This morning was VERY grey but most importantly, rainless and so János, Florian and I were keen to venture out along the beach and towards World’s End 3. We did some very relaxed seawatching for a couple of hours and, although it was generally not a busy day for migration, we had some lovely highlights, including a beautiful Black Guillemot (Tejst), a Black-throated Diver (Sortstrubet Lom) and some porpoises (Marsvin) popping up between the waves from time to time.

Florian checked the bushes behind the first line of dunes for rare buntings and saw a nice Hen Harrier (Blå Kærhøg) and then we then headed out to the tip and along the beach, where there were plenty of Sanderling (Sandløber) and the tide was much lower than yesterday, leaving lots of seaweed, rubbish and animal bones on the beach.

On our way back to the bird observatory, we met Miles, Lise and Frey and walked back together to have lunch. Miles had been for a nice morning run past Jennes Sø and the Nature Centre and then the three of them had walked to Kabeltromlen and spotted lots of Bullfinch (Dompap), Starlings (Stær), a Sparrowhawk (Spurvehøg) and heard some Bearded Reedlings (Skægmejse). Then the afternoon was dedicated to deep cleaning our lighthouse apartment ready for the end of the season. We scrubbed and vacuumed every corner, wiped every window and surface, and even took the carpets outside for a shake.

Just as János and I were whacking the carpets to shake out all the sand, we heard an interesting bird call in the courtyard of the lighthouse. János recognised the call as a Black Redstart (Husrødstjert), so we immediately dropped our carpet and stick and searched the skies around us. It flew across from the roof of the bike shed to the roof of the lighthouse and then dropped down out of sight and we never found it again. Without our binoculars with us we could only say that it looked like a female-type Black Redstart, which is slightly frustrating because at this time of year it could quite possibly be the much rarer central Asian subspecies (phoenicuroides).

Once we’d finished all our cleaning duties, Miles and I went for our final sea swim of our stay in Skagen. It was definitely the most challenging and coldest dip of our time here but strangely still really fun, and we even saw a huge orange jellyfish floating in the waves close to us which was very cool! We also welcomed Jonas this afternoon who was a previous volunteer here in Skagen back in 2021. For dinner, Lise and Frey are cooking us all a traditional Danish Christmas meal called Risengrød which already smells delicious.

Today is our penultimate day in Skagen and also sadly my final time writing the blog; I really hope you’ve all enjoyed hearing about our experiences and hopefully I’ll be back again in the future!

Standard ringing finished

Link to today’s observations from the Skagen area

People: Miles Scheuering, János Schadl, Florian Hatt, Amira Nuseibeh, Lise Mastrup and our guest Frey Mastrup

The weather was rather grey again, but since it was dry, Amira, János and I went for a walk to Grenen this morning. Shortly after arriving at World's End 3, we saw a large diver flying towards us. When it was close enough, we could all see that it was a Great Northern Diver (Islom)! It was most likely the individual that Knud had seen resting at Nordstrand a few minutes earlier (whose Zello message we only noticed after the bird had already flown past us). Shortly afterwards, Knud reported another Islom from Nordstrand, which arrived shortly afterwards at Grenen and landed on the water. We tried to get closer and went down to the beach. Unfortunately, we only saw it flying away, but we also spotted a Black-throated Diver (Sortstrubet Lom) migrating northwest. We also checked the gulls and at least spotted one Caspian Gull (Kaspisk Måge) and some unusual dark coloured Herring gulls (Sølvmåge).


Birding at Grenen

On the way back along the Sandormen Track, we observed two Hen Harriers (Blå Kærhøg) fighting with each other! At least one of them was the one with missing feathers in its wing, that had been in the area for a long time now. Meanwhile, Miles was birding in the Industrial Area. A late Blackcap (Munk) was quite a good highlight there!

At noon, we started with doing some cleaning. Today, we worked on the lab and the bicycles. Especially for the latter, it was really needed to do this. Fortunately, this didn't take forever, so Amira, János and I decided to look at gulls and ducks in the harbour.


Scanning the Eiders (Ederfugl) in the harbour

Afterwards, we went to the bakery, where Miles and Lise joined us. We had some hot drinks and something to eat. It was very hyggeligt there!

As it was very warm in the bakery, János, Amira and I had to cool off in the sea as soon as we were back at the station. This swim was really refreshing!

In the evening Lise's sister Frey arrived, Miles prepared a delicious dinner and Amira held her presentation about conservation of Bonelli's Eagles (Høgeørn)!

Standard ringing finished

Link to today’s observations from the area.

People: Miles Scheuering, János Schadl, Florian Hatt, Amira Nuseibeh, Lise Mastrup and our guest Frey Mastrup

I dag var en lidt anderledes dag her på stationen. Vi tilbragte nemlig det meste af den på udflugt til nogle af de bedste havne og strande Nordjylland har at byde på!

Vi havde Oluf med, som sidder i styregruppen for stationen og venligt havde lagt bil og selskab til dagens køretur. Klokken lidt over 9 gik det afsted til første stop; Aalbæk havn. Her fik vi en god start med både isfugl, en lomvie som svømmede omkring inde i havnen, flere sandløbere, skærpibere, en toppet lappedykker og (som håbet!) en masse dejlige måger. Sidstnævnte kunne vi øve os på at arts- og aldersbestemme ovenpå de to meget lærerige oplæg fra Florian og János i går aftes.

Herefter fortsatte vi videre mod Jerup strand. Denne bød på blandt andet gravænder, hvinænder, blå kærhøg og en masse flere strandskader (i alt talte vi 133). Højdepunktet her var dog uden tvivl, da vi langt ude både hørte og så en helt enorm flok gæs på træk. Disse kom fra land og fløj ud mod kysten, hvorefter de fortsatte henad kystlinjen, så der var mulighed for at følge dem et stykke. I alt blev der talt 402 grågæs, 61 bramgæs, 7 blisgæs og dertil 2 kortnæbbede gæs. Det var et fantastisk dejligt syn at se denne mængde følges ad alle sammen.

Spidsanden var også med i dag på kaffekoppen under frokostpausen.

Vi kørte så til Strandby, hvor der var en udsigtspost på havnen. Herfra kunne vi se flere måger, ederfugle og skarver. Lige nedenfor udsigtsposten på havnefronten gik 4 stenvendere. De var kun meget lidt sky, hvilket betød at vi kunne se dem helt tæt på. En lille gåtur ved havnens yderside kunne betale sige, da Miles her spottede to sortgrå ryler, som sad helt runde og skuttede sig for støvregnen.

Fra toppen af udsigtsposten på Strandby havn.

Dagens sidste stop var Frederikshavn, hvor der i længere tid har opholdt sig en hvidbrystet præstekrave. Eftersom den var set tidligere på dagen, var vores forhåbninger om at genfinde den selvsagt ikke alt for lave. I første omgang så vi en masse andre skønne fugle; rødben, almindelige ryler, sandløbere og strandskader gik blandt hinanden på en vadeflade. En isfugl fløj flere gange forbi over vandet, hvor der lå gravænder, knortegæs og toppede skalleslugere. Sidstnævnte er altid en favorit og årsag til begejstring blandt holdet her. En spurvehøg og dobbeltbekkasiner lagde også vejen forbi. Ovenpå alle disse var der godt humør og høje forventninger til den hvidbrystede præstekrave. End ikke lidt regn og stadigt mindre dagslys kunne tage håbet fra os. Flokken af vadere blev gennemsøgt fra forskellige lokationer og da vi lidt våde og nu også en smule trætte stadig ikke havde fundet den, blev det besluttet at give det et sidste forsøg. Vi gik hen ad vadefladen for at komme lidt tættere på flokken derude og pludselig sagde János køligt, men begejstret at ”here it is!”. Og ganske rigtigt havde han netop da en hvidbrystet præstekrave i skopet. Vi fik den alle at se og for Miles markerede dette hans fugleart nummer 800, som han har set i år! Tillykke!

Hvidbrystet præstekrave.

Denne blev da også dagens sidste fugl, da solnedgang nærmede sig og vi derfor vendte tilbage til bilerne for at køre hjem til stationen. Alt i alt en skøn dag, med masser af oplevelser, fugle og som altid dejligt selskab:)

Folk på stationen: Miles Scheuering, János Schadl, Florian Hatt, Amira Nuseibeh, Lise Mastrup, Simon S. Christiansen, Oluf Lou

The weather was not so nice this morning, but Florian, János, and Amira still had hopes to get out for some observing before settling in with computer work and cleaning. It was quite windy when Amira cycled to and from the pool, but then rain started shortly after, so they decided not to go out. I woke up early to have a meeting with a friend back in Oregon, then I went back to sleep and had a proper lie in. Around 9 I got up and frosted the pumpkin cake I baked last night. We all enjoyed it as a midmorning snack, and it was quite cozy in the living room, wrapped up in our blankets. We also had a researcher from Aarhus University stay in the apartment overnight. This morning, Lise helped her collect the snails and frozen fulmars (mallemuk) to bring back to Aarhus for analysis.

Red Kite (Rød Glente) at Nedermose. Photo by Florian

The rain let up later in the morning, so Florian, Amira and I went out on some outings. Amira and I walked first to Kabeltromlen, then further on the path to Worlds End 1, through the dunes to Worlds End 3, and then back along the beach to the sandormen track. It was extremely windy, but we still saw a nice Hen Harrier (Blå Kærhøg) and a flock of Bohemian Waxwings (Silkehale). Meanwhile, Florian took a walk out to the nature center, where he spotted a very late Red Kite (Rød Glente). This is the first that has been reported in Skagen in December (according to DOFbasen)! We have had strong winds from the south recently, so it was likely blown up from further south in Denmark. Other highlights from the walk were Crested Tits (Topmejse) and a Common Chiffchaff (Gransanger).

Pumpkin cake that I baked. Photo by Miles

In the afternoon, Simon came to the station and we sorted and cleaned the living room and various drawers. It took some time but there were several items that the station did not need, which we were able to take. Amira found a lovely moth poster, a jumper, and some sunglasses!

Amira and I at Worlds End 1 during our morning walk. Photo by Miles

Amira cooked us a delicious dinner of jacket potatoes (a quintessential English dish) and afterward, Florian and János gave great sessions on gulls (Måge). Tomorrow we are taking an outing to several harbors in the area, so it was great preparation for this trip. Florian focused on small gulls, especially rarer species, while János focused primarily on aging of our most common large gulls. We are very excited to apply what we learned during our outing tomorrow.

Standard ringing finished

Link to today’s observations from the area.

People: Miles Scheuering, János Schadl, Florian Hatt, Amira Nuseibeh, Lise Mastrup, Simon S. Christiansen

Today, lots of us woke up in a very good mood after yesterday’s observations and nightcatching successes. Although the standard observation season has now ended, Florian, János and I were still keen to take advantage of the brilliant weather this morning and headed out to World’s End 3 at dawn for a few hours of seawatching. The tip of Grenen is one of my favourite places to be at sunrise because the pools of water and the tops of the waves shimmer like gold, the beach is dotted with resting gulls (måge), the Sanderling (Sandløber) are happily scampering, and almost always there isn't a single other human around!

Although we technically didn’t have to be counting everything we saw, we couldn’t resist clicking the Auks (Alk/Lomvie), Kittiwakes (Ride), Divers (Lom), ducks and Gannets (Sule). There weren’t as many Red-throated Divers (Rødstrubet Lom) as yesterday, but yet again the record for Autumn high count of Guillemots (Lomvie) was broken with 2497 migrating past today (counted by Knud)! How crazy!

As well as the many auks, we also had a nice mix of our favourite usual birds like Velvet Scoter (Fløjlsand), Sparrowhawk (Spurvehøg) and Waxwing (Silkehale). However, after a couple of hours of counting, it was time for us to head back to the lighthouse so that we could start the big cleaning and sorting process needed to pack down the bird Observatory for the Winter. We all leave at the end of this week and there’s so much to do before then! However, Florian, János and I all made a reminiscent stop at Kabeltromlen on our way home, where I was very excited to spot a Firecrest (Rødtoppet Fuglekonge) without a ring in the bushes!

A big group effort meant that we finished our cleaning and tidying jobs quite quickly this afternoon, and so Lise and I both had time to go for a lovely run, whilst János scrolled on Xeno Canto, Miles went grocery shopping, and Florian made his family calendars for Christmas using photos he has taken himself. Now, we’re awaiting a delicious sweet potato and chickpea bowl dinner being cooked by Miles and enjoying our wonderful Christmas tree which we’ve now covered in glittery and shiny paper stars; it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

Standard ringing season has finished for 2025!

Link to today’s observations from the Skagen area.

People: Miles Scheuering, János Schadl, Florian Hatt, Amira Nuseibeh, Lise Mastrup, and Simon S Christiansen.

It was another rainy morning in Skagen and after some indecision, Amira, Miles and Florian decided to bike to Nordstrand. However, it rained continuously at the beginning and visibility was relatively poor due to the fog. After about an hour, the rain stopped and visibility improved. With the good weather came the birds. Endless streams of Red-throated Divers (Rødstrubet Lom) and Guillemots (Lomvie) kept the observers busy. Other highlights were Black-throated Diver (Sortstrubet Lom) and Long-tailed Duck (Havlit). Today was the last day of the standardized observation and in the end a new autumn record was set with 760 Red-throated Divers (Rødstrubet Lom) and 1297 Guillemots (Lomvie) each!

Observers counting hundreds of Red-throated Divers. Photo by Florian

This Autumn has flown by and now today is already the penultimate day of our standard observation season! The weather for tomorrow looks quite rainy meaning today might be the last day of standard migration count this year, so all seven of us bundled up in our many layers, packed plenty of snacks and headed out to World’s End 3, where the sunrise was beautiful once again. After a very quiet last few days, our expectations were quite low, except for János who had predicted a big migration day during dinner last night, and he turned out to be right!

I was counting migrating Kittiwakes (Ride) today and in the first hour they were already passing by in their hundreds! But the most surprising and spectacular observation from today was the 394 Red-Throated Divers (Rodstrubet Lom). In the first couple of hours, we were seeing a steady trickle of divers but then suddenly there was a huge influx, with a constant stream of birds, some flying one behind each other, some in big groups. In only 10 minutes we counted over 250 migrating northwest past the tip at Grenen, along with one larger diver (Lom) which could either be a Great Northern Diver (Islom) or a White-billed Diver (Hvidnæbbet Lom), but we’re not completely sure this time; either way it’s exciting to see these big and beautiful birds!

A personal highlight for many of us was when Florian suddenly shouted out at the top of his voice: “Cranes”! In seconds, we had all turned around to see three majestic Common Cranes (Trane) flying right over our observation point! These are the first Cranes that any of us have seen in Skagen and are particularly significant for Florian because they are the 200th species he’s seen or heard in Denmark!

Another highlight was two Little Gulls (Dværgmåge) which we haven’t seen in quite some time now, but are always a lovely treat. Another surprise visitor to the migration count was a very lonely and sad looking Razorbill which was perched at the base of a sand dune when we arrived at World’s End 3 at sunrise. Over the next hour we watched it hop, flap and attempt to climb up the small sand dunes near us but without much success, until finally it disappeared and we hope flew away happily!

Just half an hour before the end of our standard 4hrs of counting, the heavens opened and it began to rain heavily. We checked the weather radar, and it showed continuous rain for the next few hours, so we decided to pack up and head home rather than getting super soggy and cold. In the afternoon, János, Miles and I did some office work, and later I went for a walk and spotted a Hen Harrier (Blå Kærhøg), Rough-legged Buzzard (Fjeldvåge), and a Common Buzzard (Musvåge), a nice trio of raptors.

Florian travelled to Frederikshavn for some birdwatching and was excited to see the first Egyptian Goose (Nilgås) for the town since 2022! His mission was to spot three species which he had not seen in Denmark so far: Kentish plover (Hvidbrystet Præstekrave), Greater Scaup (Bjergand), and Little Egret (Silkehejre). He almost achieved his goal, seeing both the Kentish Plover and Greater Scaup, but unfortunately failed to spot the Little Egret this time. Nevertheless, he had a brilliant time and saw so many ducks and waders, so a good afternoon of birdwatching.

It has been so lovely to have Lise’ best friends, Kat and Vic, come to stay with us this weekend, and they joined us for this morning’s observations too. After the rain stopped, they went for a nice walk to Jennes Sø and saw many Goldcrests (Fuglekonge) and Fieldfares (Sjagger), and then toured the Skagen supermarkets and did a much-needed big grocery shop for us. Thank you!

Standard ringing season has finished for 2025!

Link to today’s observations from the area

People: Miles Scheuering, János Schadl, Florian Hatt, Amira Nuseibeh, Lise Mastrup, and our guests (Lise’s friends) Kat and Vic.

Today was surprisingly warm when Lise, Amira, János and I went out to World’s End III. Therefore, I decided not to take the warm boiler suit but to enjoy the warm weather (around 10°C) in my own clothes.


Observers at World's End III

The wind blew strongly from the south-west, which did not really result in many birds. But there were some nice birds resting. For example Black-throated Diver (Sortstrubet Lom) and a small group of Great Crested Grebes (Toppet Lappedykker). When looking inland we got some nice views of a juvenile female Hen Harrier (Blå Kærhøg) and of the pair of Stonechats (Sortstrubet Bynkefugl) that is hanging around in the area for many weeks now. The Kittiwakes (Ride) were a bit more numerous than other species, and some came very close, since a large part of the beach got flooded today. We even had to move our bicycles a little because the water level rose rapidly during the observation period! Also, the tourists couldn't walk all the way to the tip, which meant that some of them came to World's End III instead and talked to us. After the first 2.5 hours Knud went down to the beach, as there wasn't much going on with the alcids (alkefugle) that he was counting as always. Just then, two Brent Geese (Knortegås) flew in and made a few rounds over the beach. Knud was lucky and was standing in the right place, so he was able to take a great photo of them.


Lysbuget og Mørkbuget Knortegås, Photo by Knud Pedersen

It was really nice to see them so close, and even more fun was the fact that one was of the light-bellied and the other was of the dark-bellied subspecies. After that, I took over counting the auks, which at first was actually very little work, but then surprisingly increased significantly in the last hour.

Afterwards, I stayed outside and walked along the outermost row of dunes towards Nordstrand. I spent some time with a very skulky Reed Bunting (Rørspurv) and unfortunately could never see it properly to rule out a rarity for sure. But I saw two Water Pipits (Bjergpiber) flying around over the reed beds, always nice to hear and see them!

Miles had an office day today and, among other things, recorded a tutorial on how to fold paper Christmas stars correctly. Now we can finally all get started and decorate our little tree with lots of stars! You could watch the tutorial here: https://youtu.be/vi1YSKKjflY?si=6xSqAdUkR8jhkFte 

In the afternoon, Miles and Amira went swimming in the sea again. They described it as surprisingly warm! Amira also went for a walk to Guldmajssøen and went upstairs to the lighthouse in the evening. Afterwards, Lise presented her session about her time at Blåvand and Geddser Fuglestation!


Lise's presentation

It was very interesting to see how the stations differ and which bird species are most common there. Now we're waiting for dinner, which János is preparing. It smells really good already!

Standard ringing finished

Highlights from World's End III
Bjergpiber (Water pipit) 2
Sortstrubet Lom (Black-throated Diver) 2
Lysbuget og Mørkbuget Knortegås (Light- and dark-bellied Brent Geese very close!)

Link to today’s observations from the area.

People: Miles Scheuering, János Schadl, Florian Hatt, Amira Nuseibeh, Lise Mastrup, Simon S. Christiansen

Today there were strong winds and considerable rain in the morning, meaning the migration count was canceled. This meant there was time for some of us to exercise in the morning, followed by an office day for everyone! Amira woke up early to go to the pool in town for lap swim and then did a little grocery shopping before returning home. We had big plans for our Thanksgiving dinner, so we needed to stock up on a lot of things at the shops. Meanwhile, I went out for a run and ended up going a bit longer than usual, all the way out to Nordstrand, and then along the beach to the tip and back to the lighthouse. It was great to be out, and the strong wind and rain felt quite invigorating! The final stretch back to the lighthouse was maybe a bit too bracing, however.

The Thanksgiving spread. From left to right: salad, tofu, roast brussel sprouts, gravy, roast beets, roast potatoes, roast carrots. Photo by Amira

After getting back I roasted a pumpkin, which would eventually turn into pumpkin pie. We reviewed guidelines for the migration count, worked on our sessions, reviewed the picture archive, and later when Simon arrived, helped check ringing data sheets. While not the most exciting day, it was very good to make progress on these tasks. Simon has been at Lille Vildemose the last few days, helping with Taiga Bean-Goose (Sædgås ssp. fabalis) catching for Lisa’s PhD project. He has been their lucky charm this fall, and they have always caught geese when he has been there!

A late afternoon walk out to Ellekrattet, after the rain had abated. Photo by Florian

In the United States, today is Thanksgiving, so in the evening we all worked to prepare a feast. Traditionally, the main course is roast turkey (Kalkun) but we opted for tofu. After evening meeting, I finished making the pumpkin pie, then helped Amira and Lise chopping and preparing roast vegetables. Lise also made a delicious salad and some vegan gravy. Meanwhile, Florian and János provided excellent moral support and kept the playlist well stocked with bangers. We have a lot to be thankful for here at the station this fall. There were many good birds, and the volunteers, guests, and locals have all been fantastic.

Standard ringing finished

No observation today

Link to today’s observations from the area.

People: Miles Scheuering, János Schadl, Florian Hatt, Amira Nuseibeh, Lise Mastrup, Simon S. Christiansen