Yehonatan and I chose a slightly different spot for morning observations, the dunes towards the tip adjacent to World’s End 3, known for being able to observe a greater passage of larks, wagtails and pipits, as well as closer encounters with migrating falcons, hawks and harriers. The highlights included 9 Waxwing (Silkehale), 234 Sparrowhawks (Spurvehøg), 11 Rough-legged Buzzards (Fjeldvåge) and a Black Woodpecker (Sort Spætte) as well as three Pallid Harriers (Steppehøg)- one 3cy male, one adult female and the first 2cy of the year. The male Pallid Harrier, in particular, gave brilliant views as it migrated low over the dunes, flying straight past where we were crouched at one point, allowing Yehonatan the chance to capture some excellent photos.

3cy Pallid Harrier (Steppehøg). Photo: Yehonatan Ben Aroia.

Meanwhile, Lauren, Jeppe, Simon and Michael went ringing at Kabeltromlen. Unfortunately, they had a rather slow morning with only 9 birds, but this gave Jeppe, new to ringing, the chance to practice some supervised extraction, ringing and ageing.

Skagen Fuglestation: Yehonatan Ben Aroia, Micheal Colley, Jeppe Madsen, Lauren Evans, Dante Shepherd, Simon Christensen, Jakob & Birgit.

A full list of today's observations can be found here.

Today's raptor summary can be found here.

Kabeltromlen Ringing Totals:

Gransanger (Chiffchaff)- 5

Fuglekonge (Goldcrest)- 1

Rødhals (Robin)- 1

Gærdesmutte (Wren)- 1

Musvit (Great tit)- 1

Total: 9

Michael, Yehonatan and I were out and opened the nets at 5:20am, with clear skies and a beautiful sunrise promising a lot of birds in the nets. Even so we hardly caught any today, probably due to the wind coming from northeast which discourages a lot of birds from migrating over the ocean.
In total we caught 5 birds today, where two of them were recaptures. Luckily enough the last bird was a female Sparrowhawk (Spurvehøg) which we had a good look at.

Dante and Laura went observing at Verdens Ende and had a good day with a good range of different birds, including 7 Ospreys (Fiskeørn), a female Pallid Harrier (Steppehøg), a Black Woodpecker (Sortspætte) and the highlight of the day being an immature Golden Eagle (Kongeørn) coming over.

The Greater Spotted Eagle (Stor Skrigeørn), living up to its name, was also spotted at Skagen but it never came to Grenen.

 A full list of today's observations can be found here

Today's raptor summary can be found here

People at the station: Yehonatan Ben aroia, Michael Colley, Dante Shepherd, Jeppe Madsen, Lauren Evans, Simon S. Christiansen, Jakob & Birgit.

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)

Gransanger (Chiffchaff) - 1

Rødhals (Robin) - 1

Spurvehøg (Sparrowhawk) - 1

Total: 3

As the sunrise creeps ever earlier, Yehonatan and I had the nets at Kabeltromlen open at 5:20am and were shortly joined by Simon and our guests, Jakob and Birgit. We were started catching as usual, with plenty of Chiffchaffs (Gransanger) and two Redwing (Vindrossel), when suddenly our morning got a whole lot better when I extracted a Firecrest (Rødtoppet Fuglekonge) from an otherwise empty net! Only a few Firecrests are caught at Skagen each year and, as this was a new species in the hand for both myself, and Yehonatan, it really made our morning.

Firecrest (Rødtoppet Fuglekonge) at Kabeltromlen. Photo: Yehonatan.

We decided to close the nets a little earlier than normal to make the most of the calm weather and the fact that a Rough-legged Buzzard (Fjeldvåge) had been spotted resting near Nordstrand. Yehonatan and I quickly set up the raptor net near Nedermose with the stuffed Eagle Owl (Stor Hornugle) to attract the attention of passing raptors. We quickly saw the Rough-legged Buzzard hunting and it seemed interested in the owl but, just skimmed over the net by a few metres! Hopefully tomorrow we’ll have more luck…

Dante and Michael headed to Verdens Endes for morning observations and had an excellent morning for migrating raptors. Their highlights were two adult males, and one adult female Pallid Harriers (Steppehøg), four Black Kites, one of the Greater Spotted Eagles (Stor Skrigeørn) and a juvenile Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge). Elsewhere, Alex Sand Frich found a calling Penduline Tit at Skarvsøen, and a total of 7 Pallid Harriers (Steppehøg), both adult males and females, were seen by multiple observers throughout the day in Skagen. Michael joined Simon on a very successful 'Raptor Tour' in the afternoon and managed to see a White Stork (Hvid Stork) as well as plenty of raptors.

A full list of today's observations can be found here.

Today's raptor summary can be found here.

People: Yehonatan Ben aroia, Michael Colley, Dante Shepherd, Jeppe Madsen, Lauren Evans, Simon S. Christiansen, Jakob & Birgit.

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):

Gransanger (Chiffchaff)- 9

Fuglekonge (Goldcrest)- 5

Rødtoppet Fuglekonge (Firecrest)- 1

Rødhals (Robin)- 7

Gærdesmutte (Wren)- 3

Jernspurv (Dunnock)- 1

Rørspurv (Reed Bunting)- 1

Vindrossel (Redwing)- 2

Sangdrossel (Song Thrush)- 2

Solsort (Blackbird)- 1

Total: 32

Dear Blog Readers

Another fascinating ringing session this morning.The day was started with ringing which started by opening net around 5:40am that followed by the net round which was 6:10 am that caught 18 birds and then second round 14 birds , the third round 10 birds ,fourth round 5, fifth round 7 birds and sixth the final round 6 birds .

The nets where closed at 11:00 am there came the end of ringing session this morning.

The number of species caught 9 species of birds, which are as follows 

The ringing group where Simon , Lisa , Yehonatan and Michael, we were joined by Thomas from Germany that hanged out with us. 

From the ringing back to the station, then we entered data from the ringing session.

Lauren and Dante where out on Birds migration count. Highlights where Pallid Harrier (Steppehøg), Slavonian Grebe (Nordisk lappedykker), Shag (Topskarv), Ring Ouzel (Ringdrossel) and more than 400 Redwings (Vindrossel)

The ringing was very interesting this morning where we got to ring nine species, it was a good experience for us .

A full list of today's observations can be seen here

Today's raptor summary can be seen here

People: Dante Shepherd, Michael Colley, Yehonatan Ben Aroia, Lauren Evans, Simon S. Christiansen, Jakob & Birgit.

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):

Common chiffchaff (Gransanger) - 23

Goldcrest (Fuglekonge) - 3

Reed bunting (Rørspurv) - 1

Great Tit (Musvit) - 4

Wren (Gærdesmutte) - 5

Dunnock (Jernspurv) - 4

Robin (Rødhals) - 9

Songthrush (Snagdrossel) - 3

Blackbird (Solsort) - 1

Total: 53

Dante and I headed to Verdens Endes at sunrise for observations and were joined by Henrik Højholm. We had all optimistically hoped the weather forecast would be wrong, however, shortly after sunrise the rain started, just as predicted, and gave us all a thorough soaking. Migration was rather slow, likely due to heavy rain to the south, but the highlights were two second calendar-year Caspian Gulls (Kaspisk Måge), one juvenile Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge), 5 Ring Ouzel (Ringdrossel) and 2 Merlins (Dværgfalk). The downpours also meant no ringing at Kabeltromlen, and so we were joined throughout the morning by Yehonatan, Michael, and Owen and Laura, the journalism students from Aarhus University, who have been following us for a few days to document the work we do.

Simon and Thomas, our guest, wisely headed to Nordstrand after the rain had stopped. Throughout the morning 109 Curlew (Storspove) headed east as well as 10 Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove), 2 Rough-legged Buzzards (Fjeldvåge) and one resting Great Grey Shrike (Stor Tornskade).

The afternoon was taken up by a series of observatory admin tasks, including checking some mended waders, maintaining the bicycles, cleaning the apartment, and shopping. After finally drying our clothes and equipment out, we’re looking forward to the better weather predicted for next week and we’ll definitely be checking the forecast properly next time!

No photos from today in the rain I'm afraid, so here's one of the full Spring team enjpying dinner a few days ago. From left to right: Yehonatan, Dante, Jeppe, Lauren & Michael.

A full list of today's observations can be found here.

Today's raptor summary can be found here.

Skagen Fuglestation: Yehonatan Ben aroia, Michael Colley, Dante Shepherd, Lauren Evans, Owen, Laura & Thomas

Lovely weather for ringing and watching, slow winds in the early morning followed by a beutifull sunrise, another great day to be in Skagen doing what we love most.

Lauren, Michael and Yehonatan went out ringing together with Simon, we expect it to be a very strong morning, but turned out to be just another great morning with the usual common birds in the ringing. 2 Ring ouzel (Ringdroussel) flew just above the nets, which we are all looking forward to catch one of theese, but that didnt happen today, maybe tomorow!

Vindoussel (Redwing) from the ringing today.

Dante and Jeppe went out to worlds end 1 for observations, they had a lovely morning with good nubmers of passerines migrating overhead, but the highlight was definitely a new Great spotted eagle (Stor Skrigeørn), a diffrent individual from the one that was seen i the area for the past few days, how exciting to see such a massive and powerfull bird.

Stor skrigeørn from today, Photo by Erik Christophersen.

In the evening Thomas from Sylt, Germany arrived to stay with us a couple of days.

Todays raptor summary can be found here

A full list of today's observations can be found here.

People: Yehonatan Ben Aroia, Jeppe Madsen, Michael Colley, Dante Shepherd, Lauren Evans, Simon Christiansen.

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):

Gærdesmutte (Wren) - 5

Jernspurv (Dunnock) - 1

Gransanger (Chiffchaff) - 14

Rødhals (Robin) - 13

Sangdrossel (Song Thrush) - 1

Vindrossel (Redwing) - 1

Solsort (Blackbird) - 1

Fuglekonge (Goldcrest) - 3

Rørspurv (Reed bunting) - 1

Total: 40

A little start due to persistent drizzle and strong South-westerly winds, saw Michael, Jeppe and Lauren heading to World’s End 1 around midday. They had a short but successful observation and the highlights included one adult, male Pallid Harrier (Steppehøg), one Black Kite (Sort Glente) and three female-type Marsh Harriers (Rørhøg). They were joined by a visiting class of school children who seemed to really enjoy using the binoculars and scopes to see some migrating Sparrowhawks (Spurvehøg) up close as well as have a go with the clicker-counters.

Adult, male Pallid Harrier from Nordstrand. Photo: Alex Sand Frich.

Yehonatan, with the journalism students in tow, headed out to World’s End 3 to spend the afternoon with the team from Aarhus University investigating the flight height of migrating birds. We all headed back to the observatory in the afternoon to finish our Phylloscopus identification and Chiffchaff ageing lecture which was dramatically interrupted yesterday by the resting Pallid Harrier (Steppehøg) right outside the lighthouse! The ringers among us got the chance to fill out some moult cards and ended with a quiz which Lauren was very proud of winning.

A full list of today's observations can be found here.

Today's raptor summary can be found here.

Skagen Fuglestation: Yehonatan Ben aroia, Michael Colley, Jeppe Madsen, Lauren Evans & Dante Shepherd.

The wind abated during the night and we were greeted to clear skies and a beautiful 5am sunrise.

Dante and I went to Verdens Ende for the daily bird observation and counting, with the local highlights of the day being an American Scoter (Amerikansk Sortand) that Dante spotted, and a Goshawk(Duehøg) that came pretty close by. Overall it was a quiet day though, with not a lot of birds to count, and we went back to the station before noon.

Simon hosted a presentation in the afternoon on warblers and how to age them by their plumage. At least that was the plan, but just as we had gotten started the news came in that a Pallid Harrier (Steppehøg) had been spotted outside. First at Nordstrand, and a little later at Grenen where it was flying south towards Det Grå Fyr.
We decided to take a break from the warblers, went outside in a hurry, and were greeted by a beautiful male Pallid Harrier. At first it was flying low over the fields opposite the road, then it landed on a dune and sat there for 10 minutes before taking off again.

Pallid Harrier (Steppehøg) photographed at Reservatet. Photo by Erik Christophersen.

A full list of today's observations can be found here.

Today's raptor summary can be found here.

People: Yehonatan Ben Aroia, Jeppe Madsen, Michael Colley, Dante Shepherd, Lauren Evans, Simon Christiansen.

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):

Gærdesmutte (Wren) - 5

Jernspurv (Dunnock) - 1

Gransanger (Chiffchaff) - 13

Rødhals (Robin) - 14

Sangdrossel (Song Thrush) - 1

Fuglekonge (Goldcrest) - 1

Musvit (Great Tit) - 3

Total: 38

Strong winds and persistent drizzle meant ringing was impossible and morning observations would have been challenging, however, the whole team was extremely grateful to not have to set our alarms at 4:30am for once! After we all spent the morning catching up on data entry (and sleep!), our newest volunteer Jeppe headed out to bird Elle Krattet and refamiliarize himself with the area. Michael and Yehonatan headed to Skagen Harbour and had excellent views of a pair of displaying, summer plumage Black Guillemots (Tejst).

A brief relapse in the rain had Dante and I cycling out to Flagbakken to see if the switch to southwesterly winds would produce many migrating raptors. We arrived at 11:55am, shortly after the rain had stopped, and had 5 Marsh Harriers (Rørhøg), 4 Hen Harrier (Blå Kærhøg) and 28 Common Buzzards (Musvåge) within the first 30 minutes. At 12:25pm, we noticed a distant Aquila eagle which Dante identified as a Greater Spotted Eagle (Stor Skrigeørn). The bird circled over Flagbakken and slowly drifted Northeast, giving excellent views, before we lost it high at 13:07pm. The bird was seen by many local and visiting birders futher north and then further south at Lodskovvad by Alex Sand Frich. The bird was aged by Alex as an adult and is the same individual which was seen briefly 3 days prior on the 8^th April, also at Flagbakken.

Greater Spotted Eagle (Stor Skrigeørn) over Lodskovvad. Photos: Alex Sand Frich.

This evening, the King Eider (Kongeederfugl) gave excellent views off the Grey Lighthouse (Det Grå Fyr), alongside a Pochard (Taffeland), and the Black Redstart (Husrødstjert) remains in the lighthouse garden. The juvenile Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge), which was reported earlier in Skagen Harbour, was seen at the tip.

A full list of today's observations can be found here.

Today's raptor summary can be found here.

People: Yehonatan Ben Aroia, Jeppe Madsen, Michael Colley, Dante Shepherd, Lauren Evans, Lisa Vergin, Simon Christiansen.

Dear Blog Readers

Welcome to another day of research work. We started ringing this morning by opening the nets that was 5:57 am with 18 nets of ten (10) meters each .

The first round of the ringing was 6:30 in which we catch 9 birds and the second 4 birds and third round was 3 birds, The total birds that where ring was 15 birds that were Gransanger 2, Fuglekange 2, Gærdesmutte 4, Rødhals 4, Jernspurv 2 and Sangdrossel 1, The ringing team where Simon, Yehonatan and Michael.All the nets where close by 9:15 because it was windy than there was no catch on the final round.

From the ringing we came back to the observatory where Simon and Michael were entering the data from the ringing while Yehonatan was writing the bog from the day before, there after we went to the big Raptor trap to put the roof on and ativate it for catching because since a Red Kite (Rød Glente) was seen there on the camera this morning.

Lauren and Dante where out on bird migration count and the highlights from here was Sparrow hawk 351, Hen harriers 23, White stork 2, Shore lark 3, Raven 62 and a  Caspian gull.

In the afternoon, which was the most interesting part of day, when Simon received a call from Carlo that the trap has catch a bird , which is a COMMON BUZZARD,Than we drive to that place were the trap is , the group were Simon, Lisa, Yehonatan ,Lauren and Michael.

When we rich there yehonatan extract it from the trap then Lisa ring it which follow by Simon putting the GPS tracker on it.

That was a very good experience for some of us seeing Buzzed on hand for the first time that was good us all.

A full list of today's observations can be found here.

People: Yehonatan Ben Aroia, Dante Shepherd, Jeppe Madsen, Lauren Evans, Carlo Pedersen, Simon S. Christiansen, Lisa Vergin & Michael Colley.

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):

Fuglekonge (Golcrest)- 2

Gransanger (Chiffchaff)- 2

Gærdesmutte (Wren)- 4

Rødhals (Robin)- 4

Jernspurv (Dunnock)- 2

Sangdrossel (Song Thrush)- 1

Ringing (Tversted):

Musvåge (Common Buzzard)) - 1

Total: 16