For today, I’m very tempted to write you the exact same blog post as I did yesterday. It seems that the day just went in the same fashion as yesterday !

The wind remained too strong to even think about opening the nets, so we had again to cancel our session…
Amelie and I went to Nordstrand again to monitor the seabirds migration. The birds were once again in a record mood, and we witnessed a great day for Teals. We counted 248 of them, which sets a new record for a daily count in autumn in Skagen. The previous records were 200 resting birds at Skarvsøen on the 6^th of September 2014 and 162 birds migrating east, 10 west and 21 resting on the 15^th of September 1995.  The Velvet Scoters were less numerous compared to yesterday but still in good numbers with no less than 239. It’s interesting to note the significant part of males, around 60 % for today, which felt considerably lower than the previous days. Unfortunately, we didn’t make a separate count for both sexes and only our feeling will remain.

Today was the EuroBirdwatch day, and Skagen Bird Observatory was of course part of this major event. EuroBirdwatch (formerly known as the European Birdwatch) is BirdLife International’s annual festival of events which invites all citizen members from all over Europe to get out, observe, explore and enjoy birds. EuroBirdwatch is part of World Birdwatch – a global initiative established over 10 years ago. The goal is to encourage as many people as possible to go birdwatching over one weekend, and to record sightings of as many as possible of the world’s 10 000 bird species.

Since it’s the weekend, we had a few people paying us lovely visits : Michael Ancher, Pernille and Morten Bentzon (from netfugl.dk).

Ringmærkning (Nordstjernevej)

Rodhals - Robin - 2

Bogfinke - Chaffinch - 1

Total : 3

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

People: Martin Grienenberger, Amelie Zeller, Christina Stinn, Simon S. Christiansen, Esben Elgaard Hansen, Michael Ancher, Erik Christophersen, Jørgen Kabel & Igor, Pernille Roed, Morten Bentzon Hansen

Strong easterly winds mean no ringing… Unfortunately, with no less than 14 m/s, we had to cancel our ringing session in Kabeltromlen from this morning. Esben wanted to try to catch some birds in the lighthouse garden  instead but quickly decided that it was a lost cause when he looked out of the window early this morning.

Christina and I went for migration counting, but instead of going to World’s End 3, we went to Nordstrand to get a better shelter in the dunes. As yesterday, we witnessed an amazing migration of Velvet Scoters ! We counted this morning 512 of them, added to the 662 from yesterday. This constitutes then an unprecedented passage for Skagen. The last big movements of this kind occurred in 1987, with 430 and 579 birds going east on the 17^th and 18^th of March. A more recent observation of good numbers of migrating Velvet Scoters during autumn happened on the 26^th of September 2017 with 446 birds going South-east. We’re looking forward to tomorrow to see how many more Velvet Scoters we’ll see !

Considering the weather, Amelie took a day off to get some rest and a late morning sleep (she woke up at 7 ;-). She used her day working on a document she needs to write for her University, which deals with her stay here and how she’s involved in the Bird Observatory. She also went to town and enjoyed a little shopping time, without forgetting to wear a facemask, a must-do during these corona times ...

Simon had on his side a busy administrative day with a few meetings. He also worked on a new project he will build with Kristina and will be about getting children into nature.

Esben was again working on his engineering courses and will try again to catch some cool birds tonight. Let’s hope he will be successful!

Michael Ancher was out ringing, braving the winds at Jennes Sø and caught a few birds. Results are just below.

Ringmærkning (Jennes Sø):

Musvit – Great Tit - 2

Gærdesmutte - Wren - 1

Jernspurv – Dunnock - 1

Munk - Blackcap - 1

Rødhals - Robin - 3

Solsort – Blackbird - 1

Total: 9

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

People: Martin Grienenberger, Amelie Zeller, Christina Stinn, Simon S. Christiansen, Esben Elgaard Hansen, Kristina Sønderkjær, Mette & Sven, Michael Ancher

Simon, Christina and I had a nice morning at the ringing station at Kabeltromeln today. It wasn’t as busy as the days before, but we still caught a good number of birds. Jørgen, Igor and Lars Grøn also came by for visiting. Because we didn’t have so many visitors today, Christina and I could work on improving our ageing and sexing skills.

Igor, sleeping after some exhausting days with many birds at the ringing station:

Martin was counting seabirds at World’s End 3, which was quite difficult today because of the rather strong wind from East. But he still counted Gannets (Sule), a Little Auk (Søkonge) and over 600 Velvet Scoters (Fløjlsand)!

In the afternoon Simon and the volunteers had a little session at the office. We showed him some pictures of difficult birds we ringed last week while he was in Ottenby and discussed about the age and sex of the individuals. After that we checked and entered ringing data from today.

Our guests Mette and Sven and took a long walk (19.000 steps!) in the forest at the Tilsandede Kirke.

Esben was studying with some friends from university today and will cook dinner for us tonight. Later in the night we will go and try catch birds again at Grenen. Yesterday, Kristina, Esben and I got quite close to some Mallards (Gråand), but they unfortunately flew off, before we could put the net on them. We hope for some more luck tonight…

Ringmærkning (Kabeltromlen):

Fuglekonge – Goldcrest - 14

Gærdesmutte - Wren - 4

Jernspurv – Dunnock - 1

Sangdrossel – Songthrush - 1

Munk - Blackcap - 5

Blåmejse - Blue Tit - 2

Rødhals - Robin - 14

Rørspurv - Reed Bunting – 3

Solsort – Blackbird - 1

Total: 45

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

People: Martin Grienenberger, Amelie Zeller, Christina Stinn, Simon S. Christiansen, Esben Elgaard Hansen, Kristina Sønderkjær, Jørgen Kabel & Igor, Mette & Sven, Lars Grøn

Jeg nyder at være tilbage i Skagen efter en forkølelse, og hvad er bedre end at starte ud med at ringmærke sin egen første fugl! Selfølgelig med guidet udførelse af supervisorer Esben og Christina!

What an exciting day! Amelie and I opened the nets at Kabeltromlen with almost clear skies. After several cloudy days with little sun, it was already the perfect start to another busy ringing day. We caught over 130 birds with Martin and Oluf, mostly Robins (Rødhals), Goldcrests (Fuglekonge), and Blue tits (Blåmejse). In fact, we were still extracting birds from the bags from the previous round when two of us had to leave to check the nets again. It's days like these we like - after all, how can you ever have too many birds?

What made this day extra special was a bird that has only been caught twice in Skagen in the past: A red-flanked bluetail (Blåstjert) – how exciting!

Other highlights of the day were two Siberian chiffchaffs:

A few days ago, a Striped dolphin (Stribet delfin) found its way into the harbor in Skagen and has been making its rounds in front of the fish restaurant ever since. It is rare to see this species here, so it has been attracting a lot of attention. We hope that it will find its way out into the open sea again at some point.

In the afternoon we were busy entering data, checking sheets, and preparing more boxes for tomorrow. We are hoping for another busy ringing day (perhaps with more rarities?) and are happy that we are getting reinforcements: Simon is returning from Sweden tonight and is bringing Esben with him, so that will be fun!

Ringmærkning (Kabeltromlen):

Blåstjert - Red-flanked bluetail: 1

Fuglekonge - Goldcrest: 12

Gæ­rdesmutte - Eurasian wren: 2

Jernspurv - Dunnock: 5

Sangdrossel - Songthrush: 2

Munk - Eurasian blackcap: 7

Hvidbrynet Løvsanger - Yellow-browed warbler: 1

Gransanger - Chiffchaff: 7

Sibirisk Gransanger - Siberian Chiffchaff: 2

Sortmejse - Coat tit: 8

Blåmejse - Blue tit: 15

Musvit - Great tit: 7

Rødhals - European robin: 46

Lille Gråsisken - Lesser redpoll: 2

Rørspurv - Reed bunting: 11

Total: 129

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

People: Martin Grienenberger, Amelie S. Zeller, Christina Stinn, Simon S. Christiansen, Oluf Lou, Knud Pedersen, Jørgen & Igor, Mette & Sven

When Oluf arrived this morning for the first ringing round at 7:15, he was very excited because he had just seen a Dotterel (Pomeransfugl) around the Lighthouse! Apparently, it flew off to the Lighthouse Garden. Then, Christina, Oluf and I had a very busy morning with tons of birds in the first round. Before the second round we called Martin for help, because we were already late and had to leave out measurements. Martin was there for support in less than 10 minutes and could stay for the second and third round, which was a big relief for us. We closed the nets at 12 and had over 120 birds today, including recaptures!

Not to compare with the 2000+ birds they caught in Ottenby today! Although it was mostly Robins (Rødhals), they caught four Yellow-browed Warblers (Hvidbrynet Løvsanger). Simon will stay two more days there to support them and will be back with us in Skagen on Wednesday.

Today we caught a lot of Goldcrests (Fuglekonge) and Robins (Rødhals), which made out almost half of the birds ringed today.

We were also happy to ring a Siskin (Grønsisken) and a Tree Pipit (Skovpiber) today.

At this time of the year we must be careful, because there can also be Olive-backed Pipits (Tajgapiber).

We also made a little ringing tour for a family that is on vacation here in Skagen. They were very interested in the species and in the aging of the birds. Later in the morning Kristina came by with her dog Aslan. She’s happy to be in Skagen again, as she had to stay home for the last weeks because of a cold.

In the early evening Martin and I went to Kabeltromlen again to do some filming for an upcoming movie we are planning to do.

Now Christina prepared another wonderful dinner for us, which we will enjoy with our new guests Sven and Mette.

Ringmærkning (Kabeltromlen):

Blåmejse - Blue Tit - 2

Fugelkonge – Goldcrest - 28

Gærdesmutte -Wren - 1

Gransanger - Chiffchaff – 11

Lille Gråsisken – Lesser Redpoll – 2

Grønsisken – Siskin - 1

Jernspurv - Dunnock – 11

Løvsanger – Willow Warbler - 2

Munk - Blackcap – 3

Rødhals - Robin – 43

Rørspurv - Reed Bunting - 6

Sangdrossel - Song Thrush – 2

Solsort – Blackbird - 2

Sortmejse - Coal Tit - 4

Total: 120

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

People: Martin Grienenberger, Amelie Zeller, Christina Stinn, Oluf Lou, Kristina Sønderkjær & Aslan, Jørgen & Igor, Sven & Mette

No birds to untangle today, so we had a lot of time to be focused on many many other things that we had in mind since a long time ! As you could have understood, the weather today wasn't good for ringing so Christina and Amelie stayed at the Lighthouse, starting their day with a delicious sheet checking session as they enjoy them, followed then by a load of laundry. After that, they focused on reading our books about moulting and ageing passerines. Amelie spent also some time to think about the scenario of the movie we'll shoot in the following days and which will deal with the nocturnal migration monitoring at the station. She also spent a nice time trying out the camera that Olympus is lending us.

During that time, I was alone in the field, trying to shelter myself from the strong north-easterly winds behind one of the bunker near the parking spot. We can't really say that this was a productive morning on that side with only a few Gannets (Sule) and Alcids (Alk og Lomvie), and we can expect the same for tomorrow.

We continued our day with a thorough cleaning of the appartment, just to make our dear Simon proud of his cleanest European (World?) Bird Observatory. If that wasn't enough, we then worked on our sessions that each of us will present in the upcoming weeks. Amelie will have one about landscape planning, Christina will deal with the purpose in ringing in birds conservation and I will speak about raptors identification.

Michael Ancher was ringing this morning and that was a smart idea since Jennes Sø is more sheltered than Kabeltromlen. He was rewarded with a smart Yellow-Browed Warbler (Hvidbrynet Løvsanger) ! Nice catch Michael !

Ringmærkning (Jennes Sø):

Gæ­rdesmutte - Eurasian wren: 1

Fuglekonge - Goldcrest: 1

Musvit - Great Tit: 1

Rødhals - Robin: 2

Kvaekerfinke - Brambling : 1

Hvidbrynet Løvsanger – Yellow-browed Warbler - 1

Lille Grasisken - Lesser Redpoll : 1

Total Jennes Sø: 8

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

People: Martin Grienenberger, Amelie S. Zeller, Christina Stinn, Michael Anker

We received a lot of rain last night and had winds of over 17 m/s. The bad weather continued into the early morning hours, so Amelie and I didn’t open the nets at Kabeltromlen until 8.00 am. Michael joined us for his last day with us in Grenen.

We were hoping that the birds would take advantage of the break in the bad weather and start to migrate; however, we only had a total of 13 new captures today. Michael Anker ringed at Jennes Sø and also had very few birds. We could hear a Yellow-browed warbler (Hvidbrynet Løvsanger) calling in the bushes at Kabeltromlen but didn’t see it, and it didn’t go anywhere near our nets this time. So, we have to cherish the memory of the two individuals that we caught yesterday.

Amelie and I making our way through the once again flooded section that made us happy to be in waders:

Martin went migration counting and had a very quiet morningat World's End 3. We all used the afternoon to catch up on our projects, including reading up on moulting strategies, migration routes, and (for me) identifying bird calls. We are also preparing our individual presentations that we will have in upcoming evening sessions in which each of us will present a different topic.

We had to say goodbye to our lovely guests Stig and Lene today. They joined us for dinner most nights this past week, during which we had wonderful conversations. It was great having them with us, and we hope to welcome them back to Skagen Fuglestation later this year.

Ringmærkning (Kabeltromlen):

Fuglekonge - Goldcrest: 3

Gæ­rdesmutte - Eurasian wren: 1

Rødhals - European robin: 1

Munk - Eurasian blackcap: 5

Rørspurv - Reed bunting: 1

Sangdrossel - Songthrush: 1

Bogfinke - Chaffinch: 1

Total Kabeltromlen: 13

Ringmærkning (Jennes Sø):

Gæ­rdesmutte - Eurasian wren: 1

Gransanger - Chiffchaff: 1

Grønsisken - Eurasian Siskin: 2

Rørspurv - Reed bunting: 1

Total Jennes Sø: 5

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

People: Martin Grienenberger, Amelie S. Zeller, Christina Stinn, Simon S. Christiansen, Michael Fink Jørgensen, Michael Anker, Lene & Stig

A few nights ago, Angus caught a Lightbellied Brant (Lysbuget Knortegås), that has been resting just at the Kattegat Bunker for almost a week. So, Knud pointed out to us that it got a new friend and walking home from migration counting, we saw that the two Brants were accompanied by a Goosander (Stor Skallesluger). That was motivation enough for Christina and me to go out yesterday. We were keen on catching that Goosander! So, when we arrived at the Bunker at about 10pm, unfortunately, the Goosander had left, but the two Geese were swimming in the water not too far away. As the water was quite deep, it wasn’t possible for us to walk in with our waders, so Christina took her chance and went for a little swim. She was successful and as soon as we put the bird in a bag, she went in to get the second one.  Unluckily, it flew out of the net again… Arriving at the lab, we noticed that the Goose had already been ringed by Angus. We are stoked to try it another time in the next days.

In the morning, Christina and I opened the nets at Kabeltromlen, hoping for another good ringing day. Oluf and Michael joined us at 7 before the first round.

Michael, Oluf and two juvenile Songthrushes (Sangdrossel):

We were busy this morning with several flocks of Blue Tits (Blåmejse) and Coal Tits (Sortmejse), but the highlights for today were definitely two Yellow-Browed Warblers (Hvidbrynet Løvsanger), such beautiful birds! We were hoping to catch this species all week.

Christina, while taking measurements of the Yellow-Browed Warbler:

This afternoon there was heavy rain and wind in Skagen, but we hope to get a break tomorrow morning, so that we can go ringing and take advantage of the easterly winds.

Ringmærkning (Kabeltromlen):

Blåmejse - Blue Tit - 25

Fugelkonge – Goldcrest - 2

Gærdesmutte -Wren - 8

Gransanger - Chiffchaff – 8

Lille Gråsisken – Lesser Redpoll – 3

Hvidbrynet Løvsanger – Yellow-browed Warbler - 2

Jernspurv - Dunnock – 2

Løvsanger – Willow Warbler - 1

Munk - Blackcap – 6

Musvit – Great Tit - 5

Rødhals - Robin – 6

Rørsanger – Reed Warbler - 1

Rørspurv - Reed Bunting - 2

Sangdrossel - Song Thrush – 2

Solsort – Blackbird - 2

Sortmejse - Coal Tit - 9

Total: 83

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

People: Martin Grienenberger, Amelie Zeller, Christina Stinn, Simon S. Christiansen, Michael Fink Jørgensen, Oluf Lou, Knud Pedersen, Lene & Stig, Jørgen & Igor

Black Scoters!

The ringing day at Kabeltromlen started quite slowly yesterday. Amelie, Angus, Oluf, and Michael kept the nets open until the early afternoon and ended up catching 80 birds. Among them was a beautiful Eurasian bullfinch (Dompap) and a Songthrush (Sangdrossel), of which we expect more this autumn.

I went migration counting with Martin and Knud. It was a slow morning for the seabirds as well, so we spent the extra time practicing our ageing skills of Northern gannets (Sule) from juvenile, second, third, and fourth year to the adult phase. I also had the opportunity to practice more bird calls, as there were a few passerines flying overhead.

In the afternoon, Martin and I saw two Black Scoter (Amerikansk Sortand) males from the beach in Hirtsals. They are common in parts of North America, but here in Denmark we only see the occasional vagrants, so it is always exciting to see them when they come over the Atlantic. I had never seen a Black scoter before, but even to my untrained eye the difference between the Common scoter (Sortand) and the Black scoter was very obvious. We kept an eye out for a female Black scoter as well, but they are much more difficult to identify than the males, so we couldn’t tell.

In the evening, the moon showed itself in a beautiful reddish hue:

This morning it was too windy and rainy to go ringing at Kabeltromlen, but not for migration counts. Martin, Amelie, and I joined Knud at World’s End 3 – fortunately, we went prepared with our rain gear.

In the last hour of counting, the clouds broke up and we were rewarded by glorious sunshine. It is amazing what difference a few rays of sunlight can make. We didn’t see a lot of activity over the water, either, but we saw more Northern pintails (Spitsand) and Northern shovelers (Skeand).

Today, we unfortunately had to say goodbye to one of our volunteer members, Angus. He showed his passion for birds each time he was out in the field and was always willing to share his extensive knowledge about them with us. We will miss him, his British humor, as well as his skills in night catching. We wish him all the very best for the future, which hopefully contains many exciting bird observations and experiences.

Ringmærkning (Kabeltromlen) for 09/23/2020 (no ringing on 09/24/2020):

Blåmejse - Blue tit: 26

Dompap - Eurasian bullfinch: 1

Fuglekonge - Goldcrest: 2

Gæ­rdesmutte - Eurasian wren: 1

Grå Fluesnapper - Spotted flycatcher: 1

Gransanger - Common chiffchaff: 6

Gråsisken - Common redpoll: 4

Jernspurv - Dunnock: 2

Løvsanger - Willow warbler: 1

Munk - Eurasian blackcap: 3

Musvit - Great tit: 7

Rødhals - European robin: 4

Rødstjert - Common redstart: 1

Rørspurv - Reed bunting: 5

Sangdrossel - Songtrush: 1

Sortmejse - Coal tit: 15

Total: 80

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

People: Martin Grienenberger, Amelie S. Zeller, Angus R. W. Barnett, Christina Stinn, Simon S. Christiansen, Michael Fink Jørgensen, Oluf Lou, Jørgen & Igor, Knud Pedersen, Lene & Stig