Foggy Friday Feelings

A change in the wind direction led to the wind coming from the south. This weather brought a moist warm front that brought birds and fog to Skagen. A very different, but much appreciated change for the team as the temperature did not require as many layers as the previous few days which have been a little on the chilly and sandier side.

Myself and Mara ringing at Kabeltromlen. Thanks Emma for the photo of us at work.

Due to the fog, migration counts were not undertaken as nobody could see the sea. As a result, Mara, Simon and I went to Kabeltromlen where we managed to open all of the nets. The first two net rounds were surpringly busy with birds migrating through the bushes rather than the sky. This resulted in nice numbers of Redwing (Vindrossel), Mistle Thrushes (Misseldrossel) and Fieldfare (Sgagger) flying around the lighthouse/Kabeltromlen just before dark before diving into any bushes they could see as the sun rose. The rounds were not only joined by our feathered friends, but Ragnar and Emma too so the whole team united for a moment in the field. We were also joined by a couple of couples, our guests, some passing birders and one very cute dog (Igor) so a busy little session.

Due to the lack of visibility at Worlds End 3, Emma undertook an inland observation watch where she counted all the visible migrants passing the ringing site overhead. Highlights from her observations included Water Pipit (Bjægpiber), a flock of Bearded Tits/Reedlings (Skægmejse), a Ring Ouzel (Ringdrossel) in the bushes, and 2 Sparrowhawks (Spurvhog) using the lifting cloud base to find smaller passerines. On the other hand, Ragnar enjoyed a little lie in as he was running a tour for a group this morning for a couple of hours. There were in fact two groups walking around, and Ragnar’s arrived at the right time seeing Goldcrest (Fuglekonge) and Redwing (Vindrossel) in the hand is not an everyday occurrence for people and showed just how crazy these migrants are! His group wandered off to Elle Krattet and the tip looking for wildlife. The group had a great time, despite poor visibility, and were very very happy. For the guests, seeing small and large birds up close was fun and interesting but what I find crazy is the number of migrant Wrens (Gærdesmutte) we caught today, making up over half the number of the catch, followed by Robins (Rødhals). Two migrants most people assume are ‘just their usual garden birds’, but here migrants leaving the colder weather that will sink through soon.

Look at this funky looking Wren (Gærdesmutte) who obviously had a hard time growing its last two primary feathers (P1 and P2) ahead of migration! A nice pic by Mara showing this odd bit of leucism.

An unexpected gift from one of the kind couples who watched the ringing all morning was some cake! This was much appreciated, and it did not make it back the observatory which is not a problem as on arrival to the observatory, we had been gifted even more cake by Simon’s family. I have stared to get some de ja vu to last autumn when cake was a staple diet for the observatory team. However, we ate lunch, Mara and I opened a couple of the garden nets (with no success) whilst we inputted ringing data from today. We also checked previously entered data with very few corrections needed, good work team! Ragnar, Emma and Simon went out on a trip to the industrial estate to find migrants and came back with news of lots of Goldcrests (Fuglekonge). Evening meeting was undertaken and the team have either been napping or undertaking odd bits and bobs as the fog is really making people feel sleepy today. Anyways, Ragnar went shopping and at the time of wiritng is making some food and we will be going out nightcatching for a little all being well and the weather is not too damp.

The team completed their relevant ‘office’ tasks and had a relaxed afternoon ready for nightcatching later.

Highlights from the observatory:

• An impressive number of Wrens (Gærdesmutte) caught and ringed today.
• A couple of Water Pipits (Bjægpiber) in the reedbeds.
• Thrush movement continues….
• A flock of 12 Bearded reedlings [Skægmejse].

Ringing totals

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)

Total: 36

Ringing (Jennes Sø)

Total: 6

Overall total: 42

Today’s observations on Dofbasen from observers in the area

People: Michael Ancher, Thomas Weston, Ragnar Smith, Mara Glane, Rasmus Matthiesen, Emma Fabré, Jeppes and Linda, Simon Sigaard Christiansen.