Nets opened at 0415 and closed at 1100 with 18 new birds of 9 species. A further three birds were ringed in a nest box when we finished our monitoring of nest boxes for spring with a brood of Pied Flycatcher (Svartvit flugsnappare).

While checking the flycatcher box the adults were in the area calling, when they were joined by a Crested Tit (Tofsmes), which sat nearby showing great interest. A good bird to finish the month with!!

June marks the end of the spring season of ringing, which gave 2,969 new birds. This is almost 1,000 more than the season average taken from 1988-2017.

There will be two at the Obs overnight: Chris & Kay.

Limited number of nets opened at 0615 and closed at 1100 in a strong N wind that gusted to over 14 m/s on occasions. Just the one bird caught.

There will be two at the Obs overnight: Chris & Kay.

Nets opened at 0415 and closed at 1100 with 17 new birds of 13 species. Included in these, on the first net check, was a Water Rail (Vattenrall), only the third ever caught here and the first since April 2015. We also trapped our second Common Swift (Tornseglare) of the year (3rd ever trapped here), one of the 8 regularly investigating the nest boxes.

There will be two at the Obs overnight: Chris & Kay.

Nets opened at 0415 and closed at 1145 with 25 new birds of 11 species, including the first fledged Thrush Nightingale (Näktergal) of the year.

No public guiding today.

There will be two at the Obs overnight: Chris & Kay.

Nets opened at 0415 and closed at 1100 with 15 new birds of 7 species.

Mikael headed south for migration watching at about 0300 and arrived back at the Obs about 0800. He mentioned that the most remarkable thing about the morning was the lack of birds!!!!

Electricity and water were off for the morning, which also meant that no moths were trapped!

Mikael left on the 0930 ferry along with Magnus, whose company we enjoyed yesterday and this morning.

There will be two at the Obs overnight: Chris & Kay.

Nets opened at 0415 and closed at 1100 with 22 new birds of 12 species caught.

Mikael arrived on the first ferry and this afternoon has headed up to Bredmar for some migration watching with Magnus

There will be three at the Obs overnight: Chris, Kay & Mikael.

Nets opened at 0415 in a light to moderate SW wind, which dropped to almost calm before moving NE and increasing. Nets closed at 1145 with 13 new birds of 8 species.

A most odd capture was a Firecrest (Brandkronad kungsfågel), trapped at the end of the session during a public guided talk. Three lucky members of the public!!! Only the 7th of the species ever caught here and the only one ever caught in June.

A public guided talk given to three people from 1130 until 1300.

Kalle & Marie left the island at 0930 to give just two at the Obs overnight: Chris & Kay.

A return to normal this morning, after the recent winds, with nets opened at 0415 and closed at 1100 with 20 new birds of 13 species.

Kalle was up at Bredmar during the morning but had very few birds passing.

Kalle has altered the gradient of the track by the cellar entrance to help keep rain water from flooding down the steps.

Afternoon will be spent checking the final two nest boxes.

There will be four at the Obs overnight: Chris, Kay, Kalle & Marie.

No ringing possible today with winds of over 25 m/s in the gusts and rain through the morning and early afternoon.

Some time spent creating a ‘tick list’ for the birds of Landsort which will make it easier to note what is seen each day.

The rest of the day was spent, taking a rest!!! with plenty of fika, kaka and wonderful Midsommar food – even if the weather was not kind!!!

There will be six at the Obs overnight: Chris, Kay, Kalle, Lena, Marie & Anneka.

Nets opened at 0500 and closed at 1100 with light rain showers to start with, followed by mist as the wind dropped to almost calm before increasing again.

A total of 18 new birds of 10 species including the first fledged Chaffinch (Bofink) of the year.

Kalle spent some time at Bredmar migration watching before heading north.

There will be six at the Obs overnight: Chris, Kay, Kalle, Marie, Lena and Anneka.

Some nets opened at 0800 until 1145 after very strong winds eased in the early morning. Almost clear skies for most of the morning, becoming overcast around 1100.

Just the one new bird for the day.

There will be four at the Obs overnight: Chris, Kay, Kalle & Marie.

Winds up to 21 m/s during the morning and mostly 14-18 m/s prevented any hope of nets being opened today. So, a welcome late morning this morning, with the sound of 30+ Swift (Tornseglare) feeding overhead as they passed the Obs getting us up about 0630!!!

A short period behind the Obs at Bredmar produced few birds passing the island.

A restful day, with more strong to very strong winds with rain forecast for the next few days the outlook for much netting is poor.

There will be two at the Obs overnight: Chris & Kay.

Net opening delayed until 0600 due to very strong winds. Only 8 nets opened, with just four birds of four species caught.

Among them was the first recently fledged Lesser Whitethroat (Ärtsångare) of the year.

Afternoon spent working on the report on nest box monitoring and watching Sweden scrape a narrow victory in their opening game of the World Cup.

There will be two at the Obs overnight: Chris & Kay.

Nets opened at 0415 and closed at 1145 with a total of 14 new birds of 9 species, including three very recently fledged Marsh Tit (Entita).

Mikael and Mats headed off in the early morning to migration watch but reported that there were very few birds passing, so they went through the woods in the early morning.

A guided talk given to eight people from 1130 until 1245. A very enjoyable talk!!!

Some more nest boxes to checked this afternoon, but one failed Great Tit (Talgoxe) and two small Tree Sparrow (Pilfink) in the other. Just two more boxes to check later in the month, both are Pied Flycatcher (Svartvit flugsnappare).

Mats & Mikael left the island on the 1330 ferry to give just two at the Obs overnight: Chris & Kay.

All nets opened at 0415 and closed at 1100 with 12 new birds of 9 species.

Mikael headed south for the morning, with Mats arriving on the 1030 ferry.

Afternoon spent trimming the grass.

There will be four at the Obs overnight: Chris, Kay, Mikael and Mats.

Net opening delayed until 0700 due to very strong winds which dropped slightly but remained strong from the SW all day.

A limited number of nets opened until 1100 with the stunning total of ZERO birds caught!!!!

Mikael arrived on the first ferry and has gone to the south of the island at around 1530 to migration watch.

There will be three at the Obs overnight: Chris, Kay & Mikael.

A strong SE wind prevented some nets being opened but the rest were opened at 0415 and closed at 1100 with just three new birds – all Linnet (Hämpling).

Three nest boxes checked this afternoon with a further 8 Great Tit (Talgoxe) chicks ringed from two boxes and a brood of six Redstart (Rödstjärt) at the last one to give 17 birds of three species for the day.

Further disappointment at the Swift (Tornseglare) site with another egg found below the box. It may be that a new male has taken over the site as it is known that they will sometimes eject the old males eggs to ensure he will be looking after his own offspring. We will wait and see but for the time being one bird is in the box most of the day being regularly visited by another. At least two further swift are associating with the site, visiting the Observatory often through the day.

There will be two at the Obs overnight: Chris & Kay.

Nets opened at 0415 and closed at 1145 in a moderate SE wind that brought occasional light showers from 0900.

A total of 22 new birds of 12 species including (at long last!!) the first Common Rosefinch (Rosenfink) of the season.

At the Swift (Tornseglare) nest box there was a combination of some very good news and some bad. Early in the morning an egg was seen at the entrance of the box, which was then pushed out by one of the birds to smash on the ground. So the good news is there is definite proof of breeding but a sad way to find out. On the plus side it seems that it is not uncommon for Swift to push eggs out of a nest. Exact reasons unknown but might be just clumsy or possibly due to the egg being infertile. On the plus side the female remains in the nest almost constantly now, so must be incubating further eggs. Fingers crossed for a successful outcome.

The drama continued through the morning when a third bird entered the box to be challenged by the male. Meanwhile the female could be heard at the back of the nest box, calling. They remained with legs locked together and biting each others necks for over one hour before the male (ringed yesterday) evicted the challenger. High drama!!!

Less dramatic at the Obs overnight with just Chris & Kay.

Light rain early in morning delayed netting until 0600 with all nets closed at 1100 with just three new birds of three species, including a very young Magpie (Skata) which was walking along the path towards the nets!!!

Better result in the afternoon when nest boxes produced 23 nestlings of three species: Blue Tit (Blåmes) 8, Great Tit (Talgoxe) 9 and Pied Flycatcher (Svartvit flugsnappare) 6, giving 26 birds for the day.

A strange addition to the ringing totals for the day and a new species for the year when a Swift (Tornseglare) was seen trying to leave a nest box but got stuck with one wing in and one out. Ladder out and bird retrieved, ringed and released none the worse for it’s adventure!! Only the second of the species ever ringed at the Observatory.

A pair of Woodcock (Morkulla) flushed from near one of the nest boxes but no sign of a nest or young.

There will be two at the Obs overnight: Chris & Kay.

Early rain showers and a strong wind delayed opening of the nets for an hour or so. Nets opened as the rain cleared and wind dropped, with last nets closed at 1415 after the final guided talk.

Just four birds of four species for all the effort!

Two guided talks given between 1130 and 1445 to 16 and 20 pupils from a school. Very enjoyable and hopefully the start of further school visits.

There will be two at the Obs tonight: Chris & Kay.

Nets opened at 0345 and closed at 1145 with just 7 new birds of 7 species, including the first Nuthatch (Nötväcka) of the season.

A guided talk given to five people from 1130 until 1230.

More nest box checking this afternoon with another ten Great Tit (Talgoxe) chicks ringed. Pair of Pied Flycatcher still feeding young in a box north of Bredmar. The young should be ready to ring later in the week. Female Teal observed from 2m on her nest near Saltmar. Sat very tight so must be near hatching.

Bosse had a couple of good sightings over the weekend. The first was yesterday evening when a male King Eider (Prakejder) flew past the southern tip of the island. Today he saw a Turtle Dove ((Turturduva) near SUDD and then to finish off his hat-trick he heard Marsh Warbler (Kärrsångare) singing near Norrhamn.

Bosse and Lena leave on the last ferry to give two at the Obs overnight: Chris & Kay.

Most nets opened at 0345 and the rest opened soon after as the initially strong SW wind decreased and mover more SE to S.

Nets closed at 1100 with 10 new birds of 7 species.

A couple of nest boxes checked at SUDD but one was not being used and the other had small young/eggs of Tree Sparrow (Pilifink).

Bosse and Lena arrived on the first ferry to give four at the Obs overnight; Chris, Kay, Bosse & Lena.

Most nets opened at 0345 with the rest opened within 90 minutes as the strong NE wind decreased and moved gradually East. Nets closed at 1100 with 16 new birds of 11 species.

Afternoon was spent checking nest boxes with 54 Great Tit (Talgoxe) chicks ringed to give 70 birds of 12 species for the day. A female Teal with 6 small chicks were seen on Bredmar pond at 0400 and one of the boxes checked near Saltmarbunkervägan had five small Redstart (Rödstjärt) chicks in it. Too small to ring just now, but in a few days time.

There will be two at the Obs overnight: Chris & Kay.

Nets opened at 0345, with some closed as the morning progressed and the wind increased. Final nets closed at 1445 after keeping some open to show two groups of school children our work. Despite our efforts only 5 new birds of 4 species caught and all of those were caught prior to the first talk at 1130.

Emma arrived to help out with the talks, leaving on the 1600 ferry.

Talks given to two groups of school youngsters, totalling over 40 pupils overall. Final talk finished at 1430.

There will be two at the Obs overnight: Chris & Kay

Nets opened at 0345 and closed at 1145 with just 9 new birds of 6 species, with a further 7 Great Tit (Talgoxe) chicks ringed later in the day to give 16 new of 7 species.

No open guiding today.

Afternoon spent checking more nest boxes.

A big thanks to Niklas for helping to identify some of the moths we have been catching!!!

Also a bit of a late thanks to Thomas who spent some of Sunday improving the tension wires that hold the canopy nets in place.

There will be two at the Obs overnight: Chris & Kay

Very strong winds with gusts over 15 m/s so no nets opened today – the first day since the season started on 1st April that no catching has taken place. With no nest boxes due to be checked either it was a relaxing day with only the vegetation along the paths, garden and under the nets to trim and clear away.

There will be two at the Obs overnight: Chris & Kay.

Nets opened at 0345 in almost calm conditions, with some closed as the wind increased and shifted towards north-east and then east. Just 9 new birds of 5 species, but including the first (3) Blackbird (Koltrast) fledglings of the year caught.

Afternoon spent checking a few more nest boxes, but none of the young ready to ring.

Currently there is a problem with the water supply on the island, an issue with E-coli. For the time being it will be important to check the current situation with water supply when booking to stay at the Obs.

Lasse leaves the island today to give two at the Obs overnight: Chris & Kay.

Very light winds to calm when nets opened at 0345, with wind varying in direction all morning before becoming more southerly, increasing slightly in strength after netting finished at 1145.

19 new birds of 10 species in the nets, with a further 19 Great Tit (Talgoxe) chicks ringed at four nest boxes this afternoon. Among the birds caught were five Marsh Warbler (Kärrsångare).

A guided talk was given to one person and his two small grandchildren from 1130 until 1215.

Thomas left on the 1330 ferry. Afternoon was spent checking nest boxes.

There will be three at the Obs overnight: Chris, Kay & Lasse.

Nets opened at 0345 and closed at 1145 with 19 new birds of 12 species including the first Marsh Warbler (Kärrsångare) of the season. Thomas took part in ringing through the morning while Lasse headed south and Mova up the road towards the north.

During the morning the four Swift (Tornseglare) that have been investigating the nest boxes and displaying around the Obs were joined by two more birds

Afternoon will be spent checking more nest boxes. Thomas took on a big mission – to find nest boxes that had not been found during the last three summers. A big task on a very hot day – well done to him for giving it a good go and finding some!!!!

Mova leaves the island later today, to give four at the Obs overnight; Chris, Kay, Lasse and Thomas.

Great Tit Talgoxe 1

Nets opened at 0345 and closed at 1145 with June starting as it has been for May – light winds and strong sunshine.

A total of 12 birds of 9 species, including the fourth Greenish Warbler (Lundsångare) of the year and a Black Redstart (Svart rödstjärt).

Afternoon spent checking more nest boxes in the north, with no chicks ready to ring but a few occupied boxes.

There will be five at the Obs overnight: Chris, Kay, Mova, Lasse and Thomas.