Today was started out quiet abrupt. After stay up far longer than I probably should have, given the poor weather forecast in the morning - the station was woken up at 08:00 by Simon with the announcement of a Terek Sandpiper (Terekklire) at Grenen. We immediately got on our bikes and practically flew out there as fast as we humanly could, but were unable to make it in time before the bird departed. Truly a shame. I suppose to pays to be out even in the worst weather conditions possible - a good find regardless for Skagen (the first for Skagen).

Although the disappointment of missing the Terek Sandpiper stung, we continued on with our day. Simon came to the station early in the morning to prepare a few things before his well deserved vacation and we planned to meet him at Sandmilen at 11:45 to check out the nightjars and try to ring them - THEY HATCHED (a day and a half before). Unfortunately, due to rain we were unable to leave until the mid afternoon. The volunteer crew joined by Malthe arrived about an hour early and detected an early Parrot Crossbill (Stor Korsnæb). When Simon arrived we were happy to find both chicks were doing well, but unfortunately they were still too small to ring. We will have to return to do it another day when Simon returns. Afterwards, Myrthe and I made a trip to Hulsig Hede to search for raptors (unsuccessfully). We would also like to thank our sponsors for the funding need to purchase new bicycles and a new scope! We are extremely grateful.

The remainder of the afternoon was fairly relaxed. Some of us went to the store to go grocery store to pick up much needed groceries and restock on our most mandatory item: Nutella. We also picked up some things for the Euros Final. Halla España!  Benjamin made a nice dinner and we spent the evening watching the game with our new guests! Wow what a game. Thank god Spain won!

Vi Ses!

People at SKAF: Lucas Corneliussen, Asia Kane, Myrthe Van Brempt, Simon S. Christiensen, Benjamin Bech, Malthe Delholm

Link to obserservations in Skagen today

I woke up during the night because of strong wind moving the window and guess what: it was raining. Back to bed.

We all slept in and had delicious leftover pancakes for breakfast, thank you Mark & Co!!! Then we had a thorough cleaning session. We got rid of all the sand that found its way from the beach to our living room and kitchen. It is nice and clean in here now :)

In the late afternoon, everyone was taking it easy working on own projects. Asia made us spaghetti for dinner and then we made plans for the next coming week. Weather is not looking great but we will make the best out of it!

Tomorrow the new guests for the apartment arrive and in the evening we will watch UEFA Euro 2024 final. Who do you think will win; Spain or England?

People: Lucas Corneliussen, Benjamin Bech, Asia Kane, Myrthe Van Brempt, Mark Desholm & co 

Link to today's observations from observers in the area

Waking up bright and early; Asia, Myrthe and I headed to Skarvsøen for CES ringing this morning. Benjamin decided that he was too tired and stayed home for the first few hours before joining us later in the morning. Arriving at the parking lot we were expecting the mosquitos to be quiet bad after many days of strong wind, but we were surprised to find they were surprisingly bearable! Simon arrived at 4:45 for the first round and we were delighted to find the first 1k Reed Buntings (Rørspurv) in the net! Something I personally have been waiting over a month for - I love Reed Buntings! The next several hours were quiet productive with close to 30 new birds in the net and around 10 recaptures. Oluf Lou also joined us and assisted in the ringing process! Thank you Oluf for coming. Highlights included Crested Tit (Topmejse), Reed Bunting (Røspurv), and a pair of Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsiskin).

After closing the nets at 10:15, we biked back to the station around 11 AM and made ourselves some well deserved lunch before taking a much needed nap in the afternoon to replenish ourselves for the rest of the day. In the afternoon, we caught up on some data entry from this morning and prepared ourselves for the meal with Mark & Co. had been preparing. Pancakes! Lovely. Simon and Lisa also came and joined us for dinner and of course, we had to play a few games outside to work off the calories and enjoy the nice weather before the projected massive rainstorms of the coming few days.

A few very intense james of Viking, latter ball and spikeball later we had drained ourselves of the last of our remaining energy for the day and headed upstairs to bid everyone goodnight. And so, another day at SKAF passes, what will tomorrow bring?

Vi Ses!

Ringing (Skarvsøen) - includes recaptures

Reed Warbler (Rørsanger) - 17

Common Blackbird (Solsort) - 1

Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsiskin) - 2

Crested Tit - 1

Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger) - 4

Blackcap (Munk) - 2

Blue Tit (Blåmejse) - 2

Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) - 2

Common Chaffinch (Bogfinke) - 1

People: Lucas Corneliussen, Benjamin Bech, Asia Kane, Myrthe Van Brempt, Simon S. Christiansen, Lisa Vergin, Oluf Lou, Mark Desholm & co 

Link to today's observations from observers in the area

Early this morning, we continued our efforts to catch Lille Stormsvale (European Storm Petrels) and Natravn (Nightjars) on the beach and near the lighthouse. We checked our nets every 45 minutes, hoping to find a bird in one of them, but unfortunately we were unsuccessful. A lot of interested people showed up to come with us on our rounds, which created a sense of community and helped us stay awake through the night. Mette even brought us some delicious cupcakes, which helped give everyone some extra strength.

It felt like no time at all before we saw the sun coming up in the east – at this time of year, the nights are so short that we only had a few hours of complete darkness in which to catch nocturnal birds. Although we didn’t catch anything, we hope to try again at some point!
Around 04:00, Lucas, Benjamin, Myrthe, and Seán headed out to Grenen to do some seawatching. Myrthe headed home a bit early, which turned out to be a wise decision – as soon as she left, the others were caught in a sudden rain shower and were forced to return to the lighthouse.
Later in the day, I went for a walk along the beach and saw two Almindelig Kjove (Arctic Skuas). There were also plenty of Fjordterne (Common Tern) and Almindelig Ryle (Dunlin). While I was out, Lucas and Myrthe visited the Natravn nest to remove some twigs that were in the way of the camera. The parent birds were still incubating eggs, which will hopefully hatch soon.
Finally, Lucas, Benjamin and I washed some of our bikes to keep them in good condition. Then Myrthe cooked us a delicious dinner, and we are now getting ready for ringing at the CES site tomorrow. Who knows what we might catch?

People: Lucas Corneliussen, Benjamin Bech, Asia Kane, Myrthe Van Brempt, Simon S. Christiansen, Mette Christensen, Seán Walsh, Ragnar Smith, Sakari Kauppinen, Nicolai Jeppesen, Mark Desholm & co 

 Link to today's observations

Hellow!

It was raining early this morning so we all slept in and took it easy. After breakfast I went for a nice walk to Grenen and North Beach when the sun was out. And guess what I encountered on the beach? A dead harbour porpoise!

Dead harbour porpoise on the beach.

In the afternoon I worked on the photo archive and so did Simon. Few days ago we have put a webcam on the nightjar nest and they are still doing good. We can see the female sitting on the nest, even though some branches fell down in front of the camera... Hopefully the chicks hatch soon! In this video you can see how the male replaces the female on the nest.

Knud Pedersen notified us about a Sandwich Tern (Splitterne) that was ringed at Agger Tange on the west coast of Denmark in 2020.This winter (february 2024) it was observed in Namibia! And now read again here at Grenen a few days ago! That's pretty damn cool, isn't it?

Matte and Sean are joining us tonight when we try catch storm petrels (Lille stormsvale) on the beach, so exciting! We had a lovely dinner together with Mette and the apartment guests (Mark & co) and then opened nets on the beach as well as the nightjar nests across the road.

Now we are eagerly waiting for storm petrels and nightjars in the nets while having a beer and watching football.

Let's all pray for storm petrels now!

Bye!

People at SKAF: Lucas Corneliussen, Benjamin Bech, Asia Kane, Myrthe Van Brempt, Simon S. Christiansen, Mette Christensen, Seán Walsh, Ragnar Smith, Sakari Kauppinen, Nicolai Jeppesen, Mark Desholm & co :)

Link to today's observations from observers in the area

Today once again started out quite late in the day. With not much happening on the ringing side, and only a few more days until the standard begins for daily observations, we took the time to sleep in and rest up. However, we got some great news recently! We finally received the funding to purchase new bicycles to support our withering stock. So around 11 AM, Simon arrived at the station to take us to town to pick up our new bikes!!! Hallelujah! They are fantastic. We got 2 new city bikes with baskets and three Mountain bikes (although one unfortunately did not arrive yet).

Arriving back at the station around noon we made a quick lunch (Pølse from the kiosk!) before opening the Fyr Havn nets for the tour (no one came). This gave us the opportunity to fix the nets that needed fixing and take down a net with extreme damage. The rest of the afternoon was filled with chores which needed to be down around the station. We had been procrastinating fixing the holes in some of the waders, only to find all three pairs had holes in the boot and were beyond repairable. What a shame. Myrthe, Benjamin and I then headed out to Kabeltrommelen to go and check the nets after the storm and fix the tent. Thank goodness it was in decent shape. Mark made dinner tonight which consisted of potatoes and vegetarian sausage! It was very good. Thank you Mark! And so, another day passes - what will tomorrow bring? We will have to wait and see.

Vi Ses!

People at SKAF: Lucas Corneliussen, Benjamin Bech, Asia Kane, Myrthe Van Brempt, Simon S. Christiansen, Mark & co :)

Link to today's observations from observers in the area

Hej alle sammen,

I dag stod vi op kl. 03:45 for at komme ud til Grenen, fordi vi tænkte, der ville komme nogle spændende fugle ude over vandet efter så mange dages stormvejr. De første 30 minutter var fine nok; der var nogle mallemukker (fulmars) og 5, måske 6, alm. kjover (arctic skua), og så dagens højdepunkt: 7 dværgryler (little stint), som kom flyvende ind fra vandet og fortsatte mod sydøst.

Efter det var der ikke meget at skrive hjem om. Der kom en bjergvipstjert (grey wagtail), og det var det. Lucas ventede lige en times tid med at gå hjem, mens mig, Myrthe og Asia tog hjem, spiste noget morgenmad og lagde os til at sove igen. Lucas så en sølvhejre (great egret) i den time, han var der, ellers så han ikke noget.

Photo: Knud Pedersen

Efter vi havde sovet til middag, tog Lucas og Myhrte ind for at handle alle de mange ting, vi ikke havde, så nu kan vi også få mad i denne uge . Jeg havde ikke så meget at lave, nu hvor jeg ikke engang kunne se Tour de France i dag. Her til aften har vi været ude og sætte et vildtkamera op nede ved en natravnrede. Det var mega fedt! Da den lettede, endte den med at skide på mig, så i morgen kommer vi til at se noget godt (hvis I forstår sådan en lille en).

Vi ses!

People at SKAF: Lucas Corneliussen, Benjamin Bech, Asia Kane, Myrthe Van Brempt, Simon S. Christiansen, Knud Pedersen, Mark & co :)

Link to today's observations from observers in the area

It’s an understatement to just say it is windy today; it is crazy windy! You literally get blown away when you walk outside and so are the sandwich terns (Splitterne). It is very nice to watch them play in the wind though. They are working so hard to get a yummy meal.

We all slept in this morning and took it easy today. I went for a walk to Grenen and did some morning yoga on the beach. It felt really good except for the wind sandblasting my legs and hurting my eyes. ;p

Photo: Benjamin.

Even though it is so windy outside, the sun is still out sometimes and it is actually a pretty nice day. We all relaxed in the afternoon and went for a walk out once in a while. Asia enjoyed a really good view of a common tern (Fjordterne) and the surprise of a frog crossing the road. Benjamin took his camera outside and got some great photos of sandwich terns while Lucas worked on some data. I took the opportunity of free time to paint some birds for my bird sticker project while listening to a podcast. And then our new guests arrived in the apartment next doors, welcome!

Little bird paintings I made for my bird sticker project. Let me know if you have a bird request :)

After filling our stomachs with a lovely pasta made by Lucas, we discussed our plans for tomorrow. Luckily, it is going to be a way more eventful day than today. Oof! At least we will be rested well and can concur the coming week of early set alarms for counting and ringing. Great times are coming!

As every day, there were some common eiders (Edderfugl) and a common guillemot (Lomvie) roosting on the bunker. Look at that juvenile sandwich tern (Splitterne) photobombing :)

Now, we are about to start a game of birds every birder gets excited about: wingspan! Let’s get the bird cards out and lay some eggs.

Chiao!

People at SKAF: Lucas Corneliussen, Benjamin Bech, Asia Kane, Myrthe Van Brempt, Mark & co :)

Link to today's observations from observers in the area

The weekend began bright and early. Myrthe, Asia and I woke up at half past 03:00 AM and we found ourselves waiting for the morning rain to pass before we headed out to Worlds End 3. Benjamin was feeling ill and decided not to join us this morning - rookie mistake. And so, the three musketeers left Det Grå Fyr for the morning. Arriving at 04:30 AM, we watched several Almindelig Kjove (Arctic Skua), harassing the terns at the tip of Grenen before continuing their migration.

The morning continued, and fortunately, the weather held so we were able to get a few decent hours of observations in before the forecasted weather arrived. Our efforts were rewarded with a Storkjove (Great Skua) flying southwest. What a nice bird! At 0600 AM, Asia and Myrthe decided to head back to the station while I continued for another hour in the brutal wind. Birding with a new companion, I could feel the lack of migration in my bones. With the rain rapidly approaching, I too headed home after a three hour session in the cold. 

The only sun we saw all day

Midday at the station was slow today – all of us took a nice long nap to rest up and “defrost” from the morning and we said goodbye to out absolutely wonderful guests: have a great trip home Linda og Jeppe! Please come again soon! The rest of the day was filled with torrential rainfall for 99% of the afternoon and evening only letting up for 10 minutes maximum around 9 PM. Myrthe then made a very nice soup for dinner - Good Soup! And so another day passes at SKAF, what will tomorrow bring? We will have to see.

Vi ses!

People at SKAF: Lucas Corneliussen, Benjamin Bech, Asia Kane, Myrthe Van Brempt, Jeppe & Linda.

Link to today's observations from observers in the area

The start of the start began when the clock struck midnight. Myrthe and I enjoyed the music festival in town with Lisa and Simon and then we cycled home to Det Grå Fyr after a very nice evening of festivities. Arriving back at the lighthouse at 12:30 AM, we decided we would head out to Grenen in the hopes of catching some Dunlin (Ryle) on the beach. Unfortunately, despite our efforts, the weather conditions were not in our favor and the birds were able to detect us long before we were able to get close enough to them. Arriving back at the station around 03:00 AM, we went to bed defeated.

The sleep we got tonight was unfortunately undeserved, but needed nonetheless. Myrthe and our fabulous guests, Jeppe and Linda, went for a walk out to Grenen in the mid-morning only to be rained on by a strong thunderstorm. The story of the day - lots and lots of random periodic rain. Although, despite the rain, we still were able to complete a task that we had been procrastinating for the past week: FIXING THE BIKE! We finally did it (with the help of ‘Batman’ - otherwise known as Simon). Thank you for the help Simon!

The afternoon from my perspective was compromised of rest and studying of the moult patterns of the species we could possibly catch and ring in the coming weeks! Then the fun came, Jeppe and Linda took Benjamin to Netto to buy what he needed for dinner, PIZZA! We all made some great home-made pizzas which were quite nice and watched the Germany-Spain Euros match, What a great game. Tomorrow we head out for  morning observations at dawn - we will have to see what we find.

Vi Ses!

People at SKAF: Lucas Corneliussen, Benjamin Bech, Asia Kane, Myrthe Van Brempt, Simon S. Christensen, Jeppe & Linda.

Link to today's observations from observers in the area