This weekend is the winter date for the national waterfowl count. For us, this means that we have to count all the resting sea ducks and other seabirds from the harbor in Skagen to Nordstrand. The weather today was excellent for this purpose, with light winds and good visibility. After breakfast, we started at the lighthouse tower, from where we had a very good view.

View from the lighthouse

Some highlights where two Black-throated Divers (Sortstrubet Lom) and Long-tailed Ducks (Havlit). From there we went on towards Grenen stopping now and then to scan the sea. At the tip we saw a flock of 20 Snowbuntings (Snespurv), so maybe they found our feeding spot and the Sanderlings (Sandløber) where also back, which was nice. 

Counting at Nordstrand

On our way to Nordstrand we saw a Rough-legged Buzzard (Fjeldvåge), a Scaup (Bjergand) and surprisingly a few groups of Mallards (Gråand) and Teals (Krikand) which might be due to the still frozen lakes. Further good birds where a Little Gull (Dværgmåge) and a Turnstone (Stenvender) as well as good numbers for both Velvet Scoter (Fløjlsand) and Great Crested Grebe (Toppet Lappedykker).

Successful end of the count

We walked back through the dunes and had a short lunch break at the lighthouse befor Simon picked us up, to get the new bikes we got donated from the Lions Club and Mikkel Stig. They where much needed since many of the old ones have problems with the gear or the breaks and are generally quite exausting to use! 

New bikes!!!!

We biked back and finished the day with very good pizza by Eleanor.

Link to today's observations from the area.

People:  Thomas Weston, Eleanor Harris, Simon S. Christiansen, János Schadl

Picture 1: Lighthouse in the stormy weather

Today was a very windy and wet day to start. The wind was whistling through the windows, so a slower start was needed. János went out to do some observing for an hour but it was very quiet and rather cold, so he turned back. The highlight was a Velvet Scoter (Fløjlsand) amongst a small flock of Common Scoters (Sortand). Meanwhile we both decided that the weather called for some indoor cleaning and organising tasks. Whilst it was wet, we set about cleaning both the obs and the apartment. This took a good couple of hours of hoovering, spritzing and dusting to get it ‘ship shape’.

Picture 2: Snow Bunting feeding area

After a tasty lunch of rye bread and fried eggs inspired by smørresbørds yesterday we came up with a joint plan for the afternoon. We gathered some seeds for the Snow Buntings (Snespurv) and went to the usual spot but it was flooded by the sea and meltwater. Not good! However, we relocated the site and set up a new feeding area altogether. Hopefully, they will be a little happier now as we saw two flocks totalling up to 30 Snow Buntings (Snespurv) flying towards the general area.

Picture 3:  4k+ Caspian Gull (Kaspisk Måge)

We checked the gull flocks and found two adult Caspian Gulls (Kaspisk Måge), and had nice view of Gannets (Sule), flocks of Cormorants (Skarv) and a Velvet Scoter (Fløjlsand) too…

Picture 3: Little Auk (Søkonge)

...plus, the remains of a Little Auk (Søkonge) and a Razorbill or Guillemot (Lomvie/Alk). On our way back, we walked down the now slightly flooded Sandormen track to Ellekrattet which was a new area for János. One of our walk highlights was a Treecreeper (Træløber) which was a rather unexpected surprise. It was starting to get dark, so we decided to come back for some tea and a cookie plus a game of matching pairs which János won.

The plan for the evening is to have some food and maybe do some net sewing, we will see what happens later whilst the storm passes!

Link to Dofbasen here.

Observers: Thomas Weston, Eleanor Harris, János Schadl, Simon S. Christiansen

We had decided to do a harbor trip in the morning, so after a short breakfast, we got the bikes out and headed in the direction of the town. There was still much ice on the roads, so we often needed to get off the bike and almost slipped on several occasions. It stayed dry for most of the time, but the wind was strong and made it quite exhausting to get from one place to another. It felt good to be back in Skagen after my stay last autumn, and fun to see the area covered in snow. 

Harbor birding. Photo by Eleanor

Today was a day of good fun, nice fieldwork, 15,000 steps, and some good birds of note.

We started the day getting ready for the first Fulmar (Mallemuk) survey of the year. Simon gave us a much-appreciated lift to Gammel Skagen to start the survey, so thank you Simon. For some context, the survey is 10km and conducted to locate, record, and collect any dead birds who have been stranded or died naturally before washing up on the beach. Certain species such as Gannets (Sule), Kittiwakes (Ride), Puffins (Lunde), Guillemots (Lomvie) and Skuas (Jager) are collected for the new ‘Seabirds Under Pressure’ (SUPRE) project, and as of yesterday, our data will become part of a new national survey looking at Seabird wrecks in Denmark, focusing on dead seabirds recorded and collected along the North Sea coast. More on the survey can be heard here by Simon who was interviewed on early morning radio news yesterday.

Picture 1: Deceased Seal.

Our aim to find and record dead birds was aided by Eagle-eyed Eleanor, who found a lot of nice pebbles and sea glass, however interrupted mainly because I was checking out the gull (Måge) flocks along the route, as well as the live birds resting on the sea. The first find of the day in the flocks involved a 4^th calendar year Caspian Gull (Kaspisk Måge) near Gammel Skagen, the first one Eleanor has ever seen, and always a notable species in the area. This was followed by our first dead wildlife including a Common Gull (Stormåge), and a male Harbour Seal.

Picture 2: Spot the odd one out!

Coming across a flock of about 700+ Gulls (Måge) near Nordstrand resulted in zero ‘white winged gulls’, however we found another bird with white wings hidden in the flock, it was a 2^nd calendar year Whooper Swan (Sangsvane)! Very odd and unusual to say the least, and even more crazy is that we lost it within a few minutes of finding it due to a walker scaring all the gulls (Måge) – hence the blog title ‘How do you lose a Swan!?’ A few more kilometres passed, and we found the swan flying along the beach near the Tip, magical. The area around the Sandormen track was very wet, due to the snow melt, so this section involved giving Eleanor a piggyback across the water with all our bags. Our reward came in the form of great views of a Rough-legged Buzzard (Fjeldvåge), and luckily no wet shoes. A couple more dead birds were found including a Cormorant (Skarv) and a Gannet (Sule), before returning to the lighthouse for lunch.

Picture 3: Lighthouse View

After lunch, we decided to check the solar panel for snow or ice, of which there was none. We decided to go up the lighthouse to enjoy the views before we cleaned the apartment ahead of the arrival of Jånos’, another volunteer who will stay with us for a week. Breaking news came when Knut found a beautiful Great-northern Diver (Islom) in the harbour, we will look for this tomorrow! However, light was fading, and some more net sewing was completed by Eleanor, whilst I completed more tasks and made a nice dinner for the two of us. A long but fulfilling day. And whilst I write to blog, we welcomed Jånos!  

Link to Dofbasen here.

Observers: Thomas Weston, Eleanor Harris, Simon S. Christiansen, Knut Pedersen, János Schadl

Picture 1 - A Room with a View

After a very stormy night we woke up to a wet day. The snow has visibly started to melt, and you could hear the wind whistling through the building, and waves crashing against the shore. A real change from the thick snow of the last few days. Since we arrived nearly a week ago, we have been unable to see grass or vegetation but today this is all changing!!

Picture 2 - Net Sewing

With the weather in mind, we set about making an indoor plan for the day. One of the major tasks which could be completed was net sewing which needs to be done before the spiring team arrive. We quickly found this was a very challenging task to complete indoors due to space and length of nets. After many failed attempts we tackled one net. I took the lead on the sewing with Thomas assisting by holding open sections. More to complete in the next few days but one down out of ten.

A well-earned break, some lunch plus some hot drinks was needed. Whilst eating lunch we saw a small feeding frenzy of birds consisting a few Eiders (Ederfugl) and some gulls (Måge) but not much else. Today has been very quiet on the bird front.

We decided that we needed some fresh air so walked into Skagen to get some food to stock up for the next few days. It was horribly wet, and we got rather drenched. In the UK you would say: ‘It was raining cats and dogs’ which it certainly was today! On the way we saw a brief glimpse of a Common Buzzard (Musvåge) but nothing else.

Picture 3 – The Lighthouse drenched in Fog

When we got back, we took off our rather wet snow suits and dried off. The plan for the evening is to have a quiet one and wait till the storm has passed. Hopefully tomorrow will be a calmer day, fingers crossed!

Link to Dofbasen:

Observers: Eleanor Harris, Thomas Weston

Picture 1 – Sun rise

We knew today was going to be a bit stormy, but we did not know when or how extreme it would be. However, our day started around 8am, whereby we woke up and got ready before going out and seeing a rather lovely sunrise over the sea – in fact this was the only time we fully saw the sun today which was a bit of a change to the past few days.

Picture 2 – Forgotten fish!?

Simon arranged to pick us up for some Gull feeding at the harbour around 10am, so the morning was spent chopping up left over fish that was found in the freezer. We presume that this was left by the autumn team, but unsure of its origins, we thought it would make good gull food!

Picture 2 – Gull feeding  

Picture 3 – Colour ringed Herring Gull (Sølmåge)

It was great to see Simon and we headed over to the harbour in search of gulls. On the drive we hardly saw any gulls (Måge) heading towards Grenen, so we presumed they must be somewhere else. That location was indeed the harbour, and, on our arrival, we found large flocks of Herring Gulls (Sølmåge), Great Black-Backed Gulls (Svartbag), a few Common Gulls (Stormmåge), and a couple of Black-headed gulls too (Haettemåge). Eleanor and Simon were using some of the bread to entice the birds over, whilst I used some of the fish that we prepared earlier. The gull feeding was a great success, and many gulls came over to the food! We ring read a Herring Gull (Sølmåge) from Norway and called this one ‘Elsa’ or ‘Sven’ as it was originally ringed in Arundal and thought we must stick to the current Frozen scenes in Skagen. This is not massively far from the observatory, but it was great to see this bird hanging around the harbour and enjoying our fish, plus posing for a photo or two too. We checked other areas of the harbour and found a Long-tailed duck (Halvit), a few auks (Lomvie/Alk) and about 50+ Eiders (Ederfugl) all sheltering from the wind. A big thank you to Simon for the trip and dropping us back off.

Picture 4 – Sanderling (Sandløber).

Back in time for lunch, and a walk to see whether our bird feeding efforts were being successful resulted in food still present at the lighthouse net but no obvious birds in the vicinity whilst we were there. We decided to walk along to Worlds End three to check the Snow Bunting (Snespurv) food, which was half eaten but still present for our Bunting friends. On our walk, we ended up finding three Snow Buntings (Snespurv), two rather showy Sanderlings (Sandløber), and a single Dunlin (Almindelig Ryle) amongst the sea foam.  The wind was strong, and snow started to fall so we walked along the Sandormen track whereby a Woodcock (Skovsneppe) was one of the only birds seen in the storm.

Getting colder in temperature, we spent an afternoon and evening completing admin tasks and relaxing, much needed as the storm intensified outside.

Highlights:

• Snow Buntings (Snespurv) at Grenen
• Long-tailed duck (Havlit) in the harbour

Link to Dofbasen.

Observers: Thomas Weston, Eleanor Harris, Simon S. Christiansen

Picture 1 – Aurora

After a late night of aurora watching in pjs and snow suits, we woke up to a beautiful, sunny but still day. With this in mind we decided to tick a few jobs of the list starting with bird feeding. The first point of call was to check the lighthouse garden nets for food to attract the birds. It seems there was no luck so far with only a Robin (Rødhals) in the area who was not interested in the free food at all.

Picture 2 – Snow Bunting (Snespurv) Feeding area

After this was completed, we decided to head out for a walk, in search of Snow Bunting (Snespurv), and on the way hatched a plan of the best way to create a feeding area to entice the birds near Worlds End Three. We will update you on the outcome soon so stay tuned. Stepping onto the beach it was noticeable that there was a clear shift in the weather with no wind and mild conditions, a real change from the last few days of blustery weather. After scattering food in a suitable location, we decided to continue our walk to the Sandormen track. It was such a lovely day with bright blue skies and sparkling snow, a magical day to be out and exploring the area.

Picture 3 – Snow Bunting (Snespurv)

On the way Thomas spotted twenty-three Green Finches (Grønirisk) hanging around with four Snow Buntings (Snespurv) who later continued in the direction of our feeding area. The Snow Buntings (Snespurv) was a good sign for both of us and very lovely to see on such a stunning, snowy, calm day in Skagen. Hopefully they found the feast of food waiting, but we left them to it and continued on our way. We will monitor the area in the coming days. After completing one task we made a slow walk back for some lunch, taking a small deter to Ellekrattet where we saw Siskin (Grønsisken) feeding in the alders. It was a lovely end to a beautiful walk full of sunshine and snow.

Picture 4 – Sunshine in Skagen

After some lunch and tea, we got on with some admin tasks and a break from the cold which were much needed. We proceeded to have a quiet and restful afternoon ahead of our evening plans with Lisa and Simon. It has been a lovely day from start to finish and magical to be in this area on such clear and calm day.

Highlights:

• Snow Buntings (Snespurv)
• Hen Harrier (Blå Kærhøg)

Link to Dofbasen.

Observers: Eleanor Harris, Thomas Weston, Simon S. Christiansen, Lisa Vergin

Picture 1 – 2k Female Hen Harrier (Blå Kærhøg). Pic by Thomas

What a day to wake up to! Yes, it was -3’c and feeling like -7’c but it was sunny, clear and feeling very fresh. After a nice breakfast, we decided to go for a walk to Nordstrand via Grenen. We put on our snow suits and headed for our adventure. The first species seen in the breeze included passing Eider (Ederfugl) and Gannets (Sule), with the bushes hosting Blue Tits (Blåmejse) and Blackbirds (Solsort). Eleanor had never been to the secret bunker, so we stopped here first and accidently disturbed a Woodcock (Skovsneppe) on the way, creepy as always but looking nice in the snow! We then continued onwards along the Sandormen track looking for any species in the bushes. They were very quiet, but Eleanor did see a bird of prey briefly, and after a few minutes a Hen Harrier (Blå Kærhøg) drifted along the track. Thank you to Simon, it was identified as a 2^nd calendar year female who has been hanging around the area for a while.

Picture 2 – Eleanor scanning the beach. Pic by Thomas 

Due to the wind direction, we decided to walk behind the dunes in search of any species. In the bushes a large flock of Fieldfare erupted out of the Sea Buckthorn due to a passing Common Buzzard (Musvåge) before settling again soon after. Our frequent stops to look out at the sea resulted in a good passage of birds heading East along the shore. This included over 1500+ Razorbill/Guillemots (Alk/Lomvie), a few Common Scoter (Sortand), and more Gannets (Sule) too. It was nice to have such a sunny day, a lovely long walk, and good species around us too.  

Picture 3 – Sanderling (Sandløber). Pic by Thomas 

It was not until we reached Nordstrand that we found a flock of Sanderling (Sandløber) and 3 Turnstones (Stenvenger) too. However, time was passing, and we were getting slightly cold on our faces from the exposure to the wind. Therefore, we headed inland and walked along the roads and paths to Jennes Sø. There were few species to be seen, though another Woodcock (Skovsneppe) and the calls of Bearded Tit (Skægmejse) were much appreciated.

Picture 4 – Shifting Snow. Pic by Eleanor.

Back in time for lunch and some warmth, we had been set a couple of tasks by Simon to clear the net ride in the Lighthouse Garden and to feed the birds. Some proof of the clearing snow can be seen in the pic, and Eleanor ensured the birds had a great seed mix consisting of out-of-date bird friendly food she found the cupboards the night before. We received a phone call from Simon to say himself and Lisa were coming round so we got a couple of photos of the sunset and retreated back to the observatory.    

Picture 5 – The lighthouse at sunset. Pic by Eleanor

A lovely end to the birding day, and more tasks set by Simon and Lisa to keep us busy during out stay! More on this to come soon…

Highlights:

• Woodcock (Skavsneppe) at Nordstrand and Grenen
• Hen Harrier (Blå Kærhøg) 2k female at Grenen

Link to Dofbasen

Observers: Thomas Weston, Eleanor Harris, Simon S. Christiansen, Lisa Vergin

Picture 1 – Lighthouse. Photo by Eleanor.

After a long day of travel from the UK yesterday, with a special thank you to Simon SC and help from local birder Jørgen, plus a good night’s sleep, we woke up to a very snowy day. As we arrived in the dark yesterday, we had no idea the extent of the snow, but we were surprised and shocked by the amounts in the area. Coming from the UK, snow is a rarity, so it was super exciting and special to wake up to a magical Winter Wonderland.

Picture 2 – Enjoying the Snow. Photos by Thomas.

After some nice breakfast and tea, we decided to put on layers consisting of snow suits and to go and explore. With some layers and cosy clothes, we stepped into the snow, crunching along the ice and sand. It is a rarity in the UK to see snow on a beach and it was the first time that I had encountered it. What fun it was to feel the wind in my face and hear the sea crashing and rolling into an almost deserted beech with only a few people out.

Picture 3 – Reed Bunting (Rørspurv). Photo by Thomas.

On our snowy travels some of the birding highlights from our morning walk were 23 Sanderling (Sandløber), two Bearded Tit (Skægmejse)– my first ones ever-, a flock of 6 Woodcock (!) (Skavsneppe), Snow Bunting (Snespurv), ‘Northern’ Long Tailed Tits (Halemejse), a very cold Reed Bunting (Rørspurv) and a Hen Harrier (Blå Kærhøg).

Picture 4 – Snowy Skagen. Photo by Eleanor.

Thomas was getting hungry, so we came back for some cosy comfort food, lunch, and even more tea, which was much needed after a rather windy and wild walk. After some food our next mission of the day was to go into Skagen and get some food to stock up for the cold weather predicted. We wrapped up warm and walked into Skagen, getting slightly distracted by the Christmas trees and lights still around. In the UK we have a tradition of taking down decorations on the 6th January so we both found it rather lovely that Christmas had been extended. On our walk we saw a Rough Legged Buzzard (Fjeldvåge), the first that I had ever seen, so it was very exciting and a surprise to see it come out of the snowy scenes. On the way back we saw the same bird near the lighthouse so we will see if it hangs around the area in the coming days.

Once back we made two pots of tea to warm up and are just taking it steady for the evening as a long few days we have had. We look forward to sharing our next month with you and what we find and get up too.

Highlights:

• Woodcock (Skavsneppe)
• Rough Legged Buzzard (Fjeldvåge)
• Hen Harrier (Blå Kærhøg)

Link to Dofbasen 

Observers: Eleanor Harris and Thomas Weston

Godaften kære bloglæsere, her følger en beretning for dagen.

Jeg havde pakket tasken og madpakken i god tid og startede dagen ud med æg og kaffe. Det er jo altid skønt. Derefter tog jeg med pænt høje forventninger på Grenen. Jeg forsøgte mig først med at sidde allerøstligt på Verdens ende 1 da jeg troede der måske ville komme udtræk fra kattegat op langs sydkysten. Det gjorde der ikke og jeg relokerede derefter til Verdens ende 3 hvor Knud sad.

Knud havde godt gang i kliktællingerne og mens vi talte fik vi vendt det meste mellem himmel og jord, særligt "de gamle dage", da jeg var på stationen i 2021 hvor Knud og jeg brugte mange timer med træktællinger blev vendt. 

Vi fik også fornemt besøg af Jørgen og Igor, og med det gode vejr var der ikke nogle mangler på denne morgenobs.

Fugle var der da også nogle af og morgenen endte godt ud med både Islom, bjergpiber, sildemåge, kaspisk måge, sortstrubet bynkefugl og en hvid vipstjert.
Se dagens obs her

Hjemme på stationen efter obs fik jeg pakket det sidste, støvsuget og Simon og jeg fik ryttet ud i køleskabet. 

Det var som altid en fornøjelse at være på besøg i det høje nord. Nu vil jeg sige tak for denne gang også kan vi jo alle, i disse mørke dage, glæde os ved at foråret nok skal komme engang.

Folk på stationen: Knud Pedersen, Jørgen Kabel, Igor, Simon S. Christiansen, Jonas Pedersen