A slow build up

Another day, another dollar, we woke up early and the ringers went to Kabeltromlen while me and Joe went to World End 3 to do some migration counting. The weather was much better than yesterday, no rain, light cloud cover but some wind, and very early we saw some fulmars (Mallemuk), so we knew it would be another good fulmar day. Otherwise, there wasn’t much migration, though we had Green Woodpecker (Grønspætte) 1k that ended up migrating northeast. Later we were joined by the young birder Alfred, I helped him getting on some fulmars that were migrating as it would be new species for him, and there were two Black-throated Divers (Sortstrubet Lom) a Carrion Crow (Sortkrage), also both new lifers! Skagen always delivers. Later in the morning we had the first raptor in the shape of a Red Kite (Rød Glente) 1k doing a migration attempt and at 0914, right before the standardized counting stopped, we had the highlight of the day: a very nice Great Skua (Storkjove) migrating northwest, an uncommon summer visitor in Skagen, though we will see more of them later in the season (hopefully). After the standardized count, me, Joe and Alfred first went to the Sandormesvinget to count terns, gulls and waders and Alfred got another lifer in the shape of a Little Stint (Dværgryle) and we had Grey Wagtail (Bjergvipstjert) calling. After that, the last task at hand before we could go back was to go to the Cormorant Lake (Skarvsøen) to count cormorants (Skarv). It ended up being quite the trek with all mosquitos, horseflies and humidity, but we survived and mission accomplished and we went back to the Lighthouse and Alfred, happy with all his new lifers, got picked up by his mom. Thanks for a nice day Alfred!

Kabeltromlen had a more quiet day with the highlight being a nice Water Rail (Vandrikse), otherwise nothing much. They also spend the time maintaining the vegetation so we are ready for a hopefully action-packed and exciting autumn season, when the migration picks up!

Otherwise the down time at the Observatory was spend napping and accomplishing some of the daily tasks and at around dinner time Simon picked up Sean Walsh who will be doing some storm petrel catching, and picked up Lucas and his friend James who will be staying with us for some time and we were joined by Mette who will be sleeping here also in the hopes of seeing a European Storm Petrel (Lille Stomsvale).

Now the nets have been put up and in a short time we will start doing playback with storm petrel calls and we are going to put up a moth trap, and a bunch of other birdwatchers will be joining us in the hopes of us catching a storm petrel. Fingers crossed, I know I will as I still need as a lifer.

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)

Water Rail (Vandrikse) – 1

Chiffchaff (Gransanger) – 1

Kærsanger (Marsh Warbler) – 2

Blackcap (Munk) – 3

Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger) – 1

Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken) – 1

Total: 9

People: Ragnar Smith, Joe Zeno, Alfred G. Geckler, Asia Kane, Rosa Hicks, Lucas Corneliussen, Sean Walsh, Simon S. Christiansen, Mette M. Christensen, Kirsten Bregn, James Leone

Link to todays observations from observers in the area

Hi!

You may have noticed a new name! I’ve recently joined the volunteer team until mid October and have been greeted by some incredible locals – crested tits (Topmejse), honey buzzards (Hvepsevåge), icterine warblers (Gulbug), and the other volunteers of course, and some less incredible locals – the mosquitos (myg!!).

Heavy rain was forecasted today so no standardized ringing was conducted, however Ragnar, Joe, and I managed to get a few hours of migration counts before the heavy rain came. Highlights included the first mediterranean gull (Stor Sorthovedet Måge) and tufted duck (Troldand) of the year for the Station, 9 curlew sandpipers (Krumnæbbet Ryle), 2 migrating little ringed plover (Lille Præstekrave), a golden eye (Hvinand ), and a parasitic sea jaeger (Almindelig Kjove). Once the rain had cleared, Ragnor headed out again, while the rest of us caught up with some admin. He spotted an additional 72 dunlin (Almindelig Ryle), 10 curlew sandpipers (Krumnæbbet Ryle), 1 curlew (Stor Regnspove), and 1 whimbrel (Småspove).

In the afternoon we all headed to Gyvel Markerne to look for wading birds. We saw a range of species including wood sandpiper (Tinksmed), great egret (Søvhejre), common ringed plover (Stor Præstekrave), shellduck (Gravand), honey buzzard (Hvepsevåge), and northern lapwing (Vibe), the last three all being new species for Joe!

You might have remembered from yesterday’s blog that we went to check on a local nightjar (Natravn) brood which were nowhere to be found. Well, the mystery is solved as Simon reviewed the nightjar footage, revealing the brood’s unfortunate end…

Watch the fate of the Nightjars (Natravn) in the video:

Tomorrow’s weather looks less wet and so we’re hoping the nets will be back up for the standardized ringing, and the observers doing the migration counts stay dry too!

Today Ragnar and I were up at sunrise conducting our morning observations from Worlds End 3 to scout for seabirds and migrating waders across the calm waters. We were happily surprised to see three Little Terns (Dværgterne) fly in from the southeast, a scarce species in Skagen. Ragnar spotted several marine mammals throughout the morning as well, including six harbor porpoises and a probable fin whale (Finhval). We also recorded four Curlew Sandpipers (Krumnæbbet Ryle), fifty-nine Red Knots (Islandsk Ryle), and a Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Spurvehøg). After observations were completed, we moved northwest on the beach to observe the nearby gull flock. In the gull flock there was an abundance of Herring Gulls (Sølvmåge), one with yellow legs. Ragnar and I observed this bird for a while as it possessed field marks of a Yellow-legged Gull (Middelhavsmåge) but it ramained as a Herring Gull in the end.

 Adult Reed Warbler (Kærsanger) with ring from Norway

Today was the second day of standardized ringing this autumn season. The ringers: Asia, Rosa, and Simon, had a successful day with a total of 39 birds. A highlight for the ringers was a Reed Warbler with a ring from Norway but they also caught a Crested Tit.

Two Marsh Warbler (Kærsangere). Adult with worn plumage to the left and juvenile with fresh plumage to the right

Later in the day Simon, Asia, Rosa, and I headed out to Skagen Klitplantage to look for baby Eurasian Nightjars (Natravn) to ring them. We spent an hour searching for the young ones in a known nesting location only to discover that they were nowhere to be found anymore. We plan on checking the footage gathered from a webcam to discover what happened to them. There looks to be rain tomorrow so we will see what birds the rain will bring in.

Ringing (Kabeltromlen )

Common Chiffchaff (Gransanger) - 2 

Common Whitethroat (Lesser Whitethroat) - 5

Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) - 5    

Blackcap (Munk) - 11

Marsh Warbler (Kærsanger) - 2

Crested Tit (Topmejse) - 1

Icterine Warbler (Gulbug) - 4

Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken) - 3 

Rørsanger (Reed Warbler) - 3

Blue Tit (Blåmejse) - 2     

Eurasian Blackbird (Solsort) - 1                                                                                     

Total: 39

People: Joe Zeno, Ragnar Smith, Simon S. Christiansen, Rosa Hicks, Asia Kane                                 

Today was the first day of standardized ringing for the autumn season and coincidently the first day in some time with low winds and high temperatures, perfect conditions for ringing.

Me and Joe, a new volunteer who is going to stay with us for a month went to Worlds End 1 to see if the low winds brought some passerines with it, while Asia, Lucas, Mette, Myrthe and Simon opened the nets, and with 30 birds ringed it was a good first day with one of the highlights being two Marsh Warblers (Kærsanger). While Kabeltromlen had their ringing session we tried counting the passerines and seabirds passing by, with highlights being the first Greater Spotted Woodpecker (Stor Flagspætte) and Spotted Flycatcher (Grå Fluesnapper) of the season, Caspian Tern (Rovterne) and a partially leucistic Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger), but otherwise a quiet morning.

But along with new arrivals of birds, we also had to say goodbye to two people: Myrthe, as she had her last day at SKAF. She is going back to Belgium before she going to continue abroad and work with more birds; SKAF wishes all the best luck in her future endeavours and hopefully she will return. Lucas is going to Copenhagen, but he will be returning in a few days, so we aren't letting him go yet!

Returning to the observatory, it being Saturday, we had some cleaning to do, got to keep the facilities in tip-top condition, no one wants to return from a tiring ringing or migration session to a dirty home. After cleaning and some shopping, we had another new arrival, though not a bird, but a new volunteer! Rosa Hick from the UK is going to help with ringing and is going to stay with us till 18/10. Tomorrow she is going to join the rest of the team out at Kabeltromlen, and hopefully some good birds are going to come our way, as the weather tomorrow looks interesting.

Ringing (Kabeltromle-krattet)

Great Tit (Musvit) - 6

Chiffchaff (Gransanger) - 6

Reed Warbler (Rørsanger) - 2

Marsh Warbler (Kærsanger) - 2

Icterine Warbler (Gulbug) - 2

Blackcap (Munk) - 7

Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger) - 2

Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) - 3

Total: 30

People: Ragnar Smith, Simon S. Christiansen, Rosa Hicks, Asia Kane, Joseph Zeno, Lucas Corneliussen, Mette M. Christensen and Myrthe V. Brempt.

Link to todays observations from observers in the area

Today started off quiet differently for me than it usually does here at the station. Going out the night before to enjoy the spectacle that is Week 29 was unexpected at best. But! That did not stop us from completing our duties. Ragnar was officially in charge of counting this morning, the rest of us merely came along for the ride. Nick and I stumbled out to the Sandormklit at dawn and joined Ragnar for the first few hours of the morning! And low and behold - A ZITTING CISTICOLA (CISTUSANGER) was our prize. An absolutely spectacular find by Ragnar (the rest of us were other indisposed). He first heard it calling and then was able to get his eyes on it along with other local birders in the area. What a surprise and what a treat. It was the 8th record of the species in Denmark and quiet nice to be witness to. ? records have been found here in Skagen. Being very cold and not dressing in enough layers, Nick and I retreated early but Ragnar persisted until his time was complete - good on him!
A quick nap on the beach fixes all!

The rest of the day was fairly mellow around the station. Not much was done other than entering in of the data into DOFBasen, but we did get a new volunteer! Welcome Joe Zeno. Joe is also from the US, we have known each other for many years and he is very excited to be here. We also said goodbye to Benjamin today after his two week stay here. Thank you for being here! Have a nice trip back to Fyn. After dinner, we went out to Grenen in search of the Cistusanger, but were unable to refind it. A 1k European Green Woodpecker (Grønspætte) was flying around trying to migrate but decided to return back towards town. A nice ending to the day. 

Link to Skagen Fuglestation Facebook for a lengthy post about the Cistusanger:

https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=skagen%20fuglestation

People: Lucas Corneliussen, Asia Kane, Myrthe Van Brempt, Nick Park, Simon Christansen, Joe Zeno, Benjamin Bech

Link to todays observations in Dofbasen from the Skagen area

Hello all!

This morning we were up bright and early for morning observations. Although we didn’t see much at first, we were eventually rewarded by distant views of an Almindelig Skråpe (Manx Shearwater) and a Sodfarvet Skråpe (Sooty Shearwater)! The Sooty Shearwater especially is an unusual record for Skagen, so we were especially pleased to see that. We managed to watch the birds for a few minutes before they disappeared. 

Soon after, Ragnar’s friend Nick arrived to spend the day with us. He had a great time birding the local area and picking up some lifers, including a Tejst (Black Guillemot) seen from the beach near the lighthouse. After that, he cycled to Sandmilen with Lucas and Ragnar to do some birding there. They reported that the trip out there was difficult due to the strong winds, but the way back was a breeze as the wind was behind them.

This evening, Myrthe made us a delicious curry for dinner and baked cookies. We all enjoyed the food, and then most of the group went out to spend the evening in town.

Not wanting to brave the wind again, they decided to walk rather than take the bikes. Benjamin and I stayed behind to finish up some tasks and spend some time relaxing. Tomorrow we plan to go seawatching again, and hopefully we will have some cool birds to write about in the blog afterwards!

Link to todays observations in Dofbasen from the Skagen area

People at the station: Myrthe Van Brempt, Benjamin Bech, Ragnar Smith, Lucas Corneliussen, Asia Kane, Nick, Jesper and Mette

Quality over quantity was the operative word of the day. The morning started with a late migration watch, due to the weather, once the rain stopped me and Myrthe went out to do one hour of standardized counting on top of a dune just east of the Sandworm track (Sandormesvinget), even though there was a severe lack of migrating birds, we still managed to find a very nice Caspian Tern (Rovterne) that was foraging right in front of us before migrating northwest. But the highlight was definitely a Pied Avocet (Klyde) that we found while setting, after two minutes it disappeared without a trace. It was the first record in two years for Grenen, so definitely a hit. Other goodies were Black Guillemot, plenty of waders with Little Stint and Curlew Sandpiper in summer plumage, which are always very nice and attractive birds to enjoy, especially when you get them at close range and in scope.

While everyone was recharging at the observatory and getting ready for the next days, I took a trip to Gyvelmarkerne and Kanalvej to look for any overstaying waders. Nothing of note was seen but a very nice High Brown Fritillary (Skovperlemorsommerfugl) posed for me for a bit. A very nice butterfly species that is quite rare and has a quite restricted range in Denmark.

While I was out the rest of the team were organizing dinner and bowling, which resulted in a very nice and cozy evening at Skaw Grillen with Myrthe trying some “real” Danish food, in the shape of a fish burger made from freshly caught European plaice (Rødspætte). After that we enjoyed a very nice late evening at Skaw Bowling. Now we are getting ready for a few days of western winds blowing through and even though it might be sub-optimal for ringing, it might throw off some nice seabirds, we are especially crossing fingers for a Great Skua (Storkjove), since Benjamin still needs it on his list. So dear reader please cross your fingers for us.

DOFbase-Observations from Skagen

People: Myrthe Van Brempt, Benjamin Bech, Ragnar Smith, Lucas Corneliussen, Asia Kane, Nick, Jesper and Mette

Hello everyone!

This morning Myrthe, Lucas, Oluf, and I went ringing at Kabeltromlen. Myrthe and I had never ringed there before, so we did the first few rounds all together so that we could learn all the net locations. Our lovely guests Mette and Jesper arrived a little later to watch the ringing. We watched a beautiful sunrise and enjoyed good weather during the 4 hours we spent outside – and we also caught some exciting birds!

Among the highlights was a female Blåhals (Bluethroat). We were all very excited to see her, as this is not a common species in Skagen.

This unfortunate bird managed to be recaptured twice more within a couple of hours, so appears to have learnt nothing about avoiding nets! We released her again and hope she will return next year.

Another highlight was a Topmejse (Crested Tit). Although small, these brave birds are like other members of the tit family in that they will not hesitate to bite a ringer’s fingers.

We also caught 2 juvenile Gulbug (Icterine Warblers). It was my first time seeing juveniles of this species, and I was surprised to find that they look very different to the adults. In sharp contrast to the bright yellow birds they will grow up to become, the juveniles were quite grey and faded in colour. Hopefully, this will help them avoid predators until they’re old enough to have gained some experience.

Other surprises included a juvenile Rødhals (Robin), which are not often caught here, and a solitary Jernspurv (Dunnock).

Meanwhile, Ragnar was observing seabirds at World’s End 3.

Benjamin went to the bakery in town and got us some delicious bread, which we were all very grateful for when we came back from ringing. Then we spent the rest of the day sleeping and relaxing after our very early morning!

 Link to todays observations in Dofbasen from the Skagen area

Ringing numbers (including recaptures):

Blåhals (Bluethroat): 1

Blåmejse (Blue Tit): 2

Gærdesanger (Lesser Whitethroat): 2

Grå Fluesnapper (Spotted Flycatcher): 1

Gransanger (Chiffchaff): 6

Gulbug (Icterine Warbler): 2

Jernspurv (Dunnock): 1

Lille Gråsiskin (Lesser Redpoll): 1

Munk (Blackcap): 4

Musvit (Great Tit): 1

Rødhals (Robin): 1

Rørsanger (Reed Warbler): 4

Solsort (Blackbird): 1

Topmejse (Crested Tit): 1

Tornsanger (Common Whitethroat): 4

Total: 32

People at the station: Myrthe Van Brempt, Benjamin Bech, Ragnar Smith, Lucas Corneliussen, Asia Kane, Oluf Lou, Jesper and Mette

Hej alle sammen,

I dag var første dag i efterårssæsonen. Så vi skulle sådan set have været ude og observere, men det regnede hele morgenen, så vi valgte at lade være med at tage ud. I dag prøvede vi at holde en ringmærkningstur for gæsterne, som kommer fra krydstogtskibet, og i dag var der én, som kom med på turen. Michael Anker kom for ringmærke. Vi startede klokken 11, hvor den eneste og bedste gæst kom. Vi fortalte hende om, hvordan man ringmærker forskellige fugle, og vi viste hende, hvordan nettene virker og hvorfor vi fanger dem. Vi gik over for at lukke nettene, og efter et net blev jeg nødt til at gå tilbage, da der var hul i begge mine gummistøvler, og jeg stod i vand til anklerne.

Så da jeg er ved at hænge mine sokker til tørre, ringer Lucas og råber ind i telefonen, at de havde en Rødrygget Tornskade (Red-backed Shrike), så jeg skyndte mig at gøre klar til, at de kom tilbage. Vi fik taget en masse billeder, og lige pludselig gik vi fra at være 5 til 11. Men de er jo nogle bæster at ringmærke, så Lucas' fingre er lidt blodige efter i dag. En time efter vi havde ringmærket, kom Ragnar Smith, som skal være her til d. 7. december. Lucas viste ham rundt på stationen og viste ham, hvor han finder alle de praktiske ting. Lucas lavede en lækker aftensmad.

Ringing (Fyrhavn)

Rødrygget Tornskade (Red-backed Shrike) - 1

People at SKAF: Lucas Corneliussen, Asia Kane, Myrthe Van Brempt, Benjamin Bech, Ragnar Smith, Mette Møller Christensen, Michael Anker, Jesper & Mette

Link to todays observations in Skagen

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