Windy days

We've been suffering from 25–30 mph westerly winds for the last four days — far too windy for any ringing in the reed bed (though the did dump a Short-billed Dowitcher in southeast Sweden). There's a sort of cabin-fever setting in around the house. We've set a net in the garden but in about 10 hours net-time we've managed to catch just one Blackcap.

On Wednesday, Jan Baert — a friend from Belgium — arrived, bringing with him his crazy non-QWERTY keyboard.

The wind has made birding hard, though we've managed to see a few common niceties; things like Wood Sandpiper, plenty of Spotted Redshank, Peregrine, Osprey, Honey Buzzards etc. Also this beast, which flew past at close range and completely screwed up my resting bird count!

White-tailed Eagle © Jan Baert

Finally, this is funny. Though perhaps not if you're Swedish.