Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to Kirsten this morning, were she left quite early. It was pleasant to have her around, she is an amazing person very enthusiastic and fun to be with! She liked it so much that she already has programmed her next visit to Skagen!!

Besides that, the day was going considerably slow and the weather had its ups and downs, so because it was windy and rainy, we decided that we will go for tern- catching, at night. Anders and Simon watched the movie of the Life project of Skagen Odde were you can also watch on YouTube in this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tc_moMZABU. Martin and me, were finishing some things indoors that had to be done.

In early afternoon we welcomed our new neighbors, who will be joining us from tomorrow, ,since they were still dazed from their trip up to Skagen. 

Late in the evening we prepared the nets, the rings all the tools and the megaphones and went to the tip of Grenen, Skagen to put everything up. With a lot of patience and enthusiasm we sat there for about 5 hours waiting for the storm petrels (Lille stormsvale) or the sandwich terns (Spltterner) to respond. With us were also, Anders and Ib. At 2:30 we decided to close the nets unfortunately without any birds… But we are going to try again and hope that next time will have more luck.

People: Simon S Christiansen, Martin Y. Georgiev, Christina Ninou, Kirsten, Anders Odd Wulff Nielsen, Ib Jensen.

An 03:30 alarm marked the start of our day. After a quick breakfast we were on our way to the Constant Effort Site at Jennes Sø. With the high temperatures the previous day we did not expect to have many birds and the few hours after dawn held our hopes for an interesting session. Contrary to our expectations by the time we closed the nets at 10:30 we had ringed over 25 birds! The majority of the birds were juveniles and tighlights for the morning were a couple of first year crested tit (Topmejse) and a flock of blue tits (Blåmejse) which put our extractions skills to the test.

Considering the day's high temperatures and a weather forecast with a high chance of thunderstorm tomorrow we decided to take the opportunity and have a barbeque. I was given the task of gathering all the resources required for the feast so I head off to town. After picking up a new inner tube for one of our bikes (which need some work every couple of days at this point) I found myself infront of Slagter Jensen. I have to admit this was the first time I have ever had to wait in line in a butcher shop, and oh my was there a line. It is my strongest belief that there were at least 23 people in front of me. This however gave me ther opportunity to explore the tiny shop a bit and make a friend in the queue who offered to help me out in case I encountered a lingual barrier due to my Danish language skills rivaling those of a turnip. Once it was my turn to order I was served by a lovely lady who spoke perfect English (a typical Dane in other words). In order to fufil my quest of obtaining 12 sausages I kindly asked her to pick whatever she would include in her own barbeque. A few laughs and a minute later I was equipped with 12 sausages, 15 beers, zucchini, mushrooms, peppers and sunsine - everything required for a good meal and good times on the beach.

Upon returning to the station I was struck by an overwheling desire to embrace my pillow. I decided to fight it with a nice cup of tea and some music. I thought I might as well entertain the tourists so I grabbed the station's guitar (kindly donated by Simon's sister) and headed for the courtyard. I ended up playing most of my favourite songs and was joined by a friendly German family. The grandfather seemed particularly fond of my vibes and ended up sitting next to me for an hour, bless his heart :) After they departed I countinued jamming away and was aproached by a guy who asked me something, after we established my turnip language skills he asked me to play a couple of songs at their table. This struck me as quite a surprise since I had never been asked to play a 'private gig' before. I made my way over to their table and was happy to see that all the nearby tables were full, a good way to practice getting over my stage fright. An hour later the show was over and the crowd seemed pleased (or at least happy that I was leaving). Flemming dropped by to thank me for the music which was all the recognition I needed :) I promised to do it again on a nice sunny day.

The time to prepare for the barbeque was upon us and Andreas made quick work of the preparations. In the meanwhile I was introduced to Christina's guitar skills which up to this point had remained hidden from all of us. A quick jam session and we were already enjoying the amazing food. It also happened to be the last day of Kirsten's stay with us which made the occasion even more special. She even had a departure gift prepared for us - a much needed pepper grinder!

After our fine meal Simon and Andreas were off to do a toad tour with 9 visitors. It involved a walk in the areas around the station looking for our local anuran fauna. After a long day we were all ready for bed in anticipation of the next day!

Ringing (Fyrhaven):

Gransanger - 7

Blåmejse - 6

Rødhals - 1

Gærdesanger - 4

Topmejse - 2

Tornsanger - 5

Bogfinke - 1

Total  26

 People: Simon S Christiansen, Martin Y. Georgiev, Christina Ninou, Kirsten, Anders Odd Wulff Nielsen.

During our observations this morning, along with Henrick and Rolf, besides the beautiful birds such as Black guillemots (Cepphus grylle), Rosefinches (Carpodacus roseus) and the two Surf scoters (Melanitta perspicillata) that are still around, we saw a grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) and a harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) as well as a harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)!! For me it was the first time and it was a great observation! I really had a good look of that grey seals big head while it was enjoying the sun in the calm waters of the sea.

When we came back to the observatory, we went straight to our moth trap to see what we had caught during the night. There we found many different beautiful species, but the highlight was the Lille vincværmer (Deilephila porcellus) with its cool pink patches.

We are all here very excited with how much Kirsten is fascinated by the whole ringing procedure. She started reading a book about it, ''Bird - ringing'' (1953) of Lockley & Russell and she is looking forward to learning more. She told us, that when she goes back to Copenhagen, she will try to participate in ringing sessions and get more experience :) .

In the evening, we had to prepare the CES site for the next day of ringing. So, we all went there with Kirsten and put up the additional nets and cut grass of the net lines.

The day ended with some more observations near by at the dunes with the beautiful sunset adding all these colors to the scene. It was a very relaxing moment, while observing the Gannets diving and flying around.

People: Simon S Christiansen, Martin Y. Georgiev, Christina Ninou, Anders Odd Wulff Nielsen, Kirsten, Rolf Christensen, Henrik Wienberg Kristensen

Imens Simon, Martin og jeg sov længe drog Christina på morgenobs på Verdens Ende sammen med Rolf og Henrik W. Kristensen. Morgenens bedste fugl blev en grøn pirol, som gjorde trækforsøg samt de to brilleænder som fortsat er på plads i henholdsvis Skagerrak og Kattegat.

Formiddagens guidede ringmærkningstur så ikke ud til at blive til noget, men heldigvis lykkedes det Kirsten at skaffe to deltagere i sidste øjeblik. Selvom vi ikke havde held med at fange nogen fugle blev det til en fin tur alligevel med to tilfredse deltagere. Efter turen besluttede vi at prøve at ringmærke ungerne fra fyrets ynglende bysvaler. Med lidt hjælp fra Flemming fik vi fat i en lang stige, så vi kunne tjekke de tre reder. Vi ringmærkede i alt syv fede svaleunger fordelt på to kuld. I den sidste rede var redehullet for småt til at vi kunne få fat i ungerne. 

Om eftermiddagen fik Martin og Christina handlet ind og fixet gearene på to af vores cykler, som igen er "fit for fight". Jeg gik selv en tur på Grenen hvor 20 1k tårnfalke og et par storkjover blev det bedste. Dagen sluttede med et lækkert aftensmåltid lavet af Kirsten. 

Folk: Simon S Christiansen, Martin Y. Georgiev, Christina Ninou, Anders Odd Wulff Nielsen, Kirsten, Rolf Christensen, Henrik Wienberg Kristensen og Flemming. 

The day started with a moderately busy ringing session at Grenen with 20 birds most of which were juveniles with the first new reed warblers for the summer season, expecting many more next time! It was also an eventful morning for Kirsten who held her first bird today, a truly unforgetable experience!
In the meanwhie Simon was sorting out the details for our new project with sandwich terns - stay tuned for updates.
Next stop was our weekly ringing tour which involved 11 visitors. Andreas and Christina made sure to go through the all the steps involved in ringing in order to provide our visitors a clear picture of our duties and activities. A treat in the tour was a freshly shed skin belonging to a Eurasian adder, a gentle reminder that there are quite a frew in the area.

Having said that the majority of our day was spent cleaning and tidying up our living quarters, birdirs club and laboratory. In addition to Wednesday being our weekly cleaning day this time we went the extra mile to make sure all is in order for the upcoming busy weeks. Not the most exciting activity, however higly rewarding. I always feel like a clean environment promotes creativity and boosts productivity.

Ringing (Fyrhaven):

Gulbug - Icterine warbler - 1

Gransanger - Reed warbler - 4

Gærsanger - Lesser whitethroat - 1

Rørsanger - Marsh warbler - 3

The day did not start with the usual ringing session due to bad weather conditions i.e. it was incredibly windy. Instead we went on a birdwatching walk near Jennes sø where we saw a marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus), a honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus) and various common, locally breeding Passerines.

On our way back from the beach we found a pair of ringed plovers (Charadrius hiaticula) (that weren't ringed) with a chick that hadn't fledged so we will try and ring it in the coming days.

Upon arrival in the observatory we had an open freezer day and invited everyone in the courtyard to see the wonders inside: Cool birds such as Common buzzard (musvåge), Eider (ederfugl), Common scoter (sortand) Robin (rødhals) Goldcrest (fuglekonge), Tawny Owl (Natugle) and a lot more appeared to the people who came to watch! And we even got a new bird - a cool coockoo (gøg) that Martin found dead in town after crashing in to a window!

We were also joined by Anders Wiig Nielsen who willl be with us for tomorrow's ringing and observation sessions.

In the afternoon we did another observation this time with Kirsten session with the usual suspects such as great skuas, gannets, migrationg sanderlings and feeding plovers.

In the evening we called it an early night in preparation for a ringing session in the morning.

Folk: Joakim Matthiesen, Simon S Christiansen, Martin Y Georgiev, Christina Ninou, Anders Odd Wulff Nielsen, Kirsten, Anders Wiig Nielsen.

For Martin, Christina og jeg startede dagen tidligt hos Rolf på Verdens Ende hvor højdepunkterne var fire mallemukker, et par storkjover og en hvidvinget korsnæb. Senere på morgenen rykkede vi alle tre ud i den yderste klitrække for at gøre Knud selskab. Trækket forblev dog sløvt selvom nogle få rider og lidt fjord- og havterner holdte os beskæftiget. Efter et par timers trækobs gik vi ud på Nordstrand hvor den ene af de to brilleand hanner sås rigtig fint mellem cirka 800 sort- og fløjlsænder. Vi fik også aflæst nogle farveringmærkede svartbage og tjekket en mindre flok splitterner for ringe. Erik mødte os på Nordstrand og kunne vise billeder af to juvenile stor korsnæb, som tidligere på morgenen havde gjort trækforsøg og rastet i kort tid på Verdens Ende. Om efteråret når de første store korsnæb som regel først Danmark i september, hvorfor de to ungfugle formentlig er klækket et sted på Skagen Odde.

Eftermiddagen gik med at lappe den ene af vores cykler og at købe ind til de næste par dage. Senere forkælede Kirsten os med lækker aftensmad og efterfølgende introducerede Simon os til det lidt skøre spil "The telegraph" a.k.a. "Kent Elvis". Jeg er sikker på at vi nok få spillet det igen i løbet af efteråret.

Folk: Joakim Matthiesen, Simon S Christiansen, Martin Y Georgiev, Christina Ninou, Anders Odd Wulff Nielsen, Knud Pedersen, Rolf Christensen, Erik Christophersen og Kirsten.

The day started with our main activity apart from ringing at this time of year, observations. Again we had the usual sightings a great skua (Stercorarius skua) and a red throated loon (Gavia stellata), however the highlight was a small fishing vessel which had attracted over 200 gulls and at least 3 great skua. The sight was epic and the feeding frenzy was of immense proportion.

At lucnh time we had to say goodbye to our dear friend and expert birder Joakim who returned to civilization after four productive, unforgetable, fun-filled months. Thank you for teaching us how to find our ways in the endless labyrinths that we call our ringing sites at Grenen and all the awesome dishes you cooked using your vast knowledge in the field of gastronomy. Never stop clowning!

Since we were already in the mood for goodbyes we also said farewell to Irene and Hugh after their week-long stay with us. We hope you enjoyed learning new things and geting a hands-on experience at the station. You managed to get involved in quite a few of our activities including several ringing sessions, both at Grenen and our CES site and the help with all the twigs and sticks in our nets will never be forgotten. You also managed to take a glimpse into the mysterious & wonderous life of the european nightjar which is truly a treat. Take care and hope to see you again at Skagen bird observatory.

Throughout the day I managed to dedicate some time to researching the available literature on the costs of migration for Passerines drawing inspiration for my own undergraduta project. This was followed by another observation session at the tip of Grenen.Around lunchtime we greeted our new visitor Kirsten who will be joining our team for a week, she picked a good day to arrive since great weather is expected from Tuesday onward, welcome!In the evening after a lovely dinner and a productive meeting (usually sundays tend to be the most fun ones) we called it an early night in preparation for tomorrow¨s observation session.

People: Joakim Matthiesen, Simon S Christiansen, Martin Y Georgiev, Christina Ninou, Anders Odd Nielsen, Hugh Mayo, Irene Mayo and Kirsten.

The day started at 4:00, were Anders and I went to Grenen to observe migration. We saw some waders as well as the surf scoters and again a great skua! In the meantime, Joakim's family is here for the weekend, so he opened the nets in the garden at 7:00 am. He took them on a guided tour around the nets and they had 4 birds, including a tree pipit! After that, he took them to town where they walked around. Martin stayed home to clean the telescopes and binoculars, (which after all these days are full of sand) and then went out and talked to some tourists and then came for birdwatching with Anders and me. Irene and Hue did a cultural trip, around Skagen visiting the museum and galleries. 

Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to Kim and the kids, but they ensured us that they had a great time which made us happy!In the evening, Simon arrived from Lund University, Sweden and mentioned how nice the facilities and staff were and recommended it to us for studying biology there.

At night, Simon and Anders, took a family of four and one more person to a night tour around the lighthouse, where they talked about the animals that you can see at night and the methods that are used to capture them. Then the did a round and found many nice toads. In the meanwhile, Joakim, Lea and me, went on a night-catching walk to find waders, on the beach but unfortunately, we were not able to catch anything.

Ringing (Fyrhaven):

Tornsanger - Whitethroat    1

Musvit - Great tit     2

The day started at 04:00am when our eager team of birdwatchers set off to Grenen in order to observe migration. Notable sights were a great skua (Stercorarius skua), Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus), rosefinches (Carpodacus) and a red throated loon (Gavia stellata). In addition many coloured rings were red off the feet of various gulls with one of them having a ring from the United Kingdom.

In the afternoon Christina and I set off to our ringing site at Grenen in order to do some much needed arboreal work. We cleared the overwhelming vegetation under and around the nets and then focused on making the paths connecting the nets more accessible. Hopefully our work will make our ringing sessions more productive and enjoyable, stay tuned for an update in the coming days!

In the evening Anders treated us to a lovely chili for dinner which replenished our depleted energy reserves and left us looking forward to what tomorrow has to offer :)

People: Joakim Matthiesen, Simon S Christiansen, Martin Y Georgiev, Christina Ninou, Anders Odd Nielsen, Kim Haselmann, Benjamin Haselmann, Andreas Haselmann, Hugh Mayo and Irene Mayo.