Morgenobsen søndag morgen bød ikke på de store overraskelser. Der var som de andre dage en del trækkende storkjover, som næsten alle trak ud af Kattegat og ind i Nordsøen. Enkelte af storkjoverne gjorde også ophold for at fouragere ud for Grenen. På Dofbasen kan man endda læse, hvordan en storkjove har prøvet at stjæle føde fra lommerne i området, herunder også stillehavslommen, der blev set af flere denne dag også. Dog blev den først opdaget godt op ad dagen, så måske har nogle twitchere kørt forgæves?
På stationen holdt Peter og Daniel guidet ringmærkningstur for et engageret publikum. Vi kunne desværre ikke fremvise nogen fugle, for der kom ikke meget i nettene denne dag. Til gengæld fik vi en god diskussion om ringmærkning, satelitmærkning og andre tracking-metoder, som vagte stor fascination hos de tilhørende.

Charlotte tilbragte som sædvanligt mange timer nede foran stationen og i Birders Lounge for at snakke med gæsterne. Her blev der bl.a. malet ikoniske Skagen-arter på flade sten fra stranden. 

Peter fortæller om ringmærkningen undervejs på netrunden, der desværre ikke gav nogen fugle at mærke.

Lørdag var dagen, hvor fuglestationen holdt International Fyrdag, hvor Charlotte og jeg skulle berette om fyrets historie og dets betydning for fugle, for fremmødte gæster i fyrtårnet. Men inden da skulle der morgenobses!
Kort efter solopgang indfandt jeg mig derfor på Grenen, hvor der allerede ved ankomst var flere storkjover i luften, nogle endda ganske tæt på kysten, hvilket altid er en fornøjelse. Der var hele tiden noget at kigge på, f.eks., en rastende 2K islom, men efter ca. en time kom fuglen, der for alvor gjorde morgenobsen mindeværdig: almindelig skråpe! Den hurtige havfugl var svær at få i teleskopet, men det lykkedes for alle de fremmødte at få den at se. Efterfølgende var der jubel på Grenen, for flere havde ikke set den før i Danmark, inklusive undertegnede.
Kl. 12-15 indfandt Charlotte og jeg os i fyrtårnet. Langt fra alle gæsterne havde hørt om International Fyrdag, men det stoppede dem ikke fra at spørge ind til både fuglene og fyret. På trods af lidt regn og blæst, kunne vi erklære indsatsen for en succes, for vi havde stort set talt med gæster nonstop. Imens fik Peter ordnet en lang række opgaver på fuglestationen, så efter aftensmaden var der dømt hygge på første sal.

Jeg ankom til Skagen st. sent om eftermiddagen, hvor Charlotte var så flink at samle mig op på stationen og køre mig til stationen. Jeg skal være på stationen til på torsdag og hjælpe med diverse fuglestationsopgaver. 

I løbet ad min tur til toppen af Danmark, havde mange udmeldt stillehavslommen, så jeg vidste at den stadig var der. Derfor drog jeg som det første efter min ankomst op ad Grenens sydøstvendte kyst, hvor jeg mødtes af ornitologer, der hurtigt fik fremvist lommen. Den var undertiden mindre end 50 m fra kysten og viste sig fint. Mange tak til dem, der hjalp med at finde den! Også forbipasserende strandgæster fik lov at se fuglen gennem teleskoperne til stor begejstring.
På stationen havde Peter holdt en guidet ringmærkningstur, hvor han kunne fremvise en ung tornsanger for deltagerne. Han fandt også tid til at lave justeringer på de automatiserede slowmotionkameraer, der skal optage trækkende fugle.
Stationens fugleambassadør, Charlotte, havde som sædvanligt brugt meget af dagen på at formidle om fugle og fyret for de gæster, der besøgte fuglestationen og Birders Lounge. Om aftenen diskuteredes især, hvordan vi skulle gribe morgendagens arrangement an: International Fyrweekend.

De to nyjusterede slowmotionkameraer, der automatisk filmer forbiflyvende fugle. Det forgår i samarbejder med Mid Sweden University.

Another early start for Morten and I as we’re heading south briefly so I can experience other birding areas before I leave Denmark next week. Filled up on pic and mix and caffeinated drinks we head to Lille Vidermose, with pectoral sandpiper, golden eagle and possibly white winged tern on our list, but most importantly a site for great snipe (a world lifer for me). Lille Vidermose is amazing! What a great wetland, reminds me of some of the famous sites I’ve visited, Donana in Spain, Tacumshin in Ireland and the Danube Delta in Romania. We quickly saw the local spoonbills, along with a variety of waders and four species of grebe, including two I hadn’t seen so far in Denmark, black necked and great crested. We followed this up with 3 great snipe, broad billed and curlew sandpiper and a few common species I was still missing, bar tailed godwit and nuthatch to name but two. All too quickly this ended however and I had to get back to the observatory.

Whilst we were enjoying our field trip, Charlotte was very much enjoying interacting with the visitors at the observatory, only reluctantly leaving the courtyard as Morten and I returned. We decided to skip dinner (both being very tired) and I occupied myself with a few admin tasks, diaries and liaising with volunteers both past and present for the completion of some projects we have in the works.

Early to bed this evening as I intend to try ringing in the Observatory garden tomorrow morning, as well as running a guided tour.

Black necked grebe

Spoonbills

A nice early start for Morten and I, up at 4.15 to get out to the CES site to erect and open our nets. By the first round we were joined by Knud Pedersen, which made the following rounds much easier. Today was a great day for willow warblers, with at least 19 ringed or retrapped, mostly juveniles but with a few adults also. We were hoping for a barred warbler, as it’s the perfect time, but perhaps next visit.

Charlotte was doing a great job of representing the observatory, answering guests questions and giving advice. A few families had booked a guided tour for Friday.

Morten and I went shopping in the afternoon and also to post some rings to Gedser bird observatory. We plan to try for a trip to Lille Vidermose tomorrow, so we also purchased supplies for that.

Morten cooked burgers (his staple dish!) and after a satisfying meal, we had a quick evening meeting, where we laid out the tasks of the next few days and reviewed the activities of the day. After this Morten and I went out for a little post dinner birding, and I found a juvenile black guillemot just off the shores of the observatory.

Willow warbler

Gårsdagens observationer af en Stillehavslom har præget dagen.
Der har været stor søgning til lokaliteten syd for Grenen, hvor især ornitologer fik en sensationel iagttagelse af en Stillehavslom i et næsten synkront samvær med en Sortstrubet Lom.
Hans Pindstrup fra Horsens udlånte venligst sin kikkert, så der var flot spot on på andefuglene.
På trods af det lidt ustabile vejr, har besøgstallet på Fuglestationen været pænt.
Ud over Fuglestationens gæster ankom 2 repræsentanter fra Naturstyrelsen og en del DOF-ere blandt andre Henrik Bøhmer fra Esbjerg, Allan Kjær Villesen fra Lemvig og Åse og Erland.
Der viste sig desværre ikke deltagere til ringmærkningsaktiviteten i formiddag, så nettene blev pakket ned, og de indfangede fugle ringmærket og registreret.
Eftermiddagsgæsterne fra henholdsvis Tyskland, Sjælland, Sønder- og Midtjylland havde bemærket den øgede tilstrømning af gæster på Grenen men havde ikke været klar over, hvad der foregik.
De har til gengæld lyttet interesseret til observationsinformationerne og været meget spørgelystne.
2 familier vender tilbage i morgen, da de ankom for sent til at kunne nå en tur til fyrtårnets top.
Helt igennem en fin dag med et fint besøgstal, og sensationelle iagttagelser og foto af en Stillehavslom i kompagniskab med den Sortstrubede Lom, som ikke tog notits af det store opbud af mennesker på stranden.

Pacific diver (left) and black throated diver

A change of form for me this morning, with no ringing possible, I went to Badderiskonen for some early morning birding (and migrant hunting). I didn’t see a huge amount but I spend a nice 30 minutes watching a young spotted flycatcher being fed by its parents and a few other young birds, chiffchaff, willow warblers, crested tits and icterine watblers. 

During this time, Charlotte was familiarising herself with the routines and tasks of them ambassador, chatting to people and learning about the observatory. Simon is preparing to go off to the British Birdfair at Rutland Water.

Mid afternoon, as I’m doing some computer work, Simon tells me that Troels has found a putative Pacific Diver at Grenen! A great find and yet another first for Denmark for Troels. Needless to say, we raced up there, and spent a couple of hours watching and photographing the bird, becoming more and more convinced as we watched. Soon emough all the locals turned up and had great views and it was good to catch up with everyone I’ve come to know on the last five months (just over a week left of my tenure as I write). 

On return to the observatory, Charlotte had made an excellent dinner, and then it was celebration time! Joined by Troels, Katherine, Morten Christensen and others we chatted late into the night, buoyed up by the excitement of having witnessed yet another first for Denmark, a fantastic evening and it enthused me to go out the next day! 

Pacific and red throated diver

Pacific diver

A mass exodus!

It’s a sad morning as it’s the day that Hanne, Daniel and Mark leave. Daniel and Hanne leave in the morning, but Mark still has a few hours before his flight so we manage to get a few tasks done. We take all the recycling (a lot of cans!) to the supermarket, and also manage to give the apartment a good clean.

On the way back from the recycling we visit the cormorant lake once again. Water rail numbers are no longer so high, but snipe numbers are at 86 individuals today! We also have a few spotted redshank, a male ruff, wood, green and common sandpipers. Stopping at North Strand, we see a hundred or so common scoter, the same group of velvet scoters and some red throated divers. We stop off at Batteriskoven to try and find some passerines and have some success. Mark sees his first Skagen icterine warbler, chiffchaff, spotted flycatcher and blue tit. Lots of activity in the wood today, I’ll be returning again tomorrow to see if I can catch any scarce migrants. Spotted flycatchers still feeding young, as were the icterine warblers.

Alas, 3.30 comes too soon, and the Obs is as much quieter place. Not for long though, as our new ambassador arrives late in the afternoon, and Troels and Katherine from Copenhagen are in the lab assembling parts for a radio transmitter, which will hopefully be used to monitor radio tagged birds moving through from Norway this autumn, fingers crossed.

I make a ratatouille and rice for dinner, and spend an hour or two introducing Charlotte to her tasks for the week, and the various other observatory necessities. Simon and I then spend an hour or two chatting about the autumn and next year, playing shuffleball (I won convincingly twice!) before I head to bed around 11pm.

Tree pipit

 Crested tit

The day dawned wet and wild once again, so we chose to go and see a very special bird, one of the last crested larks in Denmark. Mark drove Daniel, Hanne and I to meet up with Morten Christensen in Hirtshals, but before the latter had arrived we’d already seen the crested lark and a wheatear.

The rain picked up at this point but we continued, heading down to a pool for wading birds and gulls. There we managed to pick up knot, dunlin, turnstone, Arctic and common tern and a few other birds for Mark’s Danish list and knot was a new Danish bird for me. We left Morten about to search through an enormous flock of gulls for some Caspian and yellow legged among them. We tried for black throated divers on the way back to Skagen’s but couldn’t find any at the known site for them.

Once we returned home, Mark and I went shopping for dinner. Mark makes a nice curry for dinner, compete with vegetarian chicken pieces, before he and Daniel go out to help Simon with a toad watching evening.

Crested Lark

Kittiwake

It was a sad day at the observatory today as we said goodbye to Michele after a really successful 10 weeks here. He had a great time and has promised us he'll return. Michele was responsible for finding the black shouldered kite so we're hoping he's back as soon as possible!

It was a quiet morning as the wind from the night before made it impossible to put out the nets for ringing. Hanne completed some jobs and spent time in the Birders Club explaining the work we do to the many visitors. In the afternoon Hanne and Daniel walked over to Grenen where they did some sea watching. Sadly there weren't many birds passing by and nothing of note was seen.

Simon and Peter took delivery of a solar panel which we'll be using for an upcoming radio tracking project. They made some progress with setting it up and we'll have more information about the project as soon as it's ready to start!

The forecast for the next few days isn't great but it might be the perfect opportunity to watch some sea birds passing close to the shore. Keep your eyes peeled for Arctic, Great, Pomarine and Long Tailed Skua, a variety of different terns and even a shearwater, although the latter would be a real surprise!