Russia, 10-22 October 2018

Lyndon has recently returned from a trip to the Biological Station Rybachy on the Baltic Coast (Kaliningrad, Russia). It was his 20th visit.  He first went in 1994, driving by car from Bristol (!) with Jerry Lewis and Bob & Annie Haycock. They were the first British ringers to visit the Station.
For those not familiar with the setup, massive funnel-type traps are operated at Rybachy’s Fringilla field station on the Courish Spit, oriented towards the flow of migrating birds. The traps are huge, measuring 30m (width at entrance) x 15m (height) x 60m (length).
Not surprisingly, the traps are capable of very big catches. The following are maximum per day catches since the traps were first deployed in 1957: Chaffinch 5881; Goldcrest 4468; Starling 2534; and Great Tit 2161. Non-passerine numbers can also be impressive and two records are held by visiting British ringers: 91 Long-eared Owls in one night (Oct, 1995); and 34 Sparrowhawks in one day (Oct, 2005), most of them chased into the traps by Jerry. 
The weather during Lyndon's stay was unusually settled and mild. But a light westerly wind ensured good numbers of birds in the traps (1000+ almost every day). The maximum daily catch was 2800 birds, processed by a team of 6 ringers. It was mostly ‘ring and fling’ at busiest times and the most numerous species this year were Goldcrest, Great Tit and Northern Long-tailed Tit. Special birds included Dusky Warbler (1), Nutcracker (2) and Tengmalm’s Owl (3). Low numbers of Firecrest, Long-eared Owl, Woodcock and Yellow-browed Warbler were also caught.
Around 150 birds were controlled during the visit, mostly LOTTIs from the other Baltic States – Estonia (“Matsalu”), Latvia (“Riga”) and Lithuania (“Zool. Mus.”) – and one GOLDC from Sweden (“Riksmuseum Stockholm”).
Travelling to the site from the UK is fairly straightforward and inexpensive. At the moment, the easiest way to get there is by flying to Poland (Gdansk) and then taking a bus or pre-booked taxi. The drive to Rybachy takes about 4 hours if there are no holdups at the border crossing.
Volunteers are always welcome at the Station. But getting a visa is a pain and involves a trip to the Russian Consulate in London (the visa costs around £100). The daily contribution for food is 5 Euros. 
More details about the work of the Station can be found here: https://www.zin.ru/rybachy/index_e.html
And more details about the Courish Spit from here: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/994

May 1994. Back row: Bob Haycock (L), LR (Centre) and Jerry Lewis (R). The photo must have been taken by Annie.

Dune trap (East facing) in October 1994, no longer operational. The climber is Andrew Beattie (ex GV Ringing Group).

Top left - Nutcracker (Siberian subspecies); Middle left - Long-tailed Tit (Northern subspecies); Bottom left - Tengmalm’s Owl; Right top - Long-eared Owl, Right bottom - Dusky Warbler. All photos taken in October 2018.