It is still stormy and of course we took the chance to go out with the handnet last night in the hope to catch birds on the beach. But first we played "Turnstone" or "turn stone". Then Thomas and Simon sr. left. After about an hour they came back and brought back an unexpected bird. A female horned lark! Oha how cool! The females are a bit plainer in the face, but still have the yellowish colouring. The feathery ears are only partially visible, which also gave it the name "ear lark" in German.

Look at this beauty!

I spent the whole evening writing the rarity report of the Eastern Yellow Wagtail and doing a lot of research on the taxon and subspecies. A really confusing but super exciting topic. Since I was in the flow, I kept going and actually finished at 01:30am. After that I went to bed. In the morning I started with the Saturday cleaning and finally played some guitar.

Meanwhile, the others were in the storm at Grenen. There they were surprised by a wide variety of weather, but luckily there was more shelter from the wind today than yesterday. Several beautiful species flew by and even a Manx Shearwater (Almindelig Skåpe) flew out of the Kattegat. It's really impressive that it seems to have made it against the 20 m/s wind without any effort.

In the afternoon we looked at the ageing of some birds with Simon and then we went outside. Even if it was windy, some nice birds or in Gustavs case adders could be found.

Ringing (Jennes Sø):

Total: 7

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

People: Hayley Land, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Thomas Weston, Kirsten Bregn, Simon S. Christiansen.

Last night Simon Jr and Gustav headed out with the hand net, flashlight and thermal hoping to catch one of the birds roosting on the beach at Grenen. There are some ponds near the Sandormen track where we have seen several species roosting including Dunlin (Almindelig Ryle), Jack Snipe (Enkeltbekkasin), Common Snipe (Dobbeltbekkasin), Golden Plover (Hjejle) and Bar-tailed Godwit (Lille Kobbersneppe). Even though it was very windy they managed to catch a Jack Snipe (Enkeltbekkasin). A very successful night!

This morning, Simon and Gustav went to World’s End 3 to do the migration count. The wind was blowing the sand everywhere which made counting difficult, but they did see some nice birds including a Great Skua (Stor Kjove) and six migrating Shelduck (Gravand). They also saw three flocks of Parrot Crossbill (Stor Korsnæb), a flock of Twite (Bjergirisk) and four Shore Larks (Bjerglærke). A couple of Woodpigeon (Ringdue) were seen coming in from the sea which we also saw flying over Kabeltromlen.

As the wind had dropped since yesterday, Thomas, Kirsten and I were able to open most of the nets at Kabeltromlen this morning, and Simon Sr joined us too for a few rounds. It was a steady morning with some nice species ringed. The biggest highlight of the morning was a beautiful young Mistle Thrush (Misteldrossel). This is a large species of thrush with a proportionally longer tail and more upright stance than the similar but smaller Song Thrush (Sangdrossel). You can see our bird’s stunning plumage in Simon’s photos below.

Michael was also out ringing at Jennes Sø and had a great morning. He caught both Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken) and the larger and paler Common Redpoll (Nordlig Gråsisken). He also caught the larger subspecies of Bullfinch (Stor Dompap, ssp. Pyrrhula) and a Great Grey Shrike (Stor Tornskade). He sent this amazing photo of the shrike. What a stunning bird!

We closed the nets when the wind started to pick up again and, after fixing Thomas’ bike chain again, we cycled back in the strong headwinds. It was hard work! It then started to rain and Kirsten kindly gave Simon Jr a lift to the shop to buy food so he didn’t have to cycle in the bad weather. We entered all the data, updated the picture archive, and Simon Jr worked on the rarity report for the Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Alaskavipstjert) found at Grenen at the start of October. We are now preparing to go out night catching again. After last night’s success we are keen to try again. Fingers crossed we’ll catch something tonight!

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Total: 24

Ringing (Jennes Sø):

Total: 71

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

People: Hayley Land, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Thomas Weston, Kirsten Bregn, Simon S. Christiansen.

After the storm arrived yesterday, it was yet another day of storm force winds from the West but luckily no rain. As a result, no mist netting was undertaken today but it did result in the whole team completing the migration counts.

Figure 1: The Common Scoter (Sortand)

On the way to the migration counts, an unexpected Common Scoter [Sortand] emerged from the dunes, presumably from a pool where it had roosted overnight. The bird flew around the beach before dropping down close to the shore near us! The team managed to catch the bird and on closer inspection it was healthy, had good fat on the body and was a strong flyer (see photo above). The bird was taken back to the bird observatory where it was ringed and released. On release it flew strongly out to sea before it was watched swimming and diving underwater for food.  

Migration watchpoint was quieter than expected. Highlights included a Sooty Shearwater [Sodfarvet Skråpe], four Long-tailed ducks [Havlit], two Goldeneye [Hvinand], Kittiwakes [Ride] and the usual Gannet [Sule] flocks. Simon went for a walk and found a Purple Sandpiper [Sortgrå Ryle] on the beach as well as some Reed Buntings [Rørspurv].

After we packed up, we all came back to the observatory for lunch and a photo ageing session lead by Simon C. This is a session to discuss individuals that we found difficult to age in the field, or just birds of particular interest. The session works best by taking standardised photos of the individual bird so everyone can talk through the relevant features together. Today our focus was on the Jack Snipe [Enkeltbekkasin] and a couple of tricky Reed Buntings [Rørspurv] we recently caught. This session was highly productive, and I think it was great because of the wealth of knowledge within the team.

After the photo session, we completed a bit of vegetation clearance for some upcoming catching efforts and some of the team went birding to find some passerines. However, due to the wind it was incredibly difficult and there were very few birds about. Early evening came and it was the task of Hayley and I to help put up some nets for a visiting ringer in a nearby woodland. The woodland itself was very quiet but it was nice to find a Little Grebe [Lille Lappedykker] and Eurasian Wigeon [Pibeand] on a small pool nearby. We timed our arrival back to the observatory perfectly and arrived back to our guest cooking food for us all, thank you so much Kirsten!

Gustav and Simon have just gone out night catching so we wish them luck! 

Ringing [Grenen]

Total: 1

Today’s observations on Dofbasen from observers in the area

People: Hayley Land, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Thomas Weston, Knud Pedersen; Kirsten Bregn; Simon S. Christiansen.

I gar havde vi en god aften, hvor vi spiste med Det Grå Fyrs personale samt folket bag restaurant Blink. Vi havde forberedt 2 retter, og vi fik heldigvis god respons på maden. Det var hyggeligt endelig snakke med de andre og lære dem bedre at kende.

I dag havde vi regn fra morgenstunden, hvilket betød vores havobservstion blev udskydt til lidt senere hen på morgen, hvilket betød vi kunne sove en smule længere end normalt. I mens de tre andre stod og kiggede på havfugle, tog jeg en tur ud og kratluskede i området. Der var ikke mange småfugle at finde, men jeg fik dog hørt og set to Store Korsnæb ved Ellekrattet, så der kom da lidt ud af det. Ellers var det en stille og rolig dag uden for megen aktivitet pga. det meget stormfulde vejr.

Til trod for blæsten begav vi os ud igen hen på eftermiddagen, hvor vi ledte efter Lapværling og Dværgværling. Lapværlingen var vi heldige at se og høre, men vi fandt ikke Dværgen.

Om aftenen stod den på resterne for gårsdagens måltid og så tog vi derefter ud på nightcatching. Simon og jeg tog til Den Hemmelige sø, mens Hayley og Thomas prøvede lykken ved Nordstrand. Begge hold gik tomhændet hjem denne aften.

Last night, once it was dark, we opened two nets near to the Fuglestation. We really hoped to catch an owl! Thomas did the night checks this time and came really close to catching a Short-eared Owl (Mosehornugle). Unfortunately, it escaped from the net before he could get to it even though he ran as fast as he could to reach it! However, he got some great views of the bird and we hope to be able to try and catch it again tonight.

This morning was very quiet, particularly at the migration count. Gustav was at World’s End 3 and saw migrating Common Scoter (Sortand), Razorbills (Alk) and Red-throated Diver (Rødstrubet Lom), plus two Brent Geese (Knortegås) and a Shore Lark (Bjerglærke). Although there were not many birds it was a very sunny morning and a nice day to be out.

Meanwhile, Simon Jr, Thomas, Kirsten and I went ringing at Kabeltromlen. It was also a quiet morning for us, especially compared to the last couple of days, with a total of 27 new birds ringed. Highlights included some nice autumn finches. We ringed three new Bullfinches (Lille Dompap), a Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken) and three Brambling (Kvækerfinke). Thomas’ photo below shows the stunning plumage of a male Brambling that we caught.

Another interesting catch today was an adult male Blackbird (Solsort). We looked up his ring number and found that he was first ringed in November 2021 as a first-year bird. Amazingly, today was the eleventh time he has been recaptured, every time at Kabeltromlen.

In the afternoon we inputted data, checked sheets and analysed sound recordings. We then had time to relax and enjoyed watching some birding videos and playing table tennis. Later we started to prepare food for the dinner this evening which we are cooking for the lighthouse and café staff. We are looking forward to eating with everyone and hope they all enjoy the meal!

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Total: 27

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

People: Hayley Land, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Thomas Weston, Kirsten Bregn.

After days full of highlights, it was clear that at some point a quieter day had to come. And that was today.

There were fewer birds than the last few days, but we still had fun and new guest Kirsten was able to ring a few birds. Both Bramblings (Kvækerfinke) and Redwings (Vindrossel) delighted us. Then suddenly a troop of 35 Bearded Tits (Skægmejse) flew over us, a few of which also landed in the area. This was Hayley's first observation of the species - super cool! Unfortunately they did not fly into our nets. Maybe next time.
There was also much less bird migration on the sea today. The highlight, however, was the passing Purple Sandpiper (Sortgrå Ryle). Plus the usual seabirds. It is also very cool that the Twites (Bjergirisk) have arrived in the meantime.

This afternoon we ringed in the garden and caught three birds. Then we went shopping and prepared dinner for tomorrow, as we invited the people from the café and lighthouse shop. Thomas found a young seal on his walk, which was very trusting in the most beautiful light. So I went back and took a few photos. He didn't look very healthy, but I'm not an expert on seals so I can't really judge. Let's hope for the best for the seal. We spent the rest of the day entering the ringing data and checking the data from the last few days. This takes a bit of time, but it also ensures the high quality of the data. Now it's closing time and I'm looking forward to trying to catch and ring Tengmalm's Owls later. That would be a real first. The chances are quite low, but definitely high enough to try as often as possible.

Have a look at this beautiful Red-throated Diver (Rødstrubet Lom), Thomas photographed this afternoon. The quite small and upwards directed bill is a good feature to identify the most common Diver (Lom) here.

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Ringing (Fyrhaven):

Total: 56 (KAB) +3 (FYR) = 59

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

People: Hayley Land, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Thomas Weston, Knud Pedersen, Kirsten Bregn.

I dag drog vi alle afsted til ringmærkningen, idet vi vidste at denne dag nok kunne byde på et højt antal fugle i nettene. Simon og jeg var de første på pletten, fordi vi skulle åbne nettene denne tidlige morgen, så alt var klar til solopgangen. Allerede første omgang bød på lidt over 30 fugle, hvilket bekræftede os i, at vi lavede den rette prioritering med at være fire mænd stærk ved ringmærkningen. Knud sad selvfølgelig klar til at registrere trækket, mens vi havde hænderne fulde med fugle. 

Ringmærkningen foregik over 7 timer fra solopgang, og hen på formiddagen var vi alle klar til at fuglene i krattet snart gerne måtte slappe lidt af, smide fødderne op til sofabordet og tage sig en drink. I alt blev der ringmærket 126 fugle! Af disse kan der nævnes: Enkeltbekkasin, Træløber og Dompap han!

Efter vi var færdige med den travle dag, begav jeg mig ud til Skarvsøen. Det gjorde jeg for at registrere de rastende fugle, særligt vandfugle, der var til stede ved søen. Det er en opgave vi har i forbindelse med et projekt, der kaldes NOVANA. Det er et overvågningsprojekt af bestemte fugle i en begrænset periode. Ved søen var der ikke megen aktivitet, men det blev dog til lidt forskellige andefugle; Hvinand, Krikand og Gråand. Ellers kunne jeg få øje på nogle Skægmejser og høre nogle Vandrikse i rørskoven. 

På cykelturen hjem fik jeg øje på en Hugorm, der lå og solede sig i, hvad der må formodes at være den en af de allersidste solskinsdage dette år. Jeg skulle selvfølgelig hen og se om jeg kunne samle den op, men den her var ikke helt ligesom den sidste jeg fik fingrene i. Denne her var meget defensiv og ville ikke lade mig løfte den, så den fik lov at slange sig videre i det høje græs. 

Imens jeg rendte rundt ved Skarvsøen tog Simon ind til byen for at handle ind. Han står nemlig for maden i dag. Når han har madlavningen, er folket her altid lidt spændt på at se, hvad det ender ud med. Han er meget eksperimenterende. 

Hayley og Thomas registrerede alle de mange fugle, vi fik ringmærket denne morgen, hvilket også er et lige så udmattende arbejde som at ringmærke selve fuglene. Det hyggede de sig med i en time eller to. 

Vores gæst for ugen Søren forlod os efter ringmærkningen. Han har været en super duper-gæst, der har været en hjælpende hånd med madlavningen og indkøb. Han var også så flink at diske op med en chokoladekage og hjemmebagte boller. Vi håber han har en god tur hjem, og at han med sig har nogle fine billeder fra sit ophold heroppe ved fuglestationen. Tak for denne gang Søren!

Kirsten, vores nye gæst er også ankommet. Hun har været her før og er allerede bekendt med rutinerne her på stationen. Hun ser meget frem til at deltage i ringmærkningen, og se dette arbejde på nært hold. 

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):

Enkeltbekkasin - 1

Gærdesmutte - 17

Jernspurv - 2

Rødhals - 6

Solsort - 1

Sangdrossel - 2

Vindrossel - 1

Munk - 8

Gransanger - 3

Fuglekonge - 36

Halemejse - 9

Blåmejse - 11

Træløber - 2

Kvækerfinke - 10

Lille Gråsisken - 1

Dompap - 4

Rørspurv - 12 

Total - 126

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

People: Hayley Land, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Thomas Weston, Knud Pedersen, Søren Wilhelmsen, Kirsten

Figure 1: Good morning from Worlds End 3 today. Photo by Gustav Nyberg

A change in wind direction to the North overnight and rain in the early morning was promising for some new migrants at Skagen. The team split up with Hayley and me going ringing and Gustav and Simon joining Knud for migration watch at Worlds End 3 (Figure 1).

Ringing started off dry with a light breeze and full cloud cover. All nets were open before sunrise and Redwing [Vindrossel], Song thrush [Sangdrossel] and Common Crossbill [Lille Korsnæb] were some of the first birds heard this morning. Small flocks of each species were regularly seen flying across the ringing site trying to migrate onwards. As a result, the first net round was relatively quiet, but included a few Redwing [Vindrossel], Song thrushes [Sangdrossel] and Wrens [Gærdesmutte]. While walking through the reedbed, I accidentally disturbed a Jack Snipe [Enkeltbekkasin] who was on the path, a species that does not tend to fly unless you are very close! The second net round was busier with an arrival of Goldcrests [Fuglekonge], Robins [Rødhals] and Reed Buntings [Rørspurv] so we called in additional support from Simon. A couple of minutes later I heard a bunting giving a ‘tik’ call as it flew over my head towards the migration watchpoint. An unidentified bunting at this time of year is exciting, I knew it was something more unusual, but the size was hard to tell. When Simon arrived, he said that he heard it too and that it landed next to him on the path. It was a Little Bunting [Dværgværling]! We were both very happy to confirm this bird and many birders tried to see it again. However, due to poor weather arriving we decided to close the nets for the day but was pleased to see two slightly more unusual species from the nets: two ‘Northern’ Treecreepers [Træløber] and an adult male Brambling [Kvækerfinke].

Migration watchpoint was busy today with highlights of two Sooty Shearwaters [Sodfarvet Skråpe], 640 Fulmar [Mallemuk], single Great Skua [Storkjove] and many Kittiwakes [Ride] bringing excitement to the observers. After we closed the nets and packed up, we all went to see a gorgeous adult Great northern diver (Islom) moulting from summer to winter plumage and feeding just offshore from the bird ringing station. Not only it was still in nice plumage, but it was Hayley’s first ever which made it even more exciting. This species is not that rare here but is still noteworthy for most of the local birders.  

Figure 2: One lucky Goldcrest (Fuglekonge) who was rescued by our guest this morning. Photo by Søren Wilhelmsen.

After a quick lunch, an afternoon of data inputting and cleaning followed. Søren, our current guest, made us a really nice chocolate cake so a cake-break was necessary. He told us about a Goldcrest [Fuglekonge] that was flying around the visitor centre below the bird observatory! It was captured by himself and released unharmed (Figure 2). Just to think where this bird could have migrated from in just one night to end up at Skagen is amazing.

The calm weather this afternoon and a keen team inspired us to open the garden mist nets and test a couple of traps. We were not expecting much so a Wren [Gærdesmutte] and two Great Tit [Musvik] was really nice! By normal standards, and for most ringers, this is not very exciting but for the first garden session since arriving, and in the afternoon, it was very rewarding. In between net rounds Hayley cooked us all a lovely dinner, Gustav went birding and Simon found a Red-necked Grebe (Gråstrubet Lappedykker) out at sea. 

Almost time for night catching, stay tuned for any updates.... 

Ringing [Kabeltromlekrattet]

Total: 48

Ringing [Furhaven]

Total: 3

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area

People: Hayley Land, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Thomas Weston, Knud Pedersen; Søren Wilhelmsen.

As the weather forecast only predicted rain and storms for the morning, we were able to sleep in again. After a small breakfast the rain stopped and we could all go together to World's End 3 to count the migratory birds for at least two hours. Due to the rain, visibility was very limited, but that didn't stop Thomas from spotting a Sooty Shearwater (Sulfarvet Skråpe). How cool! Finally we all saw the cool species here and could cross "Sooty - wanted" (in the form of a poster of a bounty hunter) off the daily task board. In addition, three Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove) especially delighted us.

Midday was filled with various activities. One was shopping and preparing food, another was taking down the tent at Kabeltromlen as the risk of it blowing away in tonight's storm is too high. Then Hayley and I went up the lighthouse with a spotting scope and were delighted at how much you can see from here. Even the Kittiwakes (Ride) off Grenen can be seen from here.

In the evening Thomas and I went seawatching again. The wind shifted a bit to the west and now 9 Fulmars (Mallemuk) were flying around in better visibility. We also saw two more Arctic Skuas (Almindeig Kjove). On our way back we found a Convolvulus Hawkmoth (Snerlesværmer). As a migrating moth it was also exhausted by the strong winds.

People: Hayley Land, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Thomas Weston, Søren Wilhelmsen.

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

Gustav and Simon Jr had a really good morning migration count at World’s End 3 with Knud today. They counted over 500 Razorbills (Alk) across the four hours and over 500 Pink-footed Geese (Kortnæbbet Gås). There were also good numbers of Red-throated Diver (Rødstrubet Lom), Gannet (Sule) and Common Scoter (Sortand). Two Long-tailed Ducks (Havlit) landed on the water and there were large numbers of roosting Dunlin (Almindelig Ryle) and Sanderling (Sandløber). There was also another very nice sunrise!

The biggest highlights of the morning were a Sooty Shearwater (Sodfarvet Skråpe) and a Long-tailed Skua (Lille Kjove). We have been hoping to see a Sooty Shearwater for a long time, so Simon and Gustav were very pleased with this sighting. We were also lucky enough to see the Long-tailed Skua (Lille Kjove) from Kabeltromlen, a new species for me. Interestingly, whilst we were at Kabeltromlen, a flock of Pink-footed Geese (Kortnæbbet Gås) also flew over and one of them had a leucistic wing. Leucism is a loss of pigmentation and can occur in skin, hair and feathers. Søren’s photo below shows the leucistic individual at the bottom left of the flock.

Thomas and I opened the nets at Kabeltromlen this morning, and were joined by Simon Sr and Søren. It was Thomas’ first-time ringing at Kabeltromlen although he has lots of experience ringing back home in the UK. He very quickly learnt his way around the nets! We had a good range of species but nothing unusual. Again, we caught lots of Blue Tits (Blåmejse) and also lots of Robins (Rødhals). Simon Jr kindly helped us close the nets after finishing the migration count and we compared our different net furling techniques. Søren took some great photos of the ringing process. Below you can see us looking at the moult of a Blue Tit (Blåmejse) and looking for fat on a Robin (Rødhals).

We returned to the station only to head directly back out again with Simon Sr on another birding trip around different parts of Skagen. Goldcrest (Fuglekonge) was the most common bird we saw but we also got some nice views of Brambling (Kvækerfinke), Greenfinch (Grønirisk), Crested Tit (Topmejse) and Stonechat (Sortstrubet Bynkefugl) among others. We checked the raptor trap in a plantation outside of Skagen which is used mainly in the spring to catch raptors. On the way back, we stopped off at a car wash so Simon Sr could get his car cleaned and went birding while it was washed! Lots of Chaffinches (Bogfinke) and two Yellowhammers (Gulspurv) were seen at this spot.

Goldcrest (Fuglekonge) photo by Søren Wilhelmsen.

Later, Simon Jr and I checked the owl nets after the strong winds and got a nice view of a Wheatear (Stenpikker) and a Stonechat (Sortstrubet Bynkefugl). We then finally had time for some much-needed food! Simon Jr, Gustav, Thomas and I then headed out for another birding walk to World’s End 1 but didn’t see much this time. Back at the station, still fuelled on coffee and cake from our friends in the lighthouse shop, we entered all the ringing data, analysed nocturnal migration sound data, and admired the great photos that Søren took today. Finally, Gustav and Thomas have just set off to the Secret Lake with the hand net. Fingers crossed they catch something!

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet)

Total: 88

People: Hayley Land, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Thomas Weston, Simon S. Christiansen, Knud Pedersen, Søren Wilhelmsen

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