We're Seeing Spots!

Earlier in the day, Hanelie set out for the harbor in hopes of coming across oystercatchers (Haematopus) that she heard were breeding on the flat roofs that are safely at bay of predators below. Unfortunately, she did not end up finding them, but she was able to spot as well as photograph the herring gull chicks (Sølvmåge) on the roof of some of the downtown buildings.

Herring Gull Chicks (Sølvmåge). Photo Credit: Hanelie Sidhu

As the day went on it quickly became what seemed to be the perfect day for orchid counting with Knud and his wife Inge. In the early afternoon, Hanelie, Alice, and I departed with Knud and Inge towards the area of Hulsig, where we selected specific fields for the counting of orchid individuals of three native species with the aid of our tally counters. The species we targeted were the distinctly white Platanthera bifolia (Bakke-Gogelilje), the very spotted Dactylorhiza maculata (Plettet Gøgeurt), and the astonishingly purple Dactylorhiza majalis (Purpur Gøgeurt). We spent a number of hours individually counting our sections of the vast fields, which we then tallied up to calculate the total number of individuals spotted of each species. By the end of the excursions, we had counted 8872 Platanthera bifolia (Bakke-Gogelilje), 10714 Dactylorhiza maculata (Spotted Cuckoo-herb), and 301 Dactylorhiza majalis (Purple Cuckoo-herb). A brief analysis of the total number of individuals of each species compared to last year's numbers indicated that more individuals were spotted compared to last year. The species with the highest jump in numbers compared to last year was the spotted orchid Dactylorhiza maculata (Plettet Gøgeurt) which doubled in numbered from over 5000 individuals to well over 10 000 individuals.

Dactylorhiza maculata (Spotted Cuckoo-herb) on the left,Dactylorhiza majalis (Purpur Gøgeurt) on the right. Photo Credit: Alice Scalzo

Platanthera bifolia (Bakke-Gogelilje). Photo Credit: Alice Scalzo

After our orchid excursion, Knud and Inge were kind enough to take us by their lovely home. For most of us it was the first time we had the pleasure of seeing a Danish home and backyard which to our surprise, Knud mentioned that in his garden alone he has spotted over 200 species of birds, many of whom were attracted by his fruit-laden trees. The couple also gave us a tour of their home, which was a wonderful opportunity for all of us to finally see the inside of the characteristically yellow homes that adorn Skagen, and gave us yet another discovery on our adventure in Denmark!

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

Observations of the day in DOFbasn from observers in the area

People at the station: Knud & Inge Pedersen, Esben E. Hansen,, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Rita DeLucco, our Guests.