Saturday 8 November 2025

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