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The Fog Cleared Up and the Birds Liked It!

søndag 9. marts 2025

af Roman Spilldooren

The day started with a thick layer of fog. Most of us took the time to catch up on some extra sleep in the morning, but Janna opened the net in the garden of the lighthouse. The first catch of the day were two Common Blackbirds (Solsort), one of which had been with a radio transmitter. It was a bird that had been caught and given a transmitter in Skagen on the 14 the of January 2024. We also received response that one of the blackbirds (Solsort) which was ringed in Skagen on the 18 of November sent a signal from West Finland!

Around 11 o'clock, the fog started to lift. Ragnar and Lucas immediately headed out to Grenen and found a Rough-legged Buzzard (Fjeldvåge). So, we all set off together for World's End 1. En route to World's End 1 we found the first really good numbers of sunbathing Adders. When we arrived, the passerine migration appeared to be still going on and there were also a few dozen common buzzards (Musvåge) attempting to migrate. The sea was completely smooth, which made it perfect for scanning the seaducks and to try and find marine mammals. Among the groups of migrating Starlings (Stær), Finches (bogfinke) and Siskin's (Grønsisken), we saw remarkably many Wood Larks (Hedelærke) attempting to migrate. We saw as many as 18, migrating across the dunes to the north. After counting migration for a while, Ragnar rediscovered the adult male King Eider (Kongeedderfugl)! A lifer for Cora and for many, the first adult male they have ever seen. What an impressive species! When Lucas walked towards the King Eider (Kongeedderfugl) for closer observation, he refound the second King Eider (Kongeedderfugl)! This time a 2k male. We all grabbed our gear and ran onto the beach to admire these two beauties.

Adult male King Eider (Kongeederfugl)

When we were at the beach, the new birds kept coming. Ragnar found a nice adult Black guillemot (Tejst) and the buzzards started to migrate above us. We then found a second (this time darker) Rough-legged Buzzard (Fjeldvåge). Everyone was very happy with all these cool species and sightings and being in such a good mood, we decided to try our luck at the migration watchpoint once again. When we arrived, our luck apparently couldn't run out as we found a pod of Dolphins but unfortunately, they were too far away to make the determination to species level. In a group of Barnacle Geese (Bramgås), we found 4 Taiga bean geese (Tajgasædgås) going straight over our heads.

We then decided to take advantage of the flat sea and do a good scan of the sea ducks. There, we found a Red-necked Grebe (Gråstrubet lappedykker) and a few Fulmars (Mallemuk). The good species apparently couldn't stop today as we suddenly heard a call of a Twite (Bjergirisk)! The first we saw this season! That was a lifer for Lucas and me. We decided to finish the day and left for Skagen to do some shopping.

When we got back to the station Simon had arrived at the station. We decided to take advantage of the last light, and it turned out to pay off. We saw some groups of Razorbills (Alk) and Guillemots (Lomvie) migrating in the Kattegat and a Bewick's Swan (Pibesvane) came flying over our heads (a species seen only a few days a year in Skagen). Suddenly we heard Ragnar say that he might have found something very good. He pointed out to us a group of Mallards flying far over the sea. Among the Mallards there was a duck flying that had feature of American Black Duck (Sortbrun And)! Unfortunately, the bird was flying too far to take good documentation photos, hopefully we will find it tomorrow. With that thought, we quickly crawled into our beds as it had been a long day and tomorrow looks promising.

The Blackbird (Solsort) with tag we recaught!