Comings and Goings

Purple Sandpiper (Sortgrå Ryle) by Ragnar.

No migration counts of any kind today, but Knud was out early this morning. He had an amazing morning sighting some Orcas (Spækhugger), 16 Black-headed gulls (Hættemåge), 13 Caspian Gulls (Kaspisk Måge) and an Iceland Gull (Hvidvinget Måge) all from the Worlds End 3 area. After a quiet start, alerted by the messge Mara went out to see the gulls but ended up finding two late Stonechats (Sortstrubet bynkefugl), a presumed overwintering pair before a chill afternoon was had. Ragnar had a quiet morning too and saw two Purple Sandpipers (Sortgrå Ryle) near the obs, which may or may not have been the same two seen this morning from the kitchen. A quiet afternoon was had by him too. Eleanor and I walked into Skagen to catch the train to go to the airport. The last week in Skagen sharing this area has been incredible and really does prove what an amazing place we are very fortunate to live and work in. A bit of a crazy whistlestop tour of everything Skagen Fuglestation resulted in a range of tasks being completed. On the train today we ended up seeing Hen Harrier (Blå kærhøg), a Grey Heron (Fiskehejren), flocks of Whooper Swans (Sangsvane) and large pre-roost flocks of Jackdaws (Allike). Eleanor departed back to the UK but will be back for sure when possible. I departed back to the obs, but in a half sleep state ended up going halfway to Hirtshals, ooops. I rerouted myself and three trains later I was back in Skagen.

Smew (Lille skallesluger) in Copenhagen by Emma.

Thank you to Simon, a lift was had and quickly back at the obs. Ragnar made a nice meal this evening and Emma returned from her travels to Copenhagen where she saw a range of waterfowl and birds including Smew (Lille skallesluger). A species she had been keen to see for a long time and ended up seeing them almost everyday!

Highlights from the observatory:

• Orca (Spækhugger)
• Iceland Gull (Hvidvinget Måge)

Ringing totals

No ringing today

Overall total: 0

Today’s observations on Dofbasen from observers in the area

People: Eleanor Harris, Thomas Weston, Knud Pederson, Mara Glane, Ragnar Smith, Emma Fabre & Simon Sigaard Christiansen.