From Solnedgangspladsen to Det Grå Fyr or the great hunger

Hello from Det Grå Fyr!

The day before yesterday I went out to Grenen with the telescope as I had planned. I have to admit that I still have a lot to learn about seabird counting. As I have only experienced the seabird counting in Blåvand last autumn, where only birds migrating in one direction are counted, I was a little at a loss and wondering, which birds to count. So I sat there “just for fun” and watched birds. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it to see Guillemots (Lomvie) and Razorbills (Alk) which were alive, because there was also a lot of them at Grenen. There was also a little flock of Whooper Swans (Sangsvane), also Snow Buntings (Snev Spurv) and Cormorants (Skarv). And it was nice to watch the seals at Grenen. Going to the supermarket and fixing nets were also on the agenda of the day. In the late afternoon, Simon, who, in his next life will be a bestselling author of a book called “Guidelines to survive” showed me, that there is also a guideline for seabird counting in Skagen. So next time, when I will go to Grenen, I will be better prepared. I was also introduced to a Daily tasks plan, on which so far only HS is on ;-)

We also planned the next Fulmar survey for the next day.

The next morning I grabbed the big backpack again and Simon drove me to Solnedgangspladsen in Gammel Skagen. Along the beach, I walked back to Det Grå Fyr. It was a beautiful sunny day, with a brief hailstorm, but it did not matter to me because afterwards, there was a great rainbow.

I saw 27 dead birds in total and collected 12, the others were in bad condition. Most of them were Guillemots (Lomvie), but also 2 Fulmars (Mallemuk). I had also some nice observations of living birds: A Little Gull (Dværgmåge), Rock Pipits (Skærpiber) and Snow Buntings (Snev Spurv). I arrived back at Det Grå Fyr with a heavy backpack and a huge appetite.

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area

Before I put the birds in the freezer, I had to have lunch that would have been enough for two normally hungry people. When the freezer was stocked with all the new birds and all lists were updated, there was still some hunger left and so I decided to end the day with a good Flammkuchen.

Today I went to Grenen and, thanks to the Guideline, I counted the birds more properly. Very close to me, there were lots of Snow buntings (Snev Spurv). Next time, I will feed them, and we hope to catch them if they get used to getting food at Grenen.

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area

Unfortunately, it turned out, that Simon and I have will meet each other only online for the next few days. So I went to town to get tested as well. At the harbour, a Merlin (Dværgfalk) waited for me.

Stay healthy and take care.

Hanelie

People at the bird station: Simon S. Christiansen, Hanelie Sidhu