird, based on its tail feathers and primary coverts. We pushed hard for more eastern species until noon but only managed an observation of a new and as yet unringed tristis-Chiffchaff.

​On a short boat trip in search of waders and seabirds, we observed 2 Razorbills, 2 Common Guillemots, and 1 Little Auk — but no Black Guillemot. The Little Auk in the photo above was diving and foraging right along the west side of the “Knappen” island.

Hi,

A relatively warm day with 6°C at 06:30, a light northerly wind (2–3 m/s), and low cloud cover with visibility just across the fjord to Østfold. Observations up to 13:30 included, among others, 1 female Merlin, 2 Rough-legged Buzzards, 1 Snow Bunting, 2 Meadow Pipits, 1 Northern Wheatear, and 1 Siberian Chiffchaff without a ring. The ringing total for the day was 28 birds of the following species: 1 Woodcock, 2 Robins, 6 Blackbirds, 1 Fieldfare, 1 Redwing, 5 Goldcrests, 4 Twites, 8 Bullfinches, and 1 Yellow-browed Warbler.
Sebastien and Henry are returning to France tomorrow, and on this occasion they have summarized their bird ringing and control results. They arrived on October 19th and have been responsible for the ringing activities at the station for three weeks. This period included two days without ringing due to strong winds and heavy rain. Despite these interruptions, they managed to ring just over 700 birds of 34 species and recorded 345 retraps/controls. The five most frequently ringed species were European Greenfinch (104), Goldcrest (108), Long-tailed Tit (97), Eurasian Bullfinch (61), and Brambling (58). For French ringers and birders, some of the most exciting species recorded during their stay were Twite, Waxwing, Rough-legged Buzzard, Common Rosefinch, Hume’s Warbler, Little Auk, and Black Guillemot. Experiencing the solitude and striking landscape of a bird ringing station on an isolated island at the western mouth of the Oslo Fjord, combined with several nights under a magnificent Milky Way and northern lights, made their stay especially memorable. Sebastien and Henry have done a fantastic job and have learned, among other things, that catching and ringing a Hume’s Warbler is considerably easier than a Water Rail. The latter has been present just outside the station for two months, regularly walking into the net area to feed, but persistently refusing to be captured and ringed. A necessary trip to Sandøsund at 13:30 was combined with a visit to Hoftøya, where the following were observed: 1 Jack Snipe, 1 Common Snipe, 1 Oystercatcher, 15 Rock Pipits, 1 Meadow Pipit, 1 Horned Lark, 1 Snow Bunting, 2 Starlings, 2 Blackbirds, 30 Greenfinches, and 4 Twites. On the sea west of Hoftøya, a large flock of 900–1000 Common Eiders was seen, about 75 % of them males.

Greetings from
Henry, Sebastien and Hans Erik

We caught and ringed a Phylloscopus collybita tristis today—the eastern subspecies of the Common Chiffchaff. The genus name Phylloscopus comes from the Greek phyllon (meaning “leaf”) and skopos (meaning “observer” or “watcher”). The species name collybita derives from the Greek kollybistes, meaning “money changer,” a metaphor for the bird’s metallic, rhythmic song—like the sound of coins being counted. The subspecies name tristis means “sad” or “dull,” referring to its drab grey plumage compared to the brighter green western subspecies P. c. collybita. Interestingly, in Norwegian the word trist also means “sad.” So today we ringed a small Siberian “leaf-examining, money-changing, dull and sad” bird—which, paradoxically, made us all very happy and excited!

Another twite (young male) admired in the ringing lab by Sebastien, Hans Erik and Henry.

Hi,
​
A pleasant day with a temperature of 7°C at 06:00, light southeasterly winds, and low clouds. A good day for a few more birds! A total of 31 were ringed: wren (3), blackbird (1), fieldfare (1), song thrush (1), redwing (1), Siberian chiffchaff (1), goldcrest (11), long-tailed tit (7), greenfinch (1), siskin (1), common redpoll (1), twite (1) and lesser redpoll (1). Highlights included another ringed twite, seven more long-tailed tits—further raising the autumn ringing record—and, of course, the Siberian chiffchaff pictured above next to Seb’s fingertips. Hans Erik arrived at noon and will be staying through most of the coming week. We ended the day with a shared chicken dinner, good conversation, and high spirits.

All the best,
Sebastien, Henry and Hans Erik

Hello everyone,
As yesterday, the wind was still blowing, so the morning was too windy to open the nets. This was the perfect opportunity to delay our wake-up time a bit this morning. Fortunately, the wind died down in the early afternoon, allowing us to ring the birds until nightfall. In the end, we observed few birds on the island and in the nets. Most of the bird were retrap, which confirms our observations: no migratory birds arrived on the island during the night or this morning.

And our apologies for the typo regarding the WaterRail Owl. Rest assured, the owl's railway hasn't arrived on the island; we meant the Rail Water, of course! It's still there in front of the house and gave us quite a scare at the feeder, quickly escaping from the bottom pocket of the net right before our astonished eyes. Another missed opportunity, that darn Rail Water!
Dagens ringmerking: gjerdesmett 1, munk 3, fuglekonge 4, grønnfink 2 og dompap 1.
All the best
Henry and Seb

Hello everyone,
The wind is blowing strongly on the island, preventing us from ringing. We therefore spend most of the day searching for a King Eider or hoping to spot a Pallas's Warbler hidden in a sheltered valley. Our day's haul isn't quite commensurate with the hours spent behind our binoculars; however, our birdlist is enhanced by the observation of two new raptor species: a Merlin in the southern valley and a Goshawk at the southern point of the island. As for seabirds, we observe a group of eight Common Scoters and two Black-legged Kittiwakes. We are lucky enough to see a Rough-legged Buzzard at the island's summit, heading towards our position. Just enough time to find shelter behind a rock. The Rough-legged Buzzard continues its flight, "sacrebleu!", soaring right over us. It's a rare bird in France, and we are delighted to be able to observe it so clearly.

The light is favorable for some photos which we are sharing with you in the absence of a report on banding without capture.
All the best,
Seb and Henry