From April 23 to 29, Pierre-Lou visited Ottenby Bird Observatory in Sweden. It is located at the southern tip of the island of Öland and is a site of great importance for migratory birds.
Ottenby's ringing station is probably one of the largest in Europe in terms of numbers of birds caught. To get an idea, a sheet attached in the "lab" presents the ranking of the most ringed species on the station between 1946 and 2011: undisputed winners, the 229049 European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) ringed here in 65 years allow us to guess the origin of the station's logo.

The station is entirely designed for ringing, especially that of migratory passerines even if many waterbird captures are also carried out according to the seasons, as well as different monitoring of migratory or breeding species.

Pierre-Lou shared for a short week the tiring but captivating routine of this team of ringers and passionate birders. The program and the distribution of tasks are finely prepared and the team works in a near-professional harmony!
During the entire migration period, 7 days a week, passerine catches begin some minutes before sunrise and continue until late morning. Every thirty minutes is the time of the "round": part of the team follows a course in the garden of the station to collect captured birds while the other part of the team rings the birds at the "Lab". Here are some pictures that present these particularly well organized operations.

Every day, at the end of the morning, when the catches of passerines reach their end, Pierre-Lou then went aboard the "duck car" to participate in duck captures (see the album).