Good morning!

Although this blog post had some delay, it’s worth reading it. Today we could finally go out for the morning observations after some foggy days. The weather was quite harsh with the wind speed going from 14m/s to 21m/s. The land migration was very slow but we saw some really exciting species over the sea. The first surprise was the great northern "islom" diver flying together with a red-throated diver "rødstrubet lom" which made it easy to compare their general structure and size (jizz). He landed in front of us, but with the wind, he wasn’t easy to observe. Meanwhile, Marion made a walk to the cormorant lake to search for roosting whooper swans "sangsvane" because there were a lot flying around in the morning. She wasn’t lucky and went back to the station to continue working on her master thesis. In the last hour, the sea migration slowed down too, the calm before the storm. Suddenly, I had a dark bird in my scope with a big white mirror on the wings. Hanelie announced it as a weird velvet scoter but once he was close, we had a great observation of a black guillemot "tejst" in summer plumage. The first one for me! With the adrenaline I had since this morning, I cycled back at my pace and made spicy hot chocolate for those who were a bit later.

(Searching shelter in a bunker while watching birds)

The afternoon started really chill with resting and entering data. Meanwhile, Julie had arrived but was sleeping to recover from a busy night. She is a Danish birdwatcher staying here until Sunday, but she will come back in May if she likes it here.

When I finished the data, I had to go out to get some fresh air. Hanelie thought the same and together, we made a walk to the harbor. Along our way, we found some really cool bunkers, dead common scoter "sortand" and unfortunately a black guillemot too…

(black guillemot summer plumage)

Once arrived in the harbor, the weather was really annoying and it began to rain. We tried the station's camera Simon brought us, but we struggled too much with the different settings to take good pictures. We really enjoyed our walk and therefore almost missed the evening meeting. When we arrived after a successful hitchhiking attempt, Alice was working further on the Nocmig and Julie explained to the others how to work with the camera. We continued the evening with the meeting where we said goodbye to our guests Bjarne and Susanne. They had a lovely stay here and saw three species that were new to them. During the day they had a free coffee in Brøndums Hotel and met a birdwatcher from Skagen, who had a citrine wagtail "citronvipstjert" in his garden some years ago.

Simon had a busy day as usual with a meeting with the people from Aarhus University, writing on the report of yesterday's meeting and he did some groceries.

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

From tomorrow on it’s gonna be nice weather for both us and the birds.

Carpe diem and enjoy the nature

Robbe

People: People: Simon S. Christiansen, Robbe Cool, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Marion L'Huillier-Hunsinger, Julie Kokholm, Susanne Olsen and Bjarne Johansson

Good evening to all our fellow birders and bird enthusiasts,

To start this blog, we need to catch you up on the northern lights excursion last night. Well to sum it up in three words: it was short. Simon drove us to Nordstrand but as soon as we stepped on the dunes we realised they weren’t any to be seen at that time. Simon just being back from his trip and meetings with other Danish ringers and our evening meeting still yet to be done, we decided to just go back to the lighthouse.

Then, today bright and early we went back to Nordstrand and the same dunes to start morning observations. All of us were present as well as Knud which hadn’t happened since our first day here altogether! We divided the task with Knud and I taking care of sea migration and Hanelie, Alice and Robbe in charge of land migration. However, we quickly realised that three people were not so necessary for the land birds, and as numerous as some species might be, one person was left with not much to do. Therefore, Alice used this opportunity to go check out the cormorant lake just behind our counting location. As some of you probably remember she is already well-acquainted with it as she had to cross it a couple of times in waders to retrieve the live streaming camera. But this time, one of her main goals was to see Bearded Tits (Skægmejse). Unfortunately, this mission was not a success this morning, but it is only postponed. Luckily, however, Alice was also still with us when we had the chance to see an adult male Rough-legged Buzzard (Fjeldvåge). Later on, we saw another individual but this time an adult female. Robbe felt quite tired today and decided to go back early to get some rest so Alice took over for the rest of the morning session. Towards the end, Jørgen and Igor as well as Susanne and Bjarne, our two guests, also came to the dunes to observe some of the daily migration. Red Kites (Rød Glente) and multiple Common Buzzards (Musvåge) were also seen today. On the sea, Whooper Swans (Sangsvane), Great Crested Grebes (Toppet Lappedykker), and Red-throated Divers (Rødstrubet Lom) were resting. A couple of Red-breasted Mergansers (Toppet Skallesluger) and Goosanders (Stor Skallesluger) were also observed flying past. One other noticeable observation made this morning was a Bohemian Waxwing (Silkehale) spotted by a local birder which unfortunately did not come by our telescopes.

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

Now that we knew some Waxwings (Silkehale) are around, Alice and I rode back slowly and stopped along the way to check out reeds in the hope to see them and Bearded Tits (Skægmejse) which we both have not seen yet. Jørgen also joined us to scan the reeds and he confirmed this could be a nice place for the tits in particular. So, this is now added to the places we want to check out regularly.

Once we were all back, Hanelie made us a nice mixed salad while Alice and I combined all the data in one place. After our bellies were full, Hanelie and I started entering the daily observations and Robbe and Alice went on a short walk to try and see some raptors migrating. Meanwhile, Susanne and Bjarne went to town and also walked along the beach where they saw many Eurasian Siskins (Grønsisken) and Ravens (Ravn) as well as some Kittiwakes (Ride) and Barnacle Geese (Bramgås). Simon talked with representatives from Aarhus about different aspects of the radar and raptor projects which are both coming along and he also officially set up a new picture archive using a server rather than a single hard drive like it currently was.

Later in the afternoon, we also opened the mist nets in the garden and put out the rock pipit trap again. But today was another empty day with no individuals captured. Hopefully, we will start morning ringing sessions soon so you should keep an eye out for what we might capture then.

Alice will be making dinner tonight and, in the meantime, Robbe will be placing a recorder out for the first time. This way, we will be able to have audio records for the entire night and review them to identify which species have been migrating during the night. We will of course keep you updated on what we find out, but this might be in a few days as going through the whole night’s record will take us some time. But for you to have an idea of what we will be looking at, here is an image of a sonogram representing a Common Linnet (Tornirisk), with Yellowhammers (Gulspurv) and Eurasian Siskins (Grønsisken) in the background, taken from the recorder we set out today during the observations.

Simon also placed a recorder on the night between the 2 and 3 of March and now uploaded the results on Trektellen as you can find on the link below.

Night flight calls registered on Trektellen.

Tomorrow we will go to Grenen and maybe see some exciting and new species.

Have a nice evening everyone,

Marion

 People: Knud Pedersen, Jørgen Kabel & Igor, Simon S. Christiansen, Robbe Cool, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Marion L'Huillier-Hunsinger, Susanne Olsen and Bjarne Johansson.

Dear blog readers,

The more productive the day, the shorter the blog. And that is exactly what happened today. This morning we finally started to see big amounts of passerines migrating along Nordstrand. The first hours, I was clicking all the individual birds which started to hurt my fingers. Luckily, Eric had the wise idea to click for every ten birds. This saved my fingers from hurting more because we ended up with more than 10.000 birds, mainly siskens "grønsisken", chaffinches "bogfinke", wood pigeons "ringdue", hooded crows "råkrage", and jackdaws "allike". I got good help from Alice too who assisted me with the bigger land birds. Hanelie took care of the seabirds but except for the swans, it was not worth it.

Already early in the morning, the first woodlarks "Hedelærke" entertained us with their lyric flight call. Eric told us that the Nordstrand record was around 25 and this motivated us to set a new record. In no time, we reached more than 20 woodlarks but they didn’t stop flying. I counted one hour extra to set the ultimate record and we ticked the clock off with no less than 109 individuals!

When I got back to the station, the girls were already cleaning the whole station for which I was very thankful. ;) We had a nice lunch with leftovers of some good meals of the last week and the afternoon started with two challenges: uploading the observations and analyzing flight calls of this successful morning. After the last meeting we had with Simon and after I read the book “The sound approach to birding”, we were quite ready to see what the different flight calls look like. It was really interesting and informative. I focused on the calls of the crossbills. Although we only found red crossbills "Lille korsnæb" on the recorder, we found two different call types of this species. After this intensive birding morning and noon, I started to clean too, while Marion and Hanelie were sleeping. Alice gave the woodlarks a special place in her sketchbook and when she was ready, we tried to see the golden eagle again. Unfortunately, luck was not on our side. A curious coal tit "sortmejse" came to see what we were doing and sang his song at the top of his lungs. We returned in the evening sun to the station to welcome our two new guests. Now Marion is in a hurry to prepare a delicious meal because later this evening, Simon arrives. He’ll bring us to Nordstrand because we might see the Northern light this evening. Tomorrow, you will find out if we saw it. It’s going to be a good migration day again so maybe; we can break our new record again!

People: Erik Christophersen,  Robbe Cool, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Marion L'Huillier-Hunsinger

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

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area

Hello everyone!

This morning we were divided into different tasks. Marion and Alice have taken over the morning Obs on the north beach. From the second hour, they were supported by Erik, for whose help they were very grateful. Also, Jørgen and Igor joined them. They saw one male and one female Hen Harrier "Blå Kærhøg" and two Red Kites "Rød Glente". Also a mixed flock of six Whooper Swans "Sangsvane" and five Cranes "Trane". A funny combination that even Erik, with the most birding experience of the three, found remarkable and had never seen before.

Photo: Erik Christophersen

After the observation Marion and Alice went to the Cormorant "Skarv" Lake. Today was the day of NOVANA, the National monitoring program of birds. But they were not surprised by anything special at the lake, some geese "Gås", some Cormorants "Skarv", some Coots "Blishøne" and also a Sparrowhawk "Spurvehøg" they could observe there. Because of NOVANA I did not support them today at the Morning Obs, but joined Knud and Frede. We first went to Jerup Strand.

There were especially many Greylag Geese "Grågås" and many Shelducks "Gravand" but also quite a few Common Ringed Plovers "Stor Præstekrave" and, I was especially happy about the Lapwings "Vibe". Then, we went to Troldkær Enge. In the field, we found a Peregrine Falcon "Vandrefalk". There were also many Skylarks "Sanglærke" singing and we saw some Cranes "Trane". We also saw Mistle Trushes "Misteldrossel". Knud and Frede had delicious cakes and buns with them which we shared. Thanks! In the early afternoon, we came back to the station. Alice and Marion had also just arrived, Robbe was already waiting for us all because he had stayed at home today to rest a bit. He also had to unlock some rooms for a film crew who are making a short movie here this weekend. After a snack it was time for me, Marion and Alice to sew nets, while Robbe entered data. He also brought us warm tea in the cold attic. In the afternoon, Preben came and picked up sorted-out books for the DOF-Nordjyland library. In the late afternoon, Robbe, Alice and I went for a walk on the beach.

We wanted to find Horned Larks "Bjerglærke". Unfortunately, we were not successful but Robbe saw a Marsh Harrier "Rørhøg", which Alice and I missed because we were studying tracks in the sand. Back at the station, we continued with the Evening Meeting. It was the last meeting with our wonderful guests Elin and Jens, hopefully, we will see each other again. Elin and Jens went for a walk today and saw many Buzzards "Musvåge", Red Kites "Rød Glente", three Cranes "Trane" and probably the Golden Eagle "Kongeørn" that Marion and I had seen yesterday. They also went to Vensyssel Teater in Hjørring today and saw "Uncle Vanja" by Chekhov. They enjoyed the play very much.

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area

Todays NOVANA counts at Jerup Strand

Todays observations at Troldkær Enge

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

We had delicious pizza today, now we are full but looking forward to eating the delicious leftovers tomorrow.

We are also looking forward to great birds again tomorrow.

See you then,

Hanelie

People: Erik Christophersen, Frede Jakobsen, Knud Pedersen, Robbe Cool, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Marion L'Huillier-Hunsinger, Elin and Jens Vrang

This morning, the wind was blowing South East, which is why Robbe and I took our bikes to go to Nordstrand. There, we stayed all morning with Knud. We had a decent amount of birds, many Whooper swans (Sangsvane) and Wood pigeons (Ringdue) decided to cross, and we also got the chance to see a White-tailed eagle (Havørn) and a Greater fronted goose (Blisgås) very close to us.

Good evening everyone,

After a couple of foggy mornings, we finally got the chance to see the light again as the sun was rising this morning. The wind is mainly to thank for that. As it was Southerly wind, we agreed with Knud to meet at Nordstrand this time as this is where most birds would end up passing by. Hanelie, Robbe and I biked there and took the path crossing the reeds. However, with the cold temperatures throughout the night, the ground was a bit frost and what had to happen happened: one of us slid and fell. The unlucky chosen one was Robbe whose bike tires did not appreciate the slippery wood planks and unfortunately ripped his trousers but quickly recovered with no injury. We still managed to make it to Nordstrand and we settled on the dunes, a bit lower down to have some protection from the wind.

There were more birds than we had seen in the past few observation counts which we really enjoyed. Also some species we had not seen yet since arriving, including a Pintail (Spidsand), a Eurasian Curlew (Storspove), two Woodcocks (Skovsneppe) and one Bar-tailed Godwit (Lille Kobbersneppe). Eurasian Teals (Krikand) were very numerous today and we also saw more raptors. A White-tailed Eagle (Havørn), which was probably the same one as yesterday passed by. We also saw a female Hen Harrier (Blå Kærhøg) from close up and some Red Kites (Rød glente) and Common Buzzards (Musvåge). Knud also took the time to teach us how to identify more easily some species or differentiate males and females. We also learnt from him that a sub-species of the Bar-tailed Godwit (Lille Kobbersneppe) migrates from Alaska to New Zealand without any stopovers. This is therefore the longest known non-stop avian flight.

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area

After a quick lunch, Hanelie, Alice and Robbe met up with Jørgen who had proposed to drive us around to show the best birding spots around Skagen. I wish I could have gone but the tiredness took over me and instead I stayed at the station, started to enter the observations, and took a nap. In the meantime, Hanelie, Alice and Robbe discovered that it was Igor’s 7^th birthday! He seemed to treat one of Hanelie’s gloves as one of his birthday presents, carrying it proudly.

And thanks to Jørgen, they now know all the best spots to go to depending on the wind direction to observe birds and in particular raptors. He also explained that raptor migration here is a bit different than in most places as many raptors travel to the tip and end up turning around once they reach the sea. This can be quite nice as this way, if you missed it the first time, you might have the chance to spot it later.

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

Once everyone got back, Hanelie joined me for a nap session while Alice and Robbe drew with hot chocolates to warm them up. Afterwards, we met up with Elin and Jens who we could not see the past evening as our activities took longer than expected. They told us that yesterday they took the bike and went to Råbjerg Mile again. They saw the two resident Common Cranes (Trane) near Skagen on their way there. When they got back in the evening, they were tired from the long ride on the muddy path and decided to have an early night. And today, they spent the whole day in Skagen’s much appreciated Art Museum. They visited it years ago but couldn’t last year due to Corona and have been reading books about some of the authors exhibited there. They had lunch at Brøndums but had to eat outside in the cold.

After our evening meeting, we again had the chance to enjoy an amazing meal prepared by Elin and Jens. It included starters, charcuterie and cheese boards, risotto with tomato and zucchini, homemade bread, and some local pastries for dessert. The table was again nicely dressed up with flowers and candles and the atmosphere was very relaxed. It is safe to say all of our bellies were happy and full after that. As a result, Robbe showed us a “Digestion music” playlist that can do wonders apparently while we are finishing entering the data in DOFbasen. Tomorrow it will be our time to cook for our lovely guests and the standards are high so we hope to provide nice dishes everyone can enjoy.

I hope all of you also enjoyed your day and we recommend you take a walk to Nordstrand if you have the occasion tomorrow as you could hopefully see some cool birds.

Marion

People: Robbe Cool, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Marion L'Huillier-Hunsinger, Jørgen Kabel & Igor, Elin and Jens Vrang.

God aften

As usual, our day started with the observations at Grenen. Because Knud was taking a day off, we decided to combine all skills of the four of us.  In the meantime, Sarah-Lou was enjoying a quiet morning. Surprisingly, we discovered two dead harbour porpoises “marsvin” on our walk. It was a unique opportunity to observe them from nearby but luckily we saw them alive too, later this morning.

Once arrived at Grenen, the fog thwarted our migration count and we decided to take a look at the gulls. We studied the different moult cycles of the different species and tried to read colour rings. Unfortunately, we couldn’t read the rings because the birds were standing too deep into the water. I started to check the ducks on the sea and in no time, I found a female greater scaup “bjergand” migrating. Not much later, a long-tailed duck “havlit” was flying northeast with some scoters “sortand”. Although I was very happy with the observations, the others could only catch a glimpse of the birds.

After one hour, the fog started to disappear and we decided to start with the migration counts while Marion went back to the station to have some more rest. The birds were also happy the weather got better. We were treated to a group of 70 whooper swans “sangsvane” and several groups of goldeneyes “hvinand”. But it didn’t take long before we saw the highlight of today. A subadult (4cy) white-tailed eagle “Havørn” surprised all the gulls in the area and flew with heavy wing beats along our migration point. We were all ecstatic about seeing this giant. We were still recovering from this observation, but he came back already and found a nice spot on the beach. We called Marion and Sarah-Lou and they arrived right on time to see this giant.

When we walked back, the eagle came to say a final goodbye. Back at the station, we said goodbye to Sarah-lou who is going to an organic farm for her next adventure. We had a great lunch and then talked about the species we already saw and we hope to see. Marion used her afternoon to work on her Master thesis while the rest of us went to the cormorant lake.

Simon had another challenge planned out for us. We had to fix the camera that livestreams the cormorant colony. Therefore, we had to walk through the lake. Alice and Hanelie were brave enough to do it, while I was supporting them from the shore.

Once arrived, they noticed that Simon didn’t give them the right tools. We called our guardian angel, Marion, and she arrived with the right tools. Alice and Hanelie went back into the water and Marion and I left.

I fixed my cameratrap in the meantime and went to the grocery store to buy our guilty pleasure: cinnamon rolls!

In the evening we worked on our data while Alice made a delicious mushroom pasta. We had a quick evening meeting because today we had the ultimate worlds end 3 birding quiz! The three girls were extremely concentrated because they knew they could win a price.

The quiz resulted in an ex aequo between Alice and Marion but in the bonus question, Alice could recognize the goldeneye as first and won the grand prize: another bag of cinnamon rolls!

Now we are chilling a bit and preparing for our first migration count at Nordstrand. It is the first of the past days with good birding weather. We hope to see some new species again and get to know the area a bit better.

See you tomorrow

Robbe

People: Robbe Cool, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Marion L'Huillier-Hunsinger, Elin and Jens Vrang, and Sarah-Lou.

Hello everyone!

We went to sleep yesterday with high hopes for today. Not for the Morning obs, though, as heavy fog was forecasted and we weren't sure we'd see much. Rather, we were hoping to see a walrus "hvalros" because one was seen some kilometers away from Skagen. After thinking about how best to get there, by train or hitchhiking, a much easier solution was found: we told our guests, Elin and Jens, who we have already taken to our hearts, about the walrus "hvalros". They were immediately enthusiastic and offered to take three of us with them, there was no more room in the car. But Robbe was confident, hitchhiking was an exciting alternative for the rest of us. For this morning, it was agreed that two of us would check the weather to see if the fog allowed a morning obs. Marion and I got up early and looked out the window. But we didn't see much because of the fog, only a few lights very close in the yard. This did not improve in the following hours. So for some of us, it was longer sleep, for others an earlier breakfast and meditate/ office work/ laundry. When everyone was out of bed, Robbe took part in an online university course, the highlight of which was when Marion came in and Robbe, with the microphone on, asked whether she had slept well. Meanwhile, Alice and I were in the attic sewing nets. Marion joined Robbe with work for the university for her master thesis and started to sort ringing data from Blåvand and Gedser. Robbe meanwhile also prepared a bird quiz for tomorrow, there should even be a prize, we are already curious. Sarah-Lou made a morning walk to the harbor and, despite the fog, she enjoyed the also somewhat eerie atmosphere on the coast. Then, she visited the Skagen Museum and was impressed by the paintings. Jens and Elin also biked in the morning to town and to the harbor, where they saw many Eiders "Ederfugle" and also Snow Buntings "Snespurv" and left the fish stores deterred by the high prices again.

At noon it was then really enough with the university work and the attic unfortunately was once again a little cold. But Marion made us pasta with delicious zucchini sauce. The plan was originally afterwards to drive with the guests to the place where the walrus "hvalros" was seen. But unfortunately, it turned out already in the morning that it had gone on the way again. Perhaps in the direction of Skagen? Hope dies last...

Nevertheless, we made a trip with Elin and Jens. They drove us to Råbjerg Mile and took Marion and me in the car, while Robbe and Alice confidently went hitchhiking. At the train station, we met Sarah-Lou, who also went with us to the moving sand dune. When we arrived there, Alice and Robbe were still walking and looking for a car to take them. Jens and Elin offered to pick them up as well, but the two were determined to make their plan work. So the five of us climbed the sandhills of Råbjerg Mile.

We saw Whooper Swans "Sangsvane", eight Cranes "Trane" flying over as well as three cute Snow Buntings "Snespurv" that were taking a bath.

Finally, Robbe and Alice called, two Italians who had the same destination had kindly given them a ride. Now, we just had to find each other in the sand dunes but that worked out. So the group was happily reunited. Together we discovered two resting cranes, to which we also came reasonably close so that we could see them well through binoculars.

We were all satisfied with our trip, Jens, Elin, Marion, Sarah-Lou and I got back into the car comfortably, while Alice and Robbe had to look for a ride again. However, they did see Coal Tits "Sortmejse", Blue Tits "Blåmejse", Crested Tits "Topmejse", Goldcrests "Fuglekonge", Whopper Swans "Sangsvane", Buzzards "Musvåge" and Crossbills "Lille Kornsnæb" along the way, so it had been worth it.

And this time it didn't take so long until two drivers offered to give them a ride and even drove them to Det Grå Fyr. After the Evening Meeting, there was a real feast today, Elin and Jens had cooked for us and it was like in a Michelin Restaurant.

There were several incredibly delicious courses and afterwards we were all full and satisfied. Then had an online meeting with Simon. Now, I´m sitting here, it´s quiet at the station, you can only hear the dishwasher, it´s late again with the blog. In this sense, good night, see you tomorrow!

Hanelie

People: Robbe Cool, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Marion L'Huillier-Hunsinger, Elin and Jens Vrang, and Sarah-Lou.