The day started with a draught through the observatory that woke us a little earlier than planned this morning. It was windy day to say the least with the wind consistently above 30mph and sometimes gusting 60mph which was a bit of a crazy one even just walking around outside. This led to no ringing today and the whole team going out migration counting.

Long tailed ducks (Havlit) drawn by Emma during migration count showing differences between male and female.

Migration counts were not much lower than expected. West winds mean a lot of the bird’s head to Norway and Sweden ending up in Kattagat until the wind eases or turns southernly. Three days of west winds turning NW today means there should be a lot of birds waiting to exit Kattagat, some potentially originating from a lot further North in the Atlantic/North Sea. This is what tomorrow looks great for so keep posted. In the meantime, today’s sightings. West winds do not mean that birds would not be passing, and the migration was very good for NW moving Common Scoter (Sortand), Gannet (Sule), Kittiwake (Ride) and Long tailed duck (Havlit) with hundreds of the first, tens of the second and a little less for the third and fourth. Once the haze lifted off the sea and visibility improved around the third hour of wind and sand being pummelled into the face (and ending up everywhere), singles of Fulmar (Mallemuk) turned into small flocks resulting in a moderate passage of 20-30 birds.

The two Common Cranes (Trane) flying through the waves this morning.

The biggest personal surprise was two pairs of Common Cranes (Trane) who independatly came from the North and tried to fly NW into the very strong winds. Observations of the first pair were phenomenal and this pair tried for 5 minutes to continue their migration varying from just above the waves, to high in the sky. Alas heading SE and being lost to view. The second pair took a slightly different route and quickly ended up heading past SE about half an hour later.

Ragnar's 'Viking' Gull (Sølvmåge x Gråmåge hybrid)

Two Caspian Gulls (Kaspisk Måge) by Ragnar. The left hand bird is a 2nd calander year individual and the bird on the right is a 1st calander year bird.

Migration done we walked back to the observatory for food and then Simon needed to drop off Alexander after his five days here. He tied this into some gull feeding at the harbour where we fed the gulls a loaf of bread. This may sound a little odd but with the strong winds the number of Herring Gulls (Sølvmåge) were in their several hundreds, Great Black Backed Gulls (Svartbag) totalled low hundreds, a nice 7 Caspian Gulls (Kaspisk Måge) including 3x 1st cy/3 x 2nd cy/1 x Adult, a few Black-headed Gulls (Haettemåge), Common Gulls (stormmåge), and a ‘Viking Gull’ that is a hybrid between Herring Gull (Sølvmåge) and Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge), all joined the feeding flock.

Ragnar's Brunnuch’s Guillemot (Polarlomvie) drawing from Nordstand this afternoon showing the main features of the bird seen.

We then said goodbye to Alexander, dropped Ragnar off at Nordstand where he found over 511 Fulmar (Mallemuk), 2 Sooty Shearwaters (Sodfarvet Skråpe) and a Brunnuch’s Guillemot (Polarlomvie) which is a crazy rarity if accepted. The weather and the views point to this being a very good candidate plus a good description by Ragnar too.

We all came back, and a new guest arrived who will be present until Sunday, her name is Stella and is another DOF ung birder who would like to get to know Skagen a little better and the birds here. Welcome.

Highlights from the observatory:

• A movement of Fulmar (Mallemuk)
• At least 7 Caspian Gulls (Kaspisk Måge)
• Two Sooty Shearwaters (Sodfarvet Skråpe)
• Brünnich's guillemot (Polarlomvie)

Ringing totals

No ringing was undertaken today due to the wind.

Overall total: 0

Today’s observations on Dofbasen from observers in the area

People: Thomas Weston, Emma Fabre, Alexander Nyholm, Morten Jenrich, Ragnar Smith, Stella Bråmer Simon Sigaard Christiansen.

I dag er min sidste fulde dag på fuglestationen og jeg fik lov til at være med til ringmærkningen sammen med Thomas og Morten. Jeg ankom lidt sent til kabeltromlen, lige I tid til første netrunde, men der var ingen fugle I første omgang. Næste omgang var der lidt mere gang I fuglene og vi fangede en fuglekonge (goldcrest) og en kvækerfinke (brambling) som var lidt sur og jeg fik lov til at holde begge fugle og jeg satte fuglekongen fri. vi fangede også en solsort (blackbird) i næste runde. Alle var nye fugle og fik ring på.

Kvækerfinke (brambling) holdt af mig.

Emma stod for havobsen I dag og det var meget stille, der var massere af sorttænder (Common Scoter) der trak I første time og derefter døde det lidt ud. Mallemukker (fulmar) og en skeand (shoveler) der træk frem og tilbage blev det også til. Der var ogsaa alkefugle sp (auks), men ikke tæt på samme mængde som I går og sulerne (gannet) er der stadig ikke så meget gang i.

Senere tog Thomas, Emma og jeg ud og købte ind, det er ikke det mest spændene, men det skal jo gøres. Alle 672kr betalte Thomas I mønter, så det tog nogle minutter at betale imens køen ophobede sig bag os. Da vi kom hjem spiste vi frokost og derefter kom Ragnar tilbage.

Ragnar fandt denne britiske sildemåge så jeg tog nogle gode billeder af den.

Denne uge har været meget hyggelig og jeg har fået set nogle gode arter som fx. Lunde(puffin), topskarv(shag), snespurv(snow bunting), nordisk lappedykker(Slavonian grebe) og storkjove(great skua) og de har allesammen taget sig rigtig godt af mig. Jeg havde håbet på lidt skråper, men de kan stadig nå at komme imorgen.

Mange tak til Skagen fuglestation for at lade mig komme I praktik deroppe denne uge.

Highlights from the observatory:

• Skeand (shoveler)
• Mallemuk (fulmar)
• 28 Snespurv (Snow Bunting)
• Kaspisk Måge (Caspian Gull)

Ringing totals

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)

Overall total: 3

Today’s observations on Dofbasen from observers in the area

People: Thomas Weston, Emma Fabre, Knud Pedersen, Jorgen Hulbaek, Alexander Nyholm, Morten Jenrich, Ragnar Smith, Simon Sigaard Christiansen.

This morning, Thomas woke up early to see if he could start ringing, but it was too windy. So he join Alexander, Knud, Morten and me for the migration. We saw a good number of auks, with many Razobrils (Alk). The Common Scoters (Sortland) decided to migrate despite the wind joined by some Velvet Scoters (Fløjlsand), migrating to the Northwest.

Many Geese were very far away, but we had a flock of Pink-footed Geese (Kortnæbbet Gås) flying just over us together with four Canada Geese (Canadagås). In total we saw four Red-necked Grebe (Gråstrubet Lappedykker) during the morning. We also spotted a Great Skua (Storkjove) over the sea, chasing some Gulls. He came back one hour later, still chasing the Gulls. We also saw a migrating Hen Harrier (Blå Kærhøg). Two nice passerines landed in front of us during the morning, first, a Snow Bunting (Snespurv) and later a Twite (Bjergirisk). Simon also joined us during the morning.

Snow Bunting (Snespurv)

In the afternoon, Alexander went to the harbor to try to find a Yellow-legged Gull (Middelhavs-sølmåge), without success. I went to the church to try to find some Crossbill (Lille Korsnæb), also without success. Thomas took a walk to (even I don't know)….., he saw some nice species like a Lapland Bunting (Lapværling), a Ring Ouzel (Ringdrossel) and a flock of Snow Bunting (Snespurv).

When, we all come back, Thomas gave us his talk about the Greylag Geese (Grågås). He explained us his project of the color ring on the Greylag.

In the evening Morten cooked the dinner and invited us all, including Simon and Jorgen, to join him.

After the dinner, Morten, Simon, Thomas and I went outside to try to see the comet, without succsess, but we saw Jupiter, Saturne and stars trough to a scope.

Saturne

Jupiter with the three moons

People at the station: Thomas Weston, Mara Glane, Emma Fabre, Knud Pedersen, Jorgen Hulbaek, Alexander Nyholm, Morten Jenrich

Highlight :

Great Skua (Storkjove)

Hen Harrier (Blå Kærhøg)

Lapland Bunting (Lapværling)

Today’s observations on Dofbasen from observers in the area

Hej!

To make use of the calm before the "storm", that is supposed to be arriving tomorrow, Simon and I tried to catch some Water Pipits/Bjergpiber today. We therefore set up two nets just at the wet lands where they have been seen roosting.

Net setup for the Water Pipits/Bjergpiber

With some attractive sound playing to lure them to the nets, I waited 3 hours hidden between the dunes. All effort was to no avail. We saw some Water Pipits/Bjergpiber, but couldn't catch one. They even ignored the mealworm I put out for them in a little trap on the ground :(. But just before we went to put down the nets, we saw a Short-eared Owl/Mosehornugle flying through the dunes and a Twite/Bjergirisk almost flying into the net (Thanks Simon for pulling up the net at the right time for that little guy to fly underneath!).

Thomas was joined by Morten for the ringing at Kabeltromlen and they were more successfull in catching birds. They had more  Blackbirds/Solsort today then usual, and apart from getting wet by light rain once in a while, they had a great ringing day. They even were rewarded for their efforts with a cake brought by Jorgen.

The observation was done by Emma and Alexander today and they were real busy with counting Geese and Swans coming in from the sea. They had Whooper Swans/Sangsvane, Canada Geese/Canadagås, Greylag Geese/Grågås, Pink-footed Geese/Kortnæbbet Gås and Barnacle Geese/Bramgås. They also saw some Great Northern Divers/Islom and Alexander spotted a Puffin/Lunde. There also were some flocks of Snowbuntings/Snespurv on the beach today, with the observers seeing a flock of 35 and Simon a flock of 45.

Snow Bunting/Snespurv

In the afternoon Emma, Thomas and Alexander went out to Grenen again to look for some Twite/Bjergirisk. They got a good look on not only the Twite, but also a flock of Snowbuntings and 20 Whooper Swans/Sangsvane migrating. Simon, Jorgen and I also went out in the rain to go birding in the industrial area of Skagen. Our sightings ranged from a few Chiffchaffs/Gransanger, a nice male Brambling/Kvækerfinke, over domesticated ducks, pigeons and chickens to many horses.

Twite/Bjergirisk

Whooper Swans/Sangsvane

Highlight from the observations:

Puffin/Lunde - 1

Great Northern Diver/Islom - 3

Great variety of ducks and migrating geese

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):

Solsort - 5

Sangdrossel - 2

Munk - 2

Dompap - 1

Gærdesmutte - 4

Rødhals - 5

Gransanger - 1

Fuglekonge - 8

Total = 28

Today’s observations on Dofbasen from observers in the area

People at the station: Thomas Weston, Mara Glane, Emma Fabré, Knud Pedersen, Jorgen Hulbaek, Alexander Nyholm, Morten Jenrich

With the clocks changing yesterday and the autumnal feel in the air, it was a dark start to the morning waking up at 5am for ringing and a bit later for the migration team.

Firecrest (Rødtoppet Fuglekonge) caught from another Danish ringing station and caught this morning.

There was a chance of rain in the air so Mara and myself went to ringing at Kabeltromlen and based ourselves around the tent. No rain materialised during the morning and there were quite a few birds in the bushes including Bullfinches (Dompap), Robins (Rødhals), thrushes, Blue tits (Blåmejse) and Goldcrest (Fuglekonge). The session was good with highlights including a Firecrest (Rødtoppet Fuglekonge) ringed elsewhere and a nice mix of species totalled up below, plus a whole net full of Blue tits (Blåmejse) making this the most caught species of the morning. The ringing continued until after midday where we were joined in the closing round by my family who had spent the morning in Skagen and were heading off mid afternoon back home after a weekend in the area.

Arcitc Tern (Havterne) on the beach.

Emma and Alexander were joined by Knut and Jorgen for the migration watch from World’s End 3. There were good numbers of Gannets (Sule) passing today with 318 heading south east this morning as well as high numbers of 2748 Razorbills passing. Some of the observer highlights from the watch included Whooper Swans (Sangsvane), an Arctic Skua (Almindelig kjove), a Slavonian Grebe (Nordisk lappedykker), 2 Shags (Topskarvs), and a flock of Snow Buntings (Snevspurv) too. The Snow Buntings (Snevspurv) were the first for Alexander and were described as ‘cute’. Another of the migration count ‘highlights’ was seeing one of the Arctic Terns (Havterne) up close and personal but unfortunately dead on the beach.

Guess the age of this Purple Sandpiper (Sortgrå Ryle) caught and ringed today.

The migration team joined the ringing team and were able to see and release a few birds from the ringing. We all came back to the observatory and got some lunch. I said goodbye to my family and we had a data inputting session of today’s ringing and migration data. Simon was back from holidays so an evening meeting catching up on all things bird obs from the last week, planning for the coming week and everything in between was achieved. After the meeting, before doing any more work, I went for a walk before it got dark and found a roosting Purple Sandpiper (Sortgrå Ryle) near the lighthouse in a similar place to the previous. Waiting until after sunset, a bit of skill, patience and luck and it was not long before I caught the bird – the second in a week. This one was full of fat and is likely to still be migrating so it will be super interesting to see if there are any subsequent resightings of this individual – you never know it could end up in the UK.

After ringing the Purple Sandpiper (Sortgrå Ryle), I helped check recapture sheets and Mara cooked everyone a lovely pasta dish. We had an interesting discussion about the English language, the similarities to English and when it comes to bird names, how they are totally different in some ways (for example, stints, sandpipers and knots). I then completed the blog, whilst one by one the others went to bed. The changing of the clocks is taking its toll a little.

Highlights from the observatory:

• A Sooty Shearwater (Sodfarvet Skråpe) seen by others
• Two Shag (Stopskarv) past The Tip.
• Purple Sandpiper (Sortgrå Ryle) caught and ringed – our third of the year.
• A Firecrest (Rødtoppet Fuglekonge) from elsewhere.

Ringing totals

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)

Total: 31

Ringing (Det Grå Fyr)

Total: 1

Overall total: 32

Today’s observations on Dofbasen from observers in the area

People: Thomas Weston, Mara Glane, Emma Fabré, Knud Pedersen, Jorgen Hulbaek, Alexander Nyholm

This morning we woke up and saw that it was raining, so there was no migration count and no ringing. We went back to bed. So we had a morning off. We woke up later and did some stuff. I worked on the night recordings from Simon’s garden. Thomas met his family at the lighthouse. We also said goodbye to Søren.

In the afternoon, the sun came out, so we all went for a walk. Thomas and this family went to the tip, then at Stokmilen. He saw some nice birds, like five Snow Buntings (Snevspurv), one Common Tern (Havterne) and one Purple Sandpiper (Sort grå ryle), not the same which we had ringed the other night. So we plan to try to catch it in the next days, if it is still here.

Purple Sandpiper (Sort grå ryle)

Mara and I tried to find the first Pine Grosbeak (Korsnæb) of the season. Mara went to the cormorant lake and finish her walk at the nature center. But she didn’t see many bird, just lots of sand.
I went to the radio station, then to the cormorant lake, and I ended my walk at the tip, where I also mostly saw sand and wind like Mara.

Yellowhammer (Gluspurv) 

This evening, a new volunteer came to join us for one week, Alexander. He comes from Roskilde. We welcome him with a nice dinner cooked by Thomas and this family.

Tomorrow we hope there won’t be too much rain so we can count the birds and go ringing.

People: Thomas Weston, Mara Glane, Emma Fabre, Alexander Nyholm.

Hej!

To spice things up, and because Knud offered Emma to do the migration count, we all three went to do the ringing today. The wind finally took a beak and let us open all the nets. Greeted by sunshine, we had a good amount of birds in our first rounds. We caught two Redwings/Vindrossel and a Songthrush/Sangdrossel, see photo for a nice comparison. A Whinchat/Bynkefugl and a Stonechat/Sortstrubet Bynkefugl where observed by Knud at World's End 3. 

Redwing/Vindrossel and Songthrush/Sangdrossel - Photo by Søren Wilhelmsen

All of a sudden a wall of fog came from the south, first swallowing the lighthous and then surrounding us at Kabeltromlen. The fog gave the ringing a mystical atmoshere, but also caused the temperature to drop.

Kabeltromlen in the fog

With 32 new birds ringed, we closed our nets at 1 pm and drove back to the station. The sun also fought back the fog, so we quickly had lunch and cleaned the apartement, to then head out to enjoy the sun. Thomas and Emma went along the beach to look for catchable waders. They found none. Thomas later had some nice views on a Brent Goose/Knortegås (Geese are his favourite) that roosted on the beach. Emma extended her wak to the Cormorant Lake, where she found a Goldeneye/Hvinand and bushes full of Redwings/Vindrossel, Blackbbirds/Solsort and Fieldfares/Sjagger. I also went on a walk, to mainly look for Pine Grosbeaks/Krognæb, I also wasn't successfull, but I enjoyed a nice sunset from World's End 1.

Sunset from World's End 1

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):

Jernspurv - 1

Rødhals - 7

Sangdrossel - 1

Vindrossel - 2

Munk - 2

Fuglekonge - 10

Gærdesmutte - 7

Blåmejse - 2

Total = 32

Today’s observations on Dofbasen from observers in the area

People at the station: Thomas Weston, Mara Glane, Emma Fabré, Søren Wilhelsen, Knud Pedersen, Jorgen Hulbaek

Today, I went to the obs with Knud and Jørgen. When we arrived, there were around 20 seals at the tip roosting together with a flock of gulls. Among this flock, we had two Caspian Gulls (Kaspisk Måge), resting.

Otherwise, it was a slow morning, with few auks, Kittiwakes (Ride) and Ganets (Sule). But during the first hour, a Great Skua (Storkjove) came from the sea and flew around the tip. Then, two Fulmar (Mallemuk) arrived and fed far away for a few minutes. We also saw a Red-necked Grebe (Gråstrubet Lappedykker) flying to the southeast and one Slavorian Grebe (Nordisk Lappedykker) resting close to the shore.

The sea with two Common Scoter (Sortand)

Later, during 30 min, sevral large flock of Golden Plover came from the sea on flew over us. In total, we had 377 birds. One of the flocks landed in front of us for 20 minutes. During the last hour Knud and Jørgen left to read some Gull rings. I continued to count the migration. Then, the ringers called me... so I left the migration to saw a nice bird which I wanted to see for a long time.

For the ringers, the wind was strong. They caught only 11 birds. But they had some nice species! They ringed a Yellohamer (Gulspurv), a Bullfinch (Dompap) and the bird which I want to see, a male Bearded Tit (Skægmejse)! After seeing the Tit, I returned to the migration count, Thomas and Mara closed the nets because of the wind.

  Bearded Tit (Skægmejse)

Highlights from the observatory:
Great Skua (Storkjove) – 1
Golden plover (Hjejle) – 377 SE

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)
Gulspurv - 1
Solsort - 1
Gærdesmutte - 3
Rødhals - 2
Skægmejse - 1
Dompap - 1
Fuglekonge - 2

Total: 11

Today’s observations on Dofbasen from observers in the area

People: Thomas Weston, Mara Glane, Emma Fabré, Søren Wilhelsen and Knud Pedersen, Jorgen Hulbaek

The day started off well with the team sticking to their tasks. There was another change in wind direction with the wind decreasing and veering slightly SE. Changes in wind are always great for Skagen and today did not disappoint.

Mara, and I went to ringing at Kabeltromlen. The morning started quite quiet with the reduced wind allowing us to open all the nets. We had some migration overhead which was nice with finches moving about today. This included flocks of Bullfinches (Dompap), Chaffinch (Bogfinke), Crossbill (Lille Korsnæb) and Brambling (Kvækerfinke) moving after a slow start. A migration highlight we do not generally see in the UK, are the flocks of Blue tits (Blåmejse) trying to migrate and showing signs of Zugunruhe: migration restlessness where they circled, gained height calling very excitedly before dropping back down and dispersing within the bushes. It is no surprise these are genuine migrants here. Three flocks of Golden Plover flew South equating to roughly 230 birds (Hjejle). The morning was slow but steady round wise with a single Redwing (Vindrossel) one of the highlights, and one of very few seen today. No Fieldfare (Sjagger) or Ring Ouzel (Ringdrossel) were seen today, though the former is still in very very low numbers this autumn. We packed up around 13:15 today.

Our guest Søren went to see the Crested Lark (Toplærke) and found one before joining us.

One of two migrant Peregrine (Vandrefalk) that came in off the sea today. Photo Emma.

In comparison, Emma was joined by Knut and Jorgen for the migration watch from World’s End 3. There were less numbers of Kittiwake (Ride), Razorbill (Alk) and roughly the same number of Guillemot (Lomvie) as yesterday. There were some standout highlights from the morning with 3 Sooty Shearwaters (Sodfarvet Skråpe), a very lost Manx Shearwater (Almindelig Skråpe), 2 3^rd calander year plus Shags (Topskarv), a Common Tern (Splitterne), an Arctic Tern (Havterne), 2 Peregrine (Vandrefalk), and a Fulmar (Mallemuk). Once the migration counts ended around midday, Jorgen and Emma joined the ringing team in the final closing round.

Sunset from Det Grå Fyr by Thomas

Back at the observatory, lunch was had and data from today was inputted. Everyone felt quite tired so we all did our own little things. This resulted in me ending going up the lighthouse just before sunset to share a sunset virtually which was very lovely in all ways and was very stunning and orange. It was one of those evening's that were worth sharing and I'm glad I did.

1st year Purple Sandpiper (Sortgrå Ryle) caught and ringed this evening. Photos by Mara.

Meanwhile, Mara and Emma tried to find Purple (Sortgrå Ryle) Sandpipers between the lighthouse and the Seal Bunker and had no luck. However, just after sunset, whilst Mara was holiday organising with her partner, Emma stumbled across a Purple Sandpiper (Sortgrå Ryle) closer to the bunker than the lighthouse. Based on previous success, Skagen Fuglestation has found a great way of catching these classy waders and we were able to catch the individual and ring it before dinner.

Highlights from the observatory:

• Three Sooty Shearwater (Sodfarvet Skråpe)
• One Manx Shearwater (Almindelig Skråpe)
• Purple Sandpiper (Sortgrå Ryle) caught and ringed – our second of the year.

Ringing totals

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)

Total: 27

Ringing (Det Grå Fyr)

Total: 1

Overall total: 28

Today’s observations on Dofbasen from observers in the area

People: Thomas Weston, Mara Glane, Emma Fabré, Søren Wilhelsen and Knud Pedersen, Jorgen Hulbaek

Hej!

With the wind still going strong and with many gusts to rustle through our nets, Thomas and I only opened 19 nets today. After a nice sunrise - which is super late these days - we had our first round at 8:15. We caught one (very cute) Robin/Rødhals.

Robin/Rødhals

Stor Dompap - Photo by Søren Wilhelsen

Luckily we got some more birds in the following rounds, with two nice Chaffinches/Bogfinke and a Bullfinch of the nordic supspecies /Stor Dompap. We closed our nets around 12 and had the perfect timing to meet Emma on our way back to the station. She just finished the migration count with Knud. They had a rather good day, with many Razorbills/Alk flying by and a Yellow-billed Diver/Hvidnæbbet Lom.

As we got back to the station we were greeted by the tasty smell of freshly baked bread. Søren prepared us a nice breakfast, so we all sat together and enjoyed a nice after-work break. In the afternoon Thomas, Emma and I went out on a little bird watching walk to Jenne Sø. Empty as the trees seemed, we were able to find some Goldcrests/Fuglekonge and a Crested Tit/Topmejse. When a flock of Pink-footed Geese/Kortnæbbet Gås flew over, Thomas could explain really well to me how to identify them by their calls.

Nice walk to Jennes Sø

Just before the sun set, Thomas and Emma saw a Purple Sandpiper/Sortgrå Ryle on the beach. Quikly they decided to try and catch it, but when they got back to the spot with the net and equipment the bird was already gone. Next time we have to be prepared!

Highlight of the observations:

Yellow-billed Diver/Hvidnæbbet Lom - 1

Great Northern Diver/Islom - 1

Razorbills/Alk - 1347 migrating SE

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):

Gærdesmutte - 2

Rødhals - 2

Munk - 2

Fuglekonge - 2

Blåmejse - 2

Bogfinke -2

Dompap - 1

Stor Dompap - 2

Lille Dompap - 2

Total = 17

Today’s observations on Dofbasen from observers in the area

People at the station: Thomas Weston, Mara Glane, Emma Fabre, Søren Wilhelsen and Knud Pedersen