One more day without wind means one more day with nice late autumn/early winter weather. At the End of the World four tough counters sat, equipped with their clickers to count the passing birds. Fitting to the fresh weather a total of 8 Little Auks (Søkonge) passed by and made the observers happy. This cute and tiny Auk species has had strong days here, but we did not expect to see so many now, since the cold nothern wind is already gone. Many Greylag Goose (Grågås) used the leck of wind to migrate too. The last hour of the count was slower. This is kind of expected, because the most birds have already finished their migration here. In anyway, there are still many birds around and now some nice winterly species like a Rough-legged buzzard (Fjeldvåge) at the lighthouse arrived.

In the meanwhile the ringing team was at Kabeltromlen. We were still tired, because we went nightcatching last night. Unfortunately this time the Woodcocks (Skovsneppe) were jumpy, but we managed to handcatch a Fieldfare (Sjagger) and a Blackbird (Solsort). Both were sleeping on the ground in the wet scrubs near Ellekrattet. This morning at KAB there were not super many birds, but two Fieldfares (Sjagger), a new Firecrest (Rødtoppet Fuglekonge) and a recapture Firecrest were nice. Since it was not busy, we had enough time to finally fix all the big holes in the nets from this season. Luckily the nets were in good conditions. It took some time, but now all nets are fixed. The morning was very productive and I’ve got wet feet the fifth day in a row. This time because I’ve probably got a hole in my waders when we caught the Blyth’s Pipit (Mongolspiber). But it was definitly worth it!In the afternoon (which is now very short, because the sun sets early) we went to our raptor trap in order to get higher chances to catch one in there. Then we entered the data. October is always a super good month for birding, so I was much outside and had less time to do indoor and „office“ tasks. Now I’ve finally got the time to finish the last rarity report or write the article for the year report.

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Total: 22

Ringing (Ellekrattet):

Fieldfare (Sjagger) - 1

Blackbird (Solsort) - 1

Total: 2

Overall total: 24

A link to today's observations from volunteers and local observers.

People: Mathilde Ducroz, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Thomas Weston, Knud Pedersen, Jacob, Poul, Ib, Simon S. Christiansen.

I går aftes ringmærkede vi Skovsneppe og så Nordlys!

Tidligt i går aftes begav vi os ud på markerne nær Det Grå Fyr, hvor Simon og jeg stødte på flere Skovsnepper. Men Skovsnepperne var ikke særlige samarbejdsvillige og fløj hurtigt af sted, da vi nærmede os dem. En valgte dog at blive siddende, og denne fugle var nok så fed at denne ikke gad lette. Efter ringmærkningen af Skovsneppen fik Simon øje på, at Nordlyset var i bevægelse. Vi kunne få øje på Nordlysets søjler og ane den grønne og lilla farve med det blotte øje.

I dag tog Simon og jeg ud til Grenen for at observere. Vi sad sammen med Knud, Jørgen, Jakob og Poul. Her fik vi set tre Islommer, en Søkonge og så kom der en sen Sodfarvet Skråpe flyvende ned langs kysten. Den var super tæt på, og det var nok den bedste observation man kunne have håbet på af denne art. Den Sodfarvet Skråpe er på vej sydpå, da den yngler i Australien, og dernede foråret er allerede godt i gang. Andre observatører så en enkelt Eremitibis langt langt ude over Skagerak. De Eremitibisser der ses i Danmark lige nu kommer fra nogle forskellige projekter i Europa, hvor man er i gang med at genintroducere denne art i et forsøg på at genetablere levedygtige bestande.

Imens vi havde en fin morgenobservation, var Thomas og Mathilde i gang med ringmærkningen. De fik ringmærket 45 nye fugle, og ud af dem var der rigtig mange Rødhalse, Gærdesmutter og Blåmejser. De havde også Dompap han og Halemejser. Derudover aflæste de 27 fugle, som allerede havde en ring på. Ved genfangster af fugle kan vi altså finde ud af, hvordan fuglen har udviklet sig siden sidst vi havde den i ringmærkningen. Måske har den fået mere fedt, en ny fjer eller noget helt tredje. 

På billedet herunder kan der ses forskel på Nordlig Gråsisken (venstre) og Lille Gråsisken (højre). Nordlig Gråsisken er mere lys og grå, hvor Lille Gråsisken er mindre og mere brun.

Senere på dagen tog vi en lille tur ud i området både for at nyde det gode vejr, mens det er her, men også for at se om der var lidt småfugle i området. Vi fandt ikke mange småfugle udover Fuglekonger, men derudover stødte vi på en Fjeldvåge, der havde en Gråkrage lige i hælene. 

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Total: 45

A link to today's observations from volunteers and local observers.

People: Mathilde Ducroz, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Thomas Weston, Knud Pedersen, Jørgen, Jacob, Poul, Simon S. Christiansen.

I woke up for my first day back in Skagen and weather was good – no sun but low winds and no rain- so ringing was on! Me, Simon Jr and Thomas headed towards Kabeltromle to set up while Gustav headed to Nordstrand for migration count.

KAB ringing was not so busy today but a step up from yesterday with a high variety of species landing in our nets. Only 38 birds but 13 species not including some exciting recaptures which was a nice treat for my first day back. For recaptures, we greeted the two Firecrests (Rødtoppet Fuglekonge) and a Siberian chiffchaff (Gransanger, Sibirisk) again. First timers in the nets included Redwings (Vindrossel), Blue tits (Blåmejse) and Blackbirds (Solsort) and other smaller passerines. Although many fieldfare were present, flying around and over Grenen, only one recaptured bird ended up in the nets. Some nice surprises were the three Bearded tits (Skægmejse) and five Bullfinches (Dompap).

After yesterday’s near successful capture of the Blyth’s Pipit (Mongolsk Piber), the Simons decided to give it a second go and left me and Thomas after seeing that KAB ringing was relatively quiet. Heading towards the dunes and the bird’s known hanging out spot. It took a few hours of looking and flushing out the bird but they were determined to catch him. And successful they were! We receive a message around 11am, they were headed back to Kabeltromle with the prized bird! This is the first time a Blyth’s pipit has been rung in Denmark and neighbouring countries. We now know this birds take an X ring! It was very cool to get so close and see so much of the feather detail on this rarity.

Photos by Simon Kiesé

On the side of migration counts, some of highlight consists of the now daily sighted of the White-billed diver (Hvidnæbbet Lom) as well as many of the other species, an unexpected sighting of a Black swan (Sortsvane) slightly far from its original range, flocks of Greylag geese and Whooper swans and a nice Peregrine falcon (Vandrefalk) fly by. Ducks have finally moved on from Denmark and the usual auks were present. Gustav was saved by the long last hour by the catching of the Blyth’s pipit., usual auks, saved from last hour by blyth’s pipit

Now time for night catching near the station. Fingers crossed for some interesting catches! (Update: three woodcocks were spotted but not caught :()

Ringing (Grenen):

Blyth’s pipit – Mongolsk Piber 1

Total: 1

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Wren – Gærdesmutte 4

Dunnock – Jernspurv 1

Robin – Rødhals 2

Blackbird – Solsort 4

Redwing – Vindrossel 7

Chiffchaff – Gransanger 1

Goldcrest – Fuglekonge 3

Bearded tit – Skægmejse 2

Blue tit – Blåmejse 4

Great tit – Musvit 3

Treecreeper – Træløber Nordlig (ssp. familiaris) 1

Chaffinch – Bogfinke 1

Bullfinch – Dompap 2

Bullfinch – Dompap Lille (ssp. europaea) 3

Total : 38

Ringing (Jennes Sø):

Wren – Gærdesmutte 4

Robin – Rødhals 3

Redwing – Vindrossel 1

Crested tit – Topmejse 1

Blue tit – Blåmejse 6

Great tit – Musvit 5

Mealy redpoll – Nordlig Gråsisken 23

Lesser redpoll – Lille Gråsisken 4

Total : 47

A link to today's observations from volunteers and local observers 

People: Mathilde Ducroz, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Thomas Weston, Jacob, Simon S. Christiansen.

You know, that your sleep it over, when Simon calls and tells you, that the weather is good enough for ringing, even if rain and wind is forecasted. And usually Simon is right, so we left our warm Observatory to do bird stuff. 

Gustav decided to go to Nordstrand for the migration count. It was quite slow, but it was very interesting to compare the numbers of birds and species you get there and at Grenen. For example Gustav got many birds closer and due to this he could identify a high percentage of the Razorbills/Guillemots (Alk/Lomvie), but he did not get many of the Kittiwakes flying out of Kattegat. This shows, that it's hard to compare the numbers from Grenen to Nordstrand. Eric was also out there and found a White-billed Diver (Hvidnæbbet Lom). There was also a Swallow, probably a Barn Swallow (Landsvale). Crazy to see these "summerbirds" in November!! 

Yesterday we had also one late House Martin. At this time of the year this is super exciting and you should always try to take pictures of those. I tell you why: There is the super rare Siberian House Martin, which could come late in the year. It had in general a bigger white rump, but siunce this is hard to judge in the field, pictures are necessary. Since it is just a subspecies of our House Martin and it's super rare, this might not be the biggest problem. But there is also the chance for a Asian House Martin, which is a seperate species and has several records in Europe. Unfortunately, it looks even more similar to our Eurasian House Martin and the slightly more brownish appearence with a slightly streaked rump is unidentifeable in the field. So since there is the chance, that at this time of the year one of the super rare easterly House Martins turn up, try to get pictures. It could be worth it!

Otherwise the highlight where many Whooper Swans (Sangsvane). We also got many at Grenen, so everybody of us could enjoy these amazing birds with their nice flight calls.

In the meanwhile, KAB ringing was slow. Very slow. Two birds, that's it. But at least this nice Blackcap (Munk) is mentionable, which has now a nice danish ring but Thomas. 

The Simons used the time to set up nets for Water Pipits (Bjergpiber) at Grenen Lake, but unfortunately, there were no Water Pipits today. So we set up a second net at the favorite place of the now for three weeks present Blyth's Pipit (Mongolsk Piber). After a short while the bird flew over and landed directly in front of the net. You could see our excitement in our eyes and we started running towards the net to flush the bird inside. Simon Sr. had the perfect position, this has to work!! But than the Blyth's just flew away on the other side of the net. It must have walked under the net, what a shame! This was a very good try, but it is a bit sad, that it did not work. At least we had good views on this rarity. As a pipit fan I really enjoyed it. Btw - it's tail feathers are growing, so the destroyed tail is no longer a good feature to recognize this bird.

In a few minutes our new volunteer - Mathilde - will arrive. We are all looking forward to meet her. Since it is rainy now, we can directly proof her Wingspan skills. Is that a good plan? We will see!

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Blackbird (Solsort) - 1

Blackcap (Munk) - 1

Total: 2

Today’s observations on Dofbasen from observers in the area.

People: Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Thomas Weston, in a few minutes Mathilde, Lorne and Lance, Simon S. Christiansen.

Today was the warmest weather we have had in a while with a light Southernly breeze throughout the day raising temperatures into the double digits.

Figure 1: Morning ringing by Simon Sr

The day started with Simon Jr and I opening the nets and Simon Sr joining soon after. We had over three quarters of all the nets open which was ample for the three of us. Throughout the morning we were joined by our guests and many other local birders who came to see what we had caught. The morning was promising, the now wintering flock of 600 Fieldfare [Sjagger] remained and three flocks of Redpoll [Nordlig/Lille Gråsisken] flew over totalling ~120 birds, some of which we caught whilst opening the nets which was nice. Numbers in nets were steady and quickly rose throughout the morning with flocks of Long-tailed tits [Halemejse], Blue Tits [Blåmejse] and Great Tits [Musvit] filling some of the nets on multiple occasions. Besides the Paridae, we caught another Firecrest [Rødtoppet Fuglekonge] (our 4^th in three days), some lovely Bearded Tits [Skægmejse], a nice range of thrushes, a Chiffchaff [Gransanger], and a noticeable increase in Blackcap [Munk].

Figure 2: ‘Northern’ Long-tailed Tit [Nordlig Halemejse (ssp. caudatus]

The spring warblers and Firecrest [Rødtoppet Fuglekonge] were not the only odd birds seen this morning. Whilst Simon Jr was looking at the Great Grey Shrike [Stor tornskade], a bird currently feasting on passerines in the dunes, we had a House Martin [Bysvale] arrive from the SE. The bird was seen flying around the reedbeds before presumably continuing its migration and heading SW. With the arrival of an ‘Eastern’ Lesser Whitethroat [Gærdesanger (ssp. Blythi?)] yesterday, could this be one of the ‘Eastern’ House Martin species? Unfortunately, views were distant, and the origin of the bird could not be determined. After roughly an hour, another hirundine was spotted, this time a Barn Swallow [Landsvale]. This bird was on a mission and quickly followed in the tracks of the martin departing SW along the beach. Very strange! Additional to our sightings, Simon Sr and friends saw the Blyth’s Pipit [Mongolsk Piber] (day 19 now) and found a few Water Pipits [Bjergpiber] in the reeds. More sightings can be found on DOFbasen (see link below)

While we were out, Gustav decided to go to migration counts with Knut, Jørgen and Eric at Nordstrand. Numbers of auks were high with Guillemots [Lomvie], Razorbills [Alk] and a single Little Auk [Søkonge] counted in the four hours. Today’s migration watch stand-out highlight was apparently a Rough-legged Buzzard [Fjeldvåge] seen migrating in off the sea being followed by a gull who was seen attacking it for quite a while. After the counts Gustav came back and then quickly went out birding again whilst we were out and there was still some light. Ringing ended up lasting about 7hrs today and by the time we got back Simon Jr, and I were pretty hungry and very much tired. Even if we were feeling tired, the morning was a big success with almost 150 birds processed when taking into recaptures. Once we had a quick break, data input had to be done and after another couple of hours was completed for the day.

With a dark, wet night upon us our evening plans are to relax and chill for a bit, maybe a bit of night catching but you shall have to keep posted about that.

Ringing totals

Ringing [Kabeltromlekrattet]

Total: 108

Ringing [Jennes Sø]

Total: 88

Overall total: 196

Today’s observations on Dofbasen from observers in the area

People: Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Thomas Weston, Lorne and Lance, Chris, Simon S.C, Jørgen (and Egor), fellow ringers Oluf Lou and Jorgen Hulbaek.

Hayley forlod os denne morgen, hvor hun nu efter snart tre måneder skal hjemad til England. Det føles allerede en smule tomt uden hende. Vi har haft 3 rigtige gode måneder sammen, og jeg ønsker hende held og lykke fremover. Det betyder også at vi for en stund kun er tre på stationen, indtil endnu en ny frivillig fra England tilslutter sig her om et par dage.

Denne morgen skete der noget helt uventet. Jeg tog igen ud til Nordstrand og observerede sammen med Knud og Jørgen. Vi startede en lille smule senere i dag grundet lidt regnvejr den første time.

Udover havet så vi både Hvidnæbbet Lom og Islom, som nogle af dagens highlights. Ellers kom der flere grupper af Stor Korsnæb forbi, og så havde vi også en rigtig fin Havlit han kommende helt tæt på kysten. Vi så også en Gærdesanger, der nok højst sandsynligt var en af de to østlige underarter af Gærdesanger, da vores normale Gærdesanger for længst burde have fløjet sydpå. Den var desuden brun på meget af issen og virkede til at have meget hvidt i halen hvilket begge er karakterer for de to østlige racer ssp. blythi og ssp halimodendri. Udover disse highlights havde vi en del Alke og nu er lomvierne for alvor kommet i gang med deres træk. Deres tal er steget markant hen over de sidste par dage. Det skal da også lige nævnes, at vi fik øje på en Storkjove. 

Foto. Knud Pedersen

Thomas og Simon tog til Kabeltromlen, hvor de havde endnu en Rødtoppet Fuglekonge i ringmærkningen. Dette er den tredje imens jeg har været på stationen. Samtidig har vi også observeret flere af dem i felten, og det tyder på det bedste efterår ift. denne art heroppe. Samlet havde de to 30 fugle i ringmærkningen, hvilket var okay men de havde forventet lidt mere med de sydlige vinde og lidt roligere vejr.

Senere på dagen tog Simon og jeg ud på en tur for at se om vi kunne finde nogle fede fugle. Det lykkedes ikke denne gang, men Simon fik øje på en Stor Tornskade nær parkeringspladsen. Thomas gav sig ind for at handle og trodsede modvinden, da han er den der står for aftensmaden i dag.

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Total: 22

Ringing (Jennes Sø):

Total: 23

A link to today's observations from volunteers and local observers.

People: Hayley Land, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Thomas Weston, Simon S. Christiansen, Jørgen Hulbæk, Lone and Lars.

Firecrests and a busy migration day

Simon Jr was alone at World’s End 3 this morning and was very busy with the clickers! Over five hours he counted a massive 4681 Razorbills (Alk) and 601 Kittiwakes (Ride). He had lots of highlights throughout the count including a Puffin (Lunde), 11 Little Auks (Søkonge), a Slavonian Grebe (Nordisk Lappedykker), a Great Northern Diver (Islom) and a White-billed Diver (Hvidnæbbet Lom). Another highlight was a Short-eared Owl (Mosehornugle) which came in off the sea and that was also spotted from Kabeltromlen. On his way back, Simon also spotted the Blyth’s Pipit (Mongolsk Piber) again. It has now been here for over two weeks!

Photo: Little Auk (Søkonge) by Simon Jr.

Thomas and I were ringing again at Kabeltromlen, and were joined by Simon Sr, Lars, Lone and Jørgen. It was a quiet morning compared to the last few ringing sessions with a total of 43 new birds ringed. The most numerous species ringed was Blue Tit (Blåmejse), most of which were caught in the first round. Later on, we were pleasantly surprised to find a Firecrest (Rødtoppet Fuglekonge) in the net. These are one of the smallest bird species found in Denmark and our individual was tiny, only weighing 4.4 grams. On the very next round, we were even more surprised to find another Firecrest (Rødtoppet Fuglekonge)! This individual was a recapture; we first ringed it 11 days ago.

Gustav also joined us at Kabeltromlen and led a tour for a group of people who are in the first semester of the same studies that he is doing. The group was shown the ringing and played a game about animal ethics.

At Jennes Sø, Michael was also out ringing. He caught a very nice mix of species including a Crested Tit (Topmejse), a Treecreeper (Træløber) and 14 Mealy Redpoll (Stor Gråsisken). He also ringed two new Arctic Redpoll (Hvidsisken).

This afternoon, we have been busy with entering ringing and migration count data. Lone checked sheets with Simon Sr, social media was updated, and a rarity reports written. Later Gustav, Simon, Thomas and I are going out for a meal in town with Simon Sr, Jørgen, Lars and Lone which will be a very nice way to spend my last evening in Skagen!

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Total: 43

Ringing (Jennes Sø):

Total: 51

People: Hayley Land, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Thomas Weston, Simon S. Christiansen, Jørgen Hulbæk, Lone and Lars, Michael Ancher.

Today’s observations on Dofbasen from observers in the area

I dag var vi spredt ud på lidt forskellige poster. Jeg var selvfølgelig sammen med Knud ved Verdens ende 3, mens Hayley og Thomas befandt sig ved Kabeltromlen. Simon Jr. tog ud til Michael ved Jennes Sø og hjalp ham med ringmærkningen. 

Knud og jeg fik besøg af Jørgen Hulbæk i dag ved observationsposten. Han er kommet den lange vej fra Sjælland og har massere af observationserfaring. Vi tre fik denne morgen observeret 3 Hvidnæbbet Lom der trak ind i Kattegat. Dette blev erklæret et meget usædvanligt syn, da de garvede birders aldrig har set noget lignende. Derudover fik vi set 9 Søkonger og rigtig mange Alke. En af Søkongerne valgte sågar at krydse ind over Grenen foran os ved observationsposten. Der er i disse dage et stort antal Søkonger, der er ankommet til Grenen med de nordlige vinde. 

Hayley og Thomas havde også en del fugle i dag, og lige da de troede de skulle til at lukke ringmærkningen, fik de 40 fugle i nettene. Så deres dag blev lidt længere, end de havde forventet, men når det skyldes store flokke af Halemejser, Blåmejser og nogle Skægmejser så går den lige ;) 

Simon havde en begivenhedsrig morgen som startede med at han negligerede frosten, der havde lagt sig som et tyndt tæppe over cykelsadler og underlaget på gangbroerne. Da Simon Jr. på hans cykel kom susende hen over heden vest for fyret, med tanke på om han mon ville se en Topmejse helt tæt på, styrtede han på gangbroen mellem Jennes Sø og Kapgadagung. Han tog endda et dokumentations billede af faldet, mens han stadig lå kold og såret på jorden. 

Men op på jernhesten kom han igen hen til Jennes Sø. Her fik han hans ønske om en Topmejse opfyldt, og Simon og Michael fik også en meget sen Rørsanger i nettet. Så selvom han startede dårligt ud, fik han alligevel en solid dag. 

Senere havde vi billede session med Simon Sr., hvor vi kiggede nogle af de for nylig ringmærket fugle igennem, som der var lidt tvivl om i forhold til deres alder. 

Ellers sluttede dagen af med noget dejligt mad lavet af Simon Jr. 

Tak for i dag!

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Total: 93

Ringing (Jennes Sø):

Total: 76

People: Hayley Land, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Thomas Weston, Knud Pedersen, Simon S. Christiansen, Jørgen Hulbæk, Lone and Lars

Today started breezy from the North with full cloud cover throughout the day and odd showers. The conditions have certainly changed since yesterday and a noticeable drop in temperature occurred with temperatures not rising above 1’c and feeling more like -3’c today. However, with these cooler conditions we decided to do both migration count and ringing this morning.

Figure 1: Morning ringing by Hayley

Simon Jr, Hayley, and I went ringing and due to the conditions, we had just over half the nets open which was ample for the three of us. Throughout the morning we were joined by our guests, their friend Chris, Simon S.C, Jørgen (and Egor), fellow ringers Oluf and Jørgen as well as a couple of local birders. The morning started slower than recent with both ‘Northern Bullfinch’ [Dompap, Stor] and Bullfinch (ssp. europaea) [Dompap, lille (ssp. europaea)] making up the ringing totals to begin. Birds overhead included a Marsh Harrier [Rørhøg] and hundreds of Fieldfares [Sjagger] migrating NW. The second net round became a little busier when the Redpoll (Nordlig/Lille Gråsisken) started migrating through again. Numbers were lower than recent and resulted in a few hundred birds passing NW. After recent ringing activities the team were prepared for any Redpoll [Nordlig/Lille Gråsisken] caught so a flock of 78 caught between three nets was easy peezy!

Figure 2: Team Water Pipit [Bjergpiber] by Simon S.C

After an arrival yesterday, Simon S.C, Oluf and Jørgen left us to try and catch Water Pipits [Bjergpiber]. The pipits were difficult to get and unfortunately the team couldn’t catch any of the birds present. The aim of this additional ringing is to catch a sample of Water Pipits [Bjergpiber] and start adding colour rings to contribute to a larger project. Maybe tomorrow?

Figure 3: Blyth’s Pipit [Mongolsk Piber] by Oluf Lou

However, whilst out pipit catching, they did see the Blyth’s Pipit [Mongolsk Piber] which has now been present for 15 days! It is looking in better shape than last week, though still hasn't grown its tail back yet. The temperature decreased a little more, so we went to a slightly more sheltered spot to ring and process the birds.

Figure 3: Siberian Chiffchaff [Gransanger, Siberirisk (ssp. tristis)] by Simon Jr

Team Water Pipit arrived back just in time to see the Siberian Chiffchaff [Gransanger, Siberirisk (ssp. tristis)] we had caught whilst they were away. This is the third caught and ringed this autumn and after release was performing nicely in the surrounding bushes, even giving a couple of nice calls in the bushes further confirming its identity.

Figure 3/4: Pallid Swift [Gråsejler] underside and upperside.

The numbers decreased quite quickly as the migration pulse decreased, and we decided to pack up before midday. With the gathering of both birders and ringers at the sheltered spot it came a big surprise when on the return of the closing net round we were told of a dead rare bird next to the ringing site and that we had to go to Simon S.C immediately. The ringing team were a tad worried, but it transpired a Pallid Swift [Gråsejler] (at the time Swift species) was found dead under the tree next to where we were ringing. This was a crazy find, not only was this bird alive within the last hour or so (rigor mortis hadn’t quite set in) but it was so close to where we had been for the previous couple of hours. Many questions were asked: Was it placed? Did it fall from the sky? Was it there the whole time? A zombie Swift? The creepiest thing this Halloween? The bird had no fat, was growing its primary feathers and was probably part of the European wide influx that is currently occurring. The warm(er) SE winds we had yesterday for the first time in a while as well as the warmest temperatures we have had for a while (11’c) probably made it head N, but due to the drop in temperatures today it probably led to the bird’s demise and the bird falling into the tree before being found dead on the ground. A real Halloween mystery.

When we got back, we took the bird back and after a photo opportunity we put the swift in the freezer. Gustav arrived back from migration counts at Nordstand and was eager to report he had seen impressive numbers of Little Auk [Søkonge], lower numbers of waterfowl than recent and a White-billed diver [Hvidnæbbet Lom]. The Little Auks [Søkonge] were a feature of the afternoon too with a post-ringing sea watch session from the side of the lighthouse resulting in at least five Little Auks [Søkonge] passing within 45 minutes.

With the nights closing in, a quiet Halloween evening of data inputting/data checking and a meal cooked by Gustav followed. Simon and Hayley have gone night catching so we shall see if they catch any birds this evening.

Ringing totals

Ringing [Kabeltromlekrattet]

Total: 112

Today’s observations on Dofbasen from observers in the area

People: Hayley Land, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Thomas Weston, Lorne and Lance, Chris, Simon S.C, Jørgen (and Egor), fellow ringers Oluf Lou and Jorgen Hulbaek.

Like everyday the weatherforecast announced rain, rain and after that some rain. But in between it looked like there might be a chance to be outside and we definitly wanted to use this one. So we woke up like usual and went to Kabeltromlen. Since there should come some rain, we just opened a few nets. With half of the nets open it was easy to control the situation, that the birds do not get wet. We caught some Bullfinches (Dompap) and like the days before there were many pyrrhula (Stor Dompap), which we could recognize by their calls and their winglenghts. Very interesting was a adult Robin, which was moulting its primaries and secondaries! Late date for that! We also caught and ringed a adult male Fieldfare (Sjagger).Fieldfare (Sjagger) - or for my german friends: Wacholderdrosselmuch black in the crown feathers - this tells us, that the Fieldfare is a male

Ringing is really fun at the moment and I totally emjoy it! There are so many nice birds around and it’s great to share the birds with the other volunteers, guests and visitors. Overhead we could find Parrot Crossbills (Stor Korsnæb), Waxwings (Silkehale) and a Water Pipit (Bjergpiber). After just one hour we closed the nets due to rain. But the last round was pretty good. First we ringed a Treecreeper (Træløber) and than there was a Chiffchaff (Gransanger), which looked interesing but it was quite yellow, so it looked more like a normal one. When we released it, it called – a sad ”høøø” – this must be a Siberian Chiffchaff (Sibirisk Gransanger), ssp. tristis. A bit sad, that we did not realise before, but at least I’ve got a proof recording of the call. It is very usefull to have a recorder running if you are birding or ringing. I can totally recommend it! Birding-tips with Simon Jr., I should get sponsored by a recorder company!

In the meanwhile, counting seabirds at Nordstrand was fun! The highlights were quite many Parrot Crossbills (Stor Korsnæb) and two Great Nothern Divers (Islom). But since the light was good and the birds were very close, many common species gave amazing views. Espacially after all the rarities you sometimes just see quite bad, it is nice to enjoy the more common species. And if you ask me a young Kittiwake in good light can be one of the most beautiful birds. So the count was good, too, even if the rain soaked the counters.

We, the ringers, used the gained time due to the early net-close to go birding with Simon Sr. We went to the industry area north of the town, where we found the Red-flanked Bluetail the week before. We managed to see 8 Chiffchaffs (Gransanger), which is pretty impressive. Unfortunately, they were all „normal“. No tristis. I still enjoyed them and a late male Blackcap (Munk), too. But we want the rare stuff. ;-) Maybe later? Thomas left us for a phone call, Simon left us too and Hayley went shopping. So I was alone at Batteriskoven, but that does not stop me of finding birds. A pretty late Barn Swallow (Landsvale) flew over, wow!

When I walked thorugh the heathland between the forrest and the camping area I wanted to hurry up a bit, because it looked like there is much rain coming soon. But than there was a bird flying into a pine tree and it did not land inside, like Tits (Mejse) do, it landed on the outermost branch. So i had a look through my binos and it was a pale Stonechat. Siberian Stonechat – this thought came directly into my head. Luckily I was well prepared and had my camera with me, wo I took it out and I managed to get some nice shots."Siberian" Stonechat ("Sibirisk" Bynkefugl)

The rump was uniform cream coloured and the throat was white. Super nice found! Since it is very light it is probably really a Siberian one, but to completely exclude the more rare Amur Stonechat a DNA sample would have been neccessarry. In anyway a nice bird. Look at those autumn colours! The rump is a important feature for the identification: I called it out on Zello and hurried up to get into the lighthouse. I’ve got wet, but it was worth it! In the afternoon we found a European Stonechat (Sortstrubet Bynkefugl), many Fieldfares (Sjagger) migrated, we entered data and ate cake.

To be honest, this is just the second blog I’ve wrote without looking stuff up or translate parts to make my life easiert. I think this is a progress – it helps me a lot to speak english every day. It feels much more natural and I think this makes my blogposts here more entertaining. Do you agree? Feel free to tell me!

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Total: 55

A link to today's observations from volunteers and local observers.

People: Hayley Land, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Thomas Weston, Simon S. Christiansen, Knud Pedersen, Lars and Lone.