All the volunteers went out observing with Simon today. On our way to worlds end 2 we saw a spotted flycatcher (Grå Fleusnapper) we heard it yesterday but couldn’t see it. So Simon quickly set up his scope and we were able to take a look at this beautiful bird before it leaves Grenen and flies off to Afrika. We set our observing post at worlds end 2 for the first hour so we could get a better look at the marsh fields and take a better look at some passerines, but we weren’t too lucky with that. At the end of the first hour Simon saw a Orca and we decided to move nearer to the shore so we could get a better look at it. This tuned out to be a perfect place to see a harbour porpoise (Marsvin) near the shoreline. We continued our observations until 9:30 o’clock after that we returned and entered the data from this morning.

In the afternoon me and Mathilde went to skagen to do some grocery shopping and some birdwatching at the harbor while Ulysses was catching up on some sleep. After that i helped Simon with a ringing tour in the old lighthouse garden, unfortunately, we didn't catch any birds.

Havfugletælling – Grenen, Worlds End 1&2

Total 3046

Folk på stationen: Mathilde Ducroz, Simon S Christiansen, Ulysse Reverre og Augustin Sticksel.

Klik her for at se dagens observationer fra Dofbasen af fugle i Skagen

Today was a good day for ringing, with the northern winds and the recent rains, we caught several Willow warblers (løvsanger) and chiffchaffs (gransanger). Mathilde and Augustin opened the nets for a first round around 5h30. The threat of rain sadly cut our session short around 9h30. This left us plenty of time to catch up on sleep, clean around the flat and log in data.

Simon held an open freezer presentation, showing off the impressive collection of birds that we accumulate over the years (falcons, owls, blackbirds, finches, etc./falk, ugler, solsort, finke, etc.). A small crowd gathered in the courtyard of the lighthouse for over 45 minutes.

We welcome Niels Eriksen, head of the board of the Skagen Bird Observatory, who will join us until tomorrow to attend a Friends of the Observatory meeting here in Skagen.

Ringmærkninge – Kabeltrommlen

Tornsanger – 5

Gærdesanger – 3

Kærsanger – 1

Gransanger – 2

Munk – 2

Løvsanger – 5

Rørsanger – 3

Gulbug – 1                                         

Total - 22

Folk på stationen: Mathilde Ducroz, Simon S Christiansen, Ulysse Reverre og Augustin Sticksel.

Klik her for at se dagens observationer fra Dofbasen af fugle i Skagen

Ulysse and I headed to Jennes Sø for a CES (Constant effort site) ringing session. This meant an early morning with the nets to be opened by 4:45. The mosquitos were also very present. However, although we only caught 12 birds, we did catch quite a few different species. I was able to ring my first robin (rødhals) and Ulysse was lucky to ringed the bird of the session: a greater spotted woodpecker (stor flagspætte).

While we were ringing, Augustin got to sleep in a bit more, until 5! He went to world’s end 3 to observe with Knud. There were the usual species such as the hundreds of common scoters (sortand). Kestrels were out in numbers today. Notable species seen were the manx’s shearwater (almindelig skråpe), the red backed shrike (rødrygget tornskade) and the spotted redshank (sortklire). They also spotted a grey seal (grå sæl) out at sea.

After ringing and observations, we came back to the lighthouse for a short break before going out to open the nets in the old lighthouse garden. This was for the ringing tour organized in the context of the Kattegat week. When we thought the tour would be empty, the last net had a yellowhammer (gulspurv). The rest of the day was spent doing admin and shopping.

Ringmærkninge – Jennes Sø

Tornsanger – 2

Gærdesanger – 1

Kærsanger – 1

Solsort – 1

Gransanger – 3

Rørspurv – 1

Rødhals – 1

Gærdesmutte – 1

Stor Flagspætte – 1

Ringmærkninge – Fyrhaven

Gulspurv – 1

Total - 13

Folk på stationen: Mathilde Ducroz, Simon S Christiansen, Ulysse Reverre og Augustin Sticksel.

Klik her for at se dagens observationer fra Dofbasen af fugle i Skagen

We have been able to go ringing at Kabeltromlen today again fortunately. Me an Ulysses opened the nets at half past 4. We were joined by Simon, Erik, Oluf and Fleming. We caught a Rørspurv today, we didn’t catch one of these for a while.

It’s Ulysses birthday today so Mathilde made some delicious peanutbutter chocolate cookies. In the afternoon we did some cleaning at the station and took a nap. The guests of last week, Thomas and Pia, sadly had to leave today in the morning you will be missed it was great having you here. Bodile and Ole, our new guests joined our evening meeting today, and they will join our CES ringing at Jennes Sø tomorrow as well.                 

Ringmærkninge – Kabeltrommlen

Tornsanger – 10

Munk – 1

Musvit – 1

Rørsanger – 3

Gærdesanger – 2

Kærsanger – 3

Gulbug – 1

Gransanger – 1

Rørspurv – 1

Total - 23

Folk på stationen: Mathilde Ducroz, Simon S Christiansen, Ulysse Reverre og Augustin Sticksel.

Klik her for at se dagens observationer fra Dofbasen af fugle i Skagen

Today was a quiet day. It was too windy to go ringing with over 12 m/s for the maximum velocity. Saturday is the day for cleaning, data entry checking and catching up on any unfinished tasks. It was also an emotional goodbye for Frank, we wish him the best for his upcoming degree in Plymouth. The afternoon was calm, and the three of us left, Augustin, Mathilde and I (Ulysse), went for observations. We counted more than a thousand gulls (svartbag, sildemåge & sølvmåge) with a few black-headed gulls (hættemåge) and sanderlings amongst the roosting birds.

We also welcome our new guests staying with us for a week (they arrived a bit early!) : Bodile and Ole.

We could sadly not open the nets in the courtyard as the rain started and the clouds did not seem to want to leave, even with the strong winds.

Let’s hope for better conditions tomorrow.

Folk på stationen: Mathilde Ducroz, Simon S Christiansen, Ulysse Reverre og Augustin Sticksel.

Klik her for at se dagens observationer fra Dofbasen af fugle i Skagen

Frank and Augustin opened the nets this morning and we joined later for first round around half five. The morning was quiet with only a few birds each round. It was nice to see an increase in black caps (munk). On16 birds were caught but everyone was able to ring a few each. Hopefully today will be more tomorrow for Frank’s last ringing session!

Due to a power cut yesterday, our wifi went down which explains the late blog entry. This also meant that we had two days of data to enter in today. The rest of the afternoon was spent napping, reading and walking by the beach. Augustin and Ulysse went out to check on the seal carcass. In the late afternoon, Frank opened the nets downstairs and so far we have caught one great tit (musvit). As it was Frank’s last evening, we all decided to go out for diner by the harbour at one of the fish huts and then had ice cream in town.

Ringmærkninge – Kabeltrommlen

Tornsanger – 3

Munk – 5

Musvit – 1

Rørsanger – 1

Gærdesanger – 1

Kærsanger – 1

Ringmærkninge – Fyrhaven

Musvit – 1

Total - 13

Folk på stationen: Mathilde Ducroz, Frank Osterberg, Simon S Christiansen, Ulysse Reverre, Sander Knud Pedersen og Augustin Sticksel.

Klik her for at se dagens observationer fra Dofbasen af fugle i Skagen 

We had another usual day at Kabeltromlen all the volunteers from the station went out ringing today. Mathilde and Ulysses opened the nets, and we began our ringing with some help from Knud. We caught some more willow warblers (Løvsanger) and chifchafs (Gransanger) than usual. Erik, Fleming, Thomas and Pia were also at Kabeltromlen. The surprise of the day was found in the nets at 9 o’clock by Frank, a male juvenile bluethroat (Blåhals)! It’s the first one I ever saw so definitely the highlight of my day and I’m hoping to see some more of these beautiful birds in the next three months at the fuglestation.

In the afternoon me and Ulysses went for a swim in the see behind the lighthouse and found dead harbor seal floating towards the shore. Sander prepared some delicious Pasta for the volunteers on his last evening here and we played a round of wingspan, a board game about birds, in the evening.  

Ringmærkninge – Kabeltrommlen

Tornsanger – 6

Munk – 2

Blåhals – 1

Gulspurv – 1

Musvit – 2

Gærdesanger – 2

Bogfinke – 3

Løvesanger - 5

Kærsanger – 2

Gransanger – 5

Total 29

Folk på stationen: Mathilde Ducroz, Frank Osterberg, Simon S Christiansen, Ulysse Reverre, Sander Knud Pedersen og Augustin.

Klik her for at se dagens observationer fra Dofbasen af fugle i Skagen 

For another sunny day, Mathilde, Augustin, and Sander opened the nets at Kabeltrolen whilst Ulysse and Frank settled on the dunes for morning observations. The observations did not lead to any particularly rare species: 2 common guillemots (lomvie), a razorbill (alk) and a velvet scoter (fløjlsand) floating amongst more than 1400 hundred common scoters (sortand).

Augustin rung his first bird here in Skagen: a Yellowhammer (gulspurv). A lucky start: let’s hope it continues like that for the next three months he’ll be staying at the lighthouse. The rare bird of the day came in one of the later round: a juvenile Thrush Nightingale (Nattergal), a first for all the volunteers. In the final round we captured our first juvenile marsh warbler (kærsanger) of the year, safe travels to it. The entire ringing session was calm with the birds spread evenly throughout the ongoing morning, a total of 26 over 5 hours.

Unfortunately, the juvenile kestrel (Tårnfalk) rescued after being hit by a car yesterday did not survive the night.

NocMig recorder sadly stopped working in the middle of last night and only caught one migrating birds’ call: a golden plover (hjejle).

Tonight, Augustin and Frank will try and look for the eiders (ederfugl) this evening and figure out their complex schedule for a future night catching session.

Dinner consisted of a deliciously cooked salmon with potatoes and cream prepared by our guests Thomas and Pia: the whole team (except Frank and Augustin of course) is ready to recover from our early morning with an early slumber.

Tomorrow we will all go ringing with Knud and hope for a bird-full day.

Ringmærkninge – Kabeltrolen

Tornsanger – 7

Munk – 2

Nattergal – 1

Gulspurv – 1

Musvit - 1

Gærdesanger – 3

Rørsanger – 7

Kærsanger – 1

Gransanger – 1

Havesanger – 2

Total - 26

Folk på stationen: Mathilde Ducroz, Frank Osterberg, Simon S Christiansen, Ulysse Reverre, Sander og Augustin.

Klik her for at se dagens observationer fra Dofbasen af fugle i Skagen 

A busy day today! Me and Ulysse opened the nets at Kabeltrolen whilst Mathilde, Augustin and sander joined Knud up on the dunes for the morning observations, Simon and Lisa then joined us, and whilst Lisa stayed for the ringing, We had decided to try with the whoosh net out on Grenen to try and catch some waders mainly sanderlings (sandløber) and the dunlin (Almindelig Ryle) that persist I the water accumulated on the beach. Simon and Augustin then had the job of the whoosh net and although they had one or two near misses nothing came of it but the near misses give us hope for other days after some more heavy rain.

For Ulysse’s first ringing session here in Skagen it was eventful with one round bringing around 15 birds and the others then nicely spread out for some talk through the data we take with Ulysse but also the visitors we had including Thomas and Pia from the apartment. Thomas got to hold and see his favorite bird, the Wren (gærdesmutte), some other nice birds and highlights from the morning would be the local bred Icterine Warbler (Gulbug) and the Yellowhammer (gulspurv) but the definite highlight being the Rosefinch (Karmindompap) the first for the year and Lisa’s first in the hand.

After Juvenile kestrel (Tårnfalk) rescue No. 1 yesterday we had another call from a member of the public that had unfortunately struck another with their car this afternoon, currently resting in the Lab, it doesn’t look too good for the poor youngster so we will keep an eye on it tomorrow and decide on the next course of action to keep it out of suffering. We then went shopping for the now fuller team and Augustin made a great dinner where we were joined by Thomas and Pia. After dinner, I then went out to Grenen to set up tonights NocMig recorder and survey whether any birds were roosting out on the beach which turned out to be quite a pleasant walk with a hedgehog and all the juvenile plovers we rung a week or so back so was glad to see they’re doing okay.

Tomorrow we will swap teams with me and Ulysse on Observation duties and the others ringing so hopefully we will bring some good birds on both ends!

Ringmærkning – Kabeltrolen

Tornsanger – 7

Munk – 2

Solsort – 2

Gulspurv – 1

Gulbug – 1

Gærdesmutte – 2

Gærdesanger – 3

Rørsanger – 2

Kærsanger – 1

Løvsanger – 2

Karmindompap – 1

Gransanger – 1

Havesanger – 1

Total - 26

Folk på stationen: Mathilde Ducroz, Frank Osterberg, Lisa Vergin, Simon S Christiansen, Ulysse, Sander og Augustin.

Klik her for at se dagens observationer fra Dofbasen af fugle i Skagen 

Last night, me and Frank went night catching around the point. We had big hopes of many birds although we were warned that birds were rarely caught. The conditions were ideal: wind and rain. We approached a few common ringed plovers (stor præsterkrave) but they were too fast for us. We saw both natterjack toads and seal pups which were very adorable. We also got lucky and Frank caught what we thought was a common tern (fjordterne) Once we got back to the station, we realized that we had actually caught a artic tern (havterne). Only the second ringed of the station ever! It was a very nice start to the day.

In the morning, Frank, Augustin and Sander went out to do morning observations. However, they got caught in heavy rain and the visibly became very low which meant they came back. All of us were able to get our sleep in. Once we woke up, we went to look at our guest in the lab. The juvenile kestrel was very reactive this morning, eating and drinking a good portion of food. He didn’t need the animal care and was instead ringed and released. I got the lucky task of ringing it, the first in the stations history!

In the late afternoon, after of swim, we opened the garden nets and got 1 house sparrow (gråspurv). A noisy yellowhammer continuously refused to land in the nets even with sound. Ulysse cooked us diner and all the guys went out to try out the woosh net with Simon in preparation for tomorrow.

Ringmærkninge – Nightcatching

Havterne 1

Ringmærkninge – Fyrhaven

Tårnvalk 1

Gråspurv 1

Total - 3

Folk på stationen: Mathilde Ducroz, Frank Osterberg, Simon S Christiansen, Ulysse, Sander og Augustin.

Klik her for at se dagens observationer fra Dofbasen af fugle i Skagen