Good weather

In a nice twist, the weather was very nice today. The sun showed itself for most of the day without many clouds, and the wind wasn't as strong as the last few days. It topped off at 17 degrees Celsius which made raptor watching a good choice for me as the morning warmed up. I went to Saftevandsbakken around 10am, just as the raptors seemed to be appearing. I was very lucky to spot a small gathering of Musvåge and Hvepsevåge (Common and Honey Buzzard). Among them, in the distance, was a larger bird, that I later identified as the Steppeørn (Steppe Eagle)! It was a new bird for me to see, though the other volunteers and birdwatchers in the area told me it was to be expected as it had returned consecutively with the warm weather since May. Unfortunately though, I wasn't totally blessed with the weather. After just an hour of raptor watching, the winds changed and became a bit unfavourable and most of the birds of prey I did see were actually returning south.

After finishing up watching the raptors go by, I made my way to Grenen for the first time in a couple days. I sat at one of the World's End seawatching sites on the dunes at first, where I saw a Rød Glente (Red Kite), Tårnfalk (Common Kestrel) and a Hvepsevåge. Afterwards I headed to the beach, where I came across a large, mixed roosting flock of terns and gulls. I counted over 400 total terns and gulls. Among them were some waders, such as an Almindelig Ryle (Dunlin) and a Mudderklire (Common Sandpiper). I also saw two Almindelig Kjove (Arctic Skua) from the beach.

 You can find a list of today's observations here.

Skagen Fuglestation: Seán Walsh, Lars & Janne.