This morning me and Antonia got up before sunrise to open the nets for another day of ringing, even though over one hundred birds were ringed yesterday we wanted to see how many we could catch today. It felt like an autumn morning as there was a chill in the air. We both agreed that it was too windy to open some of the nets amongst the reeds and therefore just opened the ones in the sheltered areas. Oluf joined us for ringing again which was nice, however we didn’t catch as many birds this morning, so we could spend a little bit more time looking at different moult limits on the birds with him. The highlight species for both me and Antonia today was a lovely bright pink Bullfinch (Lille Dompap), this was Antonia’s first time ringing a Bullfinch, so it was a great experience for her.

Throughout the morning there were many birders passing through Kabeltromlen on a quest to find the very elusive and rarely seen Hume's Leaf Warbler (Himalayasanger). This Warbler was found yesterday by Rolf Christensen at World’s End 1 and is only the third record of this species in Skagen. Additionally, you would not expect this species before end of October usually. It is the earliest autumn record for Denmark! The earliest until now was a record from the 30th September 2010 at Christiansø. Hopefully it will just fly straight into one of the nets someday soon whilst out foraging. That would be a nice surprise. Yesterday the warbler was called out as a Greenish Warbler (Lundsanger) first, since the calls can sound alike and the bird was only seen in short moments, but after checking the soundrecording and the few pictures everybody agreed, that it's really an early Hume's Leaf Warbler. The image below shows a spectrogram of the calls of this Hume's Leaf (middle), compared to another Hume's (left) and a Greenish Warbler (right).

 Spectogram: Hume's Leaf Warbler, our Hume's Leaf Warbler, Greenish Warbler

You can hear a recording from today of the Hume's Leaf, recorded by Alex Sand Frich on this link to Dofbasen

Hume's Leaf Warbler 23/9 by Alex Sand Frich

Whilst we were out ringing, Hayley and Simon Jr. were at World’s End 3 with Knud and they counted some very nice species in great numbers which included over 600 Gannets (Sule), 2 Great Skuas (Stor Kjove), 91 Pink-footed goose (Kortnæbbet Gås), 1 Merlin (Dværgfalk) and one amazing new bird species seen for Simon Jr. a Leach’s Storm Petrel (Stor Stormsvale) which migrated into northwesterly direction. The past few days have been great for rare birds. I wonder what birds will appear in the next week before I leave the station. While we where out at Grenen Michael Ancher ringed at Jennes Sø. Highlights from here was Crested Tits (Topmejser) and a Long-tailed Tit (Halemejse).

The rest of the day involved data entering (and checking), cleaning and welcoming the new guest. Simon Jr. cooked another delicious dinner, but did so much at the same time that the fuse suddenly blew. After a spark flew at the first attempt to switch the fuse back on, it worked at the second attempt.

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Munk (Blackcap) - 6

Fuglekonge (Goldcrest) - 4

Gransanger (Chiffchaff) - 2

Gæerdesmutte (Wren) - 2

Rødhlas (Robin) - 5

Jernspurv (Dunnock) - 3

Lille Dompap (Bullfinch) - 1

Lille Gråsisken (Lesser Redpoll) - 3

Dobbeltbekkasin (Common Snipe) - 1

Blåmejse (Blue Tit) - 7

Total: 34

Ringing (Jennes Sø):

Rødstjert (Redstart) - 1

Munk (Blackcap) - 2

Gransanger (Chiffchaff) - 3

Sydlig Halemejse (Long-tailed Tit) - 1

Topmejse (Crested Tit) - 2

Blåmejse (Blue Tit) - 3

Lille Gråsisken (Lesser Redpoll) - 39

Lille Dompap (Bullfinch) - 1

Total: 52

People: Antonia Greil, Hayley Land, Rebecca Cheape, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Oluf Lou, Knud Petersen, Michael Ancher, Simon S. Christiansen.

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

When Hayley and I went out this morning to open the nets at Kabeltromlen, we didn’t know we would stay there for 8 whole hours. It was an awesome day!

Joined by Oluf and Simon Jr., the first round was rather quiet, compared to what would expect us for the second round. We ringed about 15 birds, accompanied by visitors: our guests Jette and Anders, and Gustav with his family, which are on vacation here. Then from the second round onwards, the birds came. Many birds. We developed a well-functioning system to ring and measure the birds as quickly and precisely as possible. Teamwork it is! Rebecca joined us from Migration Count to support us, and therefore some of us could walk the rounds while the others were ringing the birds. We had several highlights, but most exciting for all of us were definitely the Longtailed Tits (Halemejse), which came in as a little flock of 8 birds, altogether in one net. Five of them could be identified as subspecies europaeus, which have dark feathers on the head. Another subspecies, caudatus, has purely white feathers on the head. Some of them where mainly white on the head but with some dark feathers admixed so. On those we therefore coul'dnt exclude genens of europaeus. 

Then we had a flock of 8 Coal Tits (Sortmejse), which was also very exciting. On other days we caught one at most. As we also had many Blue Tits (Blåmejse) and one Great Tit (Musvit), we were able to take a good look at those different species.

Even though we see many Wheatears (Stenpikker) on our daily walks around the area, we rarely catch them. That’s why it was a nice surprise today that we could ring this pretty bird and have a close-up look. And having a Great Spotted Woodpecker (Stor Flagspætte) and some Lesser Redpolls (Lille Gråsisken) is always an interesting sight.

When we closed the nets at half past 1 pm, we had a total of 102 birds ringed. Since I have been here, this was by far the highest number per day. To see and measure many birds of different species really helps to develop a good eye for the molt limits and quickly decide about age or sex of the birds.

While the ringing day was really intense, Rebecca had a more quiet day at Migration Count with Knud this morning. Nevertheless, some Black Guillemots (Tejst) and Razorbills (Alk) were seen, and a nice group of waders, consisting of Dunlins (Almindelig Ryle), Red Knots (Islandsk Ryle), Ruffs (Brushane) and, Rebecca’s Highlight, Golden Plovers (Hjejle).

After this exciting day, we had to enter a lot of data, but still found time for walks around the beach, forest and dunes. Today, an very interesting phylloscopus Warbler was seen and heard at World’s End 1, and Simon Jr. even managed to hear the call in the evening. After checking of the sound files it seems to be a Hume's Leaf Warbler, which would be a very early one and not as called out first a Greenish Warbler (Lundsanger). But the ID is not clear, so we will keep you updated. Maybe we will catch it tomorrow. 

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Chiffchaff (Gransanger) – 11

Goldcrest (Fuglekonge) – 8

Longtailed Tit (Halemejse) - 3

Longtailed Tit (Halemejse, Sydlig; ssp. Europaeus) – 5

Dunnock (Jernspurv) – 9

Common Redstart (Rødstjert) – 3

Robin (Rødhals) – 23

Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken) – 2

Wren (Gærdesmutte) – 1

Reed Warbler (Rørsanger) – 1

Willow Warbler (Løvsanger) – 2

Coal Tit (Sortmejse) – 8

Black Cap (Munk) – 10

Blue Tit (Blåmejse) – 11

Wheatear (Stenpikker) – 1

Reed Bunting (Rørspurv) – 2

Great Tit (Musvit) – 1

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Stor Flagspætte) - 1

Total: 102

Ringing (Jennes Sø):

Wren (Gærdesmutte) – 1

Robin (Rødhals) - 5

Blackbird (Solsort) - 1

Blackbird (Munk) - 2

Chiffchaff (Gransanger) - 6

Goldcrest (Fuglekonge) - 1

Pied Flycatcher (Broget Fluesnapper) - 1

Great Tit (Musvit) - 4

Siskin (Grønsisken) - 2

Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken) - 116

Total: 139

People: Antonia Greil, Hayley Land, Rebecca Cheape, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Oluf Lou, Knud Pedersen, Michael Anchor, Jette and Anders.

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

The rain was persistent this morning, so we didn’t go out ringing like we planned, so me and Antonia did our own thing later in the morning once the rain had cleared up. I went for a very long walk around the sand dunes and the forest to find some nice bird species. There were two Eurasian Jays (Skovskade) in the forest flying between several trees, so that was nice to see as I don’t see them very often back home in Scotland. Other species I seen included Blue tits (blåmejse), Sisken (Grønsisken), Blackbird (Solsort) and Blackcap (Munk).

Whilst I was out walking, Simon and Hayley were out at World’s End Three doing the migration count, which they started a little later at 9am so that they could have a better chance at spotting the birds without the heavy rain. The migration count was a little slow but there were several interesting species such as Great Skua (Storkjove), Black-legged Kittiwake (Ride) and Mallemuk (Northern Fulmar).

Gustav was out before all of us this morning in the rain doing nature puzzles with children from a local school which involved matching a picture of an animal with an animal part, for example, a wing of a Kestrel with the picture of one. Later in the afternoon he went out on his daily afternoon walk in search of a Red-footed Falcon but had no luck again! Gustav will spend the next week with his family as they are up here visiting, but he will take them to see the ringing tomorrow.

In the afternoon, Hayley, Simon and Antonia went to help Michael Ancher with ringing at Jennes Sø and got to see many Common Redpoll (Gråsisken) which was nice for them. I continued my walk in the afternoon and found some edible mushrooms which was interesting and then after my walk I went to the supermarket to get some oat milk, bread and fruit (the essentials). It was a sunny afternoon, so I made sure to be out birding for most of the day and I am so glad that I did as there were lots of birds out, probably due to the sunshine.

Later in the evening we had a nice dinner made by Hayley and discussed the plans for the next day and looked at the weather forecast.

Ringing at Jennes Sø

Lille Gråsisken (Common Redpoll) 36

Gransanger (Chiffchaff): 6

Gærdesmutte (Wren): 1

Rødhals (Robin): 2

Munk (Blackcap): 3

Blåmejse (Bluetit): 6

Musvit (Great Tit): 1

People: Antonia Greil, Hayley Land, Rebecca Cheape, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Michael Ancher, Jette and Anders.

Last night, Gustav and Simon Jr. headed out again after dark to the beach with a hand net and developed their own new technique for wader catching – using two flashlights instead of just one to dazzle the birds. It quickly proved to be a very good technique and they soon caught another Dunlin (Almindelig Ryle). That’s now two in two nights! The bird had some covert feathers with buff tips showing that this was another first year bird.

After the night’s excitement it was a quieter morning for Antonia, Rebecca and I. It was windy when we arrived at Kabeltromlen, so Antonia and I only opened the more sheltered nets, about half of the total length of nets at the site. Simon Sr. and Rebecca joined us for the first round. It was a steady ringing morning with 18 new birds caught. There was nothing unusual ringed, but highlights included a young Reed Bunting (Rørspurv), two young male Goldcrests (Fuglekonge), and a young male Siskin (Grønsisken).

Meanwhile, Gustav and Simon Jr. were out doing the migration count and had a very exciting morning. It was so windy that they took shelter behind the next dune along from the usual spot at World’s End 3. It was a very good day for seabirds with Gannets (Sule), Kittiwakes (Ride) and around 50 Razorbill (Alk) all seen migrating. Three Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove), a Great Skua (Stor Kjove) and a Great Northern Diver (Islom) were also spotted. The most exciting sight of the day however was a Cory’s Shearwater (Kuhls Skråpe), a rare sighting at Skagen. It is the first record for this year and in 2022 there were only two recorded all year. In the picture below you can see Simon Jr.’s field notes of the sighting.

As this species is rarely seen at Skagen, everyone was really happy with the sighting!

Just after we all returned to the Fuglestation we heard over Zello that an American Black Scoter (Amerikansk Sortand) had been seen at Grenen. So of course we all headed back out again! Annoyingly the chain keeps coming off on Antonia’s bike, so she got a lift with Simon Jr. so not to miss the bird.

Unfortunately, we didn’t see the American Black Scoter (Amerikansk Sortand). The sea was really wavy, so the conditions were against us for spotting it. Still, it was a really nice day to be out and we enjoyed watching some waders, including Bar-tailed Godwit (Lille Kobbersneppe), Little Stint (Dværgryle) and Ruff (Brushane) in the ponds close by.

In the afternoon data was entered and we enjoyed more cake from our friends at the lighthouse. Gustav, Simon Jr. and I went for another birding walk in the hope of finding rare raptors. Sadly we had no luck but we did see several Kestrels (Tårnfalk) and lots of Jays (Skovskade). Rebecca also headed out for a walk and, later on, Gustav made preparations for his guided tour tomorrow and Simon Jr. and I went to Jennes Sø to help Michael set up some nets.

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet)

Robin (Rødhals) – 6

Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger) – 1

Wren (Gærdesmutte) – 1

Chiffchaff (Gransanger) – 2

Blackcap (Munk) – 4

Goldcrest (Fuglekonge) – 2

Siskin (Grønsisken) – 1

Reed Bunting (Rørspurv) – 1 

Total: 18

People: Antonia Greil, Hayley Land, Rebecca Cheape, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Lisa Vergin, Michael Anchor, Jette and Anders.

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

Jeg vil starte med at gøre jer klogere på hvad vi lavede i går aftes, hvor vi alle tog ud til Grenen for at fange nogle vadefugle. Med os havde vi vores trofaste lommelygter, net og termiske kikkert til at fange fugle. 

Mange fugle befandt sig denne nat ude på Grenen, og mange af disse var Almindelige Ryler, hvilket bekræftede os i at vi valgte den rette nat. Vi delte os op i to hold, så vi kunne dække et større område. Jeg gik med Rebecca og Antonia, mens det andet hold bestod af Hayley og Simon. Mit hold gik langs kysten fra Sandormesporet og ud mod Grenen, mens det andet hold tog sig af de store vandpytter langs klitrækkerne.

Der gik ikke mere end 3 min. før vi var i fuld gang med at hale os ind på en flok Almindelig Ryler, men denne gang gik det ikke. Det virker til at fugle i flok er svære at indfange, fordi nogle enkelte individer lynhurtigt fatter mistanke og flyver af sted, hvorefter de resterende følger med. Efter dette spottede vi til alt held en enkel Almindelig Ryle sammen med fire Islandske Ryler. De fire islændinge tog hurtigt af sted og efterlod den Almindelig Ryle helt for sig selv. Det var vores chance, og her fik Rebecca og jeg indfanget fuglen med godt samarbejde. Vi tog fuglen tilbage til stationen, hvor vi fik den ringmærket og fotograferet, hvorefter den blev genforenet med sine venner.

Simon og jeg tog endnu en runde rundt på Grenen i søgen efter endnu en fugl, men det lykkedes ikke, så vi må nøjes med den ene Ryle. Men helt forgæves var det ikke, fordi da vi gik langs kysten ramte vi noget særligt ålegræs, der indeholdt en special alge, hvilket betød at vores fodspor lyste op, som var det direkte ud af Avatar-filmene af James Cameron. 

Denne morgen tog jeg og Simon ud til Verdens Ende 3, hvor vi sammen med Knud sad klar til morgen observation, der dog var blevet udskudt en lille smule på grund af en regnfuld morgen. Det var en fin morgen med fire Almindelig Kjover, en Kaspisk Måge og en masse vadefugle. Ind i mellem observationerne gæstede en Stenpikker Knuds cykel, og synes den var vældig skæg at sidde på.

Foto: Knud Pedersen

Dagens store overraskelse var da en usædvanelig strandgæst. En Almindelig Kjove valgte at lande på stranden, hvor den i en rum tid fouragerede på  sælrester ved strandkanten. Det viste sig, at den ikke var sky, da både hunde og turister kom tæt forbi den. Men på et tidspunkt blev denne konstante trafik for meget for fuglen, og den valgte at søge længere ind ved kysten. Det var ikke en helt normal adfærd fuglen viste, hvilket måske skyldes de anstrengende storme, der har været til havs, så vi valgte at indsamle fuglen, således den kunne blive sendt videre til en vildtplejestation.

Foto: Knud Pedersen

Det lykkedes, vi indsamlede den og fik den ringmærket ved Det Grå Fyr, hvorefter den blev afhentet af vildtplejestationen, der har tidligere erfaringer med at hjælpe Mallemukker tilbage til havet. Vi krydser fingre for at vi ser denne fantastiske fugl ude over havet igen inden længe. 

Her til aften har vores gæster Jette og Anders lavet et helt fantastisk måltid med fisk og rodfrugter, og oven i det også lige en fornem gammeldags æblekage. Mange tak for det!

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Munk - 1

Rødhals - 1

Rødstjert - 1

Total: 3

Ringing (Det Grå Fyr):

Almindelig Ryle - 1

Almindelig Kjove - 1

Total: 2

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

People: Antonia Greil, Hayley Land, Rebecca Cheape, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Knud Pedersen, Jette and Anders.

Today's blog post starts not with the morning activities, but with a highlight that happened earlier. And for that I have to backtrack for a moment.

At the beginning of this year, I realised for the first time that there was a chance of seeing auroras even in Germany. As a result, I read up on the forecasts and measurements and finally managed to photograph a faint aurora. I had stowed this knowledge away deep in my mind and dug it out again last night after I got the news from Germany about increased Kp values. It was shortly after 9 o'clock and after a long day we had already gone to sleep. As there was just a hole in the cloud cover, I sent the message to our fuglestation group, went out of bed in my pyjama and got my camera ready. Then the girls came out of their room, excited by the possibility to see an aurora. Together we went out. I walked the route barefoot. We could directly see a brightening in the starry sky, but only through the camera could we really see the colours. Then we walked on to block out the disturbing light sources. Now we could see it even better and suddenly a beamer of the aurora came too and was easily visible to the naked eye. Now the photos were also better and we took a few photos of ourselves in front of the aurora. What a great spectacle!

 aurora/Northern Lights at Skagen

The next morning we went to World's End 3 for the migration count. Due to the wind, we were unfortunately unable to ring.But we were able to see a Red-necked Grebe (Gråstrubet Lappedykker), two Great Skuas (Stor Kjove) and - again - some ducks. In contrast to yesterday, there were fewer Wigeons (Pibeand), but more Shovelers (Skeand). Afterwards, we fled from a big rain front, dried off and then set off for a very big shopping trip.

I went out to Grenen again and I could see some Kittiwakes (Ride) and Razorbills (Alk). Then we spent the entire afternoon checking sheets of the last week with Simon. After that we had a nice dinner (Gustav is the rice-man) and prepared for nightcatching.

People: Antonia Greil, Hayley Land, Rebecca Cheape, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Knud Pedersen, Jette and Anders.

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

Today was a very windy day, so we couldn’t go ringing in the morning. Still, Migration Count was possible, so Hayley, Gustav and Simon went out. To get a little bit of shelter from the wind, they chose another location today and went to Sandorme Sporet, where they had shelter behind the dune. Apparently, there was a lot to see and it was one of the best days so far.

The most observed species today were – ducks! Teals (Krikand), Wigeons (Pibeand), Pintails (Spidsand), Common Scoters (Sortand), Velvet Scoters (Fløjlsand) and Eider ducks (Ederfugl). But other birds were there as well, for example red breasted Merganser (Toppet skallesluger), dark bellied Brent Geese (Knortegås), Red knots (Islandsk ryle), Grey Plovers (Strandhjejle) and a young black Guillemot (Tejst). Our guests, Jette and Anders, went out early as well and had some nice observations of Gannets (Sule), Dunlins (Almindelig ryle) and Great Black-backed Gulls (Svartbag).

Meanwhile, Rebecca and I could sleep a little longer, which was a much needed rest for me. We had breakfast and when the others came back we got some delicious cake from our friends of the Lighthouse crew, which was an exciting treat. All danish cakes I had so far were really good!

Despite the wind, some birding around the lighthouse was done. We could see a Sparrowhawk (Spurvehøg) and an adult Arctic tern (Havterne), which was a little late in the month and therefore nice to watch. Today Simon Sr. had guests from friends from the Norwegian Bird Observatory, the Store Færder Ornithologiske Stasjon. You can check out their new cool website on this link.  It was really interesting to hear about another station, the daily life and the bird species they catch. Simon Sr. showed them the active radiotelemetry reciever which hopefully will find some of the passerines that are being equipped with radiotags in southern Norway during these days - among them Tree Pipits. 

Then we did something we had never done before but was a lot of fun: we played Hide and Seek. Even though there weren’t many possibilities for four out of five volunteers to hide in the same building, we managed to play four rounds and got very creative with our hiding spots.

People: Antonia Greil, Hayley Land, Rebecca Cheape, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Terje Axelsen (Store Færder Ornitologiske Stasjon), Jette and Anders.

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

Gustav and Simon started their day at World’s End 3 with the migration count. It was very quiet again, but they did enjoy seeing a Fulmar (Mallemuk), a Black-throated Diver (Sortstrubet Lom) and 20 Brent Geese (Knortegås).

Meanwhile, Rebecca and I had opened the nets at Kabeltromlen. Antonia and Esben joined for the first round and we got a nice view of the rising sun which was amazingly red. Although we caught less birds than yesterday, we had some really nice species. Quality not quantity!

The highlight of the day was this stunning young male Common Crossbill (Lille Korsnæb). In the photo below you can just see the orange feathers beginning to come through and the amazing beak which we took lots of measurements of to confirm the species. Simon Jr and Gustav were also at Kabeltromlen to see it, having finished the migration count. It was the first time many of us had seen this species in the hand, so we were all very excited!

Another highlight was two young Yellowhammers (Gulspurv), another new species in the hand for Antonia and I. The colours were amazing to see up close. It was also interesting to see the tail of one of the birds, which had a very clear fault bar through all the feathers. This may have been caused by a deficiency in food when the feathers were growing.

We also caught two lovely Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken). Both were young birds. They were aged by looking at the tail feathers.

Finally, five Goldcrests (Fuglekonge) were among the other species caught today. These are the smallest birds found in Europe; the smallest individual we caught today only weighed 4.9 grams! The picture below shows a male bird, with its stunning orange head feathers. Female birds only have yellow on the head.

After such an exciting morning we enjoyed a late breakfast back at the Fuglestation. In the afternoon, data was entered, the picture archive updated, and some cleaning done. We did a little bit of birding outside the lighthouse and enjoyed seeing a Hen Harrier (Blå Kærhøg) flying in the distance and a couple of Stonechats (Sortstrubet Bynkefugl) in nearby bushes. Rebecca also went to the harbour to do the Cormorant (Skarv) count and some shopping, and we welcomed our new guests, Jette and Anders. Unfortunately, tomorrow looks too windy for ringing but we hope to see some good birds at the migration count.

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet)

Robin (Rødhals) – 2

Chiffchaff (Gransanger) – 4

Blackcap (Munk) – 3

Goldcrest (Fuglekonge) – 5

Tree Pipit (Skovpiber) – 1

Reed Warbler (Rørsanger) – 2

Siskin (Grønsisken) – 2

Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken) – 2

Yellowhammer (Gulspurv) – 2

Great Tit (Musvit) – 1

Common Crossbill (Lille Korsnæb) – 1

Total: 25

People: Antonia Greil, Hayley Land, Rebecca Cheape, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Esben Hansen, Simon S. Christiansen, Knud Pedersen, Jette and Anders.

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

Bird is the word - like every day. With the difference that today was the first day on which "Bird Bird Bird" from the song "Surfin Bird" by The Trashmen also applied when ringing at Kabeltromlen.

Today was the first day with a few more birds. There is still potential for improvement, but we were all very pleased with the number of birds we were able to ring today. Already in the first round things started well and together with Esben we were able to ring especially many Blackcaps (Munk) and Robins (Rødhals). While Grey Wagtail, Peregrine Falcon and some Common Crossbills flew over us, there were rather the expected species in the net and no surprises. No surprises? Nope. Because then there was still a Tree Pipit (Skovpiber). That was really fun in the sunshine.

In the meantime Gustav did a guided tour for two families and came with them to see the ringing. The children seemed very interested and already knew a lot about the species. They were also kind enough to bring us an apple pie. Eating this in the sunshine while ringing was a total treat! We were also given a crocheted blackbird, which looks amazingly realistic. Thanks for that! Afterwards, Gustav took the two families to the beach to visit Knud and Rebecca.

This is the perfect segue to the migration count, isn't it? The count today was good and some birds like Goldeneye and Razorbill were seen. But perhaps the highlight was a Caspian Gull (Kaspisk Måge) resting among the many Herring Gulls and Great Black-backed Gulls. Rebecca also told us again how much she could learn from Knud. It's really good to have an experienced local from whom you can learn a lot.

At noon we left for a walk. Unfortunately we couldn't find any Adder, but still the walk in the summer sunshine was very nice! After hearing a Crestet Tit (Topmejse), we were able to see one shortly afterwards. This was Hayley's first observation of this kind. Really cool, congratulations on that. Even though the rare raptors are still missing, we could still see four Common Buzzards (Musvåge) circling up in the thermals. Afterwards Gustav left for the penultimate comrorant count to the harbour.

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Tree Pipit (Skovpiber) - 1

Wren (Gærdesmutte) - 1

Dunnock (Jernspurv) - 1

Robin (Rødhals) - 3

Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) - 1

Blackcap (Munk) - 20

Chiffchaff (Gransanger) - 4

Willow Warbler (Løvsanger)  1

Goldcrest (Fuglekonge) - 1

Blue Tit (Blåmejse) - 1

Reed Bunting (Rørspurv) - 1

Total: 35

People: Antonia Greil, Hayley Land, Rebecca Cheape, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Knud Pedersen, Esben Hansen.

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

This morning was wet and a bit windy, however, me and Hayley still left the station before sunrise to open the nets at Kabeltromlen for another morning of bird ringing. Although, we were not feeling very optimistic about the number of birds we would catch in the nets as it was a bit too windy, and the birds would likely be sheltering amongst the bushes. Throughout the first two to three rounds we caught three to four birds and two recaptures, which included a juvenile Blackbird (Solsort) that was ringed two days ago by Antonia. It was interesting to re-measure this Solsort to discover that it had lost 0.2 g over two days. As the morning went on the weather deteriorated sharply as the wind became stronger blowing all the important ringing data sheets everywhere – good thing some are laminated though!

The last round was the best out of the others as we caught a beautiful female juvenile Goldcrest (Fuglekonge). I have ringed this species before back home, but it was the first one I have ringed here in Skagen so it was a nice surprise when I pulled it out of the bag. The Goldcrest is a very small bird, and I just can’t get over how such a small bird can withstand extremely bad weather and still manage to survive most of the time. It was interesting to look at the yellow head as this is how an individual can sex the bird: completely yellow = female; yellow with orange hues = male.

We decided to close the nets around 9am as the rain became very heavy and we weren’t catching any more birds. When we returned to the station, we entered the ringing data from the morning.

Whilst we were out ringing this morning, Gustav and Simon were at World’s End Three doing the migration count, however it was fairly slow, and the weather was bad so there wasn’t great visibility. Although, some species counted included one Fulmar (Mallemuk), seventy-seven Common Scoter (Sortand) and four Eurasian teal (Krikand).

As the weather was bad, we did not do the Cormorant (Skarv) count today, but we will do it tomorrow and on Sunday. The guests also left this afternoon as they are going to visit some friends and therefore had to leave two days earlier, but it was nice to meet them. Michael left after the ringing today and we all enjoyed bird ringing with him. Later in the evening, Esben will join us at the station for the next two days to bird ring with us until Simon returns next week.

The rest of the day was quiet and everyone at the station did their own thing, and Simon K. went to the supermarket to buy ingredients for tonight’s dinner.

My time here is going fast and I only have 15 days left!

 Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Blackcap (Munk) - 2

Blackbird (Solsort) - 1

Chiffchaff (Gransanger) - 5

Rødstjert (Redstart) - 1

Rødhals (Robin) - 2

Musvit (Great Tit) - 1

Total = 12

People: Antonia Greil, Hayley Land, Rebecca Cheape, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Michael Fink, Helle and Niels.

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