There were almost no birds moving in the morning due to the cold weather. However the morning quickly turned from quiet to manic when a pod of 7 Spækhuggere/Killer Whales appeared in my telescope! Wow! My initial views of the pod were very brief and very distant. I let the other birders I was with know I had seen them and we waited for them to surface again. The 5 minutes it took them to show themselves felt forever as I started to think I had imagined it! But they did come up again to my relief and were enjoyed by many for about an hour before they disappeared to the north east. Amazing! A video of the animals can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSUSzjd_uNY In the afternoon a danish TV crew came to film me for the news later in the day. That clip can be found after 15 mins here: https://www.dr.dk/tv/se/tv-avisen-med-sporten/tv-avisen-23/tv-avisen-2019-05-05?fbclid=IwAR2nWvoVvFc2N2sEND-ZRdOC7wOPHvENpqF1BgMMGtIR7zy1PadgXhO-wxc Simon cooked something danish and traditional for dinner (can’t remember the name of it) which was really good.

Folk: Joakim Matthiesen, Dante Shepherd, Marie Heuberger, Simon S Christiansen, Hebe Denny, Brian, Kirsten.

Ringmærkning Sardinkrattet and Jenne So:

Bogfinke - 2, Munk - 1, Gærdesmutte - 3, Gransanger - 2, Løvsanger - 6, Rødhals - 6, Skovskade - 1

Total 21

Selvom dagen startede næsten som normalt var det dog med et lidt andet motiv dag. I dag var nemlig Tårnenes Dag. Det betyder, at man kan melde et hold til eventet og derefter tælle arter ved sit fugletårn fra kl 05:00 til kl 13:00. Det gælder ganske enkelt om, at finde flest arter. Vinderene er sjovt nok det hold, som finder flest forskellige arter i løbet af de 8 timer. Derfor stod vi alle 5, Dante, Hebe, Marie, Simon og jeg ude på grenen kl 05:00. Her fik vi besøg af nogle lokale birdere samt Mad og Fugle, som hjalp os med at finde arter denne dag.

Den opmærksomme læser har nok bemærket er der jo ikke er noget fugletårn ude på Grenen. Derfor kan vi ikke deltage i den ’rigtige kokurrence’, da man jo skal have et tårn. Derimod deltog vi som de sidste par i den uofficelle konkurrence, hvor alle kan være med fra en ’obs-post’. Skagen plejer ALTID at vinde.

Marie og jeg gik ned i sardinkrattet og åbende nettene for, at se om vi kunne fange en fugl eller to som vi kunne vise til holdet på Grenen og derved forbedre deres vinderchancer. Det blev dog ikke til mange fugle, men vi fik da ringmærket et par stykker.

Da dagen bød på meget blæst skete det uventede. Vi vandt ikke i år! Desværre var kulde og blæst for meget for trækfuglene og vi endte med kun 66 arter sammenlignet med 109 sidste år. Den bedste art i dag blev en trækkende islom. Vi tager revanche næste år!

Herefter havde Simon et møde med Micheal Ancher om ringmærkning. Brian og Kirsten tog en tur til Gyvelstien efter at have sovet lidt længe i dag. I Byfogedskoven afholdte Poul Hald-Mortensen en guidet tur, som gik rigtigt fint trods den hårde vind.

Om aftenen fik vi sagt farvel til Brian og Kirsten, som nu har været her i en uges tid. Det har været herligt at have dem på besøg!

Folk på stationen: 

Folk: Joakim Matthiesen, Dante Shepard, Marie Heuberger, MAD OG FUGLE, Micheal Ancher, Simon S Christiansen, Hebe Denny, Poul Hald-Mortensen, Brian, Kirsten. 

Ringmærkning Sardinkrattet:

Gransanger - 2

Vinddrossel - 1

Munk - 1

Gærdesmutte - 1

Total 5

Arkivbillede af islom

We woke up to a bit of a wild and blustery day, but nevertheless were excited and ready for a morning of observations! The four of us, (Joakim, Dante, Marie and I) headed out to Grenen again to join Rolf in the cold and the wind!

The weather proved to be a bit anti bird, and we had a very quiet morning, although alongside the usual passers by, there were some lovely highlights as always, such as the first Rørsanger for the year!

Mid morning, we were joined by Brian, who heard us talking about the Lille Gulben (lesser yellow legs) and very kindly offered us a loan of their car for the day!! so this was an exciting surprise for us!! and so the four of us drove down to Ulvedybet to see the Lesser yellow legs! It was quite exciting to be outside of skagen for the first time in a few months!

We got some lovely views of the bird, as well as an incredible view of a Southern Blue throat resting in a Rapeseed field!! There were lots of other waders there too; Rødben (redshank), Strandskade (oystercatcher) and Recurvirostra (avocet) among others!

Joakim, Dante and Marie watching the birds

Back at the observatory, we got on with some tasks before a much needed dinner of Dantes signature quiches!!

Thanks everyone for another brilliant day in Skagen!!

No ringing today

Folk: Joakim Matthiesen, Dante Shepard, Anna Moulin, Micheal Ancher, Simon S Christiansen, Hebe Denny, Jan Heilmann, Brian, Kirsten og Rolf Christiansen.

I just arrived at Skagen yesterday and today was my first day working. We (Joakim, Hebe, Dante and myself) went to Grenen around five o’clock in the morning with one of our guests, Brian and Kirsten and we also met some local birders. It was windy and therefore not a good birding day. But anyway we saw many Sule (Norhtern gannets) and even more Malamuk (Fulmars). In the evening Joakim gave a lecture about counting birds. He especially explained how to count flocks. I really enjoyed my first day here, even if it was a bit calm and I’m looking forward the next two months here. I’m sure I will learn a lot!

Rining:

no ringing today, due to bad weather conditions

Folk: Joakim Matthiesen, Dante Shepherd, Simon S Christiansen, Hebe Denny, Marie Heuberger, Brian and Kirsten

All of us were up super early (3:30am) for the first CIS ringing of the year at Jennes So with Michael Ancher. It was a very quiet morning with only 5 birds ringed but we caught the first Mallard/Graand ever for the observatory. Anna had to leave for Lista mid morning and we all said goodbye. You will really be missed Anna! Marie, a new volunteer from Germany, arrived around midday. In the afternoon Simon, Joakim and I had a guided tour with 40 people which went really well. Brian and Kirsten cooked an amazing dinner! Afterward Jan had a talk about plants in the birders club. 

Folk: Joakim Matthiesen, Dante Shepherd, Anna Moulin, Micheal Ancher, Simon S Christiansen, Hebe Denny, Jan Heilmann, Brian og Kirsten, Marie

Rinkmarkening Jenne So and Det Gra Fyr:

Graand - 1, Gaerdesmutte - 2, Munk - 1, Gransanger - 1, Musvit - 2, Rorspurv - 2

Total 9

Ja i kan jo næsten selv gætte jer til hvordan dagen startede? Nemlig! Morgenobs. Hebe og jeg sad ved Nordstrand og Dante og Anna sad på Grenen. Vejret var fint og vinden var lav. Det betød, at vi faktisk havde nogenlunde forventninger til dagen, men de vidste sig hurtigt ikke at blive indfriet. Det var simpelthen dødt ved Nordstrand, MEGET dødt. Vi brugte 4 timer ved Nordstrand, hvor højdepunktet blev én fiskeørn. Derefter prøvede vi med lidt rovfugle-obs, hvilket sådanset gik nogenlunde.

Brian og Kirsten, som bor i lejligheden kiggede forbi Nordstrand og fik set nogle af de få fugle, som faktisk valgte at ligge vejen forbi.

Imens vi gjorde dette havde Simon en guidet tur for en 4.klasse. De fik lært lidt om ringmærkning, trækfugleobservationer og fugle i det hele taget. Turen gik godt og børnene var meget interesserede. Måske vi ser dem heroppe i form af fuglekiggere eller måske endda firvillige på stationen i løbet af de næste år?

Da Anna desværre skal rejse videre onsdag, ville sige godt farvel til hende. Derfor drog vi til Skagen Bryghus og spiste en rigtigt fin frokost/aftensmad en drak en øl. Derefter gik vi alle en tur op i fyrtårnet, så Anna også fik den oplevelse med herfra. Derefter var der lidt praktiske ting som skulle ordnes. De blev dog afbrudt da to aftenfalke hanner havde valgt, at ligge deres rute lige hen over Det Grå Fyr. Hold nu op hvor er de fede!

Dagen sluttede med, at vi bagte en kage og spiste nogle is og bare generelt hyggede os, da det jo desværre desværre desværre var Annas sidste aften her.

 Anna, Hebe, Dante og Joakim, de 4 frivilllige på stationen lige nu, efter en tur i fyrtårnet. 

Folk: Joakim Matthiesen, Dante Shepard, Anna Moulin, Micheal Ancher, Simon S Christiansen, Hebe Denny, Jan Heilmann, Brian og Kirsten

Ringmarkening Det Gra Fyr: 

Munk -1, Gransagner - 2, Musvit - 1

Total 4

This morning started early again, with Dante and Anna, joined by Kirsten and Brean, headed out to Northstrand and Joakim and i went to Grenen. It was a really good morning for birds, particularly raptors, some highlights being: Steppehøg (Pallid harrier), Kirsten and Brian's first Sort Glente (Black Kite), Hvidnæbbet Lom (White billed diver), Mellemkjove ( Pomarine Skua), Ringdrossel (Ring ouzel) and 400 plus Spurvhøg. Later in the morning, i joined Simon on a ringing tour, Anna headed into town for some shopping and Dante headed to a different location for some raptor migration counting, where he spotted an Adult male Aftenfalk. (Red footed falcon)

In the afternoon, Joakim and i headed out for a wee bit of exploring and raptor watching and saw some lovely insects and birds! Anna got on with some things at the observatory and spoke to some Chinese guests as she has learnt some Mandarin! Simon spent the afternoon planning the Fugle Festival which begins next week!! Later in the evening his Dad arrived which was nice! 

After a delicious noodly dinner cooked by Joakim, we hit bed. 

Folk: Joakim Matthiesen, Dante Shepard, Anna Moulin, Micheal Ancher, Simon S Christiansen, Hebe Denny, Rolf Christiansen, Ian Heilmann, Brian og Kirsten

Ringmarkening Det Gra Fyr: 

Rodhals - 2, Sangdrossel - 2, Gransanger - 1

Total 5

Today I set out early in the pouring rain to give Simon his bike back. I can't say it was the most enjoyable ride, with the rain pelting down the back of my neck and the wind whipping across my face. However, the song thrushes (sangdrossel) were out in force, snapping up the earthworms as they struggled across the wet tarmac. I weaved in and out of them, watching the hares (hare) leap across the moors and the brave robin (Rødhals) belt out his melody.

For the others, a well deserved lie in allowed them to catch up on precious sleep, before they were up and joining me in the rain to put up some new nets in the old lighthouse garden for our guided tours that will be happening in the next week.
Other than this, our day was a fairly quiet one, focusing on data entry and planning our week ahead.

Our new guests, Kirsten, Brian and Ian arrived, so we had some introductions to do, and got to know each other over a delicious stir fry dinner from Joakim.

After dinner I gave a talk on a subject that I am very passionate about; human dimensions in conservation management. Though not directly to do with birds, human dimensions focuses on how we are engaging and communicating with different groups of people- local communities, hunters, conservationists, researchers etc.- to ensure our long term goals and plans are agreed on with everyone effected, and thus avoid conflicts.

This Wednesday I will be off to my second stop on the Scandinavian Triple, Lista bird observatory, in Norway. This will be my last blog post, and so I would like to thank everyone in Skagen and the station for a fantastic and fascinating month. Thank you for having me, and for teaching me so much. I have been so lucky to meet all you incredible people, keep up the amazing work!

Skagen, it has been such a pleasure.

Folk: Joakim Matthiesen, Dante Shepard, Anna Moulin, Micheal Ancher, Simon S Christiansen, Hebe Denny, Ian Heilmann, Brian og Kirsten

Efter gårdagens store succes ved ringmærkningen på Grenen var vi oppe og tidligt afsted igen. Det var Hebe, Anna, Simon og jeg som stod for dagens ringmærkning. Nettene blev åbnet lige ved solopgang. Forventningerne var høje da der virkelig havde været gang i fx løvsangerne dagen før. Vores forventninger viste sig dog ikke at holde. Det blev til MEGET få fugle i ringmærkningen denne dag…. Ja faktisk kun 7 fugle på en hel morgen… øv øv. Dante kunne også melde om meget få fugle fra hans obs-post på Grenen. Skagen var simpelthen løbet tør fugle. Er det virkelig muligt? Det føltes godt nok sådan.

Det var dog ikke helt så slemt som jeg får det til at lyde, men sammenlignet med den sidste halvanden uges tid, som har været helt vildt fantastiske, ja så er det ikke meget at snakke om fra denne dag.

Det blev dog til en flot stor spurvehøg hun i ringmærkningen og Dante fik set arter såsom hvidvinget måge, dværgfalk og stor korsnæb. Senere på dagen lykkedes det da også Dante og jeg, på en lille tur rundt i området, at se både sort glente og kongeørn. Så lidt fugle havde Skagen dog gemt til os. Det kunne Hans og Birte også konstatere, da de fra morgenstunden var på cykeltur rundt i området og fik set lidt forskelligt der også.

Imens vores ringmærkning gik meget langsomt, havde Micheal Ancher en lidt bedre dag ved Jennes sø, som blandt andet bød på året første skovsanger!

Resten af dagen gik med diverse småopgaver. Simon holdte et møde med Micheal Ancher og Dante brugte noget tid med sin mor, som er på besøg i Danmark nogle dage.

Og for at svare på overskriften, NEJ, Skagen er ikke løbet tør for fugle.

Folk: Joakim Matthiesen, Dante Shepard, Anna Moulin, Micheal Ancher, Simon S Christiansen, Hebe Denny, Hans og Birte Christophersen.

Ringmærkning på Jennes sø:

Spurvehøg – 1

Musvit – 2

Skovsanger - 1

Løvsanger – 13

Gransanger – 7

Munk – 2

Gærdesanger – 1

Gærdesmutte – 2

Rødstjert – 2

Sangdrossel – 2

Solsort – 1

Bogfinke – 1

Lille gråsisken – 6

Rødhals – 8

Vindrossel - 1

Total 50

Skovskade fra Ellekrattet

The day began early as always! Joakim, Anna and Simon went out to the nets at Grenen and had a successful morning ringing! With a total of 69 birds, they caught some exciting ones!

Dante and I headed up to Grenen to observe with Rolf and a good number of other observers, as well as a camera man following Rolf for the mornign! It was a good morning for us too, lots of birds moving through. Some highlights being a beautiful male HedeHøg (Montegues Harrier), ( which Joakim was very excited to get a good veiw of too!! ) three female AftenFalk (Red footed Falcon), a Mosehornugle (Shorteared owl), some Skægmejse (Bearded Tit), Brushane (Ruff) and Ringdrossel (Ring Ouzel)! Our observations were cut short however by very exciting news of a Hvidhalset Fluesnapper (Collared Flycatcher) with a ring in Ellekrattet! Dante and I headed over and got some really gorgeous veiws of this bird..we were joined by Joakim, Anna and Simon -  this was a lifer for us all! Even Simon had never seen it within Denmark!

Back at the observatory, we all got on with tasks for the day and Dante got ready for his talk! In light of the Hvidhalset Fluesnapper having a ring, Simon, Joakim and I headed back to Ellekrattet with some Mistnets to try to catch the bird in order to read the ringnumber and learn about it's origin! After some hours of wading around through swampy waters and clambering through trees and one VERY VERY nearly  in the net moment, we had to give up and call it a day.

Meanwhile, Hans had spent the day observing at Storrclit, and him and Birgitte then spent the evening with some guests of their own. Back at the obs, Dantes Mmum arrived from London! and we all headed to down to listen to a really brilliant and very informative talk by Dante on gull identification! Then after a fun Barbeque dinner outside, we headed off to bed!

In other news in Skagen, a Upupa (Hoepoe) was spotted nearby! Nice!!

Simon And Joakim setting up the nets in Ellekrattet.

Ringing at Sardinkrattet:

Vindrossel - 1, Sangdrossel - 4, Rødhals - 8, Løvsanger - 39, Rørspurv - 7, Kvækerfinke - 1, Skovpiber - 1, Gransanger - 6, Fuglekonge - 2

Total 69

People - Joakim Matthieson, Dante Shepherd, Jane Shepherd, Anna Moulin, Hebe Denny, Simon S Christiansen, Hans and Birgitte Christopherson and Rolf Christiansen.