By far the highlight of the day for me was a male Citrine Wagtail in the lake at Grenen. A big relief to finally find my first rarity committee species for Denmark. Joakim and I also saw a Shorelark and a Wryneck. Hebe, Anna and Simon ringed at Grenen and caught 32 birds including the first Blackcap of the year. At midday Joakim went out for a skywatch to look for the 3 Spoonbills and 5 white storks which were reported over the city. He was successful! In the afternoon I went back out to Grenen to see if the citrine was still there but it wasn’t. 

People: Joakim Mathiesson, Dante Shepherd, Anna Moulin, Simon S Christiansen, Hebe Denny, Hans and Birgitte Christophesen

Ringmarkening Sardinkrattet:

Gaerdesmutte - 3, Rodhals - 11, Sangdrossel - 1, Munk - 1, Gransanger - 9, Lovsanger - 3, Fuglekonge - 2, Bogfinke - 4

Total 34

Today, was an exciting, busy day!! 

It beganas usual, with an early start for all of us here at the observatory. Anna and Joakim went with Simon to Grenen to do some ringing, Dante headed off to observe with Rolf, Nicole and Henrick headed to to observe and i cycled out to Nordstrand. 

The ringing was good, with 23 birds rung, including an the first Løvsanger in the net for the year. Theyre ringing was cut short by the exciting news of a Blå Glente at Grenen!! Dante had had a good veiw of it that morning, aswell as of a Citrinvipsjert! Joakim and Anna saw the kite attempt migration and Simon saw it once it had returned to Grenen again, much excitement all round! 

Meanwhile at Nordstrand, i missed the kite but was very happily counting birds migrating over the sea! 

Simon and Joakim then went off to do a Raptor tour, and then we all headed back to the obs for lunch. After lunch we bid farewel to Henrick and Nicole, Dante got on with some date inputting, including the Rapter summary report and later cleaned the bird lab with Anna. Guided by the stream of excited Zello calls, i headed out on my bike in search of the Blå Glente! Our paths crossed at last at Buttervej! I was joined by Knud and we had some really incredible veiws of the bird!!! Lovely. On returning back to the obs, i headed out to join Joakim where he was watching a beautiful Borget Fluesnapper that he had found earlier that day. I sadly missed it, but instead was lucky to see a gorgeous wee Munk!!! 

Anna and i then headed into to town to pick up supplies for a "sunday roast"! We arrived home to find that our new guests, Hans and Birgitte had arrived! They had spent the day travelling up from south of Aalborg and had had a lovely time, seeing the kite as they arrived in Skagen!!

While me and Anna got on with cooking, Hans and Birgitte headed out for a walk and spotted lots of lovely birds, including a Mosehornugle and a Vendehals!  

After dinner, we braved a piece of Anna and mines chocolately buttery easter cake creation of doom and then headed to bed!!!

A real stunner of a day. 

People: Joakim Mathiesson, Dante Shepard, Anna Moulin, Simon S Christiansen, Hebe Denny, Henrick and Nicole, Hans and Birgitte Christophesen, Knud Pederson and Rolf Christiansen. 

Ringing at Sardinkrattet and Jenne So:

Skovskade - 1, Vindrossel - 1, Rødhals - 6, Rodstjert -1, Gærdesmutte  - 2, Løvsanger - 2,  Musvit - 1, Bogfinke - 2, Fuglekonge  - 2, Gransanger - 9, Musvit - 1, Gronirisk - 1, Lille Grasisken - 10, Rorspurv - 2

Total 41

Today began with me, Dante and Joakim heading to Grenen for an extraordinarily quiet, and beautifully still, morning, and Hebe to North Strand. After watching a pod of over 20 porpoises, we eventually got some views of white-tailed eagles (havørn) and other raptors.

After a quiet afternoon strolling around the observatory, we met back at the observatory for the daily data input. It seemed like an uneventful day, until one of our guests, Henrick, spotted an Alpine Accentor (alpejernspurv) just in the observatory garden! One of only 15 ever found in Denmark, and the fourth for Skagen, this little bird attracted a lot of attention! Within minutes, we were sitting by the beach watching it hop from rock to rock as the sun set. Another incredible day.

Folk på Stationen: Joakim, Hebe, Simon, Dante, Anna, Henrik, Nicole, Michael

Ringmærking at Jenne Sø:

Rødhals - 20

Gransanger - 2

Lovsanger - 1

Gaerdesmutte -2

Jernspurv - 1

Bogfinke - 2

Sangdrossel- 4

Lille Grasiksen - 39

Blamejse- 1

Sum- 72

Morgenen startede atter da solen stod op. Hebe og jeg dækkede nordstrand, Anna og Dante var på Grenen og Henrik og Nicole prøvede, at sætte sig for enden af Buttervej for at tælles dagens træk. Det er efterhånden ved at være blevet varmt. Det er næsten helt sommeragtigt. Varmen har da også sat gang i nogle af fuglene. Selvom det ikke væltede med fugle denne dag kom der stadigvæk gode arter. Derudover rykkede det virkelig i lommerne og ikke mindst i kjoverne i går. Der kom hele 47 almindelige kjover forbi samt 1485 rødstrubede lommer, hvilket bestemt er rigtigt pæne tal. Herudover kan nævnes en steppehøg fra Nordstrand samt pungmejse og gulirisk fra Grenen.

Da morgenobsen var slut åbnede vi fryseren i vores laboratorie. Med det skal der forstås, at vi hev nogle af vores døde frosne fugle op så Det Grå Fyrs gæster kunne se dem, samt få en snak med os om hvordan de døde og fugle i al almindelighed. Det gik rigtigt fint og folk viste interesse.

Herefter var det stille og roligt. Nogle valgte at gå lidt rundt i området og prøve at finde en god fugl and fik sovet ud. Til aften lavede Henrik og Nicole en fin chilli con carne og efter aftenmødet gik alle tidligt i seng så vi var klar til nye eventyr igen næste dag.

Mosehornugle flyver rundt på Grenen

Folk på stationen: Hebe Denny, Dante Shepherd, Anna Moulin, Henrik Böhmer, Nicole Nissen, Micheal Ancher og Joakim Matthiesen.

Ringmærkning (Jennes Sø):

Gærdesmutte – 2

Jernspurv – 2

Rødhals – 26

Sangdrossel – 1

Gransanger – 9

Musvit – 3

Bogfinke -1

Kvækerfinke – 1

Lille gråsisken – 9

Dompap - 2

Sum: 56

Calm easterly winds and cloudless sky meant a lot of grounded migrants. Simon, Anna and Joakim were out ringing at Grenen and caught 80 birds, mostly Robins/Rodhals and Goldcrests/Fuglekonge. They also caught a male Sparrowhawk/Spurvehog which Joakim brought up to worlds end to show Hebe, I and the Dof-young. Observations were nice with a Penduline Tit,Pungmejse and 2 Shags/Topskarv. 

In the afternoon we painted eggs and made gækkebrev with families. Henrik and Nicole, old friends of Simons, arrived for some days birdwatching and helping out at the obs. 

People: Joakim Mathiesson, Dante Shepherd, Anna Moulin, Hebe Denny, Simon Christiansen DOF young members, Henrik and Nicole Bohmer

Ringmærking at Grenen and Jenne So:

Rødhals - 44, Gransanger - 20, Fuglekonge - 19, Lovsanger - 1, Vindrossel - 2, Sangdrossel - 1, Gaerdesmutte -1, Jernspurv - 5, Bogfinke - 3, Lille Grasiksen - 5, Rorspurv - 1

Total 102

It was another absolutly gorgeous morning, clear skies and hardly a breath of wind. Joakim and I got up before sunrise and headed over to open the nets at Grenen, while Dante and Anna joined Rolf for observing. Simon joined Joakim and I at Grenen, and we had a good morning of ringing, catching 15 birds. We were joined for a few hours by some of DOF young who watched the ringing process. Meanwhile, the rest of DOF joined the others oberving and had an incredible morning! It was a brilliant day for migration with over 100 Ringdrossel, and a large number of raptors; including 15 Fiskøern and even the Stor skrigeørn paid a visit!! Anna was very happy to see her first Mosehornugle!!

Once we were all back at the obs, us and the DOF young group gathered and got into four teams, ready for a bird race!! We had two hours in which to race around the area and spot or hear as many species as possible, it was good fun and everyone was in great spirits! Some were lucky to have Steppehøg on their list!! The race ended with a fabulous veiw of the Kongøern and the Stor Skrigeørn right over the lighthouse! Much. Excitement.

After the race, Anna and i headed into town where she got a beautiful tattoo of a Blåhals, a brid which she loves very much and which will remind her of her experience of the Scandinavian triple! Once we were back, Anna cooked a gorgeous vegan dinner and we then spent the evening cleaning the apartment!

One of the Ringdrossel, photographed by Joakim

People: Joakim Mathiesson, Dante Sheoard, Anna Moulin, Hebe Denny, Simon Christiansen, Rolf Christiansen, DOF young members and Jørgen Hulbæle Christiansen.

Ringmærking at Sardinkrattet + Jenne So:

Rødhals - 5, Gransanger - 11, Musvit - 1, Skovspurv - 1, Blåmejse - 3, Bogfinke - 1, Kvaekefinke - 1, Gronirisk - 2, Gronsisken - 2, Lille Grasisken - 10, Gærdesmutte - 2

Total 39

Dagen startede atter tidligt. Simon, Hebe, Anna og jeg tog ud på Grenen MEGET MEGET tidligt for, at åbne nettene og ringmærke lidt fugle. Vi stod op kl. 04:30 og nettene var oppe kl 06:00. Til ringmærkningen deltog to gæster, som havde en fin og lærerig morgen imens vi viste dem hvordan ringmærkningen fungerer. Alt imens vi havde gang i dette sad Dante og Mads på Grenen og talte trækfuglene. Da vi var færdige med ringmærkningen gik jeg op til Dante og Mads og deltog i resten af tællingerne indtil kl. 12:00. Fuglene var desværre få i dag. I rinmærkningen blev det kun til 5 fugle, men det er dejligt at komme ind i det og få noget erfaring.

Pigerne gik tilbage efter ringmærkningen og fik klaret lidt forskellige ting, som der skulle tages hånd om. Simons mor var på besøg og havde taget lidt morgenbrød og kage med, mange tak for det! Resten af dagen var stille og rolig. Simon holdte et møde, nogle fik sovet ud, vi fik lappet den ene cykel og Mads pakkede og sagde tak for denne gang. Han drog dog ikke helt hjem endnu, men mødtes med DOF UNG som skal være i Skagen den næste uges tid.

Derudover ankom to studerende, som skal være her den næste uge. De skal lave et projekt om frøer og vil derfor bruge meget tid i felten, men vil bruge Skagen Fuglestation som base og følge nogle af de ting vi laver.

Og nå ja! Micheal Ancher, som ringmærkede ved Jennes Sø fangede en MEGA fed og flot stor torskade, som vi alle fik at se. Jeg fik lov at holde fuglen og det var en rigtigt stor oplevelse! Fedt, fedt, fedt!

Folk på Stationen: Joakim Matthiesen, Hebe Denny, Simon S. Christiansen, Dante Shepherd, Anna Moulin, Anne Svenningsen, Laura Skrappeltrang Hansen, Kurt Rasmussen, Anders Wiig Nielsen, Micheal Ancher, Karin Christiansen, Lene Kappelborg.

Ringmærkning Grenen + Jennes Sø:

Solsort – 2

Sortmejse – 2

Musvit – 1

Bogfinke – 3

Stor tornskade – 1

Rødhals – 2

Nordlig gråsisken – 2

Lille gråsisken – 15

Sum: 28

The morning began clear and sunny and lovely! Dante, Joakim and Mads headed off to Grenen to join Rolf and Anna and I had a bit of a longer sleep before heading to Jenne Sø to join Michel Anchor in putting up some mist nets. Sadly we were unable to do this as the wind was a little bit wild! But it was a beautiful morning, and we bird watched there for a while.

Jenne Sø in the morning

The boys had had a good morning so far at Grenen, seeing Teiste, Steppehøg, Malamut (Joakims first! yay!), Fiskørn and Stor skrigeørn among others! So Anna and I headed over to join them for a few hours. Back at the observatory, after some lunch, Joakim and Mads headed into town to pick up some shopping, Dante had a snooze and updated raptor data and Anna and i got on with some observatory things before doing some painting in the sun outside!

Simon got back from Aalborg in the afternoon, and was just in time to spot the Stor skrigeørn above the obs as he arrived! He stayed to give a ringing tour before leaving with his Mum who has come up for a few days! 

While Mads cooked a delicious dinner, Anna and i went for a wee wander along the beach and explored the old bunkers before a very quick very cold spontaneous swim in the sea on the way back!!!

A wee dip!

-no ringing today-

People: Joakim, Dante, Anna, Mads, Hebe, Simon, Michel and Rolf

- check out our new video about life as a vollunteer at Skagen Fuglestation!!! - https://www.facebook.com/Skagenfuglestation

Today was great for raptors, especially eagles/ørn! A white-tailed/hav, two golden/kong and a rare greater spotted/stor skirg eagle/ørn were seen by all of us from the observatory. Out at Grenen in the morning I also saw a shag/topskav and a serin/gulrisk.

In the afternoon we got on with things back at the observatory. After a nap I went out shopping and cooked pesto pasta for dinner.

Folk: Mads, Hebe, Dante, Anna, Simon, Joakim og Michael Anker (ringmærkning Jennes Sø)

Ringmærkning (Jennes Sø):

Lille Gråsiskin- 4

Gransanger- 1

Sum: 5

Morgenen startede atter tidligt. For Mads og jeg stod den på morgenobs fra Nordstrand. Dante dækkede trækket ved grenen. Simon tog Hebe og Anna med ud og ringmærke i sardinkrattet. Det gik fint med ringmærkningen og denne morgen fik 13 fugle ring på benet. Ude på obsposterne stod det dog stille, rigtigt stille. Det kolde vejr havde sat en stopper for trækket og der skete næsten ingenting hverken på Nordstrand eller Grenen. Det var kun på havet, at der var et par fugle at se. Her kom et par sortstrubede lommer forbi og det var nok det vildeste der skete denne morgen på Nordstrand.

Herefter fik jeg sagt farvel til min familie, som har været her de sidste par dage. Dejligt at se dem! Hebe og Anna kørte ind i byen og fik klaret lidt indkøb. Imens gik Mads, Dante og jeg en tur rundt i området for, at se om der skulle være en rastende fugl eller to. Vi fik blandt andet set svaleklire, bjergvipstjert, rød glente og tornirisk.

Resten af dagen var stille og rolig. Om aftenen fik vi klaret diverse praktiske opgaver, såsom indtastning af ringmærkningsdata samt forberedelse af nogle ekstra ting til vores ringmærkning-sted på Grenen.

Nå ja! –også kan det nævnes at vi i dag fik sat vores nye rørskovs-fælde op ude på Grenen. Det bliver spændene, at se om den kan fange noget.

Vi håber på at varmen snart kommer så vi rigtigt kan få gang i fugletrækket.

Ha det godt derude!

Folk på stationen: Mads, Hebe, Dante, Anna, Simon og Joakim

Ringmærkning Grenen:

Gærdesmutte - 2

Jernspurv - 1

Rødhals - 2

Gransanger - 2

Fuglekonge - 4

Musvit - 2

Bogfinke - 1