Sunday Funday!

Good evening! We have a couple of fun things to share about our time at Skagen Fuglestation today :)! 

Just before sunrise, Alice and Hanelie went on the first shift for laser tagging and raptor migration monitoring at Grenen. The weather was not for ringing. Therefore, we are focusing on other tasks, both at the station and elsewhere.

While Alice and Hanelie were on the first shift this morning, we were able to cut the grass around the nets to prepare for when we do ring again. Around 7:30am, Leona and I headed up there for the second shift, where we all immediately spotted two Arctic Skuas (Almindelig kjove) flying around the point! It was awesome to see them weaving around each other through the sky!

Photo: Alice, Hanelie and Leona observing the Arctic Skuas at Grenen

While we did not have any notable migration observations today, we did have something exciting happen! While we were waiting for the next transect, we heard over Zello that the recently spotted Bearded Vulture (Lammegribben) was observed circling over Skagen city center. After hearing this, we all set our scopes and binoculars towards that direction in hopes of catching a glimpse of the majestic raptor. Shortly after this announcement, we saw the Bearded Vulture (Lammegribben) itself, breaking through the clouds and flying over us at Grenen! It continued to fly higher until it circled back around and headed back in the south direction. It was truly a magnificent site to behold!

After this, we all returned to the station and grabbed a few essential ringing items before heading off to find Lapwing (Vibe) chicks! Leona had spotted protective parents just a few days prior and we had suspicions that there may chicks within this area. Just as suspected, we were able to locate a brood and we ringed one of the chicks before leaving it back to its parents. It was very exciting to be able to hold a Lapwing (Vibe) chick in the hand!

Photo: Lapwing (Vibe) chick!

In other events, Hanelie’s mother is in Skagen and came to visit us a few times so far at the station! After scoping out and clearing additional lanes for nets at KAB, Hanelie took her mother to see the cormorants nesting around the nearby lake. In addition, we said farewell to our guests Kristine and Jan! It was an absolute treasure having them with us during this week and we look forward to their return in the future.

Tomorrow, Alice and Hanelie are planning to meet up with Marion and Hanalie’s mother before heading on to Hirsholm. Meanwhile, Leona and I will be brainstorming and drafting up activities for the Birder’s Club space. If you’re around the Skagen area, please come check out our Birder’s Club space for yourself here at the station!

All in all, it was a very fun Sunday. We were super excited to see the Bearded Vulture (Lammegribben) up close and to ring the Lapwing (Vibe) chick! Thank you for reading about our adventures and please stay tuned for our next daily blog post!

Have a great start to the week!

With aloha,
Megan