Jeppe and I spent a very nice morning together at Verden’s Ende 3. It was rainy and windy, the birds, though, didn’t care about the weather and we counted over 900 Alcids in the first two hours and we enjoyed observing a lot of Sanderlings (Sandløber) and some Snow Buntings (Snespurv). It was the first time for Jeppe and me to go observing without Knud or Martin, so we were happy to take the challenge and were proud of ourselves that we managed to count at least the common species.

Christina and Martin worked from home today on the video about nocturnal migration and on a session about raptor identification. Christina did a very nice job and made a video about Martin’s work on recording the nocturnal migration here in Skagen. You can follow this link to watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lts2Ufnwrew.

When Jeppe and I came home from the field, we checked some data sheets together and in the afternoon we celebrated a little, because today it’s Christina’s birthday! We played some Wingspan together and who wouldn’t like such a beautiful birthday table?

Jeppe recreated the station kitchen to a Pølsevogn and made Hotdogs for the happy birthday girl :)

Klik her for at se dagens observationer indtastet i Dofbasen af observatører i området

People: Martin Grienenberger, Jeppe Overgaard, Christina Stinn, Amelie Zeller

This morning we woke up to the windows rattling in their frames – it was far too windy to go ringing. With the wind coming from the south, it was not even possible to ring in the Lighthouse garden. So, we prepared for a day spent working inside.

Amelie and Jeppe sewed a mist net in a very bad condition. This is the last net we have here, which is why the plan tomorrow is to get more nets in from Kabeltromlen. With so few birds migrating now, we are starting to wrap up our ringing activities in Grenen, prepare the station for winter, and get ready for the next ringing season in the spring.

Martin went to World’s End to count migratory seabirds. The numbers of migratory birds continue to decrease for him as well, although he was quite busy counting during the first hour. The sun came out and provided excellent light qualities. The common species appeared in good numbers in the strong winds, and Martin even saw a Barn swallow (Landsvale) gliding elegantly through the frothing waves.

I spent all day finishing the nocturnal migration movie. We will upload it on Youtube tomorrow and share it in the Facebook group, so make sure that you keep an eye on our social media channels!

This afternoon, the four of us went for a swim in the sea. The water is definitely starting to get colder now! The waves were quite turbulent in the wind.

After our hot showers, we played another round of Wingspan – it is truly an addictive game! We are having a lot of fun with it. We have even joined the Wingspan Facebook group with over 13,000 other bird nerds who take this game as seriously as we do.

As I’m writing this article, Martin is preparing a delicious pasta dinner for us. It is always nice to have a warm meal together at the end of the day – it’s just hygge.

Klik her for at se dagens observationer indtastet i Dofbasen af observatører i området

People: Jeppe Overgaard, Knud Pedersen, Amelie Zeller, Martin Grienenberger, Simon S. Christiansen, Christina Stinn

Vi måtte i dag sige farvel til Pablo som skulle hjem. Vi har været rigtig glad for at have Pablo her på fuglestationen. Hans viden om fugle og erfaring med ringmærkning har vi alle haft stor glæde af. Hans selskab og rare væsen vil blive savnet, men vi håber selvfølgelig at se Pablo i Skagen til næste år. 

Efter Pablo var taget afsted gik vi igang med dagens gøremål. Vejret var ikke til at ringmærke i, så Amelie, Martin og jeg gik igang med at syn spejlnet.

De spejlnet vi syr på er net som vi har taget ned ude fra området ved kabeltromlen.Når vi bruger spejlnettene vil der komme huller i dem. Ligeledes tage de skade fra omgivelserne.

Derfor er det vigtig at de bliver repareret i år, således de er klar til næste forår. Under syningen blev der diskuteret musik, øvet tysk og talt om herligheder ved at spille Wingspan. Det skal forresten nævnes, at vi her på fuglestationen ikke er sponsoreret således vi skal omtale Wingspan positivt. Vi synes bare rigtig godt om spillet. 

Christina har i dag arbejdet videre på NOC-MIG filmen. Christina ligger et stort stykke arbejde i denne film og vi ser  alle frem til at se den en dag. Hun siger den nok skal udkomme i 2020. Christina kom op på loftet og deltog i netsyningen. Dette blogindlæg bliver i dag skrevet i køkkenet, alt imens Amelie er i gang med at lave pizza til aftensmad. 

God aften til alle som læser med. 

Klik her for at se dagens observationer indtastet i Dofbasen af observatører i området

People: Pablo Macías Torres, Martin Grienenberger, Simon S. Christiansen, Christina Stinn, Amelie Zeller, Jeppe Overgaard.

After a long series of quiet and grey days, a nice weather day brought us a lot of birds at the ringing station ! Pablo, Jeppe and Amelie enjoyed a lovely day with no fewer than 64 birds today. The day was mostly dedicated to Blue Tits (Blåmejse) but the team was busy on some other activities. Amelie spent a few hours working on the tick project with Blackbirds (Solsort), it wasn’t a bad day either on that side with 108 ticks collected ! Simon and Jeppe went live again on Facebook, this time with a Fieldfare (Sjagger) and some nice explanations on the species and its moult.
Simon and Erik took advantage of a slower moment at the ringing station to go for a walk through Grenen Søen, they counted 5 Water Pipits (Bjergpiber). We were still trying to catch some of them today but we were still unlucky…

The guys ringed all the way from sunrise to sunset : can you guess which is which ?

Simon streaming live on Facebook

A nice flock of Blue Tits in the nets !

Blue Tit Party !

Happy Pablo after collecting 30 ticks

Christina and I went to World’s End 3 for migration counting while Knud was watching from Nordstrand. The morning was quite similar as the previous one except for one species : the Whooper Swans were setting again a nice migratory party ! We counted 250 birds in only one hour for a final total of 393. After the new autumn record last week, our daily count is the third highest and will probably lead to an autumnal season record.

In the afternoon, Christina and I went in town to look for the Waxwings (Silkehale) and enjoy the great lights of this sunny day.

Ringmærkning (Kabbeltromlen):

Total:64

Klik her for at se dagens observationer indtastet i Dofbasen af observatører i området

People: Jeppe Overgaard, Pablo Macías Torres, Martin Grienenberger, Simon S. Christiansen, Christina Stinn, Jørgen Kabel & Igor, Amelie Zeller, Erland & Anse Jensen, Erik Christophersen, Knud Pedersen

Very slow morning today… Pablo and I opened the nets at Jennes Sø, but only caught 4 birds on total.

Suddenly, the sun came out, which was a nice and warm feeling on our faces for a change. As soon as the weather changed there were a lot of visitors at the lake and we had a little talk with Peder and Jørgen. We were also happy to see Igor. Pablo and I had the chance to go for a little walk between the rounds.

When we came back from the ringing, we saw that the Red-Backed Shrike (Rødrygget Tornskade) we ringed yesterday afternoon, was foraging in the station garden again. Maybe it will be our friend for the winter!

Martin also had a quiet morning and missed three interesting birds while he was pouring a cup of tea. It was two Great Northern Divers (Islom), the last one could have been a White-Billed Diver (Hvidnæbbet Lom). He also observed a flock of Pink-Footed Geese (Kortnæbbet Gås).

Pablo saw a flock of 200 Waxwings (Silkehale) in town today.

Jeppe and Christina worked from home today. Christina worked on a video about nocturnal migration recordings and Jeppe was sewing the nets we used this season and that must be prepared for catching birds again in spring.

In the afternoon, Jeppe continued sewing the nets and I organized the pictures in our picture archive.

Grey weather again at the lighthouse...

While I’m writing the blog, Martin made some Glühwein for us and him, Pablo and Jeppe are playing a round of Wingspan. We have been doing that every evening for the last days and are really enjoying that game!

Ringmærkning (Jennes Sø):

Blåmejse – Blue tit: 2

Munk – Blackcap – 1

Rødhals – Robin - 1

Total: 4

Klik her for at se dagens observationer indtastet i Dofbasen af observatører i området

People: Jeppe Overgaard, Pablo Macías Torres, Martin Grienenberger, Simon S. Christiansen, Christina Stinn, Peder Dannow, Jørgen Kabel & Igor, Amelie Zeller

Today we did not go to Kabletromlen. Instead we went to Jennes Sø. It was the first time that I went there, and I really enjoyed the place. However, we did not have that many birds in the nets. Only 5 birds (2 recaptures). The highlight of the morning was a Eurasian treecreper (Nordlig Træløber).

While we were ringing, Martin and Christina enjoyed the first hour of counting in at End World 3. After counting 500 razorbills and observing for second day consecutive the Horned Grebe (Nordiske lappedykker), they did not see that many birds during the next two hours. After that, Martin took a quick look at the waxwing in town, close to the cemetery, and he could spot a flock of 40 individuals. He even recorded them and made a SMS ringtone!

Christina worked hard today on the rodpoll session video and it is finally uploaded! Go and check it up, there is a lot of valuable information and a lot of work behind the video:

Part I:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzrh1oxqqCU

Part II:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0TA9fbJA0A

In the afternoon we had another surprise! We were imputing the data when Simon spotted a Red-backed Shrike (Rødrygget Tornskade) in our garden! We run and opened the nets hoping to catch it. Just a few minutes after, the bird was in the net! We were very happy to ring this unusual bird for this time of the year.

In the evening all of us sewed and repaired the nets, and later we had some cake (the one Christina did yesteday) while playing our favourite bord game (Wingspan).

Tomorrow we hope to get some more birds in the morning in Jenne Sø.

Ringmærkning (Jennes Sø):
Munk – Blackcap: 1
Nordlig Træløber – Eurasian treecreper: 1
Rødhals – Robin: 1

Ringmærkning (Fyrhaven):
Grønirisk – Greenfinch: 1
Rødrygget Tornskade - Red-backed Shrike: 1

People: Jeppe Overgaard, Knud Pedersen, Amelie Zeller, Martin Grienenberger, Simon S. Christiansen, Christina Stinn, Peder Dannow and Pablo Macías Torres

Pablo, Amelie, and Jeppe ringed at Kabeltromlen today and did not have many birds. The season is definitely slowing down, and it is starting to get colder now, too! In total, they caught 19 birds, including 8 recaptures.

A highlight was an online ringing session with Pemille, who joined in via video call with a class of special needs students aged 10–14 years. It was a great learning experience for them, and the students were very interested in hearing more about the birds and our activities here at the station.

Peder Dannow, a birder and photographer from Skagen, came to Kabeltromlen, which was also a nice treat.

Martin and I went to Grenen Sø to put up the trap for the water pipits again. Unfortunately, we didn’t catch any today. Martin went on to World’s End 3 to count migratory seabirds with Knud. They also had a slow morning, with only ~600 birds in total. Their highlight was a Horned Grebe (Nordiske lappedykker) in full winter plumage – oh, how I wish I had been there to see it! They aren't rare, but they are such beautiful birds. Martin and Knud also counted 55 waxwings. It appears they are finally starting to show up in increasing numbers, so we might see them up close again.

After setting up the trap for the water pipits with Martin, I returned to the station to edit the video of Simon’s session on Redpolls (Gråsisken). We will be posting it on Youtube tomorrow and share the link on Facebook, so make sure you check our social media channels in the coming days!

In the afternoon, Amelie went over recapture sheets with Simon. Jeppe studied up on how to identify Common scoter (Sortand) and Velvet scoter (Fløjlsand) in the field – which isn’t as easy as it might seem, especially on a sunny day. He also learned about sewing mist nets, which is a task all of us will be doing in the upcoming weeks. The more nets we fix now, the fewer need to be done over the winter or early spring. Jeppe and Martin also finished organizing the attic above the lab, which is looking quite nice by now. Martin then worked on the records for the Barn own in DOF basen, with two calls that he recorded during the night in early to mid-October. While everyone else was working on station-related tasks, I made a German sheet cake called "Donauwelle" in celebration of Martin's name day: St. Martin! As you can see, the topmost layer is chocolate. What you don't see is the cream layer underneath (with more butter than I will dare mention) on top of cherries, on top of a white and chocolate brown cake layer.

We also watched a video by Ottenby Bird Observatory on identifying Rock pipits (Skærpiber) and Water pipits (Bjergpiber), which isn’t easy, depending on the light and on which part of the bird you see.

Even their calls are quite similar. Martin, who analyzes bird call recordings during nocturnal migration, provided us with a few more details on the sonogram.

Tomorrow is going to be a windy day, so we will be going to Jennes Sø for ringing. Hopefully, we will get a few more birds there – wish us luck!

Ringmærkning (Kabeltromlen):

Blåmejse – Blue tit: 3

Gærdesmutte – Wren: 2

Sjagger – Fieldfare: 2

Munk – Blackcap: 2

Fuglekonge – Goldcrest: 1

Bogfinke – Chaffinch: 1

Total: 11 new birds

Klik her for at se dagens observationer indtastet i Dofbasen af observatører i området

People: Pablo Macías, Jeppe Overgaard, Knud Pedersen, Amelie Zeller, Martin Grienenberger, Simon S. Christiansen, Christina Stinn, Peder Dannow

I dag tog Pablo, Christina og Amelie ud for at ringmærke, mens jeg tog ud sammen med Knud for at tælle fugle. Martin var hjemme, da han i dag har haft en velfortjent fridag.

I dag var en langsom dag ved Kabletromlen. Der var ikke mange fugle der gik i nettet. På den femte rundet beslutter de at lukke for i dag. Kl.10.30 var nettene lukket og turen gik tilbage til fuglestationen.

Ude ved Nordstrand sidder jeg klar til at tælle fugle. Knud ankommer i selskab med Frede. Sammen sidder vi og tæller de fugle der kommer forbi. I dag var en god dag for andefugle. Vi ser godt med Sort and og Hvinand.
Indimellem tælleriet får jeg undervisning af Knud i artsbestemmelse af Alk (Razorbill) og Lomvie (Guilemot).
De to arter kan, for det utrænet øje, være svære at sklene fra hinanden når de kommer flyvende over vandet. Træning, træning, træning må derfor være vejen frem og Knud er den rigtige at spørge til råds.
For mit vedkommende gav dag i dag mig et langt bedre indblik i bestemmelsen af de to arter.

Dagens store højdepunkt fra Nordstrand kom flyvende kl. 10.50. En adult Hvidnæbet Lom (White-Billed Diver) i fuld yngledragt, på nær begyndende fældning på struben. Det var en oplevelse der gav varmen i den kolde vind og en god afslutning på dagens observationer.

Da jeg kommer hjem ringer en lokal, som har taget nogle billeder af en rovfugl, som han gerne ville have artsbestem. John kom derfor forbi fuglestationen og vi kunne artsbestemme rovfuglen til en Musvåge (Common Buzzard).

Amelie, Christina, Pablo og Martin skulle i dag ligeldes introduceres for dansk madkultur. Turen gik derfor ind til midtbyen for at besøge pølsevognen.
Her stod den på fransk hotdog, ristet hotdog og Julehotdog i herligt følgeskab af en Cocio.
Vi fik en god snak med pølsekvinden der servede for os. Ligeledes talte vi med et par lokale som også kiggede forbi pølsevognen. Tilbagemeldningerne fra alle fire var positiv.

På vej hjem fra byen får Martin øje på en flok Silkehaler (waxwing) som rester inde ved kirkegården. Her flyver de frem og tilbage efter mad. Martin og Pablo anslår at der var ca. 150 stk. som alle sang. Dejligt at se en stor flok Silkehaler.

Eftermiddagen stod på kage og brætspillet Wingspan. Et ét til fem personers brætspil der omhandler fugle.

Jeg vil opfordre jer til at gå ind på youtube og se nogle videoer af spillet. Det er super sjovt især når man synes godt om fugle.

I morgen står på ringmærkning og observationer ved Grenen. Vi ser frem til endnu en dag her på stationen.

Click here to see today's observations entered in the Dofbasen by observers in the area

People: Knud Pedersen, Frede Jakobsen, Peter Dannow, Pablo Macías Torres, Martin Grienenberger, Simon S. Christiansen, Christina Stinn, Amelie Zeller, John Røge Richardsen, Jeppe Overgaard

Ringmærkning Kabeltromlen:

Blåmejse (Blue tit) 2

Bogfinke (Chaffinch) 1

Gærdesmutte (Wren) 1

Musvit (Great tit) 1

Solsort (Black bird) 3

Alt i alt (all-in-all) 8

Skagen was at its best today, and we have again great stories to tell !

Let’s start first with the ringing. Pablo, Amelie and Jeppe went to Kabbeltromlen for a day with unusual fluctuations. The numbers of birds were constantly rising and fallingbetween the rounds, with a few birds on the first, around 20 on the second, low on the third, and so on… The diversity was quite good, and the highlight of the day was a Bearded Tit (Skægmejse) again. We never get tired of ringing these gorgeous birds! Migration was quite entertaining as well with a good activity overhead, led by a flock of 20 Waxwings (Silkehale) and quite a few Whooper Swans (Sangsvane).

Christina and I went migration counting to World’s End 3. On our way down the beach, we stopped at Grenen Søen to set a trap to catch Water Pipits, which unfortunately wasn’t successful. But we are dedicated ringers and we will try again!
As a starter for the day, we had the chance to admire both Kattegat and Skagerak at their calmest. The water was so still and the wind so low that the whole surface was flat and beautifully reflected the clouds. In such a setting, we enjoyed unusual but great views at the resting birds, including a Great Northern Diver (Islom). The morning was quite busy for us since our talented Alcid identifier and counter Knud wasn’t with us today. We counted almost 4,000 of them with a lot of them conservatively left unidentified.
The real show started at 10, when suddenly Whooper Swans (Sangsvane) appeared to be flying everywhere in our field of vision. It began with the biggest flock of the day, no fewer than 68 birds flying in a V-shape, quickly followed by big flocks over both Skagerak and Kattegat. As good flocks were still coming in from the sea and the total numbers were already quite high after our regular end time, I decided to stay until the stream dried up. I spent an extra hour and a half, sitting all alone at World’s End, which was really wearing its name today without anyone visiting the tip. This moment is one of those while you feel blessed being there, experiencing all by yourself the beauty of bird migration in such a marvelous location.
The total number for Whooper Swans today reached 672 birds, which represents the new daily record for the autumn season. The precedent was counted on the 06/11/2008 with 575 birds.

In the afternoon, Rie Voetmann called us with concerning news. She was looking at a bird struggling in a fishnet at Nordstrand, which appeared to be a Red-throated Diver (Rødstrubbet Lom), and she thought about us to rescue it. We directly went there to help her. Christina was the brave one, going into the water on such a cold day. After having some difficulties, she cut out the bird still entangled so we could rip all of the strings from around its body. We finally released it so it could fly away again at sea, looking strong and healthy !

Jeppe and Amelie went to town today, and Jeppe strated dreaming about owl catching when he saw that cage.

Click here to see today's observations entered in the Dofbasen by observers in the area

People: Jeppe Overgaard, Pablo Macías Torres, Martin Grienenberger, Simon S. Christiansen, Christina Stinn, Amelie Zeller, Jørgen Kabel & Igor, Rie Voetmann

Ringmærkning Kabeltromlen: 35 new birds

Another sunny day of ringing and observing! Jeppe enjoyed a good morning with Knud at World’s End 3. Jeppe is very happy about getting private lessons by Knud how to distinguish Razorbills (Alk) and Guillemots (Lomvie).

Meanwhile, Martin, Christina, Pablo, Simon and I had a good ringing morning with quite a lot of birds. We caught some Blue Tits, Great Tits, Robins, Blackbirds, a Redwing and a Brambling. Flemming and Christel also came by for a visit.

Unfortunately, our guests Lone and Lars had to leave today. We had a very nice week with them at the ringing station and at the observation point. They told us some amazing birdwatching stories they experienced and showed us “magic stones” that light in the dark. We hope to see you again!

When we came home, we started cleaning the attic and organized it, so everything is prepared for the new season in spring. During cleaning, we found this game and of course had to try it out ;).

After that, Martin and Pablo went for a refreshing swim in the sea and caught a Rezorbill (Alk) with bare hands! As the bird seemed to be weak and unhealthy, they released it back to the ocean. We hope that it will get well again.

After sunset, Jeppe and I made our way to do some night catching. The conditions seemed to be very good to catch some Woodcocks (Skovsneppe) and we actually almost caught one twice… Tomorrow we will give it another try.

After our tour we were happy to be welcomed with a lovely dinner from Pablo. He made tortillas for us, which is a Spanish omelette with potatoes, delicious!

Click here to see today's observations entered in the Dofbasen by observers in the area

People: Jeppe Overgaard, Knud Pedersen, Pablo Macías Torres, Martin Grienenberger, Simon S. Christiansen, Christina Stinn, Knud Pedersen, Erik Christophersen, Flemming & Christel, Lars & Lone Madsen, Amelie Zeller

Ringmærkning Fyrhaverne:

Blåmejse – Blue Tit - 1

Grønirisk – Greenfinch - 7

Skovspurv – Tree Sparrow – 1

Total: 9

Ringmærkning Kabeltromlen:

Blåmejse – Blue Tit - 21

Dompap, Lille (europaea) – Wester European Bullfinch - 1

Gærdesmutte – Wren - 2

Musvit – Great Tit - 6

Rødhals – Robin - 2

Sangdrossel – Songthrush - 1

Solsort – Blackbird - 3

Vindrossel – Redwing – 1

Total: 37