I dag kommer der en beskrivelse for vores Sri Lankianske ven og hans ophold på stationen de sidste 3 dage. Vi siger nemlig i dag farvel til både Kasun, men vi siger også farvel til Momme. De efterlader Nicolas og undertegnede (Anton) tilbage helt alene, dog er der heldigvis besøg næsten dagligt, så vi kommer ikke til at blive ensomme. Kasun vender dog til vores held tilbage i starten af august til lidt flere fugle i hænderne, da disse dage ikke var helt vildt talrige.                

My name is Kasun Bodawatta and I am a MSc student at the University of Copenhagen. My masters research is affiliated with both the Natural History Museum of Denmark and the Section for Social Evolution at the Department of Biology. I arrived at Gedser bird ringing center on the 23rd of July for three days of mist netting and bird ringing to improve my bird handling skills, which I will use during my field work in Papua New Guinea in this August.

After a warm welcome from Hans Lind the Director of the ringing station I met with three other wonderful young but experienced ringers (Anton Liebermann, Nikola Hillier, Rasmus Momme), who helped me to improve my mist netting, ringing, measuring and bird IDing skills. Monday the 24th, after an early start at 4:00am we captured many interesting birds, including Icterine Warblers, Lesser Whitethroats, Spotted Flycatcher, and many starlings, during the standard five hours. I also got the opportunity to ring few birds, including a Pied Wagtail, which was my first ringed bird. Due to the amazing weather in Gedser on Monday we decided to keep the nets open through out the day, which resulted in capture of a beautiful male Common Rose finch and a juvenile Common Cuckoo. By the end of the day my bird extracting skills from the mist nets improved and it felt easier. After a successful day with 39 bird captures we ended the day with an amazing Lasagna dinner that was prepared by Nikolas.

Tuesday morning, due to rainy weather, we were only able to do three rounds of net checking. We only captured 6 birds including a pair of beautiful European Goldfinches. Rest of the day was accompanied by coffee, relaxing and many discussions about birds with others.

Wednesday morning was cloudy but no rain. During our second round we captured around 10 migratory birds including a Sedge Warbler, which was a new season species at Gedser. The best bird I ringed today was a male Red-backed Shrike, which was unhappy about the situation. Later we also caught a female Red-backed Shrike. After a successful 5 hours of mist netting we had to close our nets due to rain. During my three-day visit at the Gedser bird ringing station I was able to improve my bird capturing and measuring skills with the help of experienced ringers. I also had the opportunity to hold many new species and learn more about them.

Best regards Kasun.

Today´s ringing:
Sangdrossel / Song Thrush - 1
Sivsanger / Sedge Warbler - 1
Kærsanger / Marsh Warbler - 4
Rørsanger / Reed Warbler - 1
Gulbug / Icetrine Warbler - 6
Gærdesanger / Lesser Whitethroat - 1
Havesanger / Garden Warbler - 5
Gransanger / Chiffchaff - 2
Løvsanger / Willow Warbler - 3
Rødrygget Tornskade / Red-backed Shrike - 2
Gulspurv / Yellowhammer - 1
Total: 27

Som afslutning på en dejlig morgen, hvor man rigtig kunne mærke trækket faktisk findes, får i lige et billede af dagens skønheder. Gerne flere af dem tak.

2k+ Rødrygget Tornskade han.

2k+ Sivsanger.