When we woke up early in the morning, we could not even see the Kattegat due to heavy fog. Without the physicalic possibility to see birds, you can’t count them so we stayed and had a nice after-sleep-nap. Highly motivated as always we decided to set up the first nets at Kabeltromlen. We want to start ringing next week, so some preparation is necessary.

It was still foggy but there was no wind. This brought us some nice birds like two singing Bitterns (Rørdrum), Treecreeper (Træløber) or White Wagtails (Hvid Vipstjert). We did very well and soon we had 120m of nets up. Then some raptors started migrating, too.

In the meanwhile, Simon Sr. collected some samples in nothern Denmark for a cool project.

Looks like he did very well, right?!

In the afternoon, the weather became worse but after finishing „The big year“ and watching an documentary about Twitchers we went for one more walk to the beach. After a nice dinner (thanks to Johanna and Magnus) we finished the day with some data entry.

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area.

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People: Mira Kieckbusch, Isis Khalil, Magnus H. Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Johanna Veentjer, Simon S. Christiansen.

Hej allesammen,

this day started as usual with morning observations, and all five of us were out again. We decided to count from Worlds End 1 today. The highlight of the morning was definitely a Shag (Topskarv), the one species we have been aiming for the last days. Even though the numbers weren’t that high, we still got quite a nice variety of species for such a slow day.

After having lunch together, we had a talk with Simon about wre the nets for the upcoming ringing season are going to be put up by us. All of us are looking forward for the first ringing day next week!

Niels Eriksen, one of the chairmen of Skagen Bird Observatory visited the station in the afternoon. He also brought some cake for us, which was very kind.  

At the moment we usually use the afternoon to enter data and other tasks that have to be done and then go out in the field for a second time.

Us on our afternoon walk threw the beautiful landscape

Today we went for a walk through the area around the station and we could not believe the absolut absence of wind. When we went back along the beach, we were almost not able to tell the sea apart from the sky, the light tones of blue were just fading into each other, so fascinating!

People at the station:  Isis Khalil, Niels Eriksen, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Mira Kieckbusch, Johanna Veentjer, 

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area

Sum of the Raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day

This morning Isis and Simon went out to do the morning observation. All observation from the three hours fitted on one page of the little notebooks, so you can tell, that the birds weren’t in the mood for migrating. But there were a young Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge) and a Red-necked Grebe (Gråstrubet Lappedykker), the first one we saw this season.

The rest of us had the chance to sleep a little bit longer, and spend the morning with a really great breakfast, not in a hurry to go to the observation as usual. After that, we started a Fulmar survey. With the sun in the face, the wind blew us the 10 km from Grenen to Gammel Skagen. We didn’t find any Fulmars (Mallemuk), but instead of them, we collected a lot of trash from the beach. It is shocking every time, how much plastic and old fishing gear you can find along the loneliest and wildest coastlines.

While one part of our group was still at the Fulmar survey, Isis and Simon went to a dead Mute Swan (Knopsvane), that was reported at the beach, between the lighthouse and the harbour and that had a ring. After a little research they found out, that this swan was ringed 11,5 years ago at Sjælland.

(Picture: Isis Khalil)

Simon and Simon picked the Fulmar survey-group up at Gammel Skagen and we drove to the harbour, where they had found another Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge) earlier that day. The gull was in presenting mood and flew around us a couple of times, so that we had a perfect view and were able to take some good pictures.

Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge). Picture: Simon Kiesé

People: Johanna Veentjer, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Mira Kieckbusch, Simon S. Christiansen

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area

Sum of the Raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day

…And somehow the weather got even worse. With wind gusts of up to 34 mph and an overcast sky, the morning looked uninviting in just about every way. Nonetheless, Johanna and Magnus made their journey over to Nordstrand for the migration count since it’s slightly more sheltered than World’s End 3. 

While they were there, Simon, Mira, and I went on a stunning walk to Jenne Sø hoping to meet Michael Ancher and his mist nets. 

Mira and Simon on the boardwalk.

When we saw that he was not there, we headed over to an old abandoned building nearby where Simon K. told us about a mythical photo of Simon C. playing the piano in sunglasses. We all had a laugh and then headed towards Michael Ancher’s house to see if he was ringing over there. We found Michael there and introduced ourselves. Unfortunately, although Michael had his nets open, there was not a single bird today. Not even one Common Redpoll [Gråsisken]! So we were destined to continue our walk down towards the town of Skagen, through some beautiful woods, and then finally along the main road back to the lighthouse. 

Mira and Simon on a dock.

At Nordstrand migration was slow. Johanna and Magnus were grateful for the shelter from the wind, but sadly saw almost no inland migration and very little happening at sea. During a quick pause from looking through the scope, Johanna and Magnus stumbled upon a little beetle that is actually quite important! This beetle is called an Early Blister Beetle [Klitplasterbille - Apalus bimaculatus] and has not been reported in Denmark in recent years!

Early Blister Beetle [Klitplasterbille - Apalus bimaculatus]. (Picture by: Johanna Veentjer).

After our adventures in the morning, we took some time to unwind together in the afternoon. Some of us read through the ringer’s manual, some of us entered data into DOFbasen, and some of us studied. It was very nice to take a little break together. Magnus went into town to see a game of basketball and managed to run into some snow! He was then met by the rest of the team to go look for some Bohemian Waxwings [Silkehale] in town. This trip was unsuccessful, but we did get a nice amount of groceries to last us for the next few days!

Snow in town. (Picture by: Magnus Houen Lauritsen).

Finally, in the evening, Mira prepared some amazing summer rolls for us and we discussed all the strange different culinary habits that exist in Scandinavia and around the world. We considered having a movie night, but in the end decided it was much too late and we had to be up early again tomorrow, so the movie will have to wait another day. 

All the fresh ingredients Mira prepared for our summer rolls.

That’s all for today! See you again soon…

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area.

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People: Johanna Veentjer, Mira Kieckbusch, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Michael Ancher

The weather this morning was in great contrast to the weather the day before. We all got up by 05.35, got some breakfast and headed out for today's observation. It turned out to be freezingly cold, with temperatures around 1-2 degrees and winds at 10m/s.

The birds didn’t really like it either, despite the Awks, whose numbers turned out to be okay at 3000 specimens during the shortened observation, at three hours. The rare species was not to be seen, and with the same weather the upcoming days, we may experience the same conditions.

The rest of the day was spent in the lighthouse cleaning, washing clothes and other practical things. Saturday is always cleaning day here at the observatory. Simon (SK) and Magnus had their ringing license renewed. Johanna created an account on the national database for species, called “Arter”, and registered the plants and insects we have seen the last few days.

Otiorhynchus atroapterus. A weevil from the dunes between Det Grå Fyr and Skagen, which was registered on Arter.

Four of the volunteers went for a walk to Skagen City, while Isis made a delicious dinner for all of us. After dinner we went for a battle in table tennis, followed by a walk to the top of the lighthouse.

The last time before bed was spend in the living room, where we “hyggede” (Danish word for having a good time.) until we had to get some sleep.

Ringing (Jennes Sø):

Ringdue 1

Nordlig Gråsisken 44

Blåmejse 1

Solsort 1

Total: 47

Here is the link to the NocMig-count from last night on trektellen.

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area.

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People: Mira Kieckbusch, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Johanna Veentjer, Simon S. Christiansen.

The most wanted thing of us was to have nice weather after the period of coldness and wind. Yesterday was already relly nice, but today should top it! When we went out to head towards World’s End 3, we had this beautiful view:

You get the best view, if you are close to the end of the world.

Beside of the beautiful weather, the birds did not disappoint us, too. Some Songbirds were migrating and I could spot two high flying Wood Larks (Hedelærke). We could also hear the sharp calls of a Grey Wagtail (Bjergvipstjert). Many flocks of Whooper Swans (Sangsvane) – often found by their beautiful call – migrated east and summed up to a nice total of 580 birds! We could also pick out 11 Bewick’s Swans (Pibesvane). 10 Pink-footed Goose (Kortnæbbet Gås) flew south, which was a bit weird, since we would expect them to fly home now. Since the Sea was super flat, we saw way more roosting birds than usual. As a nice highlight, two Black-throated Divers (Sortstrubet Lom) were swimming close by.

Then the first Marsh Harrier (Rørhøg) of the year popped up, what a nice surprise. Is it finally getting spring? No! The biggest surprise of the day reminds on the coldest times of the year. A 2nd year Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge) flew directly over us. What a crazy observation! Fortunately, I had my camera ready but I did not have enough time to zoom in, because it was already so close. So enjoy this great bird – the picture is taken with 200mm focal length.

More than 5000 Jackdaws (Allike), 30 Rooks (Råge) and 300 Carrion Crows (Gråkråge) also made their way over the Sea. What a nice count!

In the afternoon, a part of us decided to go to Råbjerg Mile on train. The highlight was an lichen species, which was extinct for a while in Denmark. The nice nature was really enjoyable, so the motivation was high enough to go all the way back on bike. Another part of us entered Ringdata with Simon Sr. and proofed if our MOTUS-antenna is still working (it is!). Yet another part of our team had a walk to look for raptors. Their highlight was a young Goshawk (Duehøg). So everybody used the afternoon to be productive or to enjoy the nice weather. In the evening we saw four Woodcocks (Skovsneppe) foraging under the amazing sky full of stars. What a wonderful day with a wonderful companion!

The seal is also enjoying the sun. (pic by Isis)

Ringing (Jennes Sø):

Total: 35

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area.

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People at the station: Mira Kieckbusch, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Johanna Veentjer, Simon S. Christiansen.

After the short night we had due to the nightctaching-success Simon and Magnus had the evening before, we were all out early today, as we were looking forward for a bright morning. It is very interesting to see how fast the weather can change in Skagen. As the counting conditions were quite tough yesterday, today turned out to be sunny and with almost no wind. We started counting at World Ends 3 already before sunrise. Due to the calm wind conditions migration was not very high in numbers, but we had quite a nice variety of species.

One of our highlights this morning were definitely the Bewick’s Swans (Pibesvane). It was a pleasure to see them! Besides the Bewick’s we also had Whooper Swans (Sangsvane), some flocks of geese, especially the 37 Taigabeangeese (Tajgasædgås) should be mentioned at this point, and right in front of us at Grenen some Snow Buntings (Snespurv) decided to see how we were doing.

Mira and Simon counting at World's End 3

The conditions we were facing today were also quite typical for Jackdaw (Allike) migration. They are coming form the Inland in smaller groups and then gather in big flocks just over the tip before they go out over the sea.

After we went back from migration, we had a dip in the sea just at the beach right next to the lighthouse. That was fun and quite cold at the same time!

In the afternoon we decided to go “roun roun” with the bikes again and ended up at den Tilsandene Kirke in the South of Skagen. Unfortunately, the door was closed so we couldn’t get up there, but anyways, it was amazing to explore the area around there.

Now we are back at the station, I am sitting in our hygge livingroom and I can hear the ships hooting out there at the sea because of the heavy fog that has now enveloped Skagen.

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area.

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People at the station: Mira Kieckbusch, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Johanna Veentjer

Probably everyone thought that the weather couldn´t get worse after yesterday, but Johanna and Magnus experienced today, that it was possible. In the last day there was really cold wind and a lot of flying sand. Well, what is missing to that, to make it even more uncomfortable? Right, rain and snow. Nevertheless, Johanna and Magnus went out today to make the morning observation at Worlds End 3 and they stayed out for two hours. Due to the weather, there was no much migration going on, but they saw a Great Northern Diver (Islom) and some Common Scoter (Sortand) migration near the coast. But the rest of us was also really into finding rare birds, as you can see in the photo below.

In the afternoon we went out with Simon C. and Lisa to find the Red-breasted Goose (Rødhalset Gås) that was reported near Råbjerg Kirke. We saw a flock of ornithologists, but the Red-breasted Goose didn´t show up, although we looked at a stubblefield with some different geese (White-fronted Goose (Blisgås), Greylag Goose (Grågås), Barnacle Goose (Bramgås), Shelduck (Gravand)) for quite a long time. Probably it sat in the stubble field and laughed at all the people around the field, with scopes, binoculars and cameras.

If you can’t look at a red-breasted goose, you have to find other things, so there was a bet about the number of Red Polls (Gråsisken) in a flock. You can see a picture of the flock below, so everyone can estimate, how many birds are there. The solution, you find in the end of this blog entry, Magnus and Simon counted every bird in the flock shown in that picture.

While I am writing this blog entry and Johanna is making dinner, Magnus and Simon are out, with the big goal to catch a Bittern (Rørdrum). They already caught a Woodcock (Skovsneppe), a really active one. Now there are out again, and we will see what the evening will bring. We will keep you updated if they catch a bittern or fall in the swamp. Or probably both…

P.S.: They fell in the water. Not for a Bittern (Rørdrum), but for a Greylag Goose (Grågås), we ringed with Simon C. and Lisa afterwards.

Solution: There are 1013 Redpolls in the flock.

People: Johanna Veentjer, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kisé, Mira Kieckbusch, Lisa Vergin and Simon S. Christiansen

Link to todays observations from observers in the area

Sum of the Raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day 

Hello everyone! This is Isis tuning in for the first time. It would appear as though I have quite a high standard to adhere to in this blog. I will try my best not to disappoint James (our recently departed) by overriding all his wise teachings regarding the English language. Skagen is truly beautiful, my first couple of days were cloudy and foggy, unfortunately, but when the sun came out yesterday we were all overjoyed to see the beautiful horizon again. 

Beautiful view of the sunny sky and sea from our lodgings. 

With the sun, however, came a toe-curling cold spell. After our windy, and sandy morning yesterday, we did not believe things could get worse.. (this will be followed up later). 

Since we were not able to go night catching last night (due to Simon C. being on a quest out of town), we spent the night playing Wingspan (Magnus had never played before!). It may be a bit stereotypical, to say the least, for bird observatory volunteers to spend their evening bonding over bird-themed board games, but it was a great way to unwind and tap into our competitive sides! Although some -Ahem, Simon and Mira- may have taken this competitive nature a bit too far, as they were caught in the very act of cheating (usually by accident, I must confess). During this, Magnus generously prepared some Danish sweets for us and tested our ability to swirl sugary icing over the top, Simon excelled at this task.

Simon had the most points! Whether he continued to cheat his way to the top remains a mystery…

When we woke up at our regular, painfully early, hour of the morning, we were horrified to find out that it could, in fact, get worse. This morning was not only colder, but also more windy than yesterday. Nonetheless, we swung our cold-resistant gear on and made our way over to World’s End 3. The cold did not stop the morning from being stunning, the way the wind carried the sand across the beach looked very mesmerizing. 

A group of gulls flying into the sunrise.

Migration was slow, as can be expected by the heavy winds. Most of us were in an ongoing battle with the unrelenting wind and the constant sting of sand in our face. The sand got everywhere.. And I mean everywhere. In fact, I can still feel it in my eyes as I am typing this right now. We decided to finish an hour early, since little migration was happening due to these unfortunate weather conditions. Magnus believes he may have seen a White-Tailed Eagle [havørn], but whether it was that or an Osprey [Fiskeørn] remains a mystery due to how far away it was from our observation point. Based on other observations around Skagen (and the time of year), it was most likely a White-Tailed Eagle [havørn] though. In addition to this, we saw four Common Buzzards [Musvågen] and another European Shag [Topskarv] today (yet again Magnus failed to see it). 

The sun slowly rises over the team.

After we had done the migration monitoring, we returned to the apartment for some food. To our surprise, after eating we came to find out that the bike keys were not in their usual place, so we had to go on a little scavenger hunt. We were not successful, but luckily a kind lady from downstairs was able to help us open the shed and take out the bikes. Although quite a few bikes are broken, we still had some fun riding around and picking out our bikes. 

Mira trying out her new bike.

We also received a beautiful delivery from Peter Jürgensen today. This involved a taxidermy of an Atlantic Puffin [Søpapegøje] and a Bohemian Waxwing [Silkehale]. Both were collected by members of the Skagen Bird Observatory team.

Atlantic Puffin [Søpapegøje] and Bohemian Waxwing [Silkehale].

To wrap up the day, Johanna baked a delicious banana cake and then Magnus and Simon went out to attempt some night catching. They were unsuccessful, but when they returned they had some delicious pizzas waiting for them (which I’m sure were most appreciated)!

Johanna’s banana cake. It was extremely delicious.

That’s all for today, I look forward to the next few months at Skagen. I have heard the weather might still have a couple more evil tricks up its sleeve though…

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area.

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People: Johanna Veentjer, Mira Kieckbusch, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen.

This question will be answered in a few seconds, but before that I have to tell you about yesterday evening. Isis and I went out nightcatching to Grenen. Unfortunetely, we did not find any birds. In anyway some sleeping Seals (Sæl) and a cute Yellow-necked Mouse (Halsbåndmus – Apodemus flavicollis) were nice to see. When we looked into the sky, a weak greenish shine colored the sky between the clouds: aurora (Nothern Lights)! We continued round round and I finally spotted a Woddcock (Skovsneppe) in the thermal camera. It was Isis’s first attemp with the handnet, but she nailed it so a few seconds later we hold the bird in our hand and walked back to ring it.

Such a cool bird: look at it's eyes, which can look 360 degree around.

The only bad thing about this evening was, that I lost one of the torches. Spoiler – I found it again the next day and it still works.

Finally, the question „What is that?“ will be answered! It’s the sun! When we left the station to head to World’s End 3 for the daily count, we saw a warm colored, shiny object coming out of the sea and rising at the sky. After some discussions and a look into the field guide we agreed, that it must be the sun, we have not seen for a while. What a beautiful morning!

The mystery is solved - it's the sun!

The count started busy, since there were many Razorbills (Auk) and Guillemots (Lomvie) migrating. While Magnus was focussed on getting good numbers of those, the other volunteers (including me) counted the various remaining species.

Nice view from World's End 3. In this hour Magnus focussed on the Auks in Kattegat.

It was a nice mix of songbird migration and seabirds (havfugle), quantity and quality. Since they are super hard to see back home in Germany, I really hoped to get the chance to see a Iceland Gull (Hvidvinget Måge) in Skagen. When I spotted a young gull in the size of a Common Gull (Stormmåge) with shining through white primaries I directly knew that it has to be this species. Yeah! Unfortunately, it was quite far away, so I’m still hoping there will be a roosting one soon. The second highlight of the day was much closer: A Shag (Topskarv) showed up in the best sunlight and a short distance. That was really nice to see, since it was also for Mira the first pretty one. Also a Grey Wagtail (Bjergvipstjert) attempted to migrate. Since the wind was pretty cold, we were happy to leave after the standardised four hours to have a nice breakfast in the Bird Obs.

In the afternoon, Johanna and I entered the numbers from the count in dofbasen. Afterwards Simon Sr. showed us the plans, the station has this year. There are some exciting projects and there will be many highlights, but I don’t want to look to far in the future right now, because every day here is a lot of fun right now. Then we went for a walk to Nordstrand. The beach was super pretty in the afternoon sunshine and we looked for stones, shells and other potentially interesting objects close to shore. It was a really nice walk.

When we passed Kabeltromlen on the way back, we stopped in hope to hear a Bittern (Rørdrum) but except for calling Waterrails (Vandriksen) we could not hear any birds in the wind. So I tried to immitate the deep call of a Bittern. Just one moment later a real Bittern called. How cool is that?! Let’s just believe, it really answered to me for a moment. Don’t steel me my imagination. ;-) Isis prepared a nice dinner and afterwards we started with some nice evening activities. I’m really happy to be back at the station. It is just a beautiful place and there are so many nice people around. I really enjoy to see good friends again, but it’s also great to meet new awesome people. You can see – I’m ready for a super fun exciting season!

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area.

People: Johanna Veentjer, Mira Kieckbusch, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen.