Raptors, Flycatchers, Vultures and many more

Waking up to dark and early morning and pleasant 9°C weather, Lauren, Yehonatan and I cycled out to the ringing site at 4am, greeted by a beautiful orange glow in the sky. It was again, a fantastically beautiful and peaceful environment to cycle in, listening to bird songs and watching them flitting through trees and shrubs. After setting up the nets, we walked back to the ringing station and were thrilled to find a few birds caught in the net, foreshadowing the busy birding activity to come.

We were soon flooded with birds, both in the nets and up in the sky, and we needed two  people to ring birds to catch the next round. I quickly scribed data, while Michael (who joined us later), helped to get more rings back at the Lighthouse. Despite the windy weather, there were unexpectedly many birds today, including firsts of the year for the station and firsts for us, such as the Tree Pipit (Anthus Trivialis), Wood Warbler (Phylloscopus Sibilatrix), Garden Warbler (Sylvia Borin), and even some surprises, like the Northern Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus Trochilus Acredula) subspecies, and a Spring visitor Redpoll (Carduelis Flammea) from Sweden!

Tree Pipit

Wood Warbler
Looking up and out whenever we could, we saw flocks of Fieldfares (Turdus Pilaris) and over 200 Tree Pipits and voleries of over 150 Yellow Wagtails (Motacilla Flava) constantly flying past. Other birders who came to accompany us while we ringed pointed us to a Crossbill and Ring Ouzels perched on tree branches and helped us spot the bird of the day, the extraordinary Griffon Vulture (Gyps Fulvus) that made it onto Northern Jutlands news.

Griffon Vulture (Photo Credit: Lisa Vergin)
Raptor activity is in full bloom today. Besides the star of the day, there were also a Lesser Spotted eagle (Clanga Pomarina), 2 Red-footed Falcons (Falco Vespertinus), 20+ Honey Buzzards (Pernis Apivorus), 5 Black Kites (Milvus Migrans), 2 Pallid Harriers (Circus Macrourus) counted. Additionlly, there were also 3 White Storks, and Dante also saw Orioles and Bluethroats while observing and counting.
The bird migration season here is so different from Singapore’s but just as thrilling. Witnessing and experiencing it here while ringing and observing, I have seen, held and released many birds here, and am glad to contribute to the understanding of bird movements, population changes and its conservation efforts. I have also handling and extracted birds with the kind guidance and trust of Simon and the team. It is very interesting to see species that behave and look so familiar, and yet so foreign compared back home.

Learning bits and pieces of bird classification, identification, behavioral and ecological knowledge from everyone with the limited time I have here has been an immensely valuable experience. Also learning the names of many bird species in both Danish and English has been enjoyable, with locals demonstrating the pronunciations while I try my best to articulate them well. Eating cakes bought by lovely birders who accompanied us ringing and hearing the stories of birding ventures and the plans for the observatory, I am grateful for the opportunity to spend my time here at the Skagen Fuglestation and with the team and birders in Skagen.

Till next time!
Ying :-)

Skagen Fuglestation: Simon S. Christiansen Yehonatan Ben Aroia, Michael Colley, Toh Ying Ying, Dante Shepherd, Lauren Evans.