Good evening!

Our two teams experienced two very different mornings today.

Sarah and me were at the count. We were so grateful when the sun finally came through the morning clouds. Before that it was freezing with cold winds coming from the north. Not the best conditions to stand at the highest dune around. If we'd be distracted by a lot of birds migrating over the sea, but we could only count lower numbers. At least, two skuas showed up, one was identified as an Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove), the other was too far away to decide wether it was a Pomarine or Arctic Skua (Mellem eller Almindelig Kjove). To cheer us up a Lapland Bunting (Lapværling) flew by. I also enjoyed some migrating Western Jackdaws (Allike) and Hooded Crows (Gråkråge).

Bundled up Luis at the count to withstand the cold (photo: Sarah Partridge)

Meanwhile, the ringing team had a busy day with 56 caught birds in total. A special surprise during the first round and definitely today's favourite was a Jack Snipe (Enkeltbekkasin)! Especially adorable are the green and violet iridescent feathers on the back that are hardly ever visible in the field, even more as Jack Snipes are very secretive and elusive birds that rely on perfect camouflage during the day rest.

Mio at the mist nets with a freshly extracted Goldcrest (Fuglekonge) (photo: Laura Tamminen)

Jack Snipe (Enkeltbekkasin) after ringing (photo: Mio Brix)

The wonderful back plumage of a Jack Snipe (Enkeltbekkasin) (photo: Simon Christiansen)

The afternoon activities were mostly related to data entry, paperwork and walks around Grenen with again two Lapland Buntings (Lapværling) as well as a very confiding Razorbill (Alk) hunting just next to the beach.

Jule entering ringing data in the afternoon sun (photo: Sarah Partridge)

Razorbill (Alk) hunting close to the beach (photo: Luis Q. Langfeld)

As last night's attempts for catching birds were not successful, we try again tonight. Fingers crossed that we'll get to ring some more birds! We'll let you know.

Highlights from the observations:

Lapværling – 2

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):

Enkeltbekkasin – 1

Vindrossel – 1

Sangdrossel – 1

Jernspurv – 1

Blåmejse – 4

Musvit – 2

Gærdesmutte – 9

Rødhals – 6

Gråsisken (Lille) – 2

Dompap – 5

Kvækerfinke – 7

Rørspurv – 8

Gulspurv – 1

Fuglekonge – 6

Gransanger – 2

Total: 56

Link to todays observations in the Dofbasen from observers in the area.

People: Jule Tappe, Mio Brix, Laura Tamminen, Luis Q. Langfeld, Sarah Partridge, Simon S. Christiansen, Páll Vang Kjærbo

Good afternoon readers! Today was a very good day for us and now we are happy to be warming up in the lighthouse.

First, some excitement from last night after the blog was written. Mio and Jule went night catching at Grenen to try to catch the storflock of Bjerglærke (Shorelark/Horned lark), and they had success with four in two rounds! They brought their treasures back to the lab to ring them there, where Simon and Lisa also joined us. The Bjerglærker were extremely round and soft and cute.

Two of the Bjerglærke from last night

A handsome male in winter plumage

Jule and Mio checking their birds for active moulting

After a slightly shorter sleep, Mio and I went to open the nets at Kabeltromlen, and were then joined by Simon. We had a very busy first round, which was made busier by my forgetfulness so I had to bike back to the lighthouse twice while Mio was extracting birds. The day was very productive, with 52 birds ringed and five retraps.

The best bird of the day was our foreign visitor, a female Munk (Blackcap) ringed in Chzechia . She is a great representation of evolution in action. Historically, blackcaps always travelled south to Africa for winter, but a larger portion of the population is now skipping the migration and instead travelling north to Scandinavia and Britain. This is likely a response to changing climate, thought to be also influenced by the abundance of bird feeders in Britain (about half of British households feed birds). The reverse-migrating birds were found to have slightly increased survival, smaller fat reserves (making escape from predators easier), higher wintering site-fidelity, as well as longer beaks and rounder wings (showing adaptations suited for a more generalized diet). They also return to their breeding grounds ten days earlier (on average) than their southern-migrating counterparts; although, all blackcaps now leave later and return earlier, for an average breeding season 63 days longer than it was in the 1960s. This incredible flexibility allows blackcaps to adapt to changing environments, and will help the species survive in the face of rapidly changing climates. Therefore, this Munk from Chzechia who has come to winter in the north is the winner of evolution. Also, Blackcap was bird of the year in Chzechia in 2026.

The winner of evolution

Some other highlights from the ringing included two Lille Gråsisken (Lesser Redpolls) together with one Stor Gråsisken (Mealy Redpoll), two male Kvækerfinker (Bramblings), an adult and a young one, and a few glorious Fuglekonge (Goldcrests).

Two Lille and one Stor (middle) Gråsisken

Meanwhile, Jule, Laura, and Luis went observing at World’s End III. They were very cold but enjoyed seeing the migration today, with some highlights of 3 Lapværling (Lapland bunting), one Toppet Lappedykker (Great Crested Grebe), and at the very end, a snespruv (Snow bunting), and a Dobbeltbekkasin (Snipe).

After lunch, we completed the Novana count of resting waterbirds. Mio and Luis went to Skarvsøen and Nørdstrand, while Laura, Jule and I went to the top of the lighthouse to count Kattegat. We also welcomed our new guests to the apartment this afternoon.

Tonight we will try night catching again and see what we get.

Highlights from the observations:

Toppet Lappedykker – 1

Sodfarvet Skråpe – 1

Lapværling – 3

Snespurv – 1

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):

Vindrossel – 2

Gulspurv – 1

Musvit – 1

Gærdesmutte – 12

Rødhals – 4

Gråsisken (Lille) – 2

Gråsisken (Stor) – 1

Munk – 1

Dompap – 10

Kvækerfinke – 2

Rørspurv – 9

Bogfinke – 1

Fuglekonge – 3

Gransanger – 2

Total: 52

Link to todays observations in the Dofbasen from observers in the area.

People: Jule Tappe, Mio Brix, Laura Tamminen, Luis Q. Langfeld, Sarah Partridge, Simon S. Christiansen, Lisa Vergin. 

 I am currently writing in the living room, tucked in my blanket and curled up on the couch. When did it get so cold?? As soon as the flocks of thrushes (Drossel) arrived, it got chilly. Birds like the redwing (Vindrossel) really bring out the Autumn feeling in my opinion.

I went ringing with Luis and Jule today, but this was by far the shortest ringing day I’ve experienced here. The weather got too poorly and the nets were getting stuck onto branches. Despite that, we still managed to ring a few lovely birds. While Luis and Jule were opening the nets they already caught an adult redwing! And when me and Jule started closing while Luis had joined the observers, we got a sweet little redpoll! (Gråsisken).

Lovely little Mealy redpoll! (Stor Gråsisken) Photo by Laura Tamminen

Sarah and Mio went observing and were also joined by Knud! It is great having you back. They had quite a nice day, seeing two black guillemots (Tejst), a few golden eyes (Hvinand) alongside the usual migrators. The horned larks (Bjerglærke), Lapland bunting (Lapværling) and snow bunting (Snespurv) were also visible.

The highlights of today are definitely the two sooty shearwaters (Sodfarvet Skråpe) and an adult Arctic tern! (Havterne) The tern is special because this time of year is quite late for an adult bird! These two species also inspired today’s title. We refer to the sooty shearwater as the King of Migration which is from a song! Me and Luis previously argued that the true king of migration should be the Arctic tern because they take the longest yearly migration of any animal on Earth! Can you guess how much? They travel about 40,000 to 80,000 km annually! That is more than enough to crown them as Kings.

To settle the small debate, we decided that the terns could be the Queens of Migration. Everyone’s happy then haha.

After coming back a bit earlier than usual, I already started preparing for my dinner tomorrow. I really hope it will turn out great because I have a special idea for it! We also had an early meeting today, then cleaned our station and did shopping.

We said goodbye to our lovely guests, Jesper and Karen. It was so nice having you at the station. Hopefully you will visit again!

As the last activity for today i decided to go up the lighthouse with Jule and Sarah. Fun fact i am horrified of heights! I gripped onto the wall for dear life. Luckily there was no wind so that made the experience a bit easier.

A quick photo i snapped from the lighthouse.

An interesting art exhibition has opened in Det Grå Fyr, so if you are into art, come check it out!

Link to todays observations in the Dofbasen from observers in the area.

People: Jule Tappe, Mio Brix, Laura Tamminen, Luis Q. Langfeld, Sarah Partridge, Simon S. Christiansen, Jesper and Karen Marie Olesen, Knud Pedersen, Erik Christophersen

Another sunrise, another day at SKAF. Today, Mio and Luis were at World’s End 3 for the observations and had a real autumn count. With over four hundreds of Auks (Lomvie/Alk), several Geese flocks including Brent Geese (Knortegås) in the air, they were busy. The perfect autumn songbird quartet was also enjoyed by them: Resting on the beach, they saw Twites (Bjergirisk), Lapland Bunting (Lapværling), Snow Bunting (Snespurv) and Horned Larks (Bjerglærke).

Horned Larks (Bjerglærke) on the beach (very cute). Foto: Luis Q. Langfeld.

Twites (Bjergirisk) on the beach (also very cute). Foto: Luis Q. Langfeld.

In the ringing, Simon was busy trying to get an overview of all the thrushes in the air. Several hundreds of Redwings (Vindrossel) had finally reached Skagen, with several Fieldfares (Sjaggers) and even a Ring Ouzel (Ringdrossel). There was also a calling Lapland Bunting (Lapværling) for us and of course, also some birds in the net: Two Redwings (Vindrossel), several Siskins (Grønsisken) and a Goldcrest (Fuglekonge) kept us busy, among the usual species we catch like Wrens (Gærdesmutte) or Blackcaps (Munk).

One of the beautiful Redwings (Vindrossel) we caught today.

Back at the station, everyone had a quick lunch and entered data. Jeppe brought a dead Fulmar (Mallemuk) to the station which will be added to the „Seabirds under pressure (SUPRE)“ project that you can read more about on the blog from Sunday. After the lunchbreak, we cycled into town to go to the brewery. There, local birdwatcher Karsten Klausen hold a concert with his friend and while enjoying beer and other nice drinks, we listened to their music and had nice talks. Something that birdwatchers can always talk about, are birds they would like to see or catch someday. Of course, in birdwatching, you also sometimes have regrets. This is where today’s title comes from. That’s life, though. The concert was great and it was a nice atmosphere. We especially enjoyed the „Flagbakken Blues“ that talked about birdwatching at Flagbakken. Because I had been in town before the concert already, Mio took me on the back of his bike. That was quite an adventure!

At the brewery (Laura is hiding behind Mio). Foto: Jule Tappe.

Mio and I on the bike. Foto: Sarah Partridge.

In the lighthouse, a nice dinner awaited us, cooked by Jesper and Karen Marie, which was very delicious, so thank you! After this long day, there was one last event awaiting us. Luis held a presentation about his stay at Long Point Bird Observatory last year and we were all very amazed by the North American way of „Banding“ and all the warblers.

Warblers, warblers and more warblers in the presentation about Luis's stay at Long Point Bird Observatory.

Now, I am sitting in the living room and Mio and Luis are still typing in data from the count. Busy birdwatchers, as always. At least, there are no regrets about today.

As we got up this morning, we checked the weather forecast and, as we had already seen yesterday, there was still too much rain to go out for observations or ringing. So, we could all sleep in! Our day started later with a very nice and delicious pancake breakfast prepared by Sarah. We continued the morning by doing some data work, going to the top of the lighthouse, checking audio recordings, or reading books. After a while, we decided to play a round of our beloved board game, Wingspan! For Jule, it was her first time playing it, so at first, she (and also Sarah, who hadn't played the game for a long time) was maybe a bit confused by all the rules the game has. But with time, you get the hang of it and then it's a lot of fun to play!

Playing Wingspan. Photo by Simon S. Christiansen

In the morning, we also received a very interesting recapture letter! Normally, we get these letters for passerines we have ringed, but today it was a Turnstone (Stenvender) that had been read with a scope in the Netherlands! We caught and ringed it here in late August in the storm-petrel net.

Map of the ringed Turnstone (Stenvender) from Skagen down to the Netherlands

After we finished our game of Wingspan, the weather looked okay for going out for a bit. We all spread out in different directions. Luis and I did a quick seawatch session from World's End 1, where we saw a Great Skua (Storkjove) and a Merlin (Dværgfalk), which Jule also saw later.

In the evening, we enjoyed the dinner that our guests had prepared. Later, Jule and I went out into the night and tried to catch Jack Snipes (Enkeltbekkasin), but unfortunately, the spot was too dry, so we didn't succeed. However, we saw a sleeping Mealy Redpoll (Stor Gråsiskin).

With that, our rather different day here came to an end. Let's see what the next day will bring!

Highlights from the observations:

Great Skua (Storkjove)-1

Merlin (Dværgfalk)-1

No ringing today due to rain

Link to today’s observations in the Dofbasen from observers in the area.

People: Jule Tappe, Mio Brix, Laura Tamminen, Luis Q. Langfeld, Sarah Partridge, Simon S. Christiansen, Jesper and Karen Marie Olesen

A morning without wind and clear sky brought a calm experience to Skagen Fuglestation. With great view, the observation team got to see rather low activity on the sea. Even more surprisingly, there were three Sooty Shearwaters (Sodfarvet Skråpe) passing by showing an unusual flappy flight style without stronger wind. There was also some migration of Jackdaws (Allike) and geese.

Ringing yielded an unsteady session with a busy first round with several Eurasian Wrens (Gærdesmutte) and later a flock of Eurasian Blue Tit (Blåmejse), but otherwise calmer rounds. During the ringing, we could watch a Siberian Nutcracker (Tyndnæbbet Nøddekrige) migrating high over towards Grenen.

Busy with ringing and observing birds at Kabeltromlen (photo: Páll Veng Kjærbo)

We also got a notice about the recovery of an Eurasian Blue Tit (Blåmejse) ringed at Skagen Fuglestation on 23/03/2026. It was refound at the Hanko Bird Observatory in Finland 188 days later in September and 741 km away to east/northeast.

Locations of the ringing and the recovery site of the Eurasian Blue Tit (Blåmejse)

In the afternoon, we did a trip to Råbjerg Mile, the largest moving dune in Danmark. It was a very fascinating view from high above and surrounded by a landscape shaped by sand! We were very surprised to find a putative Giant House Spider (Eratigena atrica) on top of the dune. This species is normally associated with human buildings. But it seemed as keen to climb the dune as we were!

Hiking up Råbjerg Mile (photo: Laura Tamminen)

Jule making a sand angel (photo: Sarah Partridge)

A house spider far away from the next house on top of a moving dune (photo: Luis Q. Langfeld)

As we were already in mountain mood, we continued our summit scouting with climbing up to Flagbakken with a wonderful view over Klitplanagen and seeding Broad-leaved Helleborine (Skovhullæbe), a kind of orchid, next to the path. Up there, we saw several Eurasian Jays (Skovskrige), a flock of Red Crossbills (Lille Korsnæbb) and to our delight another Nutcracker (Nøddekrige) flying north!

Watching for the Nutcracker (Nøddekrige) at Flagbakken (photo: Laura Tamminen)

As last station of our hill hopping journey, we finally climbed the highest point of the Skagen area, the dune of Stokmilen. While it started raining, we still enjoyed the view over the city and port of Skagen.

Ringing – Kabeltromlen

Eurasian Wren (Gærdesmutte) – 13

European Robin (Rødhals) – 4

Eurasian Bullfinch (Dompap) – 2

Common Chiffchaff (Gransanger) – 7

Common Reed Bunting (Rørspurv) – 1

Eurasian Blackbird (Solsort) – 1

Eurasian Blackcap (Munk) – 4

Common Chaffinch (Bogfinke) – 1

Great Tit (Musvit) – 1

Eurasian Blue Tit (Blåmejse) – 12

Total: 46

Observation Highlights:

Long-tailed Skua (Lille Kjove) – 1

Sooty Shearwater (Sodfarvet Skråpe) – 3

Siberian Nutcracker (Tyndnæbbet Nøddekrige) – 2

Link to today’s observations in the Dofbasen from observers in the area.

People: Jule Tappe, Mio Brix, Laura Tamminen, Luis Q. Langfeld, Sarah Partridge, Simon S. Christiansen, Páll Vang Kjærbo, Sophie Booker, Jesper and Karen Marie Olesen, Manuel Tacke, Jørgen Kabel, Hanne and Jens Eriksen, Jeppe Madsen, 

Good afternoon readers! This is my first blog of the season on my second day at the station. It is so nice to back here again with new people and always good people.

This morning I went to Kabeltromlen with Jule to open the nets, and then Laura joined us for the first round. It was quite windy so we only opened 11 of the 26 nets. Although there were few birds, there were some in every round, and different species in every round. This was good for me to remember the moult patterns of the common species. Simon also joined us for some of the morning, as did our guests. We also got to say hello to Jeppe, Jørgen, and Igor. Our highlights from the ringing were the Lille Gråsisken (Redpoll) and Grønsisken (siskin), the cutest of the bunch, and the very ugly looking teenage Dompap (bullfinch) who was ringed as a juvenile this autumn and is now starting to grow his adult feathers. Today was the one-year anniversary of our record-breaking 742 birds day (happy anniversary to my dear friends Amira, Miles, Gabriel, and Florian), although today was a bit less eventful, and no one got bird poop in the eyeballs.

This scrappy looking teenage dompap made Laura very happy

Meanwhile, Luis, Mio and Manuel went to World’s End III for observations. There they saw a lille kjove (long-tailed skua) and two stor kjover (great skua/Bonxie), among many migrating auks (alkefugle) and kittiwakes (ride). They were also excited to see a “white-winged gull,” what turned out to be a very handsome adult Mediterranean gull (Sorthovedet Måge) with pure white wings. Later in the morning, when Simon was on a work call at World’s End III, he startled his colleagues by shouting “NØDDEKRIGE!!” He said where it was over Zello so I was able to see it through the scope from Kabeltromlen—my first Nutcracker! Although it was far away, there was no mistaking it because of their distinct shape, but I hope I can see one closer tomorrow. The observers were also very pleased to see a Lapland bunting (lapværling) and a purple sandpiper (sortgrå ryle) during the count.

Sortgrå Ryle 

After that, we all had lunch together at the lighthouse and then scattered on our separate birdwatching paths. Lucky Luis, he spotted a Pallid harrier (steppehøg), only a few minutes after I separated from him in Ellekrattet. But, I did not see it and neither did the rest of us (yet). Luis was also very happy to see a guillemot (lomvie) fishing close to the shore, chasing shoals of fish so they would jump out of the water.

One of the deepest-diving birds in the world, Guillemots dive for fish by using their wings to swim underwater like penguins, typically diving 30-60m, but capable of reaching depths of 180m. Their comparatively small wings are ideal for swimming, but make them rather inefficient flyers. This is why auks have the unusual moult strategy of losing all the flight feathers at once during the winter, entering a short and stressful flightless period. Each feather on those tiny wings carries so much weight that they cannot afford to lose one at a time.

Luis's Lomvie swimming

After a pleasant afternoon of data entry and some Danish lessons from Simon, we enjoyed a tasty chilli sin carne for dinner cooked by Jule. How lovely to be back in the cozy grå fyr!

Note: All blog titles by Sarah are quotes from Simon

Ringing – Kabeltromlen

Musvit - 1

Gærdesmutte - 3

Rødhals - 1

Lille gråsisken - 1

Grønsisken - 1

Kvækerfinke – 2

Munk – 1

Bogfinke – 1

Blåmejse – 1

Gransanger – 1

Highlights from World’s End III

Nøddekrige

Lapværling

Lille Kjove

Stor Kjove

Sortovedet måge

Link to today’s observations in the Dofbasen from observers in the area.

People: Jule Tappe, Mio Brix, Laura Tamminen, Luis Q. Langfeld, Simon S. Christiansen, Sarah Partridge, Jesper and Karen Marie Olesen, Manuel Tacke

 The day started with Me, Jule and Sarah opening nets over at Kabeltromlen. Unfortunately, the weather did not look very promising due to stronger wind and light rain. During the first round we got to strengthen our extracting skills by taking out some wrens (Gærdesmutte). Those pinecones with legs really love to get all tangled up and poke through all the holes. We were also joined by Simon, Odin and our guests. Jesper and Karen got to see how we age the wrens by taking a look at their greater coverts.

Overall, it was quite a slow and quiet day. We got to ring a beautiful male reed bunting (Rørspurv) during our last round. In Estonian, their name is “rootsiitsitaja” which also means reed bunting, or reed tweeter but if you cut the word near the middle, “Rootsi itsitaja” the meaning changes to Sweden’s giggler!

A closer look at the reed buntings (Rørspurv) or "Swedens gigglers" tail. Photo by Jule Tappe

Over at Worlds End 3, Luis and Mio observed loads of resting and migrating gannets (Sule) and scoters (Sortand), as per usual. They also saw an Arctic skua (Almindelig kjove) and a few smaller raptors. Did you know Arctic skuas (alongside other skua species) are huge kleptoparasites? That means they will often attempt to steal food from other birds, like terns (terne) or gulls (måge). We often see that during our observation aswell!

A kittiwake (Ride) with a colored ring, located on the left. This bird was ringed in Sweden! Photo by Luis Q. Langfeld

Afterwards we ate a lovely lunch of fried and seasoned potatoes with some mushrooms and egg by Sarah. I decided to take a longer nap today, I’ve been feeling very tired as of last week haha. Sarah and Jule went shopping with Jesper and Karen and then went to check out our bikes to see if any could be repaired. As it turned out, one of the bikes had the wrong size tire on! That will be sorted very soon.

Link to today’s observations in the Dofbasen from observers in the area.

People: Jule Tappe, Mio Brix, Laura Tamminen, Luis Q. Langfeld, Simon S. Christiansen, Odin, Sarah Partridge, Jesper and Karen Marie Olesen, Manuel Tacke, Michael Ancher

Another sunrise, another day full of birds for us people here at Skagen Fuglestation. In the morning, Sophie and Páll opened nets at Kabeltromlen and were joined by Simon, Luis and me for the first round. The first half of ringing was quite good and many birds kept us busy, including many Wrens (Gærdesmutte) and Blackcaps (Munk) but in the second half of the morning, the stronger west winds showed their effect and it died down a little. There was great highlight though, with a foreign recapture from Norway: A first-year Dunnock (Jernspurv).

A beautiful Dunnock (Jernspurv) from Norway.

During the morning, we also heard and got another glimpse of the magnificent Nutcracker (Nøddekrige).

Meanwhile at World’s End 3, Mio and Laura got to really enjoy the stronger winds with finally a lot more action on the sea than on the previous days. Just like before, there was a Lapland Bunting (Lapværling) on the beach, but with almost 2000 Gannets (Sule), the sea was busy! There were also Long-tailed Skuas (Lille Kjove) around again and a Merlin (Dværgfalk) coming in from the sea. So all together, a very nice count after the calm before.

After lunch and data entry, Simon drove us to Gammel Skagen, about 10 km south of the lighthouse. From there, Laura, Luis and I did our regular beach survey as a part of the project „Seabirds under pressure (SUPRE)“. We collect a range of dead seabirds that are in decent condition to be transported and investigated. Fulmars (Mallemuk) are especially interesting, which is why I chose today’s title. However, we only found two Guillemots (Lomvie) today. There was also a dead porpoise (Marsvin) that we were quite impressed by. When it comes to living birds, we especially enjoyed two resting Mediterranean Gulls (Sorthovedet Måge) a migrating Barnacle Goose (Bramgås).

Walking the beaches looking for dead birds.

In the meantime, Mio was occupied with data entry, picture archive and quality assurance – classic computer tasks at the birds obs. He also welcomed our new guests, Jesper and Karen Marie, after we had to say goodbye to Anders and Dorthe in the morning.

After all this walking, we enjoyed a nice and quick dinner by Luis and are about to welcome Sarah to our team. She has been a volunteer here before and will be a part of the SKAF family again for the coming months.

Tomorrow, the wind will be even stronger than today. Let’s see what birds this will bring!

Link to todays observations in the Dofbasen from observers in the area.

People: Jule Tappe, Mio Brix, Laura Tamminen, Luis Q. Langfeld, Dorthe and Anders Østerby, Simon S. Christiansen, Páll Vang Kjærbo, Sophie Booker, Jørgen Kabel, Sarah Partridge, Jesper and Karen Marie, Michael Ancher

Every morning (or sometimes already a few days in advance), we check the weather forecast, not only to know whether we can go out, but also to somehow guess which birds might turn up. Before we checked the forecast again, we sadly had to say goodbye to Pauline, who left back to Berlin. We will miss you, it was such a great time with you here!

So, the weather today was almost the same as yesterday, with less wind and some sunshine. From the forecast, it was somehow clear that there wouldn’t be that much going on over the sea, but, as yesterday, it looked quite promising for good passerines again. And that was exactly what happened:

As Luis and I walked to Worlds End 3 today, we already got to hear one Lapland Bunting (Lapværling). For today’s count, we chose a dune that was around two dunes west of Worlds End 3 and a bit higher, giving us better views over the inland area behind us.

In that inland area, also Kabeltromlen is located, where Jule, Páll, Sophie, Simon, and Laura went out ringing today. Already in the first round, they caught a young Yellow-browed Warbler (Hvidbrynet Løvsanger). To see this beautiful bird, some locals and I also went to Kabeltromlen.

First good bird of the day: young Yellow-browed Warbler (Hvidbrynet Løvsanger). Photo by Laura Tamminen

After my quick walk to Kabeltromlen, I headed back to Worlds End 3, where Luis kept everything under control. Today, we paid particular attention to counting many of the resting Gulls (Måger) and Gannets (Suler), because it was European Birdwatching Day, when we compare numbers and observations from different places all over Europe!

While counting the Gannets, we received the message that the ringers had caught a Red Crossbill (Lille Korsnæb). How exciting!

And just some time later, Luis and I heard a “tsiip” call over the dune while counting. Unfortunately, we only heard that one call without seeing the bird, so it was impossible to say anything for sure at that point. But (!), I had a recorder running right next to me (I suggest to everyone that you always have a recording running while you are out birding ;-) and we checked the recording later. There, we could clearly see that the call we had heard was the call of an Olive-backed Pipit (Tajgapiber):

Spectrogram of today’s Olive-backed Pipit (Tajgapiber). Those calls are very similar to the calls of Tree Pipits (Skovpiber), but the calls of Olive-backed Pipits are generally higher-pitched, less modulated, and more downslurred. Sound file of the call here! Spectrogram and sound recording by Mio Brix

After the second counting hour, I switched with Jule, so she went to the count with Luis at Worlds End 3, while I went to Kabeltromlen for the last rounds. As I arrived there, we all got a decent look at a resting adult Hobby (Lærkefalk) which was sitting on top of the Sort Sommerhus!

While we were ringing a late Garden Warbler (Havesanger), Luis and Jule spotted a Great Skua (Storkjove) over the sea, and a bit later, there was a Great Grey Shrike (Stor Tornskade) sitting just a bit north of Kabeltromlen.

After Jule and Luis ended the count with two Rough-legged Buzzards (Fjeldvåge), Laura, Hendrik, Páll, Sophie, and I started closing the nets at Kabeltromlen. As we were closing the last net, we heard three very loud and beautiful “pssiii” calls from a Red-throated Pipit (Rødstrubet Piber), which was just flying abouve us! What a great end to the morning!

Spectrogram of two calls of the Red-throated Pipit (Rødstrubet Piber).They look a bit like a water slide. Listen to its call up here! Spectrogram and sound recording by Mio Brix

After we headed back to the station, there wasn’t any time to rest. It was time to clean the station and then go to Skagen town for ice cream to celebrate yesterday’s Nutcracker (Nøddekrige) observation. 

Celebrating the Nutcracker observation with ice cream. Photo by Simon S. Christiansen

To round up our day, our guests Anders and Dorthe made a wonderful dinner for us, and Lisa and Simon also joined us.

I could write down a lot more things about the day, but then this blog wouldn’t come to an end...

Highlights from the observation:

Olive-backed Pipit (Tajgapiber)-1

Red-throated Pipit (Rødstrubet Piber )-1

Great Skua (Storkjove)-1

Lapland Bunting (Lapværling)-1

Hobby (Lærkefalk)-1

Link to todays observations in the Dofbasen from observers in the area.

Ringing Kabeltromlen:

Total: 50

People: Jule Tappe, Pauline Nähring, Mio Brix, Laura Tamminen, Luis Q. Langfeld, Dorthe and Anders Østerby, Simon S. Christiansen, Páll Vang Kjærbo, Sophie Booker, Lisa Vergin, Jørgen Kabel