Hello everyone,

This morning, Louis, Diana, Aksel and Oulof had 67 birds in the nets and 20 recaptures. Tits invaded the nets with 14 long-tailed tits -Halemejse- and 11 blue tits – Blåmejse-! These last days, 5 species of “tits” were captured: Bearded tit -Skægmejse-, Long tailed tit -Halemejse-, Coal tit -Sortmejse-, Great tit -Musvit- and the traditional Blue tit, Blamejse! I hope that my favorite will be catch: Crested tit -Topmejse- ! The usual species were also ringed: Bullfinches -Dompap-, Goldcrest -Fuglekonge-.., for a total of 15 species! A productive ringing session which ended in the early afternoon!

Bullfinch - Dompap - female

Blue tit - Blåmejse, the nightmare of the ringers!

On my side, I observed in Grenen with Knud, a rather slow morning with few passages. The positive point was the numerous gulls resting on the beach which distracted us to read about ten rings. This is an activity that I love, checking the legs for a code that reveals a lot of information! Among the gulls we observed, some were almost 10 years old! 10 years is nothing for these birds which can live up to 25 years, but it is always a precious information to report the data to know the longevity but also the displacements and migration routes. In the middle of the morning, the arrival of 4 swifts of which at least 3 are pallid swifts – Gråsejler - distracted us! A record for Skagen where only two individuals simultaneously were reported in 2020 (on October 29!). In Denmark, this species was reported in autumn but not every year. This trans-Saharan migrant winters in tropical Africa. A beautiful observation which could be renewed soon by the warm temperatures of this end of October and meteorological conditions of the next days.

The afternoon was dedicated to a shopping operation: Aksel for new rubber boots and Diana and me to supply the cupboards! These outings are always an opportunity to see birds even in town or on the way back to the station, this was the case for Aksel this afternoon who saw his firsts Turnstones - Stenvender-, rock pipits -Skæpiber- (the species we hope to capture with the cages we have built!) in the harbor and also a wheatear -Stenpikker-. You can enjoy birds everywhere if you pay attention!

Wheatear, Stenpikker

Rock pipit -Skæpiber-

Ringing Kabeltromle:

Gærdesmutte: 9

Rødhals: 3

Lille Gråsisken: 3

Dompap: 9

Blåmejse: 11

Vindrossel: 5

Solsort: 3

Fuglekonge: 5

Sortmejse: 1

Gransanger: 1

Bogfinke: 2

Rørspurv: 1

Halemejse : 14

Totals: 67

People at the station: Aksel Y. Munkholm, Louis Kristoffer Poulsen, Diana Sciandra, Prescillia Lemesle, Knud Pedersen, Oluf Lou Henning og vores gæster Aase og Lars Peter.

Today's observation of the area in DOFBasen

Hej allesammen

I dag var alle mand på ringmærkningen, mens Knud var ved verdens ende på morgenobs. Der var godt gang i nettene i dag ved kabeltromlen, og vi fik ringmærket i alt 111 fugle med en god artsdiversitet. Der var specielt mange blåmejser (23) i dag, som trods deres nuttet udseende altid er hårdt kæmpende når de skal ringmærkes. I dag blev dog også endnu en dag, hvor jeg har bandet og svovlet over de spurvehøge som trækker igennem området. Jeg har indtil flere gange set dem side i nettene eller flyve ind i nettene, for derefter lynhurtigt at flyve ud igen, mens jeg står frustreret tilbage. Dem fanger vi i morgen! Det vil jeg næsten godt garantere. Derudover var højdepunkterne en flok halemejser, hvor der både var den nordlige og sydlige underart imellem samt denne flotte han solsort

Også lige et lille stemningsbillede fra kabeltromlen

Derudover gik dagen for mit vedkommende med et forhåbentligt sidste forsøg på at reparere nogle af stationens cykler. Først med hjælp fra Henning til at skifte slanger, og derefter Lars Peter med en drilsk bremse. For stationens øvrige frivillige blev der birded lidt i området i løbet af eftermiddagen uden dog at kunne rapportere noget videre interessant.

Og forresten stor tak til både Blink og alle dem som har givet os kage og mad det seneste stykke tid!

Nu vil jeg smutte i seng, så jeg er klar til at fange den spurvehøg i morgen, og måske de varme vinde fra syd kan bringe en enkelt sejler i morgen. Vi krydser i hvert fald fingre.

Ps. stor tak til både Blink og alle dem som er kommet forbi med kage og mad til os det seneste stykke tid ????

Fugle ringmærket ved kabeltromlen:

Fuglekonge: 14

Halemejse: 2

Halemejse, sydlig: 4

Halemejse: nordlig: 2

Gærdesmutte: 8

Rødhals: 7

Gråsisken, lille: 5

Gråsisken, stor: 6

Skægmejse: 1

Munk: 4

Dompap, lille: 13

Dompap: 5

Blåmejse: 23

Bogfinke: 1

Musvit: 5

Vindrossel: 5

Sangdrossel: 1

Sjagger: 1

Solsort: 4

Total: 111

Dagens observationer kan ses her

Folk på stationen: Aksel Y. Munkholm, Louis Kristoffer Poulsen, Diana Sciandra, Prescillia Lemesle, Simon S. Christiansen, Knud Pedersen, Henning og vores gæster Aase og Lars Peter.

Hello everyone!

We didn’t open the nets because of the weather (wind and rain in the morning) but we went observing in two groups in different places. At Verdens 3 Aksel and Louis stayed many hours and saw a lot of birds; so many that sometimes it was challenging to count all of them! The highlight was a Yellow-billed loon (Hvidnæbbet lom), but many other interesting birds were spotted: Lapland Bunting (Lapværling), Rough-legged buzzard (Fjeldvåge) and 4 Little gulls (Dværgmåge).

Me and Prescillia at North Beach were really happy because of two males of Long-tailed ducks (Havlit) really close to the beach, but we stayed just two hours there. We saw some Goldeneyes (Hvinand), Kittiwakes (Ride) and Red-throated loons (Rødstrubet Lom). We came home and worked at the computer; entering some ring read during the past days I discovered that a Great-Black Back Gull (Svartbag, individual in the picture below) that I read the 20^th October was ringed as a pullus at Græsholm (Nordjylland, Denmark) in July 2010! I also saw that it was read in Skagen by other birdwatchers in different years.

Aksel came home to have lunch and then he run out again because the day was too good: all of us tried to see the Red-rumped swallow (Rødrygget Svale) spotted in the area, but nobody managed to see it.

Later me and Prescillia read some articles and downloaded some pictures for our future presentation (we choose a topic that we would like to discuss with the other volunteers and that we will present through a Powerpoint). When Louis ended to enter the many data on DOFbasen of his long day he, me Prescillia and Simon tried to catch Rock pipits (Skærpiber) at the beach close to the Lighthouse. Two of them came really close to the traps; tomorrow we change the general setting of the traps and maybe we will be lucky!

Folk på stationen: Aksel Y. Munkholm, Louis Kristoffer Poulsen, Diana Sciandra, Prescillia Lemesle, Simon S. Christiansen, Henning og vores gæster Aase og Lars Peter.

Dagens observationer kan ses her

Hej allesammen!

En ret så stille dag med regn og blæst og ingen ringmærkning, Aksel og jeg vågnede stadig tidligt for at se om det regnede og det gjorde det. Ved halv 11 tiden stoppede regnen, næsten ihvertfald, og jeg gik ned og kiggede efter havfugle i læ af hegnet ved restauranten, Aksel tog til byen for at prøve at finde et par nye gummistøvler og stemme til folketingsvalget og de andre var der hjemme og slappede af.

Der var godt gang i Sulerne og Riderne over vandet, og de kom tæt på kysten pga. den syd/østlige vind, derudover 2 lyse Almindelige Kjover

Suler

Senere gik Prescillia og Dianna også ud, Prescillia gik mod Grenen for at få noget frisk luft og Dianna tog til byen for at se de mange Silkehaler der holder til i byen.

Simon havde møde med stationens bestyrelse og det betød også kage fra flere af medlemmerne og vi har også fået en masse lækker mad og kage fra restauranten da de havde sidste åbnings dag i går, så der er kronede kage-tider på stationen:)

Efter aftenmøde gennemgik vi billeder af nogen ringmærkede fugle fra de sidste par dage hvor Simon har været væk, for bla. race og aldersbestemmelse på nogle af Gråsiskenerne, Prescillia lavede mad og så sluttede vi af med lidt kage til dessert:)

Observationer fra idag kan ses her

Folk på stationen: Aksel Y. Munkholm, Louis Kristoffer Poulsen, Diana Sciandra, Prescillia Lemesle, Simon S. Christiansen, Henning og vores gæster Aase og Lars Peter

Hello everyone,

Today, Diana, Louis and Aksel accompanied by Esben, the morning was productive with 63 birds ringed and 9 recaptures. Bullfinches -Dompap-, Redwing -Vindrossel- but also Coal tit -Sortmejse- and bearded tits – are among the species caught this morning.

Coal tit -Sortmejse-

Everyday is a new opportunity for the volunteers to improve their knowledges, it’s also the case of Louis that I ring new species and learn the handling of birds.

Esben and Louis smiling!

They also saw a short-eared owl – Mosehornugle - (perhaps the one ringed few weeks ago at the station!) and barn swallows – Landsvale - (which is a bit late for this species!).

Meanwhile, I joined Knud in Grenen for the observation, a bit of movement this morning, with many razorbills – Alk - and velvet scotters – Fløjlsand - but also ducks (Mallard – Gråand - and Wigeons – Pibeand -) and geese (Pink-footed geese – Kortnæbbet - and Greyleg geese – Grågås -). A few purples sandpipers – Sortgrå Ryle - were also observed flying near the water.

Esben after his precious help these last two days and left for Aalborg. In the afternoon, Diana and Louis, joined later by Aksel, tried to see an Iceland Gull – Hvidvinget Måge - in Grenen, unfortunately it flew away a few minutes before their arrival. On the way back, Louis and Diana saw some buntings while Aksel enjoyed the song of the thrushes until nightfall.

On my side, I enjoyed this afternoon to visit the art museum of Skagen that I had been advised. I was not disappointed to see the paintings full of realism and feelings of the artists of Skagen of which Peder Severin Krøyer, Anna and Michael Ancher. Some of the paintings (some of them painted in France!) are beautiful with the play of light, shadow and details. From close, one might think that some of the brushstrokes are mistakes and stand out on the canvas, but in the end, when you step back, each brushstroke makes sense (a bit like our actions in life...). I leave you on this philosophical note to appreciate this beautiful landscape of Skagen and invite you to visit this beautiful art museum if you are passing through Skagen!

Painting of Carl Locher that you can see at Skagen Art Museum

Ringing at Kabeltromle:

Fuglekonge 8

Dompap 9

Blåmejse: 6

Munk 3

Gråsisken: 9

Gærdesmutte: 5

Rødhals: 5

Skægmejse: 2

Sortmejse: 2

Solsort: 2

Vindrossel: 7

Sjagger: 4

Total: 63

Today's observation of the area in DOFBasen

People at the station: Aksel Munkholm, Esben Hansen, Louis Kristoffer Poulsen, Diana Sciandra, Prescillia Lemesle, Knud Pedersen, Torben og vores gæster Britta and Lotte.

Hej allesammen 

Morgenobsen blev i dag udført af Knud, Louis og Torben, som havde plantet sig ved verdens ende 3. Louis beskrev det hurtigt som en kedelig morgen uden et stort antal fugle og primært de sædvanlige arter. De så dog alligevel en trækkende Lunde samt en rastende nordisk lappedykker, som vist var højdepunkterne fra den morgenobs. Efter smuttede Louis ind til byen for at finde den store flok silkehaler, som terroriserer byen bærbuske. På dofbasen er der estimeret helt op til 1000 individer i Skagen by, så de burde være til at finde. Det lykkedes da også at finde en flok på 250 (se billede).  

Esben, Diana, Prescillia og jeg stod for ringmærkningen ved kabeltromlen i dag. Hele formiddagen var der egentlig en lind strøm af fugle og vi endte med at ringmærke 61 fugle i alt. Ingen sjældenheder imellem i dag, men til gengæld en god mængde drosler samt dompapper. Vi troede dog lige, da der i en af de sidste runder lige pludselig sad noget mærkeligt i nettet. En gærdesanger! Det var et mærkeligt syn, da de for længst har forladt Danmark og trukket sydpå. Vi blev derfor nysgerrige; kunne det være en af de meget sjældne underarter fra østen (halimodendri eller blythi) som også blev fanget og ringmærket ved kabeltromlen i 2019 på denne tid.  En af de fangede fugle blev tilmed fanget på samme dato (22/10/2019), så det var næsten for godt til at være sandt. Fuglen var dog allerede ringmærket, og ved eftertjek viste det sig at være en almindelig gærdesanger, som første gang blev fanget den 13/05/2022 som 3k+, derefter genfanget 08/10/2022 samt i dag.

Micheal var heldig ved ringmærkningen ved Jennes Sø, hvor han fangede en hvidsisken, som Louis også var så heldig at nå ud og se. Det er en sjælden gæst, som af og til kommer hertil om vinteren fra dens yngleområde rund om nordpolen (Grønland, det nordlige Skandinavien og Sibirien).

Udover det allerede beskrevet, så er dagen gået med rengøring samt et mislykkedes forsøg på natfangst, men det er vist ikke noget som behøver en større uddybning.

Dagens observationer kan ses her

Ringmærkede fugle ved kabeltromlen:

Gærdesanger: 1

Gærdesmutte: 5

Jernspurv: 1

Rødhals: 1

Solsort: 2

Sangdrossel: 1

Vindrossel: 13

Munk: 4

Gransanger: 1

Fuglekonge: 4

Blåmejse: 3

Musvit: 1

Nordlig træløber: 1

Bogfinke: 1

Nordlig gråsisken: 3

Lille gråsisken: 4

Dompap: 11

Rørspurv: 4

Total: 61

Jennes sø:

Gærdesmutte: 1

Rødhals: 1

Fuglekonge: 2

Blåmejse: 2

Træløber: 1

Lille gråsisken: 96

Nordlig gråsisken: 18

Hvidsisken: 1

Stor flagspætte: 1

Total: 124

Folk på stationen: Aksel Munkholm, Esben Hansen, Louis Kristoffer Poulsen, Diana Sciandra, Prescillia Lemesle, Knud Pedersen, Torben og vores gæster Britta and Lotte.

Hello everyone!

Today we relaxed a lot: in the morning we decided to don’t open the nets because the weather (wind and rain) wasn’t good, so just Prescillia and Louis went out, observing with Knud at North Beach. They spotted a Horned Grebe (Nordisk lappedykker), a Great Northern Diver (Islom), some Goldeneyes (Hvinand), Razorbills (Alk) and Velvet scoters (Fløjlsand). There was less movement than the previous days, so Prescillia after 3 hours of observing decided to go to the Cormorant Lake, while Knud and Louis were still at the beach. She saw some ducks, like Teals (Krikand) and Mallards (Gråand), and some of the usual small passerines like Robins (Rødhals).

Meanwhile, at the Lighthouse, me and Aksel checked some old reported data with Simon and then we went out with him to do some birdwatching together and it was short but really nice because we saw a group of around 65 Waxwings (Silkehale, picture below). Then we drank a coffee at home with Hans Christophersen who just termined a beautiful guided tour in the area. Later, when Prescillia and Louis arrived we had lunch all together.

In the afternoon Louis went to the harbor and saw the European shag (Topskarv) that is in the area since some weeks. Aksel went with Sofie and Maria to the shop and when they came home we started the longest Wingspan match ever: we finished after 9 p.m.! Prescillia won, but it was really a fun and relaxing afternoon. Before we finished the match Esben arrived. For the dinner Aksel wanted to cook spaghetti alla carbonara (Danish version) but it had a problem so I helped him and finally we were all really happy to eat a very big portion of spaghetti.

Dagens observationer kan ses her

Folk på stationen: Aksel Munkholm, Esben Hansen, Louis Kristoffer Poulsen, Diana Sciandra, Hans Christophersen, Prescillia Lemesle, Knud Pedersen, Maria Schøyen, Sofie Andersen and our guests Britta and Lotte.

Hi everyone,

Last night was still and clear ; a good weather for many visitors to join Niels’ night tour at the tip (including our guests…). Appart from a sky full of stars, few birds occured on the beach at the same time Diana and Prescillia were watching with the thermal binoculars – although no mammals were seen, hopefully it was enough to engage the visitors !

Prescillia and I were ringing at Kabeltromlen this morning ; it was a sunny beautiful day and we hopped for good numbers and/or rare species, but we only caught 54 birds, most of which were blue tits Blåmejse ; our guests paid a little visit and the children were happy to release blue tits. We spent the end of the morning repairing and changing some nets. On the other hand, there were 280 redpolls Gråsisken caught at Jennes Sø !

At world Ende 3, the observation team (composed of Aksel, Diana, Louis and Knud) were luckier ; they saw the station’s first little auk Søkonge of the autumn, as well as horned larks Bjerglærke, goldeneye Hvinand, whooper swans Sangsvaner and pink-footed geese Kortnæbbet Gås. Although less than yesterday, there were still good numbers of migrating birds.

In the afternoon, after enjoying the cakes that our guest John brought us, Aksel went back outside to see 110 fieldfares Sjagger and some crested tits Sormejse, while Simon and Louis were checking datasheets and Prescillia started to cook delicious vegeterian lasagnas for tonight.

People at the station : Aksel Y. Munkholm, Louis Kristoffer Poulsen, Diana Sciandra, Solenn Boucher, Prescillia Lemesle, Simon S. Christiansen, Michael Ancher, Knud Pedersen, Niels Eriksen and our guests Brita, John, Maria and Sophia

Today's observation of the area in DOFBasen

Ringing Kabeltromle:

Gærdesmutte: 13

Rødhals: 2

Stor Gråsisken: 1

Lille Gråsisken: 1

Rørspurv: 1

Dompap: 1

Lille Dompap: 2

Blåmejse: 17

Bogfinke: 1

Musvit: 2

Sangdrossel: 1

Solsort: 3

Vindrossel: 4

Fuglekonge: 1

Nordlig Trælober: 1

Totals: 51

Ringing Jennes Sø:

Gærdesmutte: 10

Rødhals: 1

Solsort: 2

Munk: 2

Fuglekonge: 6

Halemejse, Nordlig (ssp. caudatus): 3

Blåmejse: 8

Musvit: 2

Træløber: 1

Grønsisken: 1

Nordlig Gråsisken: 48

Lille Gråsisken: 203

Gulspurv: 1

Totals: 288

Hej alle sammen!

For Dianna og jeg startede dagen med en fed havobs ved Verdens ende 3 med Knud og nogen af hans venner. Rigtig mange Alke trak forbi, mange af dem kom tæt på kysten, hvor de tydeligt kunne ses som lange skinnende belter i den kraftige sol. Også den sædvanlige Storkjove var på plads på stranden, vi så også Sangsvaner som Dianna var meget glad for at se og en flok på 41 Tundra sædgæs, Som er ret usædvanligt heroppe! Lidt i lukketid kom også pludselig en Sodfarvet skråpe forbi!

Storkjove

Aksel, Prescillia, Sollen og Simon ringmærkede ved kabeltromlen, hvor der også var mange fugle i nettene fordelt på rigtig mange arter, blandt andet Sjagger, Træløber, Sortmejse og LIlle korsnæb

Lille Korsnæb

Også ved Jennes sø var der i dag rekord med fugle, Michael fange blandt andet 259 Gråsiskener og en Stor Flagspætte!

Efter vi havde afsluttet morgenobsen gik der rygter om at der var fanget en Stor korsnæb i nettene, så Dianna, Jeg, knud og hans ven skyndte os til kabeltromlen, men nogen havde misforstået noget så det var altså en Lille Korsnæb der var fanget men den var også fed at se i hånden. Før vi tog hjem så vi en fed flok på 9 Silkehaler der satte sig i nærheden af kabeltromlen.

Efter frokost gik vi alle ud igen og kort efter blev en Hærfugl flyvende fra grenen mod fyret meldt ud på Zello, det var desværre for de andre kun Dianna og jeg der nåede at se den da vi løb op på en klit og så den komme flyvende lige mod os;)

Hærfugl

Efter splittede vi os op, Dianna, Prescillia og Solenn gik til grenen i håb om at se Lapværlingen som er blevet set der, mens Aksel og jeg gik syd på, i håb om at finde Hærfuglen igen, det gjorde vi ikke, men der blev nu meldt en Topskarv ud fra grenen som fløj mod syd, så vi skyndte os ud til kysten i håb om at se den, jeg havde heldigvis taget teleskop med og så den flyve mod havnen hvor den nu sikkert sidder , ny art for mig:)

Dianna lavede kødboller med tomatsauce og Niels som er kommet her idag for at være guide på mørke turen i aften, havde bagt kage og taget med som dessert:)

Ringmærkning (Kabeltromlen):

Træløber 4

Fuglekonge 8

Gærdesmutte 14

Rødhals 3

Lille Gråsisken 1

Sortmejse 1

Grønsisken 2

Munk 6

Blåmejse 9

Bogfinke 5

Kvækerfinke 1

Lille Dompap 3

Stor Dompap 1

Rørspurv 2

Musvit 9

Vindrossel 1

Solsort 3

Sjagger 1

Sangdrossel 1

Lille Korsnæb 1

Total: 83

Ringmærkning (Jennes Sø):

Stor Flagspætte 1

Blåmejse 3

Musvit 3

Fuglekonge 8

Gærdesmutte 13

Rødhals 3

Nordlig Gråsisken 58

Lille Gråsisken 201

Grønsisken 1

Rørspurv 1

Total: 293

I alt: 376 fugle

Observationer fra idag kan ses her

Folk på stationen: Aksel Y. Munkholm, Louis Kristoffer Poulsen, Diana Sciandra, Solenn Boucher, Prescillia Lemesle, Simon S. Christiansen, Michael Ancher, Knud Pedersen, Torben, Niels Eriksen og vores gæst Brita

Hello everyone,

Today, Solenn and I went to observe in Grenen. It was a slow morning but with movement, many groups of Razorbills (Alk) and common Scoters (Sortand). A passel of wigeons (Pibeand), a male goldeneye (Hvinand) and one red-necked grebe (Gråstrubet Lappedykker) delighted us.

However, after two hours of observation, we joined the banding team to see our first brambling (Kvækerfinke) in hand. This bird with its beautiful orange colored plumage and dark head was a young male.

Brambling (Kvækerfinke)

Aksel, Diana, Louis, Mikael, Ingo Ludwichowski and Wiebke Bahruth (the German ringers) had already made a nice recapture of water rail (Vandrikse) catched three days ago) in the morning. All together at the ringing, we continued to have nice birds: 4 Turdidae (two regwings -Vindrossel-, one songtrush -Sangdrossel- and one blackbird -Solsort-) and one female siskin (Grønsisken), the first one in hand for me!) and the best for the end, a group of Breaded tits (Skægmejse) including males and females, 8 in total during the morning!

Siskin (Grønsisken)

The group of bearded tits (Skægmejse) left together in the reeds, it is a beautiful bird with a nice brownish color and black whiskers for the male!

In total, 65 birds were ringed and 7 birds were recaptured, a great day of ringing and especially which ends on a good note for Michael who leaves today for Copenhagen. We thank him very much for having taken over from Simon in his absence and for his kindness.

The afternoon was quieter, with Diana showing Louis how to enter data on DOFbasen, Solenn entering sighting data and preparing her presentation, and Aksel and I working on our computers. In the late afternoon, Aksel and Solenn went for a walk to Grenen and saw. While Louis and Diana went shopping to prepare the dinner tonight!

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):

Fuglekonge 2

Gransanger 2

Gærdesmute 7

Skægmejse 8

Lille gråsisken 4

Stor gråsisken 2

Gråsisken 1

Grønsisken 1

Jernspurv 1

Rørspurv 5

Munk 8

Dompap lille 7

Dompap 7

Kvåkerfinke 1

Bogfinke 2

Blåmejse 2

Vindrossel 2

Solsort 1

Sangdrossel 2

Total: 65

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area

People at the station: Aksel Y. Munkholm, Louis Kristoffer Poulsen, Diana Sciandra, Solenn Boucher, Prescillia Lemesle, Michael Fink, our guest Kirsten Bregn, and the visitors Ingo Ludwichowski, Wiebke Bahruth and Brita, our guest