Last night Simon and I went nightcatching once again. There were only a few birds in the meadows but we got lucky with a Meadow Pipit (Engpiber).

Ringing started at 05:15 in the morning so Hayley, Isis and I got out of the lighthouse and started our walk to Kabeltromlen. The weather wasn't to bad but it was cold. At the ringing site the singing Bitterns (Rørdrum) accompanyed us while we opend the nets. Simon sr joined us for the first rounds which was good, because there were quit some birds around. The calls of Goldcrests (Fuglekonge) and Wrens (Gærdesmutte) were present for the whole ringing session. So were the birds. We had quite a hard time handling the little wigglers with our at this time really cold hands (0°C) While we were busy ringing Simon jr and Magnus made their way to Nordstrand to start the migration-count. While the first hour was not to bad, but still not that exiting, they had a hard time sitting at the beach because there was not to much happening. Lucky for them they got some company by other birders. Not only Knud was around but also Alfred, a 11 year old boy, was there and helped them quit a bit by counting the migrating Sommon Scoters (Sortand). Great work here!

Ringing ended with 68 new birds ringed and is to that day the best day this spring. We made our way back to the lighthouse where we took a rest and had our second breakfast. After counting Simon jr was just about to lock his bike and join us when he quickly checked some gulls flying over and was able to find a Iceland Gull making its way to the harbor! Magnus was still outside and got lucky relocating the Hoopoe (Hærfugle) which is still around.

Later Simon sr picked us up and we went to drive to the harbor to have a look at the gulls. We weren't able to find the Iceland Gull (Hvidvinget Måge) again but saw a Greater Black-Bagged Gull (Svartbag) with a ring. It was ringed as a pullus in southern Norway in 2022, and was already seen by me 2 days ago at Nordstrand.

When we arrived back home Simon sr had a presentation about how to age birds. It really helped understanding the different moult strategies.

Tomorrow morning I will take the train back to Germany. It was a short time up here but I really enjoyed it. There are so many nice people around and nature isn't to bad as well that I might use some southern winds the next years to migrate up here again :)

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Total: 68

Ringing (Jennes Sø):

Total: 57

Ringing (Nordstjernevej):

Total: 4

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

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People: Hannes Schäfer, Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Alfred, Knud Pedersen, Simon S. Christiansen.

Yesterday evening Simon Jr and Hannes went out with the hand net and thermal hoping to catch something. They were very successful, catching not just one but two birds!

The first was this stunning Rock Pipit (Skærpiber)

On their way back they also caught a Jack Snipe (Enkeltbekkasin).

The colours on its back were amazing!

After such an exciting evening, it was the usual early start for us all in the morning.

Isis, Hannes and I went ringing and had a very nice steady morning. It seemed to be a day for little birds; we caught a lot of Wrens (Gærdesmutte) and also Goldcrests (Fuglekonge) and Chiffchaff (Gransanger). We also caught this stunning adult male Blackbird (Solsort) who had an amazingly bright orange beak.

We also had a young visitor to the ringing this morning. He enjoyed seeing the birds up so close and then went to find the Hoopoe (Hærfugl) which is still in the area.

Simon Jr and Magnus went to World’s End 3 this morning to do the migration count with Knud. The Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge) is still on the beach and is always nice to see. They also saw two Black-throated Divers (Sortstrubet Lom) and two Sandwich Terns (Splitterne). The strange Common Scoter (Sortand) with white on its breast was also spotted again.

Back at the station we had a very nice lunch of leftovers from Magnus’ birthday lunch yesterday. Later in the afternoon Hannes went to the harbour and saw a Purple Sandpiper (Sortgrå Ryle). Isis and I also enjoyed a walk into the town to get some groceries.

Simon Jr and Hannes are now heading out again with the hand net and thermal. Hopefully they’ll be as successful as last night!

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Total: 27

Ringing (Jennes Sø):

Total: 52

Ringing (Nordstjernevej):

Total: 14

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

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People: Hannes Schäfer, Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Knud Pedersen.

Before it was time to celebrate, we went out – early as always – to follow our passion in the field. The earliest ”birds” of the days were Isis and Hayley, who went to Kabeltromlen for the daily ringing session. Only the early singing Bittern (Rørdrum) made their early start some concurrence. A bit later but still before sunrise, Hannes, Magnus and I passed the ringing area to start our count from World’s End 1.

The ringing was good, even if the numbers were not to high. Two Chiffchaffs (Gransanger) made it feel like summer, while three cute nordic Long-tailed Tits (Nordlig Halemejse) with their snowball-like head reminded of the coldest time of the year. Look how cute they are!

In the meanwhile, the count was pretty slow but we still got good species! Due to Hannes effort we could proof that there were two different Glaucous Gulls (Gråmåge) roosting on the beach. A small flock of Parrot Crossbills (Stor Korsnæb) was also nice. One odd gull landed on the beach. It’s size, body coloration with paler whitish primaries reminded us of a Glaucous Gull, but the face looked weird and the bill was blackish instead of the pink one with a black tip, Glaucous would show. The general impression fitted well for a ”Vicing Gull” – a hybrid between Glaucous and Herring Gull, but the bill pattern is untypical for those. Hopefully someone will find the bird again and take some pictures of it! It’s very obvious, you would not miss this bird!

Since Hannes and I went out with the thermal last night (it was worth it – we saw 3 Jack Snipes (Enkeltbekassin) and 6 Woodcocks (Skovsneppe)) we were all a bit tired, but now, after completing the standardised count, it was time to make a break and eat something.

Then Magnus familiy showed up. His birthday is in five days, but this was the only opportunity for his family to visit him, so they decided to celebrate earlier with a nice brunch. Fortunately, we were all invited. The danish food was super tasty and we had a very nice time with them. We also found out, that ”Hayley does not look like a pig” in reference to the danish pig Yorkshire – the area where Hayley is from. The weather was great, too, so we could sit outside. A really nice break from the hard work.

After a short session of data entry Knud came to pick us up and go with us to Skarvsøn to cut some reeds. To keep some parts of the area open does not just help us to count the birds on the lake, but also saves the open areas some wildfowl need. A Bittern (Rørdrum) motivated us with its deep voice and surprisingly a Kingfisher (Ijsfugle) flew by. This species is scarce up here, so it was very appreciated. After around one hour we finished the task.

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Total: 30

Ringing (N/V):

Total: 16

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

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People: Hannes Schäfer, Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Knud Pedersen.

Hi there!
Nothing too special today but still some nice variety overall. For me it was time to do the migration-count together with Magnus after we participated in ringing yesterday. That meant a bit more time to sleep than yesterday. The start of the day wasn't hard at all, because we got welcomed by a nice sunrise at Worlds End 1 and pretty nice weather with less wind than expected. On our way there we met Simon, Isis and Hayley at Kabletromlen who were about to go on the first round of ringing for today.

Counting started with some nice variety of birds. We counted 47 different species in the first hour heading north to reach their breeding areas soon. Highlights were 3 flocks of pink-footed geese (Kortnæbbetgås), 4 flocks of Whooper Swans (Sangsvane), 3 Tundra Bean Geese (Tundrasædgås) and around 410 jackdaws (Allike) trying to migrate overseas and giving me some headaches splitting up and going back and forth several times. I also really enjoyed the dunnocks (jernspurv) "jingeling" up in the sky with their nice calls. Unfortunately because of the blue sky the passerines started to migrate really high in the sky, so we weren't able to locate the birds but just heard their calls. The migration of waterfowl got a bit better and we counted 1892 common scoters (sortand) in the last hour of counting. Ringing was nice so Simon told me. He, Isis and Hayley ringed a total of 21 new birds including a reed bunting (rørspurv) and 3 nice bullfinches (dompap).

After ringing and counting we got back to the lighthouse and enjoyed a second breakfast. As the message reached us, a Golden Eagle (Kongeørn) was seen close by to the lighthouse at Elle Krattet heading SW, Simon and I decided to go for a walk and maybe relocate the bird.

Golden Eagle (Kongeørn) - picture by Knud Pedersen

Unfortunately we couldn't find it, and only found some common buzzards (Musvåge) and a young white-tailed eagle (Havørn) up in the sky. But the walk was fun anyways because we stumbled over an adder (Hugorm) and common lizard (Skovfirben) enjoying the sun just like us!

After returning we were able to ring 6 mealy redpolls (stor gråsisken) in the lighthouse garden. At first we struggled a bit at ageing them correctly but were lucky to have some birds to compare and could see the differences. That was fun :)

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Ringing (Nordstjernevej):

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

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People: Hannes Schäfer, Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé.

It was an early start for my first day back at the station. Magnus, Hannes and I were up well before sunrise to get the nets open at Kabeltromlen and then Simon Sr joined us for the first round. It turned out to be a very quiet morning with only eight new birds ringed in total but it was still so nice to be back!

It was Magnus’ first time at the ringing so there was plenty of time to show him the process and all the measurements that are taken. There was even time to play a game: I’m a migrant! This was a lot of fun and will hopefully help us remember the moult strategy of Blackbirds (Solsort) which is the species we caught the most of today. Whilst we were ringing we also spotted several Sparrowhawks (Spurvehøg) and two Red Kites (Rød Glente).

Meanwhile, Simon Jr and Isis were at World’s End 1 doing the migration count. It was a very quiet morning for them too. Their highlights included a Hawfinch (Kernebider) and large numbers of migrating Chaffinches (Bogfinke). The Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge) was spotted again and they were also very happy to see a Goshawk (Duehøg).

On our way back from Kabeltromlen, we heard over zello that the Hoopoe (Hærfugl) had been spotted again near the car park at Grenen so we went to look for it. Sadly we didn’t manage to see it this time.

Back at the station we enjoyed a very different sort of afternoon. We all attended the opening of the new lighthouse exhibition downstairs. It was so nice to see so many people there.

We really enjoyed the cake too!

And then we had a lot of fun exploring the exhibition itself.

Thank you to the lighthouse team for inviting us!

Later on, Simon and Magnus went shopping and heard that the Hoopoe (Hærfugl) had been spotted yet again, this time to the south of the lighthouse. After returning with the much-needed groceries they headed out again to try and track it down, this time prepared in advance with the hand net. Let’s hope they are successful!

Ringing totals (Kabeltromlen):

Gærdesmutte (Wren) - 1

Solsort (Blackbird) - 1

Rødhals (Robin) - 1

Bogfinke (Chaffinch) - 1

Blåmejse (Blue Tit) - 1

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

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People: Simon S. Christiansen, Hannes Schäfer, Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé

Good evening friends! Today has been an interesting day to say the least. Simon and I were up by 04:20 this morning to have all the nets opened and ready before sunrise. There was not so much songbird activity, but enough that we already had our first three birds during the net set up (before the first round)! One of those three first birds was a Redwing [Vindrossel] which I’d been whining all March about, so naturally I was overjoyed when Simon showed me it. I was even allowed to ring it! My first Redwing [Vindrossel]. Needless to say, my day was already perfect before it even started. Aside from that, we had significantly better bird numbers and species today, with three foreign recaptures. Many Eurasian Blue Tits [Blåmejse], one Common Chiffchaff [Gransanger], a few Eurasian Blackbirds [Solsort], some European Robins [Rødhals], two Dunnocks [Jernspurv], and a few more species. We also had a lovely visit from Jørgen and his charming dog Igor while at Kabeltromlen, which was a very welcome surprise. 

Simon and I ringing at Kabeltromlen. (Picture by: Simon S. Christiansen)

Dunnock [Jernspurv].

While Simon, Simon, and I were ringing at Kabeltromlen, Magnus and our newest member Hannes were hard at work at World’s End 1. Migration today was decent, the fog was not as bad as yesterday, although it was still quite cold and cloudy. The cloudy weather cleared up in the late morning, and we got some beautiful blue skies and sunshine. Hannes was excited to see the local Glaucous Gull [Gråmåge] this morning. They also saw two Great Egrets [Sølvhejre] today, maybe we’ll get a chance to catch one…

View of the sun from Kabeltromlen in the late morning.

After our busy morning, we all came together and had a lovely lunch at the apartment. 

Then…

Who pooed? You pooed? No, no, no.. Hoopoe [Hærfugl]! Thanks to a local birder by the name of Peder Dannow we were informed that there was a Hoopoe [Hærfugl] in the area. Not only was it in the area, but it was in the very parking lot at Grenen, just a couple meters away from the lighthouse! What luck! This might be only around the 40th record in Skagen. In a frenzy of flying coats, binoculars, and scopes, we were out in the field looking for it. We ran into Jørgen and Igor again, as well as several other local birders, and had the pleasure of observing the bird for an extended period of time. 

Hoopoe [Hærfugl]. (Picture by: Simon Kiesé)

After seeing the Hoopoe [Hærfugl] we had to rush back to the apartment so that Knud Pedersen could present to us the identification, ageing, and sexing of Harriers. We were joined then by our newest arrival, Haley! Slowly our team is growing again. Like his presentation yesterday, Knud was very captivating and shared many pieces of valuable information to help us distinguish different species, ages, and sexes of migrating raptors. All of this information will prove incredibly helpful in the field during the next few months. 

Presentation by Knud Pedersen on Harriers. (Picture by: Simon S. Christiansen)

Finally, we entered data into DOFbasen and onto the Danish Ringmærkningsadministrationen website, planned out the day tomorrow, and updated the daily task board with Big Simon. Magnus prepared a delicious dinner, and we got to have ice cream as dessert thanks to Mette from the Welcome Center downstairs!

Thank you Mette!

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet)

Wren (Gærdesmutte) 5

Dunnock (Jernspurv) 2

European Robin (Rødhals) 2

Eurasian Blackbird (Solsort) 8

Redwing (Vindrossel) 1

Eurasian Blackcap (Munk) 1

Common Chiffchaff (Gransanger) 1

Goldcrest (Fuglekonge) 5

Eurasian Blue Tit (Blåmejse) 26

Great Tit (Musvit) 2

Total: 53

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

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People: Simon S. Christiansen, Hannes Schäfer, Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Knud Pederson, Jørgen and Igor

The day started an hour earlier than usual. Until now, the observations had been the only data we collected. But today we started another season. It was time for ringing!

Because it was Johannas and Miras last day at the station, they went ringing with Simon Kiesé and SSC, while I counted the migration from Worlds End 1. There wasn’t really that much going on at the nets, and only three different species and 11 birds ended up being caught in total. But much of the time was also spent on correcting the nets and cutting bushes.

Out at Worlds End 1, there wasn’t much going on either. Throughout the whole period, I struggled with fog, which only allowed me to see the horizon once in a while. Despite the fog, i managed to get okay counts of ducks, especially pibeand (Eurasian Wigeon); 625, and krikand (European Teal); 159. Also the glaucous gull turned up to save the day from a total fog-nightmare.

We returned to the lighthouse at about 11.30 to have some lunch, before Mira and Johanna had to pack up their things before returning to Kiel at 15.20. SCC came to pick up the girls, but also Simon Kiesé and I joined the trip to the city, to buy some groceries and snacks, which we definitely needed. We had a bit of an struggle with the pollen during the goodbye, but with the promise of their return in our mind, it all worked out, and we went shopping while SCC was so kind to wait for us in the car. Now we were three volunteers.

After returning to the lighthouse, Knud held a session about identifying, ageing and sexing raptors. Half way through the session Simon Kiesés' friend, Hannes Schäfer, arrived at the lighthouse, and then there were four volunteers. The session was followed up by an evening-meeting, before Simon Kiesé and Hannes Schäfer had the dinner ready, and the day came to an end.

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet)

Gærdesmutte: 2
Rødhals: 3
Solsort: 6

Total: 11

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

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People: Simon S. Christiansen, Hannes Schäfer, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Knud Pederson, Mira Kieckbusch, Johanna Veentjer.

Hej allesammen,

today is unfortunately the last full day for us (Mira & Johanna) at the station. So we are trying hard to enjoy every single moment up here before we have to migrate back to Germany to continue at our university.

As most of the mornings, all five of us went out for morning observation, today again from Worlds End 1. On the way there Johanna found another individuum of Klitplasterbille (Apalus bimaculatus) in the dunes at Grenen. Birdwise, there was quite a nice variety of species, with a Merlin (Dværgfalk), Mira spotted, the Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge), probably the individuum we also saw during the last days, one Parrot Crossbill  (Stor Korsnæb) and a good number of Teals (Krikand). This is a perfekt example how much variety in birds you get while observing in Skagen. Simon C. also came by to join the morning observation for a while.

After we arrived back at the lighthouse, we had lunch together and entered the data from the morning. Every now and then we make as a team challenges, bets or tastings. Today, it was time for an icecream-tasting, claimed by Simon K. as his 5^th breakfast… that was fun!

Us on the way to set up the radar. 

In the afternoon, a part of us went out to participate in the setup of the Radar for raptor migration observations from Aarhus university. It’s the third year that the radar is set up at Grenen. We managed to help them a bit out while setting the radar up the dune and got the chance to test the special laser binocular.

Trying the laser-binoculars. 

We also archived interesting news from a Blackcap (Munk) we recaptured last year in october, that was ringed on the 3rd of September in Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium. It was a first calender-year bird and based on this information we can tell now, how the bird migrated.

Now we will enjoy the last evening for us two at the station and will probably go to bed early, as the ringing season will start now. We really can not wait to go out to open the nets for the first time of the year tomorrow!

At this point we want to say thank you for the last brilliant three weeks we had at the station. Starting our stay with James, also known as “athletic James”, who did not only taught us helpful Papua Neuguinean phrases but also inspired us with his story and humour. Continuing with Isis, Magnus and Simon K. with who we spend almost 24/7 time together, laughing, birding and having great conversations. How amazing is it to meet with like-minded people in Skagen, for us one of the most beautiful places in the world. And of course, a big thanks to Simon C. for having us and making this experience possible! We will definitely migrate up here again someday.  

People: Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Mira Kieckbusch, Johanna Veentjer, Simon S. Christiansen.

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

Sum of the Raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

Next day – next morning obs at Grenen. After a nice sunrise, it seemed like today will be a strong day with many birds.

Unfortunately, after some minutes the sun hid behind a layer of clouds and the number of migrating birds normalized. Over the morning there were more than 500 Redpolls (Gråsisken) attempting to migrate. It is really nice to see those again, trying to get back to their breeding range after seeing the big influx in autumn. Since they flew in front of the light sky, it is very hard to see their coloration, but the ones I saw well enough were all Common Redpolls (Stor/Nordlig Gråsisken) - the main species from the influx. It would be interesting to see if there are some Arctic Redpolls in between (Hvidsiken), maybe the results in the ringing will show soon.

A young White-tailed Eagle (Havørn) did not hesistate to leave Denmark and head towards Sweden. One fox walked along the path, but only Isis was lucky enough to get a view on the nice mammal. The highlight of the first hour was a Shag (Topskarv) heading northwest. With their smaller size, the thin neck and the rounded wings they look very different from Cormorant (Skarv) if you get a good view on them. A nice halo surrounded the sun.

After three hours in the coldness, Mira, Isis and I were relieved by Johanna and Magnus. They brought some cake, which was a super nice breakfast and reward for counting so concentrated. In the next hour, migration went a bit better again and the local young Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge) showed up very close again.

In the meanwhile, us three count-starters had a breakfast and a nice nap. The afternoon was – like always – super productive and we did a lot of stuff like checking the new nets at KAB, setting up the tent for ringing or entering the data. Simon Sr. is back and there were thousand points to talk about. In conclusion, we look very forward to start the ringing season the day after tomorrow!

People: Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Mira Kieckbusch, Johanna Veentjer, Simon S. Christiansen.

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

Sum of the Raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

Today started bright, you can really feel that the days are getting longer now. So we went out to do the morning observations. There could have been some more migration, but still it was very nice to enjoy the morninghours from Worlds End 1. The highlight of the morning was a flog of three Shags (Topskarv), flying together with one Cormorant (Skarv). This flog was also very nice to observe! In total we saw six Shags (Topskarv) this morning. 

And there was another highlight this morning - Magnus found an Klitplasterbille in the Dunes near Worlds End 1 again! Some of us birders went to see it afterwards, where we even found two more indiviuals. The Klitplasterbille has been seen for the last time in 2020 in Danmark, until Magnus and I saw it in the dunes near Nordstrand some days ago. 

Klitplasterbille (Apalus bimaculatus), found in the dunes near Worlds End 1 today 

In the meantime Simon and Isis headed to Skarvsøen, to finish the Novana-Count there. On their way they spotted an adder (Hugorm), you can see in the picture below. 

In the afternoon we were happy to have Magnus grandma with a friend as guests at the station. We all had a lovely "kaffe og kage" together. 

Afterwards we went out to enjoy the sunny wheater. Some of us went around Grenen and some of us took the bikes towards town. There we were actually able to spot (at least for us) the first Skovfirben of the year, soaking in the last sun rays of the day at a wall. 

When all of us met at the station in the evening, we had a nice dinner together. What a beautiful day! 

People: Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Mira Kieckbusch, Johanna Veentjer

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area

Sum of the Raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day