When I went into the kitchen this morning, you could see the dark but reddish sky shining over the dark blue sea. It lookes amazing and my motivation for this day was really high. This changed a bit, when we went our and felt the freezing cold wind for the first time of the day and we knew, this wind will be our company for the rest of the day. Luckily, Lars gave Magnus and me a lift to Nordstrand, where we started the count. The numbers of Gannets (Sule) and Sisken (Grønsisken) where nice over the day, but there was literally nothing else to count. At least the morning sun gave the landscape some nice colours.

In the third hour four Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove) showed up at the same time so I thought that will be the only highlight of the count. This changed, when just a few minutes later a (the) 2nd cy Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge) popped up at the beach, headed in our direction and flew so close over our heads, that the lush views (with and without the binos) made me laugh. Three hours without good migration where enough for this day!

Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge) - picture by Oliver Madsen

The ringers experiences the same slowness, but made the very best out of it. Keeping the nets open, even if there were rounds without any birds got rewarded with two birds, that made Hanelie, Hayley and Isis smile. The first Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger) of the ringing year got more attention, than this species (of this subspecies) will ever get again. Look at this cool passerine!

The biggest bird of the day was definitely this female Sparrowhawk (Spurvehøg).

After coming back from the count we had a very nice breakfast. Magnus fried some eggs and I made a good black tea. It was a very nice birthday breakfast for me and it  was nice to warm up again. At one point we went up the lighthouse with a scope. The overview is amazing and we saw one Merlin (Dværgfalk) passing by. In the twenty minutes 90 Curlews (Storspove) migrated east, which was a lot in comparision to the previous counts.

Even special days like this are used for data entry and we compared some numbers with those of the last years and talked about arrival dates of some possible scarcities, which could turn up soon. Until now the numbers of raptors are very low, mainly due to the weather of the past weeks. No, I don’t complain – the Steppe Eagle yesterday was amazing! But it is interesting to learn what this tells us about bird migration and which factors can affect it. Otherwise for example Guillemots (Lomvie) have a strong year so far – far over the average. Let’s see what the season will bring. Or what today will bring. It’s just 4:44 pm, so let’s hope, that there are plenty of reasons to edit the blog later. ;-)

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: Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Hanelie Sidhu, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Lars Askholm, our guests Oliver, Margit and Claus.

While on the way to open the nets, we saw a Stone Marten (Husmår) crossing the road! That was a fun surprise. For the rest, things were quite slow at Kabeltromlen. We had two lovely male Eurasian Blackcaps (Munk), and since all their measurements were very similar we decided to name them both “Keith”. 

The Keith Twins. (Male Eurasian Blackcaps - Munk Han).

In the late morning, Lars joined us again, he got to ring his first Common Chiffchaff (Gransanger), and he almost had a perfect wing measurement. Well done, Lars! 

After closing the nets we passed not one.. Not two… not THREE.. But FOUR! Adders (Hugorm) sunbathing. They were very cute, but they did not enjoy our company as much as we enjoyed theirs.

Adder (Hugorm). 

When we got back to the apartment, we only had a couple minutes to eat before Simon (Jr) phoned Simon (Sr) and asked if we could go to Flagbakken in hopes of seeing a Steppe Eagle (Steppeørn). Simon (Sr) agreed, but he did not have enough seats to bring everyone, so Lars came and saved the day! Thanks to Lars, the entire team, and my friend who is visiting from The Netherlands, got to spend a beautiful sunny evening birdwatching in Flagbakken. 

Skagen Fuglestation at Flagbakken. (Photo by: Hanelie Sidhu)

We all succeeded in seeing the Steppe Eagle (Steppeørn), for many of us a new lifer! But there was much more in store for us at Flagbakken. Several Hen Harriers (Blå kærhøg), a few Ospreys (Fiskeørn), and a Pallid Harrier (Steppehøg) were among some of the cool birds we saw. In addition, I got my very first Crested Tit (Topmejse), what a crazy evening!

At Flagbakken, we each took the opportunity to enjoy our time differently. Some of us took a nap, some of us continued bird-watching with the locals, and some of us entered data. Either way, we all spent the evening productively and enjoyed wrapping up the long day in the comfort of our apartment. 

Simon (Jr) and Magnus hard at work entering data and enjoying the birds at Flagbakken.

Hanelie baked a beautiful savoury pie for us, and after eating we were all more than ready to head to bed. 

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet)

Wren (Gærdesmutte) 4

Common Chiffchaff (Gransanger) 6

Dunnock (Jernspurv) 1

Eurasian Blackbird (Solsort) 1

Eurasian Blackcap (Munk) 2

Coal Tit (Sortmejse) 3

Total: 17

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: Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Hanelie Sidhu, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Knud Pedersen, Simon S. Christiansen, Lars Askholm, Dammes De Jong, our guests Oliver, Margit and Claus

This morning started slow at Kabeltrommle with just one Wren (Gærdesmutte) in the first round. Simon had a guided tour and they arrived at the second round at Kabletrommle which luckily brought some birds, the third Willow Warbler (Løvsanger) for the season and some Chiffchaffs (Gransanger). So it was a good opportunity to show the difference between the two species.

Hayley, Isis, Lars and I had some rounds with very few birds but a flock of twelve Coal Tits (Sortmejse) gave us some work for one round.

Ringmækening Kabletrommle

Gransanger: 7

Blåmejse: 1

Rødhals: 1

Løvsanger: 1

Gærdesmutte: 3

Sortmejse: 11

Total: 24

Also at Noth beach, at the morning observations, it was not very busy for Knud, Magnus, Simon and our goests Oliver, Margit and Claus, but raptors are arriving: there were thirteen Hen Harriers (Blå Kærhøg), a Black Kite (Sort Glente), eight Merlins (Dværgfalk) a close Osprey (Fiskeørn) and more Shags (Topskarv) on the sea. After the morning obs, Simon and Magnus had a Golden Eagle (Kongeørn) and two Black Kites (Sort Glente).

Goalden Eagle Kongeørn by Margit Madsen

Todays observations from observers in the area

Back at the station, after lunch, data entry and some short naps, Simon sr., Simon jr. and I went south of Skagen to a garden of a couple, as one of them got ornithosis in winter. So our goal was it to collect shit samples and catch some birds to get some fresh bird shit from them. The samples will be sent in to be examined for ornithosis. Furthermore, Simon talked with the couple to find out, how they could have gotten infected. Unfortunately, we didn´t catch any birds but we successfully collected some bird shit and saw 23 species in and around the garden, the highlight was the first singing Redstart (Rødstjert) we heard this spring.

When we came back to the bird observatory, it already smelled delicious of the lentil dal Magnus cooked and after the evening meeting and dinner, we were joined by a friend of Isis, who is on a visit to Skagen this week, we were all ready for bed.

See you again fresh and happy in the morning!

Hanelie

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

People: 

Isis and I were up just after 4am today so that we could get to Kabeltromlen to open the nets; our morning alarms are getting earlier and earlier! It turned out to be a beautiful morning and we enjoyed being out despite the early hour. Hanalie, Simon Sr and Lars all joined us ringing whilst Simon Jr and Magnus went to World’s End 3 for the count with Knud.

It was another quiet day at Kabeltromlen but luckily we had a few more birds to show Lars than the last time we were ringing. He was particularly happy to see a Common Redpoll (Stor Gråsisken) which was a new species for him, and to ring his first bird, a Robin (Rødhals). Although we didn’t have big numbers, we caught a nice range of species with other highlights including a Bullfinch (Dompap), Coal Tit (Sortmejse), Great Tit (Musvit), Chaffinch (Bogfinke) and Redwing (Vindrossel).

It was also a lot colder today and the sight of a Waxwing (Silkehale) flying over our heads made it feel almost like winter again!

Simon Jr and Magnus also had a very good morning at the migration count. Their first highlight was a beautiful Kentish Plover (Hvidbrystet Præstekrave) roosting near World’s End 3. One of our guests, Oliver, managed to capture this amazing photo of it as it rested on the beach.

Kentish Plover (Hvidbrystet Præstekrave) by Oliver Nielsen

Other highlights from the count included two Golden Eagles (Kongeørn) and a Black Kite (Sort Glente). On the way back, Simon Jr, Magnus and Knud also saw the Crested Lark (Toplærke) which had been spotted at the car park at Grenen. What a stunning bird!

In the afternoon, Hanalie enjoyed a birding walk and Isis met a friend and took our shiny new waders to Kabeltromlen ready for tomorrow. Simon Jr and I did the Fulmar (Mallemuk) survey, walking 10km from the lighthouse to Gammel Skagen and looking for dead Fulmars (Mallemuk) to collect so that the amount of microplastics in their stomachs can be analysed. Although we encountered several species washed up on the beach, we did not find any Fulmars (Mallemuk) this time but still enjoyed the walk and the sight of many cute Ringed Plovers (Stor Præstekrave) running around on the beach and a pair of seals relaxing on the sand.

Fuelled on snacks, we finished our day by making plans for tomorrow, checking sheets and entering data.

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Total: 16

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: Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Hanelie Sidhu, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Knud Pedersen, Lars Askholm, Family Nielsen

Good morning, I can hear an alarm.

I wake up and I feel that my arm

does not hurt as much as before,

it's getting better, I am sure!

With 17 meters out of west,

many birds decide to rest.

The count is slow, there is no ringing,

We wonder what is the weather bringing?

Some Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove) are on the move,

every day brings highlights - this is the proof.

But we stay and we are focussed,

a Black Kite (Sort Glente) is the closest.

Then Alex found a Great Skua (Storkjove) (tak!),

it's the first this year I am sure.

And when Magnus finally sees it,

it is for him a new species. (Congrats!!)

The sea is still very rough,

this looks so great, I'm in love!

Even if the wind was going through and through,

We were sheltered enough to enjoy this great view:

The others had a nice sleep,

then they went into office work very deep.

Luckily it came to Hayleys mind,

to go to check the tent in the wind.

Isis went for a walk to the city,

some streets are closed, it is a pity.

This forced her to go another way back,

she found a Short-eared Owl (Mosehornugle) - it was worth the check!

While the wind made us to bird unable,

diligent board members sat at the table.

They discussed everything what they need

and finished theire meeting, the suceed'.

Last but not least, you can see

a historical moment, where we

see who is the strongest

it's Magnus, he carries the stone the longest:

Picture of Magnus proofing his viking genes. (Alternative text: fixing the door from making loud noises in the wind)

What else did we see than a Rook? Click here to have a look! (dofbasen)

What raptors did we scout? Click here to find it out! (Raptor Summary)

People: Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Hanelie Sidhu, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Knud Pedersen, Simon S. Christiansen, Several Board Members.

Hayley and I woke up this morning at 04.20 to open the nets at Kabeltromlen, however, we noticed there was still quite a bit of rain until 06.00 so we took the luxury to sleep a little bit longer. For the first time in a while, due to the delay the rain caused, the five of us had breakfast together this morning. That was a nice change! Magnus and Simon (who has recently suffered a great injury during a football match, hopefully he recovers soon!) then left for counting and Hayley and I were joined by Hanelie at Kabeltromlen. 

As to be expected by the weather conditions, things at both World’s End 1 and Kabeltromlen were very slow. We were joined by Lars Askholm a bit after opening the nets, but, although Lars was very curious and keen to learn, we had very few birds each round to show him. Of the birds we did have, almost all of them were Chiffchaffs (Gransanger)! They are always very cute to have in hand, but can be quite tricky to age accurately. 

Chiffchaff (Gransanger) in hand.

We had a brief rain shower sweep over us, prompting us to quickly close up all our nets until the conditions were dry enough to open them up again. When we were wading through the North side of Kabeltromlen, I noticed many cute little snails enjoying the rain. One of them was particularly acrobatic, hanging upside down near the nets on a branch. 

Cute acrobatic snail.

At World’s End 1, Simon and Magnus were delighted to see a large number of Red-Throated Divers (Rødstrubet Lom) migrating this morning. They also got a lovely visit from Jørgen and Igor, which always puts everyone in a good mood. 

After our morning tasks were completed, Hayley, Magnus, and Simon joined Lisa on the search for a GPS tag from a Red-Throated Diver (Rødstrubet Lom) presumed dead. They succeeded in finding it very quickly! Good job!

While we were busy in the field, Simon (Snr) who had just returned to Skagen from further South (where he was collecting ornithosis samples) was also hard at work in a meeting with several Board Members from around Denmark. 

We finished the day with data entry, cleaning, and a lovely dinner made by Hanelie, then prepared for tomorrow… 

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet)

Wren (Gærdesmutte) 1

Common Chiffchaff (Gransanger) 3

Total: 4

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: Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Hanelie Sidhu, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Knud Pedersen, Simon S. Christiansen, Lisa Vergin, Lars Askholm, Several Board Members

So… Can you bird-watch in a hospital?

The answer is: probably.

Can you get a broken arm checked at a hospital? Definitely!

The morning began before I even fell asleep. I went for a count together with Knud at World's End 3. It would be mistaken to say migration started slowly because it never really started. The only numbers that were a bit noticeable were 70 roosting Meadow Pipits (engpiber) and 50 roosting Sandwich Terns (splitterne). Otherwise, there was nothing worth noting here. We quit after two hours because of rain and low numbers. Neither the ringing was great, but a firecrest.

I told Knud about yesterday evening, where we played football in front of the lighthouse. Everything was calm and fun during the game until Simon (SK) started doing parkour. He had already impressed me with an equal jump a week earlier. Unfortunately, we had just had dinner, which turned out to be an overload for the young German. He barely landed with his feet on the wall and ended up falling down, landing on his left arm. But as the wannabe Viking he is, he continued playing.

Knud offered to bring Simon to the local doctor after counting by car, which we accepted. At the doctor's, we didn’t wait long before they sent us to the hospital in Hjørring. With the guys on the run and the girls at the lighthouse, anything could happen.

We did a bit of counting while driving to the hospital, and I showed Simon and Knud my former high school and the vending machine from which I got my driver's license.

At the hospital, Simon got x-rayed pretty quickly before being sent to the doctor. Meanwhile, they lost his x-ray scans, and we had to wait a bit longer. After two hours of waiting, he was allowed to enter to be told that there was a minor fracture near the elbow and that they wouldn’t put it in a cast, just a sling.

But the mood was good thanks to Knud's life experience. He brought biscuits and sparkling water, which turned out to be a good combination if you haven’t eaten for the entire day. You might think that we spent the entire time talking about everything but birds. In that case, you’d be badly mistaken. He told us about every feather he's seen since he started watching birds 50 years ago, and the two rookies enjoyed getting smarter.

We returned to the lighthouse with the only fracture in the life of the bird observatory after seven hours on the run.

Big thanks to Knud for being so kind! (again and again)

Soon, the evening fell upon Skagen and the lighthouse before we could call it another day and wake up to new adventures the upcoming day.

/Magnus (Mr. Beetle)

When I woke up to check the weather, it soon started raining heavily, so we waited some hours until the rain stopped. Then Simon and I went to Worlds´ End one. We were not busy today. The number of Red-throated Divers (Rødstrubbet Lom) was quite good. In the first hour, we also had two Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove). There were many Brambling (Kvækerfinke) coming inland and also a lot of Tree Pipits (Skovpiber). The highlight of the observations was three Ring Ouzels (Ringdrossel) that were landing in one of the bushes close.

We got a zello message from Jørgen Hulbæk, he had seen the first Pallid Harrier (Steppehøg) today! We were looking for it from Worlds´End, but it didn´t come up to the sea. Understandable in this weather. Later, we met Jørgen, who told us, he had seen it turning and going back at Nedermose. But we are excited for the coming days, and hoping for more Pallids (Steppehøg) to arrive soon!

Todays observations from observers in the area

When we finished observations, Georg and Birthe came up to Worlds´ end one from a walk along the beach.

Back at the station, it was time for office work and naps, chips and biscuits.  

Magnus cooked us a spicy dinner this evening and after, it was time for sports! We went to the yard and played football and monkey in the middle with our nearly rotten football, that Magnus once found and brought to the station.

Tomorrow, the weather will be good for going out in the early morning again and we are looking forward to that after some slow and rainy days.

See you in the field!

Hanelie

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

People: Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Hanelie Sidhu, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Georg and Birthe.

It was a quiet count for Hanalie, Simon Jr and Magnus at World’s End 1 this morning however they did enjoy seeing four Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove) and a Pink-footed Goose (Kortnæbbetgøås). Another highlight was a Black Guillemot (Tejst).

Unfortunately, the strong winds meant we were unable go ringing. Instead, Isis and I checked the nets in the garden to make sure they were secure and also checked the tent at Kabeltromlen. We joined the counters briefly at World’s End 1 and enjoyed the chance to be out in the fresh air despite the wind!

In the afternoon, we received a visit from a group of students from Aarhus University. As it was so windy, we weren’t able to show them any ringing but instead showed them around the lab. We explained all about the ringing process and how we age and measure the birds.

We also demonstrated how the nets are used to catch birds and what we can learn from the data that is collected.

There was then time to catch up with indoor tasks such as yesterday’s raptor summary and the picture archive. This evening, our guests, Georg and Birthe, have very kindly offered to cook for us. We are sure it’ll be delicious!

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: Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Hanelie Sidhu, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Georg and Birthe.

While the weather feels more and more like spring and we don't have to wear the warm onesuits anymore, also the birds show us, that it is spring now. In the past few days the numbers of arriving Swallows (Svale) or Tree Pipits (Skovpiber) rised and some early birds like Yellow Wagtails (Gul Vipstjert) showed up well. This also made us enjoy this morning at Nordstrand a lot. When two Whimbrels (Smålspove) or a Spotted Redshank (Sortklire) flew by, everyone was exited. The variety of species was really good. One of our highlights were two Garganeys (Atlingand) which showed up really close in the sunlight - this gave Magnus good views on his first new species since he arrived in Skagen. The best bird of the morning was a Slavonian Grebe (Nordisk Lappedykker) in breeding plumage, which stayed the entire morning - what a beauty! I've never seen the species in its colorful breeding plumage before - when they turn up in Germany they are mostly just black and white - so it was great to see this bird. 3 Scaups (Bjergand), 26 Pink-footed Geese (Kortnæbbet Gås), 4 Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove) and a Short-eared Owl (Mosehornugle) should also get mentioned. During our entire count (Common) Redpolls migrated east and added up to stunning 1100 birds. It was fun counting them, while the others scanned the horizon to find even the distant Hen Harriers (Blå Kærhøg). Due to their effort we counted 13 birds in 5 hours. It was a nice morning and beside of the birds we enjoyed smelling a bee (every species has its own smell - thanks to Magnus for this experience without getting stung) and the daily sandwich.

In the meanwhile, the surprise of the day made its way into the net at KAB. A super, super, super early Wood Warbler (Skovsanger) should not just be the beauty of the day, but also the earliest ever for Skagen. Before today the earliest in Skagen were on the 21st of April (both in 2020 and 1981). So our bird from today is 12 days earlier! You still don't believe it? Than have a look at the pictures of this stunning bird:

Wood Warbler (Skovsanger) - picture by Isis

It was also very fun to catch 10 Coal Tits (Sortmejse). Usually, we ringers have splitted feelings when there are many tits in the nets. On the one hand they are cute and look nice, on the other hand they pick and hurt a lot for their small size. Thankfully, Coal Tits are quite harmless in comparision to its evil neighbour - the Blue Tit (Blåmejse).

After ending the count, Magnus and I went to Stald Grenen. It started raining a bit, but this did not stop us to find a f-type Pied Wagtail (Sortrygged Hvid Vipstjert). You can recognize this british subspecies by it's overall darker apperance but to make sure it is not a dark continantal one, you need the combination ofthe marked flanks, the blackish rump and the white in the wing.

The rainy afternoon got used for necessary things like shopping, data entering and sleeping. There is always stuff to do, everyone who has been here before knows that. Ladies and gentleman - it's spring now!

Ringing (Jennes Sø):

Total: 42

Ringing (Nordstjernevej):

Total: 8

Ringing (Kabeltrolekrattet):

---to be added---

Total: 36

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: Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Hanelie Sidhu, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Georg and Birthe.