Hi all!

The events of today's blog actually begin in the late hours of last night, when we drove to Jerup ~30 km south of Skagen, to attempt night-catching some nocturnal species in a field. Unfortunately, after several hours of waiting for something to end up in one of our nets/traps, we had not succeeded. Thankfully, in anticipation of a strikeout, we had brought the nets and lights necessary to attempt night-catching of shorebirds/waders at the nearby Jerup Strand. Conditions weren't ideal, and we are still quite early for shorebird migration to be in full swing. While night-catching, we use the Fuglestation's quite-fancy thermal monocular to spot birds roosting on the beach/mudflats in the darkness, approach them with a bright flashlight, before swiftly netting them. But, at these high latitudes, while the sun sets, it doesn't set very "deep," per se. At its deepest, the sun's light still creeps over the horizon, so we experience a sort of perennial twilight through the night. This confounds our ability to efficiently sneak up on the birds out of total darkness. As Lisa and I (we were the only ones with proper waterproof footwear) roamed the mudflats, we encountered a few fairly-large groups of Dunlin "Almindelig Ryle," but they all flew off before we could get close enough to attempt a catch. Nevertheless, we persisted, and ultimately suceeded in catching a young black-headed gull "Hættemåge" and two young common ringed plovers "Stor Præstekrave." Rita, Nathan, and I each ringed one of the birds, with the assistance of Lisa and Simon, providing our first experience using steel rings, which are used for most waterbirds, as opposed to the aluminium rings we ring most terrestrial species with. Steel rings can be quite difficult to close properly, as they are less malleable and need to "click" shut properly. 

Ringed Plover Chick

Those of us who spent last night night-catching spent much of this morning sleeping in.  Conditons were far too windy for any ringing to happen today, so we completed some data entry, checking, and other tasks around the station.  In the afternoon, Martina, Rita, and Nathan went to "Cormorant Lake" to survey the cormorant "Skarv" breeding colony there.

Survey Cormorant Lake

We had our evening meeting together with our guests Mark, Lærke, and Malthe, and later Alice cooked us a lovely dinner.

Cheers!

Max

Ringing at Jerup Strand:

Black-headed gull "Hættemåge" - 1

Common ringed plover "Stor Præstekrave" - 2

Local observations of the day in DOFBasen

People at the Station: Rita DeLucco, Alice Scalzo, Nathan Delmas, Max Laubstein, Simon S. Christiansen,Lisa Vergin, Martina Hillbrand, Lars Bo Jacobsen, and our guests Mark, Malthe and Lærke Desholm

This morning our group split up into two teams, with Nathan and Martina opening the nets, and Alice, Max, and I joining for the first round of net checks at around 4:30 AM. Already by that time, we were pleasantly surprised to find our guests waiting to capture the entire experience with their cameras and microphones. Although we did not get a glimpse of the footage yet, the backdrop of the orange sky must have added to the already exciting footage.

Photo Credit: Alice Scalzo

Not long after our first round which was mostly dominated by common white-throats (Tornsanger), we were joined by two more observers eager to catch a glimpse of the ringing process and of the mysterious birds temporarily confined to our bird bags. Over the next couple of hours, more tourists and local observers accompanied by their children flocked to our ringing table nestled in the dunes to watch us go through the steps many of us are attempting to master, and of course take pictures of the birds before their release including the incredibly cute blue tits (Blåmejse).

On one of the rounds, we did not catch any birds, and I was expecting the tourists to lose patience and leave but much to my surprise many of them took the opportunity to ask questions about us, our careers, studies, and most importantly the birds and ringing process. It was during that short “break” that we were really able to connect with the public and impart some of our knowledge, especially to their impressionable children. Environmental education is an important part of conservation, and the Skagen Fuglestation is constantly finding ways to share the important work that is being done with the public of all ages, whether it is by encouraging visitors to the station and lighthouse to sign up for the many bird tours, pop by our morning ringing sessions, or by writing this blog, everyone at the station is working with birds as well as people. Thankfully many birders are some of the most passionate wildlife enthusiasts there are and are eager to share their knowledge and help ID birds, but it is always nice to see children get involved with wildlife with the aid of their supportive parents. In fact, tonight a family that had witnessed the ringing for the very first time this morning was so pleased with their experience that they decided to join us tonight to observe nightjar catching, which shows the importance and impact of environmental education on even the youngest of our society.

 Local Observations of the Day in DOFBasen

Birds Rung Today:

Rørsanger: 1

Gærdesanger:4

Kæersanger:1

Lille Gråsisken:2

Munk: 1

Blåmejse: 3

Tornsanger: 12

Gransanger: 2

Solsort:1

Hvid vipstjert: 1

People: Rita DeLucco, Alice Scalzo, Nathan Delmas, Max Laubstein, Martina Hillbrand, Mark, Malthe and Lærke Desholm

First of all, I should say that I am happy to be here at the bird observatory again after almost 12 months. Again, I decided to spend most of my summer holidays here and instead of relaxing and sleeping a lot I sleep as little as I can and try to see and ring as many birds as possible. I hope I can sleep when the school year starts again. Unfortunately, the weather has not been favorable so far and we couldn’t ring as much as I had wanted. Last night the weather forecast was a bit unclear about what the wind situation would be like this morning, so I got up an hour later than normal for opening the nets but the winds were still too strong. Opening the nets in too strong winds would endanger the health of the birds and that is, of course, not what we want.

Instead of leaving then, I stayed at the lighthouse and watched a rather beautiful sunrise, while waiting for the winds to die down. After an hour or so, I decided we could finally go. We opened the nets two hours later than normal, meaning that the first net check was at 6.30am which feels almost like lunch time if you are used to getting up at half past two in the night. Luckily the sun was hiding behind a small band of clouds for the first hours so despite the late hours we could still catch a reasonable amount of birds. Nothing special apart from a flock of baby blue tits (blåmejse) who were probably just discovering the surroundings of their birth place. I wonder if the ringing experience changed their view of their world. Seeing that they are blue tits, however, it probably only encouraged them to fight whenever they are in danger showing them that it may end in their lucky release.

We also caught a few of the redpolls (gråsisken) that keep circling the area, so we could determine that they are adults probably celebrating their freedom after the kids have left hotel mama. This pair probably still belong together as they were calling each other and the male entered the net reacting to the females calls while she was being released (the male is recognizable by the red head, giving them their English name, while the Danish name applies to both male and female so is maybe a bit less sexist...)

We saw a bittern (rørdrum) fly by and land in the same place where they were supposedly breeding last year, so with some luck in the next few days we will also see some young bitterns in the area. Other than that we also did not have any particularly interesting observations. With quite a few birds in the nets and all the volunteers eager to learn we were busy enough just with that.

Gunnar guided a hiking tour for the Lighthouse in the area and they came by the ringing after 10am and the visitors were lucky enough to see birds ringed despite the late morning, so that was also good. And a consolation after the nightjar (natravn) tour last night did not get to see but only hear nightjars.

After we got home Rita cooked a delicious lunch out of leftovers and then we all had a nap. The guests left before we arrived back but not without reserving a week’s stay for next year. We would like to thank them for their company and also for their help on the nightjar tour last night. Mark Desholm (former head of the nature department of DOF which is responsible for running our bird observatory) arrived with two of his (grown up) children in the early afternoon (environmentally friendly by train) and is eager to get his hands on birds again after too much office work in the last months. Unfortunately, the weather doesn’t look all that good for their stay but to start off, tomorrow should be the single best day for a long time with almost no wind throughout the day. We will try to make as much use of it as possible from morning until night. I wonder if that is the reason why Simon decided to come back early from his holiday…

Keep your fingers crossed for it to be good ringing tomorrow!

Newly ringed birds at Kabeltrommeln:

Blåmejse (Blue tit) 7

Musvit (Great tit) 3

Gærdesanger (Lesser Whitethroat) 2

Tornsnager (Common Whitethroat) 7

Gransanger (Chiffchaff) 1

Lille Gråsisken (Lesser Redpoll) 3

Total: 23

Local Observations of the Day in DOFBasen

People: Rita DeLucco, Alice Scalzo, Nathan Delmas, Max Laubstein, Martina Hillbrand, Mark, Malthe and Lærke Desholm 

Today was a very windy day, which means no ringing for us..

But we always have side projects that need to be done and that is what today was about. Early this morning, Martina and Max went out to do some seawatching. With that much wind, they did not count that many birds but they manage to have a better look at roosting gulls and read one or two color-ringed ones that we are hoping to get more information on soon.

A bit later, Alice went out to take some pictures of the wildlife for our archives.

In the meantime, Rita and I took hedge trimmers to do some much needed maintenance around the misnets and the paths that we use everyday.

                                                         Before and after trimming the bushes around the nets             

To prevent trees to overgrow the area and damage the nets, we need to clear the area every once in a while. Too much vegetation so close to the nets also significantly reduces their ability to catch birds.

The wind should down by the end of the week and we are all excited to resume ringing and keep you updated about the birds we catch or observe !

In the meantime have a great day !

Nathan

Local Observations of the Day in DOFBasen

People: Rita DeLucco,  Alice Scalzo, Nathan Delmas, Max Laubstein, Martina Hillbrand , our guests 

Today began at approximately 2:30 am for Alice and I, as after a brief hiatus from ringing over the past few days due to foul conditions, it was our turn to open the mist nets.  The rest joined us soon after for the first round of net checks.  Early on, it rained a little bit -  bad for ringing - but thankfully it did not last long and we were able to get in a full morning of fieldwork, despite having to close a few nets due to wind.  Overall, it was a pretty standard day of ringing, with no exceptional species.  However, a blue tit "blåmejse" and a large number of great tits "musvit" in the nets were highlights. 

Great Tit "Musvit" & Blue Tit "Blåmejse"

After returning from ringing we all had some lunch and got some rest.  Rita and Nathan spent some time in the attic repairing damaged mist nets.  Martina went to Flagbakken to look for raptors, but unfortunately did not see any, though she says the view was quite nice!  Alice spent some time exploring the local area with a camera in hand.  Conditions made birding hard, though she had a nice encounter with a Roe Deer "Rådyr."  The net in the lighthouse garden was opened very briefly in the afternoon as well, and a singular house sparrow "Gråspurv" was caught and ringed.

Alice's photo of a Rådyr

We had a lovely dinner afterwards, and our guests joined us for our evening meeting to recap the day's events.

Unfortunately, the wind conditions for the next few days seem too bad for ringing, so we will not be ringing tomorrow morning.  However, Martina and I plan to do a seawatch / seabird count in the early morning tomorrow, and the others will do some much-needed maintenance of the mist net lanes later in the morning. 

- Max

Ringing Totals:

Kærsanger (Marsh Warbler): 2

Rørsanger (Reed Warbler) : 1

Gærdesanger (Lesser whitethroat): 4

Tornsanger (Common whitethroat): 4

Munk (Eurasian blackcap): 4

Gransanger (Common Chiffchaff): 1

Blåmejse (Blue tit): 1

Musvit (Great tit): 5

Rørspurv (Reed bunting): 1

Gråspurv (House sparrow): 1

Total: 24

Local Observations of the Day in DOFBasen

People: Rita DeLucco, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Nathan Delmas, Max Laubstein, Martina , our guests 

The past few mornings have been riddled with poor weather for ringing, but like most days everyone at the station was prepared with a different activity in their back pocket if this morning turned sour. Around 3 AM it was once again decided that ringing was not in the cards due to the wind, so Hanelie headed for cormorant (Skarv) lake to conduct some observations where she spotted great cormorants and their chicks (Skarv), red-necked grebes (Gråstrubet lappedykker), and common greenshanks (Hvidklire). I helped Esben do the necessary data checks, and Nathan continued sewing mist nets in the attic. Around 9AM our work was pleasantly interrupted by Knud’s arrival at the station, and Nathan, Max, and I quickly gathered our things and headed out to a nearby field where we helped Knud continue his survey of the three prominent orchid species: Dactylorhiza maculata (Spotted Cuckoo-herb),Dactylorhiza majalis (Purpur Gøgeurt) and the white Platanthera bifolia (Bakke-Gogelilje). By the end of the survey, we had angered some cows and calves, Nathan and Max had discovered a new area and beautiful orchids, and Knud informed us that the total number of orchids counted in the area officially exceeded over 20,000 individuals, a new record!

Great Cormorant (Skarv) and chick at cormorant lake. Photo Credit: Hanelie Sidhu

Our afternoon was slow but allowed all of us to say goodbye to Esben who taught and helped us all so much during his stay here at the station. Tonight, we will be a bit more active as a couple hours after dinner Hanelie, our two guests and I will be joining a short nightjar (Natravne) tour conducted by Egon Østergaard . Although everyone is itching (not just from the thought of future midge bites) to see a nightjar tonight, Hanelie is especially hoping to see one as she will unfortunately also be leaving the station tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow we will be bringing you the results of the nightjar (Natravne) tour so stay tuned and see you tomorrow!

Observations of the day from birders in the area on DOFBasen

People at the station: Esben E. Hansen, Rita DeLucco, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Nathan Delmas, Max Laubstein, Knud Pedersen, Egon Østergaard and our Guests.

 Hi everyone,

Today was very rainy. It was planned to go ringing and we were also at Kabeltrommle but the weather really did not allow it.

So we all went back to bed. Later in the day Esben had an online meeting with Simon. It is my second to last day here before I leave to Lista Bird Station, so Esben allowed me not to listen to Simon's wise words. Because at Grenen lake Jørgen had seen a Zitting Cisticola „Cistussanger“ in the morning. Unfortunately I heard about it only later and so I came two hours later and I did not find it. Disappointed I returned to the bird station and then was sewing nets was on the program and also Data checking.

My last blog for now ends with sewing nets as my first one started, I thought. And then came a zello call the Zitting Cisticola was seen again at Grenen Sø. And so I left the attic pretty soon to look for the bird again and this time there were several other Birdes here but we didn't find it again. Then it was time for me to return for dinner, our guests Jane and Hans-Peter cooked for us today. I still have tomorrow to see the Zitting Cisticola, then I´ll leave to Norway, but mid of August I come back to Skagen.

Have a good time, see you in August!

Observations of the day in DOFbasn from observers in the area

Todays ringed birds:

Solsort: 1

Total: 1

Hanelie

People: Rita DeLucco, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Nathan Delmas, Max Laubstein og Esben Hansen

Mens jeg sidder her og skriver bloggen i sofaen på fuglestationen, blæser og regner udenfor. vi have endnu en kold sommer morgen der ude ved Kabeltromlen på Grenen. I ringmærkning var det igen første kalender års fugle som dominerede. Vi ser flere og flere af dem påbegynde deres partielle fældning af deres juvenile fjer til postjuvenile. Det vil sige den fjerdragt mange af fuglene vil haven indtil næste sommer, nogle vil skifte allerede til vinter.

Om eftermiddagen var Hanelie og Alice inde i byen for at se om de kunne finde den tristram sortstær var blevet set til morgen, dog uden held. Om eftermiddagen havde vi nettene åbne i Fyrhaven hvor vi fangede en enkelt 1k (1. kalenderår) hvid vipstjert.
Til sidst en fin Tornsanger fra dagens ringmærkning.

Ringmærking Kabeltromlen:

Grønsisken (sisken) 1
Gulbug (Icterine Warbler) 1
Gærdesanger (Lesser Whitethroat) 6

Tornsanger (Common whitethroat) 5
Havesanger (Garden warbler) 1
Gransanger (chiffchaff) 2
Bogfinke (Chaffinch) 1

Ringmærking Fyrhaven:
Hvid Vipstjert (White Wagtail) 1

Total : 18

Folk på stationen:

Rita DeLucco, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Nathan Delmas, Max Laubstein og Esben Hansen