Today my morning started at 6:45 when I cycled to Kabeltromlen (KAB) for ringing. It was a beautiful, sunny morning, and we had a surprisingly good variety of birds in the nets. In total, we caught 46 birds.

When I woke up this morning, it was light outside. That’s weird. At least, when you work at a bird observatory and go bird ringing almost every day. But today, we switched our usual order and Mio, Pauline and Anna opened the nets at Kabeltromlen while Laura, Knud and me did the migration count.

Unfortunately for the ringers, the most birds were on the sea today. The first couple of rounds were still quite good, the highlight being to 2k+ Blackcaps (Munk). Then, it slowed down a little. While watching with a scope, it was still possible to see what was flying on the sea.

 Mio and Anna having fun while ringing a Chiffchaff (Gransanger). Foto: Pauline Nähring.

The first thirty minutes of the migration count where quite busy: Once I had written down the nots on Long-tailed Skua (Lille Kjove), Knud and Anders Bojensen, who also joined us, called out to new ones. In total, we saw 15 Long-tailed (Lille), 8 Arctic (Almindelig) and 2 Great Skuas (Storkjove). There were even more Skuas far out that we couldn’t identify with certainty. While the sun was shining down on us, there were more exciting birds to come. The Black tern (Sortterne) from the day before was still resting around the beach, three Little Gulls (Dværgmåge) and many Gannets (Sule) feeding in Kattegat kept us company, when suddenly, the royalty of migration appeared: A Sooty Shearwater (Sodfarvet Skråpe). After it was first spotted pretty far out, it got closer until we got awesome looks. This was one of the best shearwater observations I ever had and it was really exciting. By the fourth hour of the migration count, activity had slowed down so once we were finished, we drove back to the station.

 Jule, Knud and Anders watching Long-tailed Skuas (Lille Kjove) at World's End 3. Foto: Laura Tamminen.

There, our normal routines continued: Data entry, lunch and a nap. But this was not the end of the day! Around 4 pm, we drove down to the Rescure Centre in Jerup with Jørgen and Simon. The rescue had a Common Eider (Ederfugl) and a Honey Buzzard (Hvepsevåge) that were ringed by us before they will be released in the next couple of days. That was very exciting since they are two species which we don’t ring or see from up close often, especially the buzzard. While documenting the Buzzard with photos outside, Mio found a young Pallid Harrier (Steppehøg) in the distance. After landing in a field, it didn’t fly up again unfortunately. Still, it was a surprisingly nice observations. We also looked around the Rescue Centres were a number of different animals stay. This was very interesting to see, so thank you for the opportunity Henrik!

 Honey Buzzard (Hvepsevåge). Foto: Pauline Nähring

Back at the station, we welcomed our new guest for the week, Kirsten. She has been here many times before, so welcome back! After our daily meeting and planning for the next week, I repaired Anna’s bike while she started cooking dinner.

Sitting in the living room, I can smell the dinner from the kitchen and I’m sure, it will taste very good. We might also have a Klask! (fun board game) tournament tonight. So if we will do this, we will be sure to tell you the results and winner tomorrow!

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

People: Mio Brix, Anna Gorbunova, Pauline Nähring, Jule Tappe, Laura Tamminen, Simon S. Christiansen, Anders Bojesen, Kirsten Bregn, Henrik Christiansen, Jørgen Kabel

And once again, there is a new person on the blog! I’m Anja. I arrived at the station two days ago and I’ll be here for the next two weeks.

Today was my first day ringing here with Jule and Pauline.
I already had some experience checking nets and helping with ringing in Germany, but it still feels like starting from zero every time, because everything is a bit different here. A new route, a different way of handling the nets, new rules for entering the data. And, of course, beautiful new views of the sunset that are impossible to ignore.

Proof of a beautiful view. Photo by Anja Gorbunova.

There weren’t many birds today. The first round was quite busy, but after that there were not many birds in the nets. The weather was really nice, so it was a good day to be outside and enjoy some of the last warm days of autumn.
A few birds made us think a little. We caught three Chiffchaffs (Gransanger), and it was quite difficult to see the moult limit on them. We took some photos to check in the evening.
A Chiffchaff with an unclear moult limit. Photo by Pauline Nähring

At the same time, Mio, Laura and Knud, who joined them for the first hour, were watching birds from World’s End 3 and enjoying the nice weather too. There were fewer birds than yesterday, but they still saw some Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove), a Black Tern (Sortterne), a group of Eurasian Jays (Skovskade) and a Raven (Ravn). They also saw a big flock of Golden Plovers (Hjejle) flying southwest and then back again.

When we got back to the house, we had breakfast (or lunch, who knows), entered the data into the computer and went to rest for a while, because we had some cleaning to do later.
In the afternoon, everyone did their own thing. Jule went for a walk to listen to music and think about life. Mio went birdwatching in the reserve and to the secret lake with the recorder. Pauline took some time to relax, Laura started making dinner, and I had to do a little bit of work even though it was Saturday.
By the evening, the house was quiet and clean. Laura made a really tasty dinner, and after that we just sat around for a while and relaxed after the day.

Tomorrow it’s an early start again and another day of ringing. But for now, it’s time to get some sleep.?

PS. I’m posting this blog one day later, so I can already tell you that there’s a very interesting story coming this evening. Today was definitely not a usual day at the station.

Observation Highlight:
Long-tailed Skua (Lille Kjove) — 1
Great Skua (Storkjove) — 2
Black Tern (Sortterne) — 1
Grey Plover (Strandhjejle) — 1

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):
Robin (Rødhals) — 2
Reed Warbler (Rørsanger) — 1
Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger) — 1
Blackcap (Munk) — 2
Chiffchaff (Gransanger) — 3
Reed Bunting (Rørspurv) — 3

Total: 12

Nordstjernevej (Michael Ancher):
Great Tit (Musvit) — 1
European Robin (Rødhals) — 1
Blackcap (Munk) — 1

Total: 3

Jennes Sø (Michael Ancher):
Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken) — 21
Crested Tit (Topmejse) — 1
Spotted Flycatcher (Broget Fluesnapper) — 1
European Robin (Rødhals) — 2
Great Tit (Musvit) — 5
Willow Warbler (Løvsanger) — 2
Blue Tit (Blåmejse) — 1
Common Chiffchaff (Gransanger) — 2

Total: 35

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

People: Mio Brix, Jule Tappe, Simon S. Christiansen, Pauline Nähring, Morten Jenrich Hansens, Laura Tamminen, Anja Gorbunova

Hello, everyone! I am a new (but very easily recognizable) face to the observatory and blog so this will be my first entry. My name is Laura and as mentioned in a previous blog, I come all the way from Estonia. I will be residing here til the 19th of October and hopefully will be able to write all kinds of lovely and exciting stories for you all.

Laura Tamminen and Pengu are sending their warmest greetings and best wishes to you all

Me, Pauline and Páll started our morning setting up the nets at 5.40. It was a calm and peaceful morning and seeing how the nets are set up was a first for me (Even though I have been around mist nets hundreds of times…). Right before we were about to go on a round to check the nets, Jule joined us as well. We had less birds than yesterday, but there was still a bird that took longer to analyze than the others: a Lesser whitethroat (Gærdesanger).

 What made us suspicious was the fact that it was a bit late for that species to still fly into the nets. There were also colorations on some parts of the body that had us thinking that perhaps it could be one of the Eastern subspecies (S. curruca blythi/halimodendri) of said bird. We took photo and feather samples for further inspection. Later, during our evening meeting Simon (who had arrived shortly after Jule during ringing) figured that it probably is not one of the subspecies after all. But that is alright, I still think it is important to be suspicious because subspecies can look SO identical, and you never know!

Unfortunately we had to cut our ringing day short, because the rain decided to accompany us at 9 and the wind was really picking up. Still, it was an active few hours on the ringing field and I got to learn more about writing down data and how to spot moult limits.

One of the young male Redstarts (Rødstjert) being held by Simon. Photo by Laura Tamminen

Fierce little wren (Gærdesmutte) held by Simon. Photo by Laura Tamminen

Mio and Anna had a very successful day at Worlds End 3. Meanwhile the ringing ended a little before 9 they stayed at the beach til nearly 11. I was pleasantly surprised to hear the amount of skuas they spotted today: There were 4 long-tailed skuas (Lille Kjove) and 17 arctic skuas (Almindelig Kjove)!! That’s basically triple the amount of yesterday.

After the daily observations and ringing we all got ourselves some well-earned breakfast. Jule taught me how to enter all the ringing data on the websites and that was when our very lovely guests Marianne and Kurt said goodbye to us. They were so kind and curious, it was lovely having them at Skagen.

 I also had time to peek in the gift shop downstairs. Our loyal readers, my eyes instantly locked on a woodcarving of a common cuckoo (gøg) and I KNEW I had to get it. I did not even bother looking at the price, it was coming home with me no matter what. They are one of my personal favorites so that will explain my intense need for it :D. I also bought a few other trinkets to bring home, a magnet and a poster.

A variety of woodcarved birds could be seen in the lighthouse gift shop

Ku-kuu! You are coming home with me, sneaky cuckoo (gøg)

In the evening Pauline prepared an enticing dinner for us. While writing this blog I could smell it from the other room and it felt super inviting. It tasted as good as it smelled, thank you Pauline! Tomorrow will be my turn to make dinner, I have got a few ideas already.

Pauline prepared us pasta with a sauce made of pumpkin with some vegetables and for dessert a lemon drizzle cake with rasberries

Total: 18

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

People: Mio Brix, Jule Tappe, Simon S. Christiansen, Pauline Nähring, Páll Vang Kjærbo, Laura Tamminen, Anna Gorbunova, Kurt Håkonsson and Marianne Mølgaard

Our day actually started yesterday...wait! That sounds weird, but that is what happens when we are doing night catching. Like this night at Grenen, where we were very successful. We caught two Common Terns (Fjordterne), one Red Knot (Islandsk Ryle), two Turnstones (Stenvender) and an Oystercatcher (Strandskade) on our way back. And already now you know why I chose that blog title. At this point, big credits to Páll, who gave us this brilliant title!

This young Turnstone (Stenvender) isn’t leaving a single stone unturned. Photo by: Pauline Nähring

And this young Common Tern (Fjordterne) will always tern around in the direction where it has to migrate. Photo: Mio Brix

In the morning, before we went to the count and ringing we unfortunately had to say goodbye to Hannes, who left in the morning back to Kiel in Germany. Have a good trip back and hopefully see you here again at some point! It was very nice with you!

Jule and Páll opened the nets at Kabeltrommlen in the morning and were joined by Pauline and Simon for the first round. And directly in this first round, they already got 8 birds, and one of them was a Wheatear (Stenpikker)! Just one round later, they caught a second one and one of them was even an adult male!

Adult male Wheatear (Stenpikker). Photo: Pauline Nähring

Such a good start to the ringing day, and there wasn’t a single round without a bird. This is how it should be! And we are all waiting for some very good ringing days. Maybe these days are the first sign that they are coming closer and closer?

Laura, Knud and I didn’t have a single hour without a migrating bird at World’s End 3 either! Okay, this is way easier to achieve than in the ringing, but you know my attempts to find good (or less good) linking sentences from the ringing to the count...

At the count, we had a bit more going on than the day before, with some more Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove) and Great Skuas (Storkjove). One of the Great Skuas (Storkjove) was a juvenile (1K) that stayed stationary for quite some time and was very close to the beach. Later, the third skua species also turned up: At least one young bird was seen. For Laura, it was the first time seeing this species, and she was already amazed by seeing all the Gannets (Sule) flying and diving. And there are still a lot of Terns (Terner) and Gulls (Måge) on the beach, so Knud went down after the count and he did a lot of pictures. And while doing and doing pictures he took this amazing picture: 

Adult Sandwich Tern (Splitterne) looking up in flight. Photo by Knud Pedersen

After our good count, Laura and I went to Kabeltrommlen and helped to close the nets there. In this round, we also got to see (and I also got to ring) three birds, including one very beautiful young Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken).

After the count and ringing, there came our daily routine. It’s called DLN: Data entry, Lunch and Napping. After DLN, we were welcomed to join Martina and her high-school class for a BBQ in the lighthouse garden. It was very delicious, and it was nice to talk to the students!

When it got dark, Jule and I showed some of the students the thermal camera, and we were able to find two Nightjars on the path. Unfortunately, they didn’t fly into the Nightjar nets, which Anna and Pauline had opened.

Observation Highlights:

Long-tailed Skua (Lille Kjove)-1

Great Skua (Storkjove)-7

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):

Total: 34

Ringing Grenen: 

Turnstone (Stenvender)-2

Oystercatcher (Strandskade)-1

Common Tern (Fjordterne)-2

Red Knot (Islandsk Ryle)-1

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

People: Mio Brix, Hannes Schäfer, Knud Pedersen, Zoe Pauline Nähring, Jule Tappe, Laura Tamminen, Simon S. Christiansen, Knud Pedersen, Páll Vang Kjærbo, Kurt Håkonsson and Marianne Mølgaard

Happy volunteers on their way to the nightcatch

While Simon, Jule and I were walking through Ellekrattet yesterday evening searching for Jack Snipes (Enkeltbekkasin), only flushing two Nightjars (Natravne), Pauline and Mio made their way to the northernmost tip of the beach. They saw several different species of waders (Vadefugl), terns (Terner), and even some seals (Sæler) watching them from the water. When they came back, they carried a nice surprise. They had caught two Red Knots (Islandsk Ryle) on the beach. We ringed the birds, released them back onto the beach, and went to sleep feeling really satisfied after seeing such cool birds up close.

1k Red Knot

In the morning, Pauline, Jule and I made our way to Kabeltromlen to open the nets before the sun appeared on the horizon. We could already hear some Robins (Rødhals) and Dunnocks (Jernspurv) calling from the surrounding bushes. We were soon joined by Simon, our guests Kurt Håkonsson and Marianne Mølgaard, as well as the school class staying here in Skagen for a few days to collect data.

We caught 35 new birds in total, most of them being Chiffchaffs (Gransanger), Blackcaps (Munks), and Robins (Rødhals), but also one Marsh Warbler (Kærsanger), one Reed Bunting (Rørspurv), and two Eurasian Bullfinches (Lille Dompap), which made Pauline really happy. We also heard the first Bramblings (Kvækerfinke) of the autumn migrating south.

Mio and Knud were counting at Worlds End 3. They spotted a bunch of Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove) and one Great Skua (Storkjove), but this time no Long-tailed Skua (Lille Kjove). Has the good run of Long-tailed Skua observations come to an end? We’ll see over the next few days. To make sure Mio still got to see some of those amazing skuas, Knud showed him some pictures he took ages ago of them roosting on the beach. Once again, there was also a Black Tern (Sortterne) around.

After the count ended, Mio came over to KAB, and together we made our way back to the lighthouse. We ate lunch, entered the data, and took a nap to be ready for our next night tour. In the afternoon, our new volunteer Laura arrived all the way from Estonia. Not long after her arrival, Simon came to the station to give a presentation on different moult strategies. That was really helpful for understanding what you have to look for when ageing a bird.

Simon making sure we understand how birds are moulting

Now Mio is preparing some wraps for dinner. We’re planning to head out to the beach again tonight to catch some waders. You can read tomorrow, if we were succesfull or not.

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):

Total: 35 birds

Observation Highlites: 

Another early morning started at Kabeltromlen where Jule and I opened the nets at 6:00. The nets were quickly ready and Jørgen Kabel, Simon, their dogs Igor and Odin, our guests and a visiting school class joined us for the first check.

Today’s blog has to start with a supplement. Yesterday, after some of us had gone to sleep already, Hannes went on a mission: Finding Natterjack Toads (Strandtudse). They are a rare toad species but common around the lighthouse. And he was successfull and took this very cute photo:

 A very cute Natterjack Toad (Strandtudse). Foto: Hannes Schäfer.

Right after waking up in the morning, I checked the weather forecast and was happy to see that only small rain showers would come up throughout the moring so we could go ringing at Kabeltromlen normally. So Pauline and I rode our bikes to KAB, opened nets and were soon accompanied by Simon and a number of other people: There is a high school class from Germany visiting us this week, collecting data both at the count and at the ringing. Five students of the class came with us on rounds today. The courses’s teacher is Martina, a former volunteer from here.

There were also three families, our guests in the apartment and some passers-by watching the ringing, so it was a full area today! Luckily, we also had some birds, especially Robins (Rødhals) and all common Sylvia warblers. A highlight was also a Pied Flycatcher (Broget Fluesnapper) in the first round. Even though it’s already a bit late in the season, I hope we’ll still get more of them!

 Young visitors admiring a bird being ringed by Pauline in the tent. Foto: Jule Tappe.

Hannes, Mio and Knud had a good time counting from World’s End 3 and the two rainshowers didn’t impress them in the slightest. They saw Long-tailed, Arctic and Great Skuas (Lille Kjove, Almindelig Kjove, Storkjove), among them even a first-year Great Skua, several Little Gulls (Dværgmåge) and two Rock Pipits (Skærpiber).

Afterwards, they read rings in the tern (Terne sp.) flock, and among the gulls (Måge), mostly from Sandwich Terns (Splitterne) and Kittiwakes (Ride).

Back at the station, we all entered data and rested before Simon came for the day’s meeting in the afternoon. While preparing social media posts (please follow us and check out the latest posts!), Simon showed the German class the station and our great library and lab.

 Simon showing the German class around the bird observatory. Foto: Mio Brix.

In the evening, Hannes and I went on separate walks (by coincidence). Unfortunately, only he got Purple Sandpipers (Sortgrå ryle) flying over Kattegat while I practiced my cricket ball throw with the stones on the beach. Loyal readers of the blog might remember my newfound passion. Then Pauline made delicious pancakes for everyone and we had a proper dinner cooked by Hannes. It was a Greifswald classic consisting of three different kinds of pasta and four different kinds of pesto, three of them green basil ones. Then we enjoyed a cosy evening in the lighthouse while the wind roared outside.

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

People: Mio Brix, Hannes Schäfer, Knud Pedersen, Pauline Nähring, Jule Tappe, Simon S. Christiansen, Kurt Håkonsson, Marianne Mølgaard

This morning started like most mornings up here. After the very windy day yesterday, we were able to go ringing at KAB again today. Yuhuu! It was still quite windy, which affected the number of birds we caught (9 in total). But with 3 Robins (Rødhals) caught today, it already gives a small impression of the coming autumn ringing season! Especially Pauline was very happy to see a Bullfinch (Dompap) in the hand again. Such pretty birds!

Jule ringing a Robin (Rødhals) with lots of interested people around.

The autumn impression also really showed up at the migration count today. Directly as we started, Knud, who was at Worlds End 3 two minutes before us, had already 2 Long-tailed Skuas (Lille Kjove) in his scope. And as time went by, we got more and more of these super cool Skuas. At the end of the count, we had at least 14 (!) Long-tailed Skuas (Lille Kjove)! An awesome number of such an awesome bird. For all of us, it was so nice to see so many of them and get a lot of experience with their flight style and colouration!

 But these weren't the only Skua species we got that day. In total, we got 12 Great Skuas (Storkjove) as well! Some of them were also flying quite far out, so you really had to scan the horizon precisely! And while doing that and seeing a lot of Fulmars (Mallemuk), we found a Sooty Shearwater (Sodfarvet Skråpe) at the beginning of the second hour, and just half an hour later, a second one turned up!

Hannes spotting a Sooty Shearwater (Sodfarvet Skråpe)

There is so much more I could tell you about this morning, but then this wouldn't be a blog post, it would turn into a whole book! But of course, we will update you on what will be happening over the next few days!

After our lovely morning, we spent the day cleaning the station, entering data, and doing a net survey to check the quality of the nets in the attic and label the nets correctly.

Net survey!

After our working tasks at the station, Hannes, Jule, and I went out to the Sandormvinget Dune to do some evening observations. There, we saw 3 Long-tailed Skuas (Lille Kjove) and one Great Skua (Storkjove). After this short but great evening outside, we continued the evening inside with a very delicious dinner prepared by Pauline.

So, as you see, autumn in Skagen is here, and we are all looking forward to seeing what the next days will bring!

Highlights of the observations:

Long-tailed Skua (Lille Kjove)- >14

Great Skua (Storkjove)- >12

Sooty Shearwater (Sodfarvet Skråpe)-2

Ringing (Nordstjernevej) from Michael Ancher:

Blue Tit (Blåmejse)- 2
Great Tit (Musvit)-5
Blackcap (Munk)-1
Chaffinch (Bogfinke)-1

Ringing Kabeltromlen:

Total: 9

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

People: Mio Brix, Pauline Nähring, Hannes Schäfer, Jule Tappe, Simon S. Christiansen, Marinanne Mølgaard and Kurt Håkonsson

After our successful evening seawatch yesterday, I was excited to start the day with the migration-count at Grenen accompanied by Mio and Jule. We were hoping, that the strong westerly winds might have blown some interesting seabirds to Skagen. Sadly that weather conditions also meant, that ringing at Kabeltromeln became impossible because no nets could be opened. Good for Pauline though, as she was able to enjoy some extra-sleep.

Mio walking to World's End 3 in the sunrise.

We started the count with some more or less stationary Gannets (Sule), terns (terner) and gulls (måger). But not much time had to pass, until we spotted a bunch of Fulmars (mallemuk) flying in bows far out at the horizon. I don’t get to see Fulmars that often, so identifying them in flight on greater distances was a bit challenging at first but started to work out quiet well as more and more fulmars started to appear in the distance.  At some point I spotted a bird which flight in bow arches reminded me of the Fulmar (Mallemuk) flight I just learned, but looked a bit different. More agile and fast in its movement and the wings seemed to be thinner and more pointy at the end. That’s a Sooty Shearwater (Sodfarvet skråpe)! One of the species we were hoping for this morning.

There were also some interesting birds passing in shorter distance like two Long-tailed Skuas (Lille Kjove), of which one was so close at the beach, we thought it might join the local gull-roost. The Long-tailed, had a hard time moving west against the wind, while being passed by some ultra-speedy Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove). More calm and steady in flight were two Great Skuas (Stor kjove) which looked like they didn’t even noticed it was windy. As time passed migration kept slowing down and we made our way back to the lighthouse.

Mio proudly shared the chocolate-wrap recipe and I have to admit, that it wasn’t that bad like I expected. Turns out one toasted wrap with exactly three pieces of chocolate as its topping tastes really good! Saturday is cleaning day, so we continued with cleaning the station and the lab.

After cleaning Jule had a look at Kattegat from the old bunker. She had a good time watching some waders like Sanderlings (Sandløber), Dunlins (Almindelig Ryle) and Red Knots (Islandsk Ryle) at the beach, which might become interesting for nightcatching the next days. On the water there were Arctic Skaus (almindelig kjove) and a Great Skua (Stor kjove) passing by towards Grenen. That’s were my and I decided to again have a look at the water. We again saw quite a few Fulmars (Mallemuk) (this time even a bit closer), some Artic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove) , three Long-tailed Skuas (Lille Kjove) and five Great Skuas (Stor Kjove). That was just awesome:)

When we came back to the station a pleasant smell welcomed us. Pauline had decided to bake cinnamon rolls and a pie. A nice surprise.

Beautiful Cinnamon Rolls with white chocolate and raspberries. Pauline is a real baking wizard!

In the evening Nils Eriksen, Stig Frediksen and Grethe came to visit the station and prepared a delicious dinner. Thanks again for that! They then carried on with a guided night excursion to Grenen by Nils, which Mio and Pauline joined. They also planned to scout the beach for roosting waders (Vadefugl).

Highlights of the observations:

No Ringing today :(

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

People: Mio Brix, Simon S. Christiansen, Pauline Nähring, Hannes Schäfer, Jule Tappe, Niels Eriksen, Grethe and Stig Frederiksen