Calm After The Storm and a Blåstjert!

After the past four days of stormy weather and strong East winds, it was great to get out birding in some slightly milder conditions. The conditions were so mild that for most of the day a mist/fog lay low over the sea and frequent showers of super fine rain fell in the area. It wasn’t until the afternoon the rain became heavier but was still good to be out.

Figure 1: The view from migration watchpoint by Thomas

This morning was very dark to start, and the sun never made it through the cloud this morning. Gustav and I went to migration watch while Simon and Hayley went ringing. Migration watch was different to recent, we were back at Worlds End 3 but something was different. The storms have added at least 1m of sand to some areas of the dunes, and it felt like walking over freshly fallen snow in other parts due to the windblown sand changing the entire landscape. Worlds End 4 (a new dune) has rapidly grown in the past four days and it will not be long before we can use this site to count birds!

 Migration watch itself was quiet in numbers but had a nice range of species recorded. Over 500 Common Scoter [Sortand] were the highest numbers of the day recorded with all birds heading SE, followed by good numbers of Velvet Scoter [Fløjlsand] too. Duck species have been a highlight of the past few days and it was nice to see Teal [Krikand], Wigeon [Pibeand], Long-tailed duck [Havlit], Scaup [Bjergand] and Pintail [Spidsand] moving again in low numbers. Regular flocks of Parrot Crossbill [Stor Korsnæb], Skylark [Sandlærke], Twite [Bjergirisk] and Snow Buntings [Snespurv] entertained us during the quietest periods and we came back just after midday. We received a nice message from our guests as they had to depart today. It felt very rewarding and really showed how much they respected us as volunteers and the work that we do here at the bird observatory. So, thank you Soren and Karen Marie, you have been great this week!

Figure 2: A Woodcock caught this morning. One of three caught today. Pic by Simon

 Over at the ringing there was a bit of excitement with the first Firecrest [Rødtoppet Fuglekonge] and Woodcock [Skovsneppe] of the Autumn caught. The Woodcock [Skovsneppe] have only just arrived with the first sightings of these migrant waders being reported yesterday during night catching. However, Hayley and Simon located three during net rounds this morning alone meaning there must be more out there amongst the dunes and wet areas. The ringing totals (see below) were a welcome return to the ‘norm’ and this was probably helped due to the fog and misty rain causing birds to be in the bushes rather than migrating over at height. As a result, ringing continued for the whole of the morning and other species of note seen flying over included a flock of 100 Waxwing [Silkehale], a Water Pipit [Bjergpiber] and two Whooper Swans [Sangsvane]. Simon S.C joined the last round of ringing and the ringing team arrived back around 1pm.

Figure 3: There was a Red-flanked Bluetail [Blåstjert] here today by Thomas Weston

Due to the sun never showing itself and the threat of heavy rain, we all went out birding together around an industrial estate in Skagen. This area was an area we previously have visited and was sheltered enough for good numbers of Goldcrest [Fuglekonge]. With the recent easterly winds, it was presumed this could be a good place to try finding some nice passerines. We checked our normal spots and quickly found a couple of Blackbirds [Solsort], a few Great Tit [Musvit], a nice flock of Goldcrest [Fuglekonge], a ‘pale’ Siberian type/or intergrade Chiffchaff [Gransanger] and then a Red-flanked Bluetail [Blåstjert]. It was nice to get almost everyone who was present on to the bird (sorry Simon S.C) when it was stood on a nice branch, and then subsequently in flight, but to show for less than a minute or two come on! We sort of expected it would be hidden and come out again but after an hour and a half of waiting and watching, with help from a couple of local birders, there was no sign of the bird. This was the first of the species in Denmark this Autumn, the third record for Skagen Bird Observatory (1st field observation record), first local record since 2020 and only the 4th in the country over the last five years.

We came back to the observatory, had our evening meeting, and was provided with a lot of free food from Blik. The team have been super kind to us recently and we really appreciate the free food, even if it means we have had to eat cake (given by a variety of people) every day for the past one, or two or three weeks! I can only think of two days where cake hasn't been part of observatory meals.

A good end to the day, now on to the night catching!

***Edit: We caught 2 out of 5 Woodcock [Skovsneppe] seen this evening!!!***

Ringing totals

Ringing [Kabeltromlekrattet]

Total: 54

Ringing [Jennes Sø]

Total:35

Ringing [Grenen area]

Total: 2

Overall total: 91

Today’s observations on Dofbasen from observers in the area

People: Hayley Land, Gustav Nyberg, Simon Kiesé, Thomas Weston, Knud Pedersen; Simon S. Christiansen, Karen Marie & Søren Leth-Nissen.