Daily the marmot greets (z.dt.: täglich grüßt das Murmeltier) and we were out before sunrise at Grenen. It was really cold today, mostly caused by some wind, rain in the night and the leck of sun. There were still Fulmars (Mallemuk) flying out of Kattegat, but with 70 birds during the morning the numbers lowered from the previous days. Nearly 7000 Scoters (Sortand) got klicked by Magnus and me on their daily movement from the Kattegat to the Skagerrak. When I was watching a Sanderling (Sandløber) roosting at the beach, two small balls of fluff caught my eyes. Those two cute creatures were running over the beach looking for food and then quickly back to their parents to get warmed under their plumage. I called Hayley at Kabeltromlen, if someone can come and bring the ringing equipment for those and a few minutes later Karen-Marie came and we approached the young Common Ringed Plover (Stor Præstekrave) family.

Now there were four chicks (pulli), we could quickly ring and then release them together to their waiting parents. As soon as we left, the parents came back and continued their job as heat pads. That was nice!

In the meanwhile (every time I write this I have the song by Spacehog in my mind), the tough ringers including Hayley, Isis and Seán were enjoying many Blackcaps (Munk) at Kabeltromlen. The number of birds was okay, but the highlight for Hayleys last day here (enter sad emoji) was still missing. This had to be changed! The second Red-backed Shrike (Rødrygget Tornskade) in the ringing this year should change this, because it was not just a rarely caught bird but also the first male for us. Look at this super cool bird!

 Red-backed Shrike (Rødrygget Tornskade) - picture by Isis Khalil

The closing round brought another ”big” surprise – a Jay (Skovskade)! This was a fitting surprise before Hayley migrates back to the UK tomorrow (a weird direction for June, is’nt it?).

In the noon, a Sandhill Crane (Prærietrane) was found, but lost quickly due to the upcoming rain. This is a crazy record, because it is already the second one this year in Skagen and just the third ever here. The species is really rare in entire Europe and most of the birds turn up to be refound over several years at different places. Now it looks like there are two birds around. The last one migrated to Sweden and recently there was one in the Netherlands, so maybe it came up now? In anyway a great find, congrats to the finders.

One of the four Blyth's Reed Warblers (Buskrørsangere) found yesterday was still present today at Guldmajssøen. Knud got some some very nice close up pictures while it was performing it's remarkable song.

Buskrørsanger (Blyth's Reed Warbler), Guldmajssøen. Foto: Knud Pedersen

What could be worse than losing a volunteer and good friend at the Bird Observatory? Nothing. That’s why we try very hard to enjoy all the last minutes together with Hayley. We took this as a reason to spend a nice afternoon together with our guests and Simon Sr., who invited us to Skagen Bryghus for lunch. We sat outside but than the rain started. Luckily big umbrellas protected us from getting wet, but it got a bit cold so we got some blankets. The food was really good.

Afterwards we continued to Råbjerg Kirke to put out some beedle traps for a pupperøvere together with Magnus. This was a great opportunity to look at some plants and insects of the area. Unfortunately, the weather was too bad to get many insects, but some orchidees got our attention. I did not expect to say that, but it was really fun!

 Magnus infected us with his passion for plants aswell.

At one place there were three Corn Buntings singing. We got some nice views of them, which is great, since it was a new species for Hayley. Get some nice views on a roosting Hayley:

To end the fun day, we went to Aalbæk into the Belgium Beer House (Det Bette Ølhus) in Ålbæk. Since a quarter of Isis’s blood is from Belgium, I trusted her advice for a good beer. What should I say – I did not get dissapointed. I think all of us enjoyed the place and it was nice to spending some time together, drinking, eating and chatting.

 Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Total: 42

Ringing (Grenen):

Common Ringed Plover (Stor Præstekrave) - 4

Total: 4

A link to today's observations from volunteers and local observers.

Sum of observations of raptors on DOFbasen from today.

People: Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Seán Walsh, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Henrik Knudsen, Karen-Marie and Søren Leth-Nissen, Knud Pedersen.

 As yet another CES session loomed on us volunteers, it was once again Skarvsøen vs. Kabeltromlen. Teams: IK, SK, HL, KLN (Karen-Marie Leth Nissen) vs. SSC, SW and HKN (Henrik Knudsen). The catch numbers in the last split day were equally as poor in both sites, but Skarvsøen took the trophy home with a Buskrørsanger (Blyth's Reed Warbler), 3rd for Skagen Fuglestation. 

Rare image of SSC in waders (foto: Hans Rytter)

As the sole net-opener for Kabeltromlen, I was the first out of the observatory this morning. I began opening nets at 02:50, and had all nets open an hour later. I was joined by Simon and Henrik for the first round to begin ringing. Kabeltromlen got off to a good start with 8 birds in the initial net check, followed by a whopping 19 in the second (plus two Bogfinker (Chaffinches) ill with avian papilloma virus which we do not ring). The next couple rounds were done in rapid succession because the weather wasn't the best. During one of these hectic rounds, I came back with a Buskrørsanger, 4th for the Observatory and the first time more than one had been caught by us in one year. This one was especially surprising for Simon because him and Henrik could still hear a totally different Buskrørsanger, that they found singing close by short time before. Unfortunately, we weren't succesful in catching the other individual. It would've been too good to be true. In the end, there were a total of 38 ringed and recaptured birds (excluding sick birds).

But more Buskrørsangere (Blyth's Reed Warblers) was observed in the area during this day bringing the total up to at least 4 individuals (including birds found at Butterstien and Guldmajssøen) - a new record day for this species in Skagen! You can listen to them on recordings oploadet to Dofbasen.

Henrik Knudsen, Simon (Senior) a Blyth's Reed Warbler (Buskrørsanger) and some cool caps from Zeiss. Foto: Hans Rytter

Buskrørsanger (Blyth's Reed Warbler). Foto: Knud Pedersen

While us at Kabeltromlen were kept busy in the first hours of the morning, Skarvsøen struggled to catch as many birds. But they caught a 'weird looking Chiffchaff' - it was a Sibirisk Gransanger (Siberian Chiffchaff)! also an incredibly cool bird (but not a full species, so Kabeltromlen still got the cooler bird of the day). The CES session finished off with 15 ringed and recaptured birds. It's worth noting 6 of these were recpatures, which is a far higher rate of recaptured birds than at Kabeltromlen, which focusses on migratory birds.

Sibirisk Gransanger (Siberian Chiffchaff)

In observations news, there was a Brilleand (Surf Scoter) and a Amrikansk Sortand (Black Scoter) seen in the Skagerrak from Grenen today. There were very many Sortand (Common Scoter) in the Skagerrak too, with estimates by midday reaching minimums of 10,000 birds, more than twice the usual amount for the time of year.

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):

Redwing (Vindrossel) - 1

Reed Warbler (Rørsanger) - 2

Marsh Warbler (Kærsanger) - 3

Blyth's Reed Warbler (Buskrørsanger) - 1

Icterine Warbler (Gulbug) - 1

Chiffchaff (Gransanger) - 1

Blackcap (Munk) - 18

Garden Warbler (Havesanger) - 3

Chaffinch (Bogfinke) - 3

Total: 33

Ringing (Skarvsøen):

Chiffchaff (Gransanger) - 1

Siberian Chiffchaff, ssp. tristis (Sibirisk Gransanger) - 1

Reed Warbler (Rørsanger) - 2

Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesager) - 1

Blackcap (Munk) - 3

Total: 8

Ringing (Fyrhaven):

Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) - 1

Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger) - 1

Total: 2

A link to today's observations from volunteers and local observers.

Sum of observations of raptors on DOFbasen from today.

People: Seán Walsh, Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Henrik Knudsen, Karen-Marie and Søren Leth-Nissen, Hans Rytter, Tommy Kaae

Magnus was the number one birder at World’s End 1 this morning, the only person to brave the wet and windy weather out there! Although it was generally very quiet with birds, he did see two Manx Shearwaters (Almindelig Skråpe), a new life species of him.

A bit later in the morning, when the rain had stopped, Søren kindly gave Simon Jr, Isis, Karen-Marie and I a lift to Gammel Skagen where we started the 10km Fulmar (Mallemuk) survey along the beach all the way back to Det Grå Fyr. We were looking for dead Fulmars (Mallemuk) to collect for Aarhus University where the stomachs will be analysed for their plastic content.

Fulmar survey team. Photo by Søren Leth-Nissen

Unfortunately, we didn’t find any Fulmars (Mallemuk) this time but we did find some onions which were great for a spontaneous game of football on the beach!

The walk was very wild and windy with bright sunshine and a very dramatic sea. We saw several pairs of Common Ringed Plovers (Stor Præstekrave); these are the only wader species breeding along the beach here and we were lucky enough to see three cute little chicks running around near the dunes.

Later in the afternoon we returned to Nordstrand with steel rings and ringing equipment and walked back along the beach to where we had seen the chicks. We found them again within ten metres of where they had been in the morning and the three cute little balls of fluff each got themselves a shiny new ring.

Common Ringed Plover (Stor Præstekrave) chick. Photo by Søren Leth-Nissen.

The adults remained close by and watched as we quickly and carefully ringed the chicks. It was interesting to watch their behaviour and how they try to distract potential threats away from their chicks.

Simon Jr also found a Common Ringed Plover (Stor Præstekrave) nest. You can see how well camouflaged the eggs are in the photo below.

Common Ringed Plover (Stor Præstekrave) nest

On our way back to the lighthouse we were treated to an absolutely amazing view of the Steppe Eagle (Steppeørn) flying right over our heads. It was so close that we had to duck! Søren got some incredible photos as it passed over us.

Steppe Eagle (Steppeørn). Photo by Søren Leth-Nissen.

We returned to the station just in time to celebrate Constitution Day with Magnus and his family. They brought delicious bread and cake and we had a great time celebrating altogether in the garden.

Søren and Karen-Marie are now cooking our dinner; it already smells delicious!

Ringing (Nordstrand):

Common Ringed Plover (Stor Præstekrave) – 3

Total: 3

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area.

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People: Seán Walsh, Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Karen-Marie and Søren Leth-Nissen.

Simon and I woke up by 03.30. Sunrise these days are around 04.20. And due to the lack of bikes, I have to leave 15 minutes earlier than the rest of the volunteers to make it in time for sunrise. We headed for WE1, where three birders had already arrived. The amount of mosquitoes has lowered significantly to a more tolerable level.

The migration of Canada Goose is at it’s highest right now. We usually have a few hundreds during the day. Today was an exception, though. We only had four individuals. And they even headed in the wrong direction! But not even the direction was strange. One of the individuals was as well. It was clearly smaller than the rest. Approximately only ¾ the size of a normal Canada Goose. So maybe a subspecies or a escaped Cackling Goose.

What might be the last Montagus harrier of spring showed up as well. Otherwise, it is clear to everyone, that spring-migration already has passed by, and autumn migration kind of already has begun.

Isis with a Væver/Weaver Beetle (Lamia textor). Photo: Isis Khalil

It was rather slow in the ringing as well. A late redwing were among the birds. A total of 16 birds were ringed. Half of them black caps.

Red wing. Photo: Isis Khalil

One of the many black caps. Photo: Isis Khalil

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Total: 17

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area.

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People: Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Seán Walsh, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Henrik Knudsen, Karen-Marie and Søren Leth-Nissen, Knud Pedersen.

Howdy y’all, it is an honour to finally bring to you our daily blog as scheduled, although there are still some wifi issues at the lighthouse. Today was bittersweet in every which way, on one hand, the mosquitoes were blown away by the wind (god bless!), on the other hand, we lost our legendary Cake Man, expert birder, and kind Dane: the one and only Jørgen Hulbæk. We all wish him the best of luck in his migration back to Copenhagen, though his absence will be felt heavily here. 

Departure gifts from Jørgen Hulbæk, mange tak Jørgen!

As for ringing, the numbers were okay, and the day passed by very fast. There were no crazy species, but we enjoyed a very late (and quite sick) Redwing (Vindrossel).

Opening the nets.

Hayley caught a Blackbird (Solsort) she had ringed last autumn, which was also a very cute surprise!

Hayley with her Blackbird (Solsort).

We were also joined in the field by our guests Karen-Marie and Søren Leth-Nissen at Kabeltromlen, Karen-Marie even helped with ringing! She got to ring 3 Eurasian Blackcaps (Munk). I think they’re a wonderful species, especially to practice with, since they are a nice size and have a very calm personality. So we had plenty of fun regardless of the lack of variety in species!

I also stumbled upon the cutest little Newt today, we named him Isaac.

Isaac NEWTon. Smooth Newt - Lissotriton vulgaris (or Lille Vandsalamander in Danish).

At the count, there was also nothing in particular worth mentioning. Their highlights were high numbers of Northern Fulmars (Mallemuk) and a Montagu’s Harrier (Hedehøg).

When we got back to the station, we indulged in two traditional forms of herring on rye bread (thank you Magnus). They were very delicious, though I definitely prefer the curry sauce method. Then we had some pineapple, which was also delicious!

Magnus cutting the pineapple.

So overall, our day was not very interesting bird-wise, but we definitely had a lot of delicious things to remember. 

In the evening, we made an effort to catch up on all our data entry and blog posts which we’ve fallen behind on due to the lack of internet. We also heard from Simon (Sr) that Jan Eske and our guests made generous donations to our food collective today, mange tak! We will be sure to use your donations for good purposes, and we will continue to work hard!

Simon (Sr) also brought Colin McShane and his wife to the station, they were both very kind. Colin tags Jack Snipes (Enkeltbekkasin) in the UK, which is very interesting! You can find some footage of the region where he works in you search Jack Snipe Winterwatch into Youtube. (I have also linked to his video in this sentence).

At the evening meeting we were joined by Lars Yttte, Morten Christensen, our guests, and the SKAF team, so our little living room felt very lively and full. We planned our trip to Hirtshals and shared about our days, as well as preparing for the field tasks we need to complete throughout the week. 

That’s all I have for you today! 

Skifte.

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet)

Reed Warbler (Rørsanger) - 1

Eurasian Blackcap (Munk) - 10

Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger) - 1

Marsh Warbler (Kærsanger) - 2

Icterine Warbler (Gulbug) - 1

Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) - 1

Redwing (Vindrossel) - 1

Willow Warbler (Løvsanger) - 1

Total: 18

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area.

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People: Seán Walsh, Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Jørgen Hulbæk, Karen-Marie and Søren Leth-Nissen, Jan Eske, Lars Yttte and Morten Christensen

In the jungle, the Skagen jungle, the volunteers did not sleep tonight.

In the jungle, the Grenen jungle, the volunteers went out early in the morning.

Auuuuuuuuuuuuueeeaaaaeeaaaeaaambaammbaaaeeeeeeeee.

At 3.55 am I looked on the time and all nets are opened, another day in Skagen starts. The first round in the ringing was pretty fine and several Blackcaps (Munk) showed up. Even if the numbers lowered during the morning, some more Garden Warblers (Havesanger) got a new ring. In the last round two Lesser Redpolls (Lille Gråsisken) surprised us. Since there were not so many birds, we could spend some more time on looking on the extend of the moult of some of the birds.

In the meanwhile, the count was not really better, but since Skagen is a great spot for birding, there are still good birds around. The highlight was a Red-breasted Flycatcher (Lille Fluesnapper) calling at World’s End 1. Four Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove), Corn Bunting (Bomlærke), Black-thorated Divers (Sortstrubet Loms), Rosefinchs (Karmindompap) and again a late Brambling (Kvækerfinke) show, that there are always good birds around. Later some Honey Buzzards (Hvepsevåge) passed by very lose, so beautiful!

In the afternoon, we met Simon Sr. in town at a Café and had nice Icecream/Icecoffee. That was really chilled. Then I put my letter for the EU-parlament-elections in the mail box and we went shopping. We bought a Pineapple, that was another highlight of this calm and sunny day. It is the best food when it is so warm like today. Isis prepared nice Kebap for dinner and it was really really really tasty. I’m not kidding. It was amazing, the best stuff I have eaten for a long while. Afterwards Karen-Marie and Søren – our new guests in the apartment – arrived. Hayley, Seán and and I knew them before, so it was great to see them again. Really nice people! Tomorrow there will be some westerly winds. The change in wind is very interesting and it can bring some good birds, but it can also be a bit slow. Let’s hope the best, we will be out in anyway and hope for some nice surprises. Since the WiFi is not working at the moment, data entery is a bit hard at the moment. At least the blog is online now, so we can enjoy the last sunlight outside before we fall into our bed. Station’s life is fun!

Ringing totals can not be added right now due to wifi problems. The highlights are mentioned in the blog in anyway. ;-)

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area.

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People: Seán Walsh, Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Jørn and Marianne, Karen-Marie and Søren Leth-Nissen.

When Simon Sr joined us at Kabeltromlen early this morning he told us that June is usually a very good month for rare birds in the ringing. With that in mind, we set off on our next round with renewed excitement for the upcoming days. What we weren’t expecting was for Simon to be proven correct so quickly. On that very round Sean found a Greenish Warbler (Lundsanger) in one of the nets!

We were all very happy to catch this pretty little warbler, only the fourth ever individual to be caught by the station. You can clearly see the white wing bar and prominent supercilium (eye stripe) in the pictures below.

Greenish Warbler (Lundsanger)

After that, we decided that we already liked June a lot. And this month’s good luck didn’t end there! On our closing round Isis extracted a Rosefinch (Karmindompap), a new hand species for us all. Not much is known about the moult of this species so they cannot be aged. Although our bird wasn’t a bright red adult male, it was still a very pretty individual. Amazingly, these birds fly all the way from south-east Asia where their wintering grounds are.

Rosefinch (Karmindompap)

After the Rosefinch (Karmindompap), we all decided we really really liked June. Hopefully today’s birds will be the first of many more ringing rarities this month! We’re really looking forward to what the next few days may bring.

We arrived back at the station in time to grab some snacks and then sit on the front steps and watch the Svogerslev Harmoniorkester performing. It was very nice to listen to them play their music out in the sunshine whilst drinking coffee (tak Mette!). We particularly enjoyed ‘can you feel the love tonight’ from the Lion King.

Svogerslev Harmoniorkester

Afterwards, Jens from the lighthouse appeared with a bubble machine which was lots of fun. There were so many bubbles everywhere!

We then had to focus on some actual work; data was inputted and the weekly cleaning completed. We have also found out that the Swedish ringed Sedge Warbler (Sivsanger) that we caught earlier this week was originally ringed in Järnbron, Sweden in September 2023 as a first calendar year bird.

What a great start to June!

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Total: 31

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area.

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People: Seán Walsh, Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Jørn and Marianne.

I got up for counting on my own at 03.25 - an hour before sunrise. I because of the recently lack of bikes, I have to leave a bit earlier. I arrived around sunrise at Worlds End 1, as the 3rd person. To my big surprise, the talented german (SK) arrived just a minute later, to join me in the count. Even Though the migration is almost done, we always hope for a rarity to show up. Unfortunately, nothing really happened, and it turned out to be the ringing that had the best numbers of the day, with 11 Black Caps and four Marsh Warblers as the best.

Simon and I joined the rest of the volunteers at Kabeltromlen when the count was done. Simon stayed until the ringing was done an hour later, and I for two hours, because I started chatting with Henrik Knudsen and Ole Zoltan Göller. They told me stories from way back. Before Zello was invented. Back when there was no electricity in regular houses, and they had to dig themselves out through 2-3 kilometres of snow to the nearest road to go shopping by foot. In a thunderstorm. With hail. Against the stormy wind. Not to forget it was uphill in both directions. Back when birds had wings and could fly away before you got to see them. They told about their heroic findings and legendary twitches for rare birds. I don’t know who of them to believe the most, but they were good story tellers and the little kid (me) listened very carefully to the legends about birds like Rock Bunting (klippeværling), Elegant Tern (aztekerterne) and Roseate Tern (rosenterne).

Back at the station, I felt fresh like a white-tailed eagle (at least a danish saying/phrase), until I sat down on the couch and fell asleep for five hours. When I woke up again, it was time for data entering, before having dinner with SK as the chef and at last heading for the pillow once again.

Another day passed by at the Grey Lighthouse.

/Magpie/Krøllebille/Magnus/MHL.

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):

Total: 33

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area.

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People: Seán Walsh, Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Jørgen Hulbæk, Jørn and Marianne

Our routine broke today as for the first time in what feels like forever, there was rain in the early hours of the morning; during our usual hours of operation. All of us were awake by 4am, but none of us, neither ringers nor observers, could do our jobs with the rain. We waited and waited and watched the radar continually extend the rain forecast from stopping at 4am, to eventually stopping at 7am. Only then could we leave to open nets.

Simon left a bit earlier than us ringers with some excitement on his face to go observing, even as there was still some rain. His instincts were right, as he managed to find a Sydlig Nattergal (Common Nightingale) singing at Grenen! These birds are only seen (more often just heard) once or twice a year at Skagen, so it was a nice find.

Opening nets at Kabeltromlen was a grueling task this morning. The nets were sopping wet, and heavy with water. Putting the nets up often resulted in a quick spraying of one of us with rainwater. I had two sticks break trying to put up the water-logged net shelves, which was very inconvenient. Thankfully, once opened, the nets dried themselves out fairly quickly. They also began catching birds immediately, as we had two Kærsanger (Marsh Warbler) in nets as we opened them. Even though we began ringing three hours after sunrise, the rain clearing brought us many migrants. On the radar, it looked like Grenen was the only place in Denmark, or at least in Jutland, that was raining, so there must have been lots of passerine birds waiting to migrate once the rain cleared. The next rounds would be full of birds, with anywhere up to eight birds each net check round. The highlight of the day was a late Kvækerfinke (Brambling) which should have left long ago by now. There was also a male Gulspurv (Yellowhammer) recapture from 2021, which was a very pretty bird to have brighten up our day.

Due to our late start, we were all quite sleepy and just napped the rest of the afternoon away. Simon decided to go 'twitch' some Skovspurv (Tree Sparrows) because he has not yet seen them this month.

And that brings us up to date.. it feels weird, despite the long day due to the late start we really didn't get up to much.

Reed Warbler (Rørsanger) - 5

Eurasian Blackcap (Munk) - 8

Willow Warbler (Løvsanger) - 2

Common Chaffinch (Bogfinke) - 3

Icterine Warbler (Gulbug) - 2

Blackbird (Solsort) - 1

Marsh Warbler (Kærsanger) - 4

Sedge Warbler (Sivsanger) - 1

Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) - 1

Chiffchaff (Gransanger) - 1

Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) - 3

Hawfinch (Kernebider) - 2

Total: 28

A link to today's observations from volunteers and local observers.

Sum of observations of raptors on DOFbasen from today

God morgen friends, today I joined Magnus at the count for a change! The extra sleep felt incredible, and the whole walk to World’s End 1 was very scenic. It felt as though my energy had doubled… or maybe even tripled! Unfortunately, I did not have much of an outlet for all my newfound energy, as there was very, VERY, little to count this morning. As Magnus said, “the spring migration is officially over.” But not only that, a couple birds (including a Sparrowhawk - Spurvehøg) were even seen migrating South. Does this mean Autumn migration is already beginning? 

Look how beautiful and green Grenen is now!

A couple of highlights from the count this morning were a Golden Oriole (Pirol) and a Little Stint (Dværgryle - sadly we did not see this one though). I was happy to click away some of the regular Chaffinches (Bogfinke) and Magnus was excited to see quite a few Northern Fulmars (Mallemuk). Magnus also spent some time trying to teach me the Danish æ, ø, and å, and I tried my best to pronounce all the bird names correctly. I also got to hold some fun beetles including two weevils and a Black Snail Beetle (Phosphuga atrata - or Snegleådselbillen in Danish). 

Black Snail Beetle (Phosphuga atrata - Snegleådselbillen).

Magnus counting ALL the birds.

The ringers had a more productive day, with quite a few birds in the early rounds. The highlight of their day being a male Hawfinch (Kernebider - we have only caught females thus far!) along with a female, what a cute pair of lovebirds. 

Female (left) and male (right) Hawfinch (Kernebider). Photo by Simon Kiesé. 

I joined Seán, Hayley, and Simon at Kabeltromlen after Magnus and I finished the count, and got to see a nice adult male Chaffinch (Bogfinke) before helping close the nets. Jørgen Hulbæk, who was birdwatching at Kabeltromlen, also told us there were 6 Black Kites (Sort Glente) passing by and 1 Red Kite (Rød Glente), that was cool to see! A lot of raptors (Rovfugle) were flying rather low around the area. 

Simon (Sr) had a busy day too, joining us at Kabeltromlen and World’s End 1 in the morning, and then meeting up with an old school friend of his (who is also the son of our current guests). They went around and saw some birds - among them a Mantagu's Harrier and a very odd and big falcon without a tail. One that surely has escaped from captivity. It's a bit of a problem that falconeers can't manage to hold their hybrid birds away from escaping into the wild. It's something that happens too often. Anyway, they had a great day walking around on northern part of the peninsula.

Simon (Sr), his friend Rasmus, and our guest Jørn.

We also received news from Simon (Sr) about a great generosity which has been bestowed upon the station (in the form of a donation) from Melsen Fonden. With this donation, we can finally buy new bikes and a brand new scope for the station! We are all incredibly grateful (and excited), mange tak!

In the afternoon, Seán prepared a lovely vegetarian Paella for us, and Simon (Jr) went out on a small adventure. He came across many birds, including the Little Stint (Dværgryle) which we missed earlier today.

This time, unlike the last time I wrote the blog, I really think we will have an early night. We expect (and hope) tomorrow will be a busy day.

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet)

Reed Warbler (Rørsanger) - 2

Eurasian Blackcap (Munk) - 8

Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger) - 2

Common Chaffinch (Bogfinke) - 2

Wren (Gærdesmutte) - 2

Robin (Rødhals) - 1

Marsh Warbler (Kærsanger) - 2

Icterine Warbler (Gulbug) - 1

Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) - 3

Hawfinch (Kernebider) - 2

Total: 25

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area.

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People: Seán Walsh, Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Jørgen Hulbæk, Jørn and Marianne