Up again early in the morning after a night of ringing which resulted in a recapture of a juvenile Nightjar (Natravn), but no European Storm Petrel (Lille Stormsvale). Trying to catch European Storm Petrels in Skagen has begun to share a stark resemblance to the Greek myth of Sisyphus, who as a punishment from the gods of Olympus, was forced to roll a large boulder up to the top of a hill, only to have the boulder roll down to the bottom, repeating for eternity. But we will try again at some point, weather permitting.

Not hindered by lack of sleep the ringers went to the Kabeltromlen while me and Robbie went to Worlds End 3 to do the standardized counting. In my hubris I didn’t bring a coat thinking I wouldn’t need and was punished for it with a relatively cold morning and a not all too exciting morning obs, though with some good highlights such as Little Gull (Dværgmåge) 1k, Caspian Gull (Kaspisk Måge) 1k and the “local” Crested Lark (Toplærke) that has been visiting the tip for almost a month now, though we have yet to find where it spends it day when not doing its almost daily trip to Grenen.

Worlds End 3

Kabeltromlen had a day where quality over quantity was the slogan with a very nice 1st winter male Bluethroat (Blåhals), probably white-spotted (Sydlig), as the first red-spotted (Nordlig) are usually found around 5-10th september as they migrate from the mountains in Northern Scandinavia. A funny episode was a Common Kingfisher (Isfugl) that flew with full force into one of the nets, but due to the speed it was going at, it bounced out of the net and kept flying!

1st winter male Bluethroat (Blåhals)

1st winter Common Redstart (Rødstjert)

When we came back to station it was time to do the weekly cleaning session, but with six people at the station it was a short affair, got to keep it nice and tidy. After that everyone except me, went into the city to meet up with Lisa to get some ice cream and do some shopping. I went to Stokmilen just south of Skagen to see the two Swallowtails (Svalehale) that have been hanging out on top the dune for almost a week now and look for Silver-spotted Skipper (Kommabredpande), both two very rare butterfly species that I have wanted to see for a long time. And to put it shortly, the photos speak for themselves.

Swallowtail (Svalehale)

Silver-spotted Skipper (Kommabredpande)

After that we cooked some dinner and went for a short evening obs at Sandormsvinget and that was the end of the day as everyone were spent and another day was waiting.

Evening Obs from Alex's Dune

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)

Gærdesmutte (Eurasian Wren): 1

Bluethroat (Bluethroat): 1

Rødstjert (Common Redstart): 1

Rørsanger (Eurasian Reed Warbler): 5

Gærdesanger (Lesser Whitethroat): 2

Tornsanger (Common Whitethroat): 4

Munk (Blackcap): 1

Gransanger (Eurasian Chiffchaff): 1

Musvit (Great Tit): 1

Total: 17

People at the station: Ragnar Smith, Lucas Corneliussen, Asia Kane, Rosa Hicks, Robbie Lawler, Joe Zeno

Link to today's observations from observers in the area

Hello all!

Last night we attempted to catch storm petrels once again, with none showing up this time, but we will not give up! A nice consolation to the lack of Storm-petrels were two Nightjars, an adult female and a juvenile recapture, seen late during the night.

Today Asia and I got up before sunrise to open the nets for another day of ringing. After the nets were up, Lucas and Simon joined us. We had a decent number of birds today with a Willow Warbler (Løvsanger) and many Common Whitethroats (Tornsanger) making appearances. The highlights of the day didn’t end up in the nets. Early in the day, Lucas spotted a Goshawk on a perch against the dunes. This was a new bird for me, the Eurasian variant of the recently split goshawk species. Later in the morning, Simon led a tour for a group of birdwatchers from Finland where we showed them the ringing process and Simon talked about what we do here in Skagen.

A tour group obesrving a bird being rung

Ragnar was solo on observations today at World’s End 3 and he witnesses loads of seabirds passing by the tip of Denmark. He observed good numbers of Fulmars and a possible shearwater that he later deemed to be a fulmar. A highlight for him today was observing a two-meter-long tuna jump out of the water! He also saw 25+ migration attempts from raptors in the area.

Lucas and Rosa did some birding individually in the afternoon. Lucas observed an early season rock pipit, heard by Ragnar as well, near the lighthouse. Rosa took a bike ride and saw a spotted flycatcher, two red kites and some Honey Buzzards.

A returning volunteer, Robbie, arrived this evening and he will be staying with us for several days helping out with observations. He spotted a Red-backed Shrike near the sandworm track during a walk after he arrived.

We will be attempting again to catch Storm-Petrels again tonight for the third straight night, fingers crossed we’ll get one!

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)

Marsh warbler (Kærsanger) - 3

Chiffchaff (Gransanger) – 3

Willow warbler (Løvsanger) – 1

Common whitethroat (Tornsanger) – 5

Blackbird (Solsort) – 1

Lesser whitethroat (Gærdesanger) – 2

Reed warbler (Rørsanger) – 1

Reed Bunting (Rørspurv) - 1                                    

Great Tit (Musvit) – 1

Total: 18

Ringing (Det Grå Fyr)

Eurasian Nightjar (Natravn) - 1

Total: 1

People at the Station: Asia Kane, Joe Zeno, Lucas Corneliussen, Rosa Hicks, Robbie Lawler, Simon S. Christiansen, Mette Møller Christiensen

Link to today's observations from the Skagen area

Hi all!

For those eagerly awaiting the news of a storm petrel (Lille Stormsvale) or nightjar (Natravn), I’m afraid neither were successful, but alas – we will try again tonight! With this, the night ringing team headed to bed at 3:30am, passing the baton to the Kabeltromlen team as they headed out for the dawn ringing.

This ringing was more successful, and while there were only 13 new birds, there was a nice diversity of species, including sedge warbler (Sivsanger), willow warbler (Løvsanger), and water rail (Vandrikse). Between net rounds we were talking about pheasants (Fasan), then less than 5 minute later I was presenting Simon with Skagen’s first ever pheasant (Fasan) to be rung!

 The above photo shows a female pheasant (Fasan) - the first to be rung at Skagen!

While we were out ringing, Lucas was on morning observations, documenting a slow push of wader movement including 40 golden plover (Hjejle) and 30 tringa species, as well as 30 fulmar (Mallemuk), and 60 gannets (Sule).  

We then received an exciting email from Jurmo Bird Observatory about a Skagen ringed coal tit (Sortmejse), which was recaptured in Finland, travelling 672km over 21 days! The Observatory said they usually ring 100 – 300 coal tits (Sortmejse) in the autumn, and a handful in the spring. However, weather patterns last autumn caused an invasion year, with a record of more than 2000 ringed before the new year and 27 ringed in spring. Thank you, Kim Kuntze, Lauri Kokkala, and Jurmo Bird Observatory, for this brilliant additional information.

The Skagen ringed coal tit (Sortmejse), recaptured in Finland. Photo by Lauri Kokkala.

To prepare us for another long night of net watching, Lucas, Mette, and I went for a refreshing swim. Keep your fingers crossed that the storm petrels (Lille Stormsvale) and nightjars (Natravn) decide to visit our nets tonight!

Swimming – we’re on day seven in a row and are trying to convince ourselves that we’re acclimatising!

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)

Marsh warbler (Kærsanger) - 2

 Chiffchaff (Gransanger) – 2

Pheasant (Fasan) – 1

Water rail (Vandrikse) - 1

Sedge warbler (Sivsanger) – 1

Willow warbler (Løvsanger) – 1

Common whitethroat (Tornsanger) – 1

Blackbird (Solsort) – 1

Blackcap (Munk) – 1

Lesser whitethroat (Gærdesanger) – 1

Reed warbler (Rørsanger) - 1

Total: 13 

People at the station: Asia Kane, Joe Zeno, Lucas Corneliussen, Rosa Hicks, Simon S. Christiansen, Mette Møller Christiensen

Link to todays observations in Dofbasen from the Skagen area

In Ragnar’s absence, I woke up later (04:40 AM) than the ringing crew (03:45) and headed out to Worlds End 1 to begin the days morning observation count. After a few relatively unproductive days from Worlds End 3, I thought I would switch it up and try my luck with others here. The first hour was relatively slow with only a few fulmars (Mallemuk) and a handful of Northern Gannets (Sule), but as the morning progressed, it slowly picked up speed. As did the wind. By the end of the morning, it topped out at 14 m/s. An adult dark morph Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove) and several species of alcids (alkefugl) were nice consolation prizes, but unfortunately, nothing crazy rare went by continental Denmark's northern most migration hotspot. 

On the ringing front, the ringers finally got an extra 15 minutes of sleep as we adjusted the first round time by 15 minutes. Unfortunately, the extra sleep did not help them as they were only able to keep the nets open for four rounds before the wind and lack of productively were simply too much to justify keeping the nets open. The whole crew returned to the station by 09:30 and began completing some chores around our home away from home. Data was entered, photos in the archive were adjusted and the station cleaned. This was all in preparation for tonight as we will try once again to ring European Storm-Petrels (Stormsvale). And so, another day at Skagen Fuglestation passes, what will tomorrow morning (tonight) bring – we will have to wait and see. 

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)

Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) - 2

Blackcap (Munk)  - 1

Chiffchaff (Gransanger) - 2

Total: 5

People at SKAF: Lucas Corneliussen, Rosa Hicks, Joe Zeno, Simon Christiansen, Asia Kane, Mette Møller Christiensen

Link to today's observations from observers in the area

Hello everyone!

Today I was on observation duties, so early in the morning I biked out to World’s End 3 to look for anything interesting that was around the tip of Denmark. For the first hour of observation, I was alone, but after an hour Knut Peterson joined me to look for seabirds. In the first hour I spotted two Little Terns (Dværgterne) foraging along the coast, a solid bird for the Skagen area. As he arrived, Knut informed me of a Ruff (Brushane) and two Temmink’s Stints (Temmincksryle) in a nearby pond. I temporarily left my post to observe these shorebirds and I encountered a Curlew Sandpiper (Krumnæbbet ryle) and a Red Knot (Islandsk ryle ) as well. Returning to World’s End 3 we were met with not many migrants as the winds were quite strong today with a Caspian Gull (Kaspisk någe) being the highlight of the final few hours. At the end of our count, we were able to read a few color rings on Lesser Black-backed Gull (Sildemåge) and Great Black-backed Gull (Svartbag).

Today the ringers were back at Kabeltromlen after ringing at the CES site the day before. It was a windy day, but the ringing still commenced. A total of 9 birds were rung, and it was a good day for Chiffchaffs (Gransanger) as 6 were caught. A couple other birds including a Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) and a Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger) ended up in the nets as well. In a few days the winds are expected to calm down and hopefully this means we will get more birds!

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)

Chiffchaff (Gransanger) – 6

Reed Warber (Rørsanger) – 1

Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger) – 1

Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) - 1

Willow Warbler (Løvsanger) - 1

Total: 10

People: Rosa Hicks, Asia Kane, Joe Zeno, Simon S. Christiansen, Lucas Cornelliussen

Link to today's observations from observers in the area

Hello all!

Today Rosa, Joe, and I were up bright and early to head to our CES site. It had been a while since our last visit, and we were interested to see if many new birds would be caught today. The ringing today went better than the last few days at Kabeltromlen – we caught a good number of birds, including recaptured breeding adults and new juvenile birds. Most of the birds caught were Rørsangers (Reed Warblers).

We were later joined by our guest Lærkebjørn, who kindly brought us the battery for the hedge trimmer as we had forgotten it at the station. When we had some time between rounds, we refreshed our understanding of moult strategies with Simon to help us remember the details of yesterday’s talk.

After we had closed the nets, we used the hedge trimmer to remove the reeds and other plants that were obstructing the net lanes. We finished half of the nets today, and will do the rest soon.

Joe hard at work with the hedge trimmer!

Meanwhile, Lucas was carrying out the day’s observations. He had a slow day, but saw a flock of roughly 200 Sule (Gannets) and a Storkjove (Great Skua). In the afternoon, he went for a refreshing swim in the ocean.

Tomorrow we are back to ringing at Kabeltromlen. It will be interesting to see what we catch!

Ringing (Skarvsøen CES):

Blåmejse (Blue Tit): 2

Gransanger (Chiffchaff): 2

Munk (Blackcap): 2

Rørsanger (Reed Warbler): 8

Tornsanger (Common Whitethroat): 2

 Total: 16

People: Lucas Corneliussen, Joe Zeno, Rosa Hicks, Asia Kane, Simon S. Christiansen, Lærkebjørn

Link to today's observations from observers in the area

Hello everyone!

Today was a very windy day. Rosa and I got up bright and early to open the mist nets. With the nets up before sunrise, we set up the ringing station at Kabeltromlen with Simon and Asia and got ready to catch birds. As the sun reached the horizon, we started checking the nets. Almost immediately we noticed some of the nets were being blown in the wind quite heavily, allowing birds to see the nets and evade them. We made the decision to close the nets that were heavily impacted by the wind because they would be less productive, and it would keep birds that were caught from getting too tangled in the nets. Early in the session we caught a Song Thrush (Sangdrossel), a lifer for me! Later, we caught a Common Reed Warbler (Rørsanger), Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger), Marsh Warbler (Kærsanger), Chiffchaff (Gransanger), and Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken). Simon also took us to see a local species of orchid that blooms during this time of the summer.

Pictured is a local orchid species (Sump-hullæbe) near Kabeltromlen

Lucas got up at 4:30 to head out to World’s End 3 for observations. The day was starting slow, but his spirits were heightened when he spotted a Black Tern (Sortterne) foraging over the ocean. He also noted a Litle Gull (Dværgmåge) resting on the beach.

 In the afternoon, Simon brought us all together for a discussion on Ethics in Ringing and on using moult to age birds. Concerning ethics, we discussed a variety of topics including the risk factors with ringing birds, considerations that ringers must make, and routines that ringers at Skagen partake in. In the second part of the discussion, we discussed different groups of birds’ molt strategies and how this can impact how we age the birds during different seasons. We practiced with a few examples as seen above in the image of Rosa and Asia describing the age of a bird by observing feathers on its wing.

Pictured above is Asia and Rosa describing the moult on the wing of a bird

We are expecting more windy weather for the next few days and hopefully that means we will be seeing more migrants and new birds to showcase here on the blog!

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)

Song Thrush (Sangdrossel) - 1

Chiffchaff (Gransanger) - 1

Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken) - 1

Marsh Warbler (Kærsanger) - 1

Reed Warbler (Rørsanger) - 1

Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger) - 1

Total: 6

Link to observations in the area today

People at the station: Lucas Corneliussen, Joe Zeno, Rosa Hicks, Asia Kane, Simon S. Christiansen, Lærkebjørn, Michael Anker, Oluf Lou

Hi all!

A lovely sunning morning at Grenen was accompanied by a nice selection of birds for the ringing team – including crested tit (Topmejse), reed bunting (Rørspurv), spotted flycatcher (Grå Fluesnapper), adult male lesser redpoll (Lille Gråsiskin), and a redwing (Vindrossel), which was moulting its primary flight feathers and had a brood patch, meaning it must have bred in the region!

The above photo shows a spotted flyctacher (Grå Fluesnapper).

 
In one of the nets we also had a beautiful male emperor dragonfly (Stor Kejserguldsmed). Not quite a feathery bird, but very cool to see up close, as they are one of the largest dragonfly species in Europe! Luckily it was easy to free from the net, and then rested on my hand for a quick photo before flying away. 

This ringing session was also joined by several visitors. It was the last session for our guest Kirsten, who has provided a helping hand all week, which we’re very grateful for. It was nice to catch a crested tit (Topmejse) for her final session, as this is one of her favourites. We were also joined by a young boy from BirdLife Denmark’s youngest member group: the Eagle Club, as well as some visitors with children from Switzerland. It’s always nice to be able to show these birds to children and inspire the future generation, as many of us volunteers started our bird journeys the exact same way!

Meanwhile, Joe was on observations with Knud Peterson, as Lucas was busy seeking penduline tits (Pungmejse) in Aalborg, before saying goodbye to James. The highlight of Joe and Knud’s session was three great skuas (Storkjove), which came close to shore while chasing gulls. They were also able to read several lesser black-backed gull (Sildemåge) and greater black-backed gull  (Svartbag) colour rings, so we look forward to finding out the history of those birds.

We have a busy day planned for tomorrow, with the usual standardised ringing and observations, as well as a moult strategy workshop from Simon to develop our skills and knowledge, which we're all looking forward to.

Ringing  (Kabeltromlekrattet)

Lille Gråsisken - 4

Grå Fluesnapper - 1

Gærdesanger - 1

Rørsanger - 2

Topmejse - 1

Rørspuv - 1

Munk - 2

Gransanger - 5

Total: 17

People at the station: Rosa Hicks, Asia Kane, Joe Zeno, Lucas  Corneliussen, Simon S. Christiansen, Kirsten Bregn, Lisa Vergin

Link to today's observations from observers in the area.

We knew it was coming. The strong wind picked up the evening before and we could see rain clouds headed our direction, but we hoped they would pass. They did not. Regardless the station woke up at 4 AM and waited and hoped, checking the radar forecast for a slimmer of hope the weather would pass. Once again, it did not. Every hour I would get up and check the forecast, look out the window and check the radar. It did not pass. After a while the crew went back to bed and slept in for a few hours. 

Simon arrived at the station at around noon for a quick meeting and we discussed what needed to be done around the station, the upcoming moult session we were planning and other miscellaneous tasks. Around 2 PM, Simon took James and I to the train station so we could catch our train to Aalborg (not to fret readers, I am back tomorrow). Sadly, we did loose a fellow stationer, James departed today back to the Connecticut. We did get to go see the breeding Eurasian Penduline-Tits (Pungmejse) in Aalborg though, that was a nicee consolation. We will miss you buddy - have a safe trip home. CT Forever! 

In the evening the rest of the stationers (not including myself) went out to Grenen to check for waders downed by the storm. Unfortunately, it was apparently rather unproductive and only yielded the usual numbers and expected species but a Common Snipe (Dobbeltbekkasin) was a nice surprise. And so another day passes at Skagen Fuglestation - what will tomorrow bring? We will have to wait to see.  

People at SKAF: Lucas Corneliussen, James Leone, Rosa Hicks, Joe Zeno, Asia Kane, Simon  Christiansen, Kirsten Bregn

Link to today's observations from observers in the area

Hello everyone!

Today was a beautiful day for ringing birds. This was my first-time ringing. Rosa, Asia, Lucas, and I got up early to set up the nets for ringing. We set our nets open at 4:30 in the morning and began to get equipped at Kabeltromlen for ringing any birds that flew into our nets. We were happily surprised to hear from the observers that there was a Crested Lark in the parking lot. Lucas and I ran down after the nets were opened and observed the bird in the middle of the lot.

Toplærke (Crested Lark), Grenens P-plads

The first few net checks in the day were slow, with a couple Chiffchaff (Gransanger) being the solo species for the first portion of the ringing. After a couple of net runs the activity began to pick up as we ringed Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger), Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger), and Reed Warbler (Rørsanger). The highlight of the day for the ringers came on the last run as Lucas and I encountered a family of five Great Tits (Musvit). Although these small passerines enjoy biting the hands of ringers as they are extracted from the nets, they brought some excitement to the end of a long morning of ringing. Three of the Great Tits that we caught were recaptures from Skagen!

Grenen in the morning

The observers, Ragnar and James, went out to World’s End 3 just before sunrise to observe wader and seabird migration along the coast. Highlights for them included a little gull on the beach, a flock of European Golden-Plovers, a Black Guillemot, a Razorbill, and a probable Pomarine Jeager.

Later in the day, Rosa visited Skagen Klitplantage and observed 16 Honey Buzzards on the way, a positive sign for raptor migration.

With inspiration from Rosa’s Honey Buzzard observation, James and Lucas set out in the afternoon to look for Red Kites and Common Crane, with success viewing both species. Along the way they also picked up Eurasian Nuthatch, Carrion Crow, and a probable Dunnock.

The weather looks to be interesting the next couple of days and we are excited to see what birds the winds will bring in!

Link to observations in the Skagen area in Dofbasen from today

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)

Common Chiffchaff (Gransanger) – 7

Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) – 2

Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger) – 1

Blackcap (Munk) – 2

Great Tit (Musvit) – 2

Total: 14