A sunny omen

A jaw-dropping sunrise greeted James and I on our way out to the tip for observations this morning which felt like a good omen. The pinks, yellows, purples and oranges were dazzling and really showed off Grenen at its best.

We joined Rolf and set up our scopes for some observation and although there had been many thrushes (drossels) accompanying us on the path along the dunes, the rest of the scene was pretty quiet. It turned out that the good omen was not for our observations, but for the ringing. Quite soon after we had arrived at World’s End, our phones started going off - messages from Molly in the ringing area to say that a Little Bunting (Dværgværling) had been caught in the nets. We rushed down to see it - Molly was ringing with Oluf and Jørgen (and Igor) and there was quite a lot of excitement, especially for such a little bird!

There were just a few other birds in the net today, a total of twenty two including recaptures. James and I returned to World’s End where Rolf heard 7 Parrot Crossbills (Stor Korsnæb) and on the way back to the lighthouse for lunch we came across a lonely seal pup snoozing on the beach.

Back at the lighthouse, volunteer Stine Lund joined us for the weekend. She volunteered here back in June and liked it so much she had to come back! We hope she will enjoy being back at Skagen Fuglestation - especially for European Birdwatch Day on Saturday. The afternoon was spent cleaning Birder’s Club and the Lab ready for what could be a busy few days ahead.

Birds caught: 1 Little Bunting (Dværgværling), 1 Chiffchaff (Gransanger), 1 Goldcrest (Fuglekonge), 1 Robin (Rødhals), 1 Yellowhammer (Gulspurv) 1 Wren (Gærdesmutte), 1 Coal Tit (Sortmesje), 1 Blue Tit (Blåmejse), 1 Chaffinch (Bogfinke), 2 Blackcap (Munk), 3 Reed Buning (Rorspurv), 3 Great Tits (Musvit)

People: Molly Brown, James Butcher, Sarah Bedford, Stine Lund, Oluf Lou, Rolf Christensen, Jørgen Kabel and Igor.