With Molly and Lisa departing this morning and Simon away for the weekend, the Observatory suddenly felt like a very quiet place today! Sarah and I were out at dawn for observations, and spent some time working the bushes on our way out to World’s End to count with Rolf. Thrush numbers seemed to have increased again overnight, with Redwing (Vindrossel) bursting from every bush and by far the commonest species, but there was also a noticeable increase in numbers of Fieldfare (Sjagger) and Blackbird (Solsort) compared to the past week. In the dunes we flushed 3 Water Pipits (Bjergpiber) from the water’s edge, and on the beach was a flock of 17 Snow Buntings (Snæspurv).

A panoramic sunrise view from World's End with Rolf

After lunch we worked on data and diaries in Birders Club, giving us the chance to welcome a steady stream of visitors to the Lighthouse including an ornithologist from the USA. In the evening we hosted Jesper J. Madsen, who leads the national ringing programme in Denmark. He was on a birding tour of this part of the country and was hoping to catch up with the Pacific Diver (Stillehavslom) here this afternoon, but hadn’t had any luck and so was planning to try again tomorrow morning. It was great to talk with him over dinner and find out more about exactly how the ringing data collected here and elsewhere is used as part of national monitoring programmes.

People: James Butcher, Sarah Bedford, Rolf Christensen and Jesper J. Madsen

After yesterday's roller-excitement, there was a bit of a "hangover" atmosphere at the observatory this morning, meaning we all got up late and perhaps found it a little difficult to get going! Molly's last day here at Skagen Fuglestation meant that the first part of the day was spent welcoming visitors to the station for coffee and cake, all dropping in to say their goodbyes. First Jørgen and Igor stopped by with delicious pastries and then Knud, Torben and Olaf also paid a visit to wish Molly farewell. Fleming also popped upstairs but not to say goodbye, instead to present Molly with a Wren (Gærdesmutte) that he had found trapped - the ringing responsibility never ends! He came back later in the day to say goodbye properly and present Molly with some gifts too!

After all of those farewells, too much coffee and some cleaning of the apartment, we eventually headed out to see if we could find some rare birds. Simon took us in his car to some parts of Skagen that we hadn't previously visited and although we didn't see anything jaw-dropping, we spent a while checking that a female Wheatear (Stenpikker) wasn't anything other than the normal Northern variety, and were also lucky to see some Crested Tits (Topmejse) - which in the UK isn't such an easy bird to find, so I enjoyed watching them for a while. On the way back, we bumped into Erik who said bye to Molly and we popped in to see Michael Ancher for another goodbye and he thanked Molly for all her help when she has been ringing with him.

Back at the lighthouse, Simon had a night tour, to round off the events that have been held for Week 42. This one was another success, with 11 people attending and a good range of species spotted with our flashlights - hare, common seal, roe deer, various waders and ducks, including Sanderling (Sandløber), Mallard (Gråand) and Snipe (Dobbeltbekkasin) and finally a Guillemot (Lomvie) on the beach which Simon managed to catch (without a net!) and show to the group.

Over delicious æbelskiver and Irish coffees, we spent some time saying our own goodbyes to Molly as she had a very early start on Saturday for her onward journey. Thanks so much Molly for all of the advice, help and patience when teaching us novices to extract birds and attempt to help you with ringing - you're a star - and wishing you tonnes of luck and success in your next adventures!

People: Molly Brown, Lisa Vergin, Sarah Bedford, James Butcher, Jorgen and Igor, Knud, Torpen and Olaf, Michael Ancher, Fleming, Erik Christophersen and Simon S. Christiansen.  

After some busy ringing days earlier this week, the nets at Grenen were quiet this morning, with 18 birds caught. Back at the observatory, Simon led our second ringing tour of the week, with a Treecreeper (Trælober) being the highlight. During the morning, we heard great reports from some of the local birders who had been over to Hanstholm the day before to see the Roller (Ellekrage) which had been discovered there. With the ringing being slow and all of us keen to see this rare Danish visitor, Simon made the call that we would try for the Roller that afternoon...the twitch was on!!

And so at midday we all piled into the car and drove across to the north west coast, with Lisa’s Roller Disco playlist providing the soundtrack (although not even that could keep the three kids in the back awake!) We arrived at a forest car park, where the assembled crowd of long camera lenses suggested the bird was still present. And sure enough it was, giving a great performance as it perched on dead trees around a clearing, occasionally darting down to the ground to pick up beetles and giving amazing flashes of turquoise and vivid blue on its wings.

Once everyone had soaked up this great bird, it was back in the car, but Simon had another couple of treats up his sleeve. First up was an ice cream stop to sample some of the area’s finest Soft Ice, complete with chocolate sprinkles - a guaranteed way to keep your volunteers quiet and happy.

Next was a second twitching stop at Hirshals, to visit a random industrial estate and parking area which is home to Denmark’s last few Crested Larks (Toplærke). It was a little sad to see the last of a population which will surely become extinct in the near future, but nevertheless the birds themselves were great, performing down to just a few metres and even giving a few bursts of song flight.

There was only one way a day like this could get any better….yes, PIZZA! After a quick stop on the way home to pick up everyone’s favourite takeaway, we collapsed onto the sofa in a pizza coma to watch Now You See Me, a film about four magicians. Now all we need is a sprinkling of that magic to bring one of the autumn rarities currently appearing on the west coast of Denmark to Skagen...I’m sure it’s only a matter of time!

Birds Rung (18): 1 Greenfinch (Grønirisk), 6 Robins (Rødhals), 1 Wren (Gærdesmutte), 1 Dunnock (Jernspurv), 1 Blue tit (Blåmejse), 5 Goldcrests (Fuglekonge), 2 Treecreeper (Trælober) and 1 Redwing (Vindrossel).

People: Molly Brown, Sarah Bedford, James Butcher, Lisa Vergin, Rolf Christensen and Simon S. Christiansen.

Compared to yesterday, it was quite a quiet ringing day this morning at Grenen. Overall, we “just” ringed 33 birds. Again, there have been a male and female Bearded Tit (Skægmejse), which was very nice for me – I hadn`t had them in my hands before. Besides those, the most common species for today were Redwings (Vindrossel), Goldcrests (Fuglekonge) and Wrens (Gærdesmutte).
We shut down the nets at 11:00 to prepare for the dissection demonstration at the lighthouse. We had a Kestrel (Tårnfalk) and Herring Gull (Sølvmåge) to open, as well as some smaller birds like Blue Tits (Blåmejse), Redpolls (Gråsisken) and a Budgie (Undulat), on which we investigated the skulls. All in all, there were about 30 people that came by and watched the dissection. I showed James how to open a bird using the gull, and so he finally lived up to his name. ;-P
I think it`s very interesting to see the insides of an animal, and you could see them very well inside the birds, so it`s easy to understand how everything is working and connecting together, like the connection between the heart and the lungs or the gastrointestinal system.

In the afternoon, Sarah, James, Molly and I cycled to Den Tilsandede Kirke to get some ice cream (it was very delicious!) and watch the Parrot Crossbills (Stor korsnæb), which I haven`t seen before. It was a very nice tour with good weather. I really missed being around these guys!

After dinner (we had gnocchi, which I had brought from Germany), we tried to catch Pygmy Owls (Glaucidium) in the lighthouse garden, but without success. I hope that we`ll be luckier during the next days!

Birds we ringed this morning: 7 Goldcrests (Fuglekonge), 7 Wrens (Gærdesmutte), 5 Redwings (Vindrossel), 4 Blackcaps (Munk), 3 Robins (Rødhals), 3 Blue Tits (Blåmejse), 2 Bearded Tits (Skægmejse), 1 Chiffchaff (Gransanger), 1 Bullfinch (Dompap)

People: Sarah Bedford, James Butcher, Molly Brown, Simon S. Christiansen, Erik Christophersen, Jørgen Kabel, Igor and Lisa Vergin

Today began with Sarah and I opening the nets at 0715, as we were opening the nets we caught 3 birds- the first sign. In the first round we had about 20 birds so we casually sent James a message asking him to join us to help extracting (he was out observing). Then Erik, Jørgen and Igor arrived saying there were Goldcrests (Fuglekonge) everywhere in the dunes and that there was a poisonous atmosphere! From then onwards we had large numbers of Goldcrests and Robins (Rødhals) every round. Simon joined us briefly at about 0900 but then had to leave for a guided tour in the lighthouse garden- he had 25 people!!!! A Surf Scotor (Brilleand) was sighted out at Grenen but there were too many birds for any of us to see it before it got too far out to see. Then at 11 Jorgen also left us, but Knud, Inge and his friend Thom and his wife joined us and led the extracting team along with Erik and James, while I rang and Sarah scribed! We also caught the Northern sub-species of Long tailed tit (Nordilig Halemjse) which was a real treat!!!

 Simon then joined quickly and helped us process all the birds! By 1300 things had slowed and slowly everyone left leaving James, Sarah and I and although there weren’t such large numbers of birds it was still enough to keep us busy I couldn’t have done it without them! We eventually shut the nets and called it a day and arrived very hungry back at the lighthouse at 1630!!!! What a long day ringing!!! By this point Simon had left to go to Aalborg.

We then had a leftovers feast and entered all the data!!! It took ages!!! As we sat down to eat we heard Simon arrive and was greeted by an amazing surprise of Lisa arriving for a couple days stay before she begins uni again!!! Sadly, no Daniel with her- we miss you Daniel!!! But it was such a lovely surprise!! We should have known we couldn’t have opening the freezer day tomorrow without Lisa- our chief surgeon and dissector!

Birds Rung (206): 1 Song Thrush (Sangdrossel), 1 Blackbird (Solsort),1 Greenfinch (Grønirisk), 2 Great tits (Musvit), 48 Robins (Rødhals), 15 Wrens (Gærdesmutte), 14 Bearded tits (Skægmejse), 10 Blue tits (Blåmejse), 7 Blackcaps (Munk), 1 Bullfinch (Dompap), 9 Chiffchaffs (Gransanger), 75 Goldcrests (Fuglekonge), 21 Northern Long Tailed Tits (Halemejse Nordilig) and 1 Chaffinch (Bogfinke)

People: Molly Brown, Sarah Bedford, James Butcher, Erik Christopherson, Jørgen Kabel, Igor, Knud and Inge Pederson and their friends Thom and his wife. Lisa Vergin and Simon S. Christiansen.

the ringing today was another exciting discovery - a Siberian Chiffchaff (Sibinsk Gransanger) noticeably different to its common cousin thanks to a duller appearance - devoid of any yellow or green - and with whitish under parts rather than the typical cream colour. This bird was one of 26 new birds ringed at Grenen.

James and I went out observing - first with Rolf at World’s End where we saw another Richard’s Pipet (Stor Piber) - it gave us good views as it flew overhead. We then joined Knud and his friend Thom on the beach. A good look at a large group of gulls roosting on the beach revealed Caspian Gulls of various ages, some Great Black Backed (Svartbag) and Herring (Sølvmåge) gulls with colour rings which Knud and James did an excellent job of reading from a great distance (and we look forward to knowing whereabouts they are from once the rings are checked) and a 2nd winter Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge).

After lunch, we processed the day’s data and did various jobs down in Birder’s Club, whilst welcoming visitors at the beginning of the Danish October holidays (Week/Uge 42). There’s a full programme of events this week (more details here), starting with a night tour this evening. The lighthouse garden nets were opened to see if we could catch any owls and Molly stayed to check them hourly.

Nine people attended the tour and Simon, James and I went out onto the beach with flashlights, searching for birds and animals that are on the move at night. Our investigations showed that there’s lots going under the cover of darkness at Grenen! We saw deer, seals, a hare, and lots of ducks and waders roosting on the freshwater pool near the tip that unfortunately were too distant to catch. Back at the lighthouse, Molly hadn’t had any luck with owls in the nets, but a sole Robin (Rødhals) was waiting for us on the path and we managed to catch it and ring it which was great for the group to see before they left. A video is here of everyone meeting the little visitor!

Birds caught - 26: 1 Siberian Chiffchaff (Sibinsk Gransanger), 2 Blue Tit (Blåmejse), 1 Great Tit (Musvit), 1Chiffchaff (Gransanger), 1 Song Thrush (Sangdrossel), 4 Robin (Rødhals), 3 Wren (Gærdesmutte), 2 Chaffinch (Bogfinke), 3 Blackcap (Munk), 3 Bullfinch (Dompap) and 5 Goldcrest (Fuglekonge)

People: Sarah Bedford, Molly Brown, James Butcher, Rolf Christensen, Knud Pedersen and Simon S. Christiansen

Most exciting news of the day came from Jennes Sø, where Molly was ringing with Michael and caught a ringed Redpoll (Gråsisken) species. When she examined the ring, she found the bird had been ringed in Iceland and so probably belongs to the sub species islandica. Extensive measurements, photos and DNA samples were taken which will confirm the bird’s identity in due course, but if it proves to be the case this will be a great first record for Denmark! Over the morning 27 birds were ringed in total.

Redpoll with an Icelandic ring caught by Molly and Michael

Sarah and I took a long walk out to Nordstrand and back, recording migrants on the way. Highlights were 34 Parrot Crossbills (Stor Korsnæb) flying over, a male Ring Ouzel (Ringdrossel) amongst the other thrushes, 51 Bearded Tits (Skægmejse) and 4 Rough-legged Buzzards (Fjeldvåge) giving great close views.

It seems this year is a true invasion year for Parrot Crossbills (Stor Korsnæb), with locals commenting that these are the biggest numbers they have seen for many years. Having seen many fly over our heads, we were keen to get some closer views, and so this afternoon we cycled back to Den tilsandede kirke south of Skagen. After meeting with the local group Guldmajssøens Venner, Simon also came and joined us. The pine woods around here are an obvious destination for these birds, and we were treated to great views of a flock of 28 Parrot Crossbills coming down to drink at puddles in the car park. Amongst them were 4 Common Crossbills, giving us a good chance to compare the different structure and bill size of these species at close range, as well as study the all-important calls!

Look mum no hands! (en route to Parrot Crossbills)

In the evening Simon cooked up an Italian feast of chicken wrapped in bacon with pasta, and we made plans for a busy week of guided tours ahead for Uge 42, which is a holiday week in Denmark.

You can find more details of all this week’s activities here.

People: Molly Brown, Micahel Ancher, Sarah Bedford, James Butcher and Simon S. Christiansen.

Dorthe and I started the day by opening the nets at Grenen and we were soon joined by Jørgen, Igor and Simon in time for the second round. Sarah and James joined Rolf at World's End again.

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After a disappointing first round, on the second round each net we came to in the reed beds had about 20 Blue Tits in! So Simon took birds to ring and everyone else remained extracting, we then called Sarah and James and roped in Erik who was an absolute godsend and really helped us out, even without his glasses! Every time we emptied the nets they just filled again! So, we resorted to shutting the nets immediately after we’d cleared them. We eventually re-opened the nets at 11:40 and we caught about 20 more birds, but nothing on the scale that we had before. We also had a guided tour amongst the chaos, which Dorthe led. Michael Anchor also had a busy morning ringing with 50 birds.

All the Blue Tits made for a very happy Simon!!!

In the afternoon James, Sarah and I rode into town and continued until we reached Den Tilsandede Kirke- the sand covered church, I never realised how nice it is on the other side of Skagen- so much pine woodland with Nutcracker and Crossbill potential! I can see why all the birders go to the tip, once the birds spread out into the woodlands finding rarities must be a lot harder!!! We then cycled back and after finding an Ice cream shop shut till 2019, we came back to the station and bought ice cream from Christel and Fleming.

During this time Dorthe left us to go to Blåvand, let’s hope she doesn’t punish us with too many good birds!

We also went night catching led by James and although we didn’t catch anything we were very close to a Short-Eared Owl, which we pursued into the gorse and reeds without success. But we initially got very good views of it flying over us!

Birds caught: 168 total! 109 Blue Tits (Blåmejse), 33 Great Tits (Musvit), 11 Coal Tits (Sortmejse), 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker (Stor Flagspaette), 2 Blackbirds (Solsort), 3 Song thrushes (Sang Drossel), 1 Robin (Rødhals), 1 Wren (Gærdesmutte), 1 Dunnock (Jernspurv), 1 Chaffinch (Bogfinke), 1 Blackcap (Munk), 2 Chiffchaffs (Gransanger) and 2 Goldcrest (Fuglekonge)

People: Molly Brown, Sarah Bedford, James Butcher, Dorthe Schmit, Jørgen Kabel, Erik Christophersen and Simon S. Christiansen

Molly’s poor hands needed some love and attention after an eventful morning at the ringing site in Grenen today. Amongst the usual crowd of birds were some notable superstars - first up, an aggressive juvenile Jay (Skovskade) that wasted no time in attacking Molly’s fingers and drew blood almost straight away. One of the methods of ageing a Jay is attempting to determine how blue its eyes are, so that meant we had to get seriously up close and personal.

In the next round, a real surprise - a Great Grey Shrike (Stor Tornskade). This bird is beautiful but brutal and went in for the kill, drawing yet more blood from Molly. We saw firsthand how it earned its affectionate name “the butcher bird”. The hooked bill and sharp talons were all too obvious indicators that this bird is a menace amongst smaller passerines.

It was of course a real treat to see a bird like this up close and especially enjoyable for Jørgen, who was joining in the ringing for the first time. A video of him releasing the shrike can be seen here on Facebook.

Despite her bloody hands, Molly generously took time to provide us all with some useful teaching on moult strategies, using moult cards to help us consider the ages of the birds being caught. She also studied the skull ossification of some of the birds caught - another approach used when trying to age a bird.

It was a busy time at the the nets today, so a perfect opportunity for three visiting university students from Aalborg University (Rikke, Anne Mette and Maria) to see what goes on at the observatory on a daily basis. They were out with us at dawn, observing the opening of the nets and following us through the whole process of extracting, processing and releasing the birds.

While we were at Grenen processing the 48 birds caught there, Michael had a busy day at Jennes Sø, with 69 birds rung, including a Marsh Tit (Sumpmejse) and back at the lighthouse, Simon welcomed Cirio Pertoldi and Dan Bruhn from Aalborg University to discuss future partnership projects with the observatory which was exciting!

Birds caught at Grenen = 48: 1 Great Grey Shrike (Stor Tornskade), 1 Jay (Skovskade), 20 Blue tits (Blåmejse), 3 Redwing (Vindrossel), 3 Great tit (Musvit), 2 Robins (Rødhals), 5 Wrens (Gærdesmutte), 4 Goldcrests (Fuglekonge), 1 Blackcap (Munk), 1 Reed Bunting (Rørspurv), 1 Brambling (Kvækerfinke), 1 Coal Tit (Sortmejse), 1 Blackbird (Solsort)  and 4 Chiffchaffs (Gransanger).

People: James Butcher, Sarah Bedford, Molly Brown, Simon S. Christiansen, Jørgen Kabel, Dorthe H. Schmidt and Michael Ancher with Rikke, Anne Mette and Maria from Aalborg University.

The wind swung around to the south-east today, but unfortunately was too strong for ringing so everyone was out observing this morning. There was a steady passage of seabirds moving north-east out of the Kattegat including Kittiwakes (Ride), auks (Alkefugle), Great Skuas (Storkjove), Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove) and a Little Gull (Dværgmåge).

Sarah and Dorthe during early morning observation from World’s End

There was also a notable easterly movement of birds coming in off the sea, including 2 Hen Harriers (Blå Kærhøg), several Sparrowhawks (Spurvehøg) and corvids including Jackdaws (Allike) and Hooded Crows (Gråkrage). Rolf explained these birds were likely to have come across from Sweden on the winds, and it was great to see this migration in action. On the ground, Molly picked out one of yesterday’s Water Pipits (Bjergpiber) but true to form they evaded the camera, diving back into the reeds as soon as they were flushed.

Twite (Bjegirisk) on the beach – far more obliging for the camera than the Water Pipits

Away from Grenen, the string of Nutcracker (Nucifraga) sightings continued further south at Gyvelstien, deepening Simon’s dipping pains. I sense we will be heading off on another Nutcracker hunt very soon to try and crack that very elusive nut!

This afternoon Sarah and I did some alternative high-tech birding investigating the station’s radar system. It turns out identifying birds on a radar screen can be far more challenging that in the field - but we’re making progress! The future aim is to monitor nocturnal migration over Skagen by using the radar combined with sound recording.

This evening we welcomed three students to the station, Rikke, Anna Mette and Maria. They will be ringing with us tomorrow as part of a project to analyse some of the station’s historical ringing data.

A beautiful sunset this evening

People: Simon S. Christiansen, James Butcher, Sarah Bedford, Molly Brown, Dorthe H. Schmidt and Rolf Christensen.