Just back in Zagreb, I’m gently readjusting to civilization and realizing how much I’ve discovered, learnt and shared during this awesome month in Učka bird ringing camp. Because there is so much to tell (about birds, people, landscapes…) I’m going to offer you an overview about what my days were like in Učka…
My alarm sounds at 5 am (it’s my first week so I’m highly motivated!). Very excited, I come out of my tent in the dark coldish morning and join the ringer to set up the nets. The air is fresh and quiet, the starry sky soon gives way to an unreal sunrise over the forest. “Life belongs to those who rise early”.
Opening the nets in the morning is a really good way to get used to dark and night sounds, as well as to enjoy majestic silent flyovers of Nightjars…I highly recommend the experience! Coming back from the opening, time for me to warm up my body with a tea, absorbed by the songbirds awakening.
It’s 6 am: time for the first round! The small morning team tools up with sticks, bird bags, calm and quietness. We first follow a path among the bushes, which then ends up on a beautiful pond.
In this still dark light, we glimpse some movements: 2 Robins are in the nets! This bird is mostly caught in the early morning, as it’s active at that time thanks to its nocturnal sight (that’s why it has really dark eyes). The ringer gently extracts the birds from the nets and puts them in small bags so that they are secured and calmed down.
Back to the camp, all gathered around the ringing table: it’s time to discover the ringing process. All focused, we follow the smooth ringer’s handling of the birds, and everyone is amazed how they combine smoothness, gentleness and efficiency. The ringer puts a ring with a unique number on the bird’s leg (or writes the number down if the bird already has a ring). Then they age and sex the bird if possible, measure the fat score, wing length and weight. All this process is done as quickly as possible to minimize the bird’s stress. By seeing birds so close while ringing, I had the chance to practice how to age and sex many species and I discovered a lot about bird moult and bird migration.
Then, every hour we would go check the nets, and I especially love this routine. I walked this path so many times and with so many different people, but we always felt the same excitement and happiness: which feathered friend would we find this time? Living with birds for one month, you almost get to know them like friends, and realize how each species has their own personality.
I can tell how adorable the Long-tailed Tit’s orange “lid” is, how strong and aggressive the cute Blue Tits can be, how soft the Nightjar’s feathers are, how deep and impressive a Scops Owl’s gaze is…
After closing the nets at 11 am, a free afternoon is quite welcome.
Sometimes chilling out in a hammock, other days I would go to look for butterflies, dragonflies or frogs with other crazy nature lovers. I’ll also always remember the awesome landscapes we admired while hiking on Učka’s mountain paths.
At 4 pm, it’s time to open the nets again, and around 5 pm, the cooking team gets ready to cut many kilos of vegetables. Meanwhile, the bonfire is lit and soon the huge old cooking pot is set over the fire…this is where the evening’s magic begins. Gathered around the fire, reliving our childhood, we would eat toasted marshmallows grilled over the fire. And then share stories lulled by Eagle Owl and Tawny Owl songs.
All tired by this intense fantastic day, it’s now time to go to sleep, so I wish you sweet dreams about Učka…
