Ringing continued as per normal this morning. The ringing station at Grenen felt a little quieter than usual, but that didn’t stop us catching a reasonable amount of migrants. Martin managed to spot a nightjar (Natravn) in the road before we even arrived and doubled his luck with a kingfisher (Isfugl) just as we were opening the nets. It seemed the flocks of coal tits (Sortmejse) had moved on today, but in their place a notable amount of arriving blackcaps (Munk) and chiffchaffs (Gransanger). We also managed to catch one of the many great spotted woodpeckers (Stor Flagspætte) that have been flying around in recent weeks. Between net rounds Simon spotted a perched honey buzzard (Hvepsevage) across the dunes. This is actually the first time I’ve seen one that wasn’t in flight! Other noted migrants included a flock of 30 redpoll (Acanthis sp), 1 grey wagtail (Bjergvipstjert) and a fly over nuthatch (Spætmejse).

After the session we set up another two nets bringing the total number of nets up to 25. Here’s hoping it’s the rarity net.

Honey buzzard (Hvepsevage)

After lunch I indulged myself in a very good nap, woke up and finished inputting today’s ringing data. The evening plan was to pick up some pizza, go back to Jerup Strand and count sandwich terns (Splitterne). There were none – but the birding didn’t disappoint. Among the 100s of dunlin (Almindelif Ryle) we managed to pick out a little stint (Dværgryle). It was quite the spectacle to see 300 graylag geese (Grågåss) passing out at sea in a strong V formation. Meanwhile a peregrine (Vandrefalk) was keeping watch inland on the fence posts and 2 grey plovers (Strandhjejle) sat out on the sandbanks. All bird photos today were taken through the scope.

Little stint (Dværgryle)

Grey plover (Strandhjejle)

This evening we welcomed the newest member to our volunteer team; Christina from Germany.

Ringmærkning:

Fuglekonge: 1

Gærdesanger: 3

Gransanger: 7

Gråsisken: 1

Havesanger: 1

Jernspurv: 2

Løvsanger: 2

Munk: 6

Rødstjert: 3

Rørsanger: 6

Rørspurv: 1

Stor Flagsætte: 1

Tornsanger: 1

Total: 35

Klik her for at se dagens observationer indtastet i Dofbasen af observatører i området

People: Martin Grienenberger, Amelie Zeller, Alfrida Garboe, Angus Barnett, Simon S. Christiansen, Kristina Sønderkjær

Today was a very promising start to the new season and it has filled me with excitement for the coming months. Ringing nets were up an hour before sunrise. The atmosphere was alive with many calling migrants. Throughout the day there were flocks of crossbill (Lille Korsnæb) and siskin (Grønsisken) moving but a little too high for the nets. What was impressive though was the sudden appearance of many migrating coal tits (Sortmejse) -a few finding their way into the nets. It seemed like the dunnocks (Jernspurv) had arrived over-night too with many calling from the scrub. A low passing honey buzzard (Hvepsevåge), 5 very high common buzzards (Musvåge) and a fly over grey wagtail (Bjergvipstjert) kept spirits high throughout the morning. The last bird ringed was a whinchat (Bynkefugl) just to cap off a great session.

Coal tit (Sortmejse)

Whinchat (Bynkefugl)

Nets closed at midday, we took our lunch and then spent the afternoon clearing out a gap for two more nets which we will set up tomorrow. Situated in the reedbed, the new nets have a lot of potential for some good species. Whilst doing this we found a rather handsome looking caterpillar on the sea buckthorn. The species is buff-tip moth Phalera bucephala.

Before:

After:

Buff-tip moth caterpillar

Ringmærkning:

Sortmejse: 10

Tornsanger: 1

Stenpikker: 1

Solsort: 2

Rørsanger: 3

Rødstjert: 3

Rødhals: 1

Munk: 4 

Løvsanger: 1

Jernspurv: 3

Gransanger: 3

Gærdesmutte: 1

Fuglekonge: 1

Bynkefugl: 1

Broget fluesnapper: 1

Total: 39

Those two words sumarize well our day ! We were just three today : Amelie, Angus and me. We started the day by a slow but nice migration count from World’s End 1 under a heartwarming sunshine. The highlights were a lovely Nuthatch (Spaetmejse) flying next to us, the slowly increasing numbers of Coal Tits (Sortmejse) and the close Northern Wheatears (Stenpikker). Due to easterly winds, the movements at sea were close to zero ! We expect some westerly winds for the end of the week, which means more seabirds incoming !

During the afternoon, our tourist side took over and we went to Råbjerg Mile, the ever moving sanddune. We spend a few hours exploring the dunes, chilling under a still very welcomed sun and appreciating this beauty of the northern Denmark. To complete the picture, a distant Crane (Trane) was calling, adding a little it more of magic to this dashing landscape.

Simon is now back from his summer house, and with a nice weather, we are planning to ring a lot this week !

Also, Alfrida is our guest for the week and she will accompany us on ringing and counting throughout the week.

Klik her for at se dagens observationer indtastet i Dofbasen af observatører i området

People: Martin Grienenberger, Amelie Zeller, Angus Barnett, Alfrida Garboe, Simon S. Christiansen

After celebrating Martins birthday yesterday evening at Café Knuth’s in Skagen, Esben was eager to go night catching and caught a Common Eider (Edderfugl)! For the second round I came to join him, but we weren’t lucky again, unfortunately.

Esben and I couldn’t sleep much before waking up today for opening the nets at 5 for our constant effort site at the Jenne Sø. We saw a beautiful sunrise today and had a sunny day with no wind.

In the first two rounds we caught quite a few birds. I was happy to ring my first robin (Rødhals) today. Such beautiful birds!

Also, I ringed my first Wren (Gærdesmutte) today.

Pernille joined us after a few rounds and did really well handling a Great Spotted Woodpecker (Stor Flagspætte). She was also trying to observe a Kingfisher (Isfugl) that was sighted two days ago at the Jenne Sø. Michael stepped by at the CES ringing station, as well.

During a net check Pernille and I saw a Common European Viper (Hugorm)! It was the first time for me to see one. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take a better picture, because apparently it was looking aggressive, so I couldn’t come closer.

The last rounds were quite slow, so Esben was able to take a nap in the sun.

Martin, in the meantime, was counting the migrating birds at World’s End 1. He saw the biggest flock of Redpolls (Gråsisken) for this autumn today, the first Coal Tits (Sortmejse), a Brambling (Kvækerfinke) and many Great Spotted Woodpeckers (Stor Flagspætte). His Highlight for today was a Rosefinch (Karmindompap).

After the counting he joined the ringing and was also able to ring his first Wren (Gærdesmutte) today. Then he helped us with closing the nets and putting some of them down.

In the afternoon Pernille guided a tour for Nature Family Club of the Grey Light House. It ended up being a tour for 10 people and they had a nice afternoon at the Jenne Sø, where the children could fish for frogs, insects and fish.

After a quick swim in the sea, Esben had to leave us again today. Hopefully, we will see him again in a few weeks!

Ringmærkning (CES, Jenne Sø):

Stor Flagspætte – Great Spotted Woodpecker – 1

Gransanger – Chiffchaff – 3

Gærdemutte – Wren – 3

Løvsanger – Willow Warbler – 5

Rødhals – Robin – 2

Kærsanger – Marsh Warbler - 1

Total: 15

Klik her for at se dagens observationer indtastet i Dofbasen af observatører i området

People: Martin Grienenberger, Amelie Zeller, Esben E. Hansen, Pernille Roed, Angus Barnett, Michael Ancher

Windy and slightly rainy conditions made for good night catching conditions last night, so me and Esben were keen to go out. The first bird captured was a juvenile red knot (Islandsk ryle). The second we caught, we assumed was a Dunlin (Almindelig ryle) but we got quite the shock when we got back to the laboratory. We had been lucky enough to catch the first ever Sanderling (Sandløber) ringed at the observatory. The sanderling is unique in its family in the fact that it has no hind toe.

Sanderling (Sandløber)

The next day was a quiet morning of sea watching. A few migrating light-bellied brant geese (Knortegås), scattered flocks of common scoter (Sortand) and more gannets (Sule) fishing were about all there was to look at. However today was to be a day of celebration because it was Martins birthday!

Simon and Esben put on a good show by providing a Danish breakfast and singing some traditional birthday songs. While Amelie and Lisa cooked us a delicious German style cake. This was enjoyed with a little glass of Fernet-branca. Skål!

Now off to Skagen for a good meal and maybe a beer or two. However tomorrow morning we have a CES ringing session and it was around this time twos years ago Lisa caught an Arctic warbler (Nordsanger) so fingers crossed.

Klik her for at se dagens observationer indtastet i Dofbasen af observatører i området

People: Martin Grienenberger, Simon S. Christiansen, Amelie Zeller, Esben E. Hansen, Lisa Vergin, Lars Smith, Angus Barnett

What a night! After two unsuccessful attempts to catch Sandwich Terns and equip them with colour rings, we were finally successful yesterday and were able to catch three Sandwich Terns, one of them a recapture from Denmark. During the last three weeks we had set up mist nets at two different locations where roosting Sandwich Terns were observed. In the first two nights we only caught one and two birds, but our efforts were worth it. Lisa was very happy that we were able to put 3 colour rings on Sandwich Terns in Nordmandshage yesterday. As part of her master’s thesis about the post breeding dispersal of Sandwich Terns in Danish waters it is important to have recaptures. Colour rings have a much higher recapture rate than metal rings, because you can read them through a telescope or binoculars without having to catch the bird.

But not only the Sandwich Terns flew in our nets: We trapped Oyster Catchers (Strandskader), Dunlins (Almindelig Ryle), Common Sandpipers (Mudderklire), a Redknot (Islandsk Ryle), a Redshank (Rødben), a Common Ringed Plover (Stor Præstekrave) and a Common Tern (Fjordterne). In total 20 birds!

We even caught an adult Dunlin, which you can see by the black feathers on the belly:

Pernille was happy to join us for the nightcatching for one round, even though she had to teach in the morning!

After this exciting, but also efforting night, we needed to get some rest. Meanwhile, Martin was doing migration counts at World’s End 3 and saw a Rosy Starling (Rosenstær). He also observed Great Skuas (Storkjove) and Brant Geese (Knortegås). After lunch he listened to night recordings for nocturnal migration.  

Angus, Lisa, Esben and I were sleeping in the morning to “recover” from the night. Angus went shopping in the afternoon and will cook a veggi chili with rice and garlic bread for tonight. Also, he will do his first social media post today. Esben studied maths today for his umcoming university studies. Lisa checked the DOF Basen countings with countings we made ourselves of roosting Sandwich Terns on several locations in Denmark and summarized it in a map for her master’s thesis.

Simon is disappointed, because the station didn’t get financial support for loss during the corona lockdown, because the Skagen Fuglestation is not a local society of Birdlife Denmark. He is hopeful that there can still be changed something about it.

Ringmærkning (Hals, Nordmandshage):

Oyster Catcher – Strandskader - 3

Dunlins - Almindelig Ryle - 8

Common Sandpipers – Mudderklire - 2

Redknot - Islandsk Ryle - 1

Redshank – Rødben - 1

Common Ringed Plover - Stor Præstekrave - 1

Common Tern – Fjordterne - 1

Sandwich Terns – Splitterne - 3

Total: 20

People: Martin Grienenberger, Simon S. Christiansen, Amelie Zeller, Pernille Roed, Esben E. Hansen, Lisa Vergin, Angus Barnett

Klik her for at se dagens observationer indtastet i Dofbasen af observatører i området

Today, our day was dedicated to the night catching that will happen tonight. The team is going out again to try to catch Sandwich Terns (Splitterne) in order to ring them with colour rings for Lisa’s master project.

No ringing in the morning then, so we could save our energy for the upcoming night. Kristina, Knud, Angus, Ebbe and I went out for migration counting instead. It was a slow morning though and we only saw a few Great Skuas (Stor Kjove) and 160 Gannets (Sule) migrating. Still, it was nice to be out and see our first Fulmars for a part of us, or to enjoy the beginning of Brant Goose (Knortegas) migrating season. We saw 160 of them flying just in front of our counting spot. They belong to the ssp. hrota which breeds in Greenland and Spitzberg.

It was again a great opportunity to enjoy a beautiful sunrise.

In the afternoon, the team was getting all the equipment ready.  Our batteries also need to be charged, with a well deserved nap! Lisa and Amelie charged the pick-up to leave around 17:00. In the meantime, Simon was leading a tour for a few tourists interested of the Bird Observatory’s activity.

Klik her for at se dagens observationer indtastet i Dofbasen af observatører i området

Nocturnal migration count

People: Martin Grienenberger, Simon S. Christiansen, Amelie Zeller, Kristina Sønderkjær, Angus Barnett, Ebbe and Bente, Lisa Vergin

Dagen startede stille ud på fuglestationens øverste etage. I dag var der tid til at sove længe, i det at vejret ikke tillod at sætte net op. Dette betød dog, at der var tid til den helt store rengøring af lejligheden, der blev støvsuget, vasket gulv og tørret overflader af.

Men fuglestationen står aldrig stille - selv på en blæsende dag som i dag, blev der afholdt guidet tur for en niende klasse. De blev introduceret for ringmærkningen, og Simon tog dem med i fyrmesterens gamle have for at, se hvad der var fløjet i nettet. Desværre ingen fugle - men derimod kunne en død sule fra fryseren vække en begejstring hos klassen.

Efter den guidede tur fik stationen besøg af selveste ringmærkeren selv, nemlig William Aarestrup, som igennem sin tid har ringmærket tonsvis af fugle, og bidraget med meget viden om fuglene. Senere tog vi allesammen, Angus, Amelie, Martin og Jeg (Kristina) en tur til Jerup Strand for at tælle splitterner. Vi så kun fem splitterner, hvoraf kun to af dem var restende. Men derimod så vi en fin flok af ni knortegæs som lå i vandet, samt ryler, stor præstekrave og strandskader.

Her ses Angus, Amelie og Martin som kommer forskellige steder fra verdenen. Angus er 25 år og kommer fra England, Amelie 21 år og kommer fra Tyskland og tilsidst Martin på 31 år, og som er fra Frankring - alle med en interesse i naturen og alle dets fugle. Der vi kom hjem stod vores gæster Bente og Ebbe klar med aftensmaden, som bestod af lækker lasagne og dertilhørende vin.

In the absence of Simon there was no ringing today so me, Amelie and Martin went to monitor some migration from World’s End point 1. As the sun rose from behind the sea I immediately knew I wasn’t going to need a warm coat today.

It was wonderful to count the gannets moving Southeast. Between 07:00 and 08:00 we counted around 100, but between 09:00 and 10:00 a further 250 had moved Southeast. Among the gannets; a variety of divers, scoters and skuas. So we decided to move closer to worlds end watch point 3.

From here Martin found me a velvet scoter close to shore – another long due first for me! There was a steady movement of arctic skuas, great skuas and red throated divers too mostly southeast.

Meanwhile Amelie had noticed some tracks in the sand dunes, so we tried to identify the possible culprits...

Possible beetle tracks?

White wagtail

A less eventful afternoon led to a great home cooked quiche meal by Martin with Amelie, Simon and our two guests from the lighthouse.

Klik her for at se dagens observationer indtastet i Dofbasen af observatører i området

People: Martin Grienenberger, Simon S. Christiansen, Amelie Zeller, Angus Barnett,

Before telling you about our day, let’s talk about our devoted night catchers from yesterday night. Esben, Amelie and Angus went out to see if they could get catch another bird since they had been successful on the nights before. And they were again ! This time it wasn’t a wader but they caught a Greylag Goose at the tip. Nice catch !

Today, the weather was nice again. Then the whole team went ringing this morning even though it could have been also a good day for migration.

The first bird to be untangled from the mist nets was a Northern Wheatear, it was a good sign for the upcoming captures we had. We enjoyed no less than birds captured, including different species. Angus had the pleasure to ring for the first time a Wheatear (Stenpikker). Amelie ringed a first bird with a steel ring, a juvenile Water Rail (Vandrikse). Since we were enough, I also took an active part and ringed some more birds, starting to get more confident in handling and ringing birds under the enriching supervision of Esben and Simon.

Water Rail juv - Vandrikse

Northern Wheater - Stenpiker

Amelie ringing the Water Rail

Lesser Redpolls - Lille Grasisken

Simon and our guest who joined us this morning !

Rodstert - Redstart

Angus untangling a Willow Warbler

Best teachers ever ?

Arne and Esben left just after lunch, they have both to return home, Arne for work and Esben for moving and getting himself ready for his upcopming university start. We hope we’ll see you again during the autumn guys !

During the afternoon, we entered as every day the ringing datas and went through the datas we entered during the last months to check if there are any mistakes, quite a long but important task.

Night Ringing (Grenen)

Gragas – Greylag Goose – 1

Ringmærkning (Kabeltromlen):

Blåmejse - Blue Tit - 1

Broget Fluesnapper - Pied Flycatcher - 1

Fuglekonge - Goldcrest - 1

Gærdesanger - Lesser Whitethroat – 3

Gærdesmutte - Wren – 1

Gråsisken, Lille - Lesser Redpoll - 6

Kærsanger - Marsh Warbler - 1

Løvsanger - Willow Warbler - 34

Munk – Blackcap - 3

Musvit - Great Tit - 1

Rødstjert - Common Redstart - 3

Rørsanger - Reed Warbler - 2

Stenpikker - Northern Wheater - 1

Træløber - Eurasian Treecreeper - 1

Tornsanger - Common Whitethroat - 2

Total: 62

No migration data today

People: Martin Grienenberger, Simon S. Christiansen, Amelie Zeller, Esben Elgaard Hansen, Angus Barnett, Arne Anderson