This morning started a bit differently than usual. Due to the stormy weather we were not out in the field in the morning but got the opportunity to sleep in instead.

We had a chilled morning and nice breakfast together. 

Some of us went out to check out how strong the wind was.

Stormy beach this morning

Later in the morning we sadly had to say goodbye to Jule who went back to Germany to continue her studies. We miss you Jule!

Afterwards we all went out for walks in different directions.

On her walk out Sarah found a Great grey Shrike (Stor Tornskade) and a nice Roughlegged Buzzard (Fjeldvåge).

Mio and I went down the beach towards Grenen. The landscape out there changed a lot over night. The storm had flooded the whole beach and also the Sandormentrack is a gigantic paddle now.

Flooded beach at Grenen

There was not only a lot of water on the Beach but also many birds like around fifteen Water Pipits (Bjergpiber), some Snowbuntigs (Snespurv) and a Laplandbunting (Lapværling).

There were also quite some birds flying over the sea, for example two Little Gulls (Dværgmåge) of which we got really nice views.

Little Gull (Dværgmåge) in the wind

When we were back at the station we got a short but very nice visit from Johanna and  Magnus, who were also out at Grenen in the morning. Out there they had seen a Great Northern Diver (Islom) and two Nutcrackers (Nøddekrige).

It was really nice to see them again after spending two weeks together at the station in August.

Birding at Nedermose

In the afternoon we all went out with Simon to go birding Nedermose. Out there we also met our guests Lone and Lars. 

When we came back I made some cinnamon rolls, which were quite yummy.

Now we are planning to go out night catching again, but currently it is raining again.But like Mio says rain is just liquid sunshine, so that should not stop us going out.

So hopefully we will catch some more Snipes tonight.

Highlights from the observations:

Nutcrackers (Nøddekrige) - 2

Great Northern Diver (Islom) - 1

Water Pipits (Bjergpiber) - 15

Link to today's observations in the Dofbasen from observers in the area.

People: Mio Brix, Cora Köberle, Jule Tappe, Simon S. Christiansen, Sarah Partridge, Louis-Marie Gourmelon, Johanna Ventjeer, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Christina Liu,  Lars og Lone

As we woke up this morning, we noticed that there might be some rain in the morning and that it was also quite windy outside. Sarah and Jule agreed that the weather was too bad for ringing but still good enough for the count. This meant that we could all go to the count together! Because of the strong southeasterly wind, we all went to Nordstrand to get more shelter at the observation spot that Knud created there.

When we arrived at the count, Knud and Alex were already there and had started counting. All in all, there were far fewer Razorbills (Alk) than yesterday, but more Guillemots (Lomvie). This meant that we could spend some time observing the differences between these two species very clearly!

Observing at Nordstrand. Photo by Alex Sand Frich

During the second hour, we spotted a flock of four Orcas (Spækhugger), consisting of one male with a very large fin and three females or young individuals. They came quite close to the shore today, so everyone could enjoy watching them.

Bad picture of our great observation of one of the Orcas (Spækhugger) by Mio Brix

And that wasn't the only highlight of the count! A little later, we spotted two large divers that came quite close to us. After observing them for a while, we were sure that one of them was an adult Great Northern Diver (Islom), still in its breeding plumage, while the other was an immature, probably a third-calendar-year (3CY) White-billed Diver (Hvidnæbbet Lom)! So, not only great marine mammals but also some amazing birds!

After we had all cycled back against the strong wind, we rested for a bit and briefly met Jule's parents, who will pick her up tomorrow because, sadly, her time at the station has come to an end.

This is quite hard for me to realise, as I have been here the whole time since July with her, and we have had so many great experiences up here. I will definitely miss her here!

In the afternoon, we followed our daily afternoon routine and had our evening meeting. Simon told us a very interesting story about a bird tag on a Short-eared Owl (Mosehornugle), which you can read about in a few days on our social media channels (Facebook and Instagram).

After the meeting, we all really enjoyed the pancakes that Cora made for dinner. They gave Cora and me the motivation to go night-catching behind Ellekrattet again, and annnd we succeeded once more! This time, we caught another Woodcock (Skovsneppe) and a Jack Snipe (Enkeltbekkasin)!

Jule ringing her last bird for her stay: The Jack Snipe (Enkeltbekkasin). Picture by Mio Brix

And the Jack Snipe (Enkeltbekkasin) from above! Picture by Sarah Partridge.

After we ringed the birds, we welcomed Christina, who will stay here at the station until Dezember!

Highlights of the observation:

White-billed Diver (Hvidnæbbet Lom)-1

Great Northern Diver (Islom)-1

Orcas (Spækhugger)-4

No ringing at Kabeltromlen today due to the wind and rain

Ringing fields behind Ellekrattet:

Woodcock (Skovsneppe)-1

Jack Snipe (Enkeltbekkasin)-1

People: Mio Brix, Cora Köberle, Luis-Marie Gourmelon, Sarah Partridge, Jule Tappe, Christina Liu, Simon S. Christiansen, Knud Pedersen, Alex Sand Frich, Lars and Lone

This morning, I jumped out of bed. Okay no, that’s lie. But Sarah and I did get up early to open nets at Kabeltromlen. During sunrise, there were already many birds in the bushes and we had high hopes for the morning. For the first round, Mio joined (who later switched with Cora again) and Mette and Lone also came to help out. Some of our hopes held true: There was a beautiful Common Snipe (Dobbeltbekassin) in the first round and many, many Wrens (Gærdesmutte).

Common Snipe (Dobbeltbekassin) in the ringing today.

Unfortunately, as many birds as we hoped found their way into our nets, but more nice individuals were ringed by us, among them a young male Greenfinch (Grønirisk) and a adult male Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken).

Young male Greenfinch (Grønirisk).

Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken). The red hue on its breast shows that it is a 2cy.+ male.

There was also a flock of Bearded Reedlings (Skægemejse) flying around Kabeltromlen and we really wanted to catch them. So after our standardized ringing, we put up sound for them and Redpolls up. While we were unsuccessful for Bearded Reedlings, we were able to catch some Redpolls, so the extra hours at KAB ended up being worth it.

Except for the birds in the net, we got to observe a good amount of Common Buzzards (Musvåge) accompanied by two Red Kites (Rød Glente). There was also an overflying Water Pipit (Bjergpiber).

The real excitement was going down at World’s End 3 though. Luis-Marie, Cora and Knud were busy counting over 8000 Razorbills (Alk) in only four hours. And in between these masses of birds, there were some treasures hiding: They saw a Great Northern Diver (Islom) and a Puffin (Lunde). Later in the count, two Nutcrackers (Nøddekrige) also attempted migration, but changed directions again once they came too close to the sea. After 4 hours of counting, the observers joined the ringers at Kabeltromlen.

In the early afternoon, we got back to the station and had a late lunch. Then, it was time for office work: Data entry, picture archive, social media. Mio and Cora went grocery shopping with our guest Lars (thanks for driving!) and I cleaned the lab.

Now, after our daily evening meeting, Luis-Marie is cooking dinner and the station is slowly but steadily calming down. But not entirely! We will try to go nightcatching again today, since it was so successfull yesterday (check out the blog post)!

Also, this is my last blog post for SKAF since I will be leaving on Sunday. I was at the station for a little over three months and this is my 21st blog post in my time here. It has been a great joy to write these texts for all of you readers out there and bring the excitement and joy of being volunteer at the station a bit closer to you! So thank you, and hopefully see you soon!

People: Mio Brix, Cora Köberle, Luis-Marie Gourmelon, Sarah Partridge, Simon S. Christiansen, Jule Tappe, Knud Pedersen, Jeppe Madsen, Jørgen Kabel, Mette Møller Christensen, Lars and Lone

This morning, the team woke up to the sound of the rain. Therefore we could not open any nets and also could not do migration count. At least everyone enjoyed a bit more of sleep. Later in the morning, the rain stops and some of us went out for a walk and do some birding, and they have been able to enjoy a nice sighting of a Rough-legged buzzard (Fjeldvåge) !

Rough-legged buzzard in flight. Foto : Mio Brix

In the afternoon however, Me, Jule and Sarah went with Simon to ring Barn owls (Slørugle) chicks nesting in farms nearby Skagen. With were accompanied by Svend Erik Frandsen and René Larsen, who have been monitoring Barn owls in danish farms for 25 years. They have build around 156 boxes for owls to nest ! This year, they decided that the new chicks should be ringed, so they contact Simon to teach them. The goal for the mis to obtain there own ringing permit for owls so they can ring future chicks next season !

Barn owl (Slørugle) chick. Still not in fully grown plumage. Still stuffed with down. Foto : Simon S. Christiansen

Climbing the ladder to bring down the Barn owl chick in order to ring it. Foto : Louis-Marie Gourmelon

In the mean time, Cora and Mio were also in the field. They went birding around the station and made a very nice observation of a Yellow-browed warbler (Hvidbrynet Løvsanger) !

Yellow browed warbler (Hvidbrynet Løvsanger) in the trees. Foto : Mio Brix

The Yellow-browed warbler (Hvidbrynet Løvsanger) is originally from the siberian taïga and there breeding range are spreading far away on East (from Oural to Okhotsk sea) and they winter in South East Asia. Most of the time, rare birds that are seen are first year birds that are still inexperienced, but somehow still as to go on a thousands kilometres migration to the wintering grounds. That is why they can get lost easily with storms or simply flying to the wrong direction.

Then in the evening we came back from the owls ringing and had a delicious meal cooked by Jule. Cora and Mio were in the field but this time for night catching… and they came back succesful with two Woodcock (Skovsneppe) !

Now we go to sleep knowing that tomorrow could be a good day of ringing and counting.

Highlights of the observation:

This morning was a bit of a slow start from the weather. Mio and I woke up early and then loitered around in the kitchen waiting for it to stop raining so we could go open the nets. We managed to get them open 45 minutes later than usual, and only about half of them because of the wind. Cora then joined us and it immediately began raining again. During the rain, we did fast rounds so birds wouldn’t have to wait in the nets, but very few birds were waiting for us. After the showers stopped, we opened a few more nets and stayed open for standard hours, with a whopping 14 birds ringed. Still, we had some nice birds to ring including two adult female blackbirds (solsort) and an adult musvit (great tit) which we don't see so many of. We also had some fun flyovers of skægmejse (bearded tits), silkehale (waxwings), and lille korsnæb (common crossbills).

Very pretty adult female Solsort (blackbird)

Adult Musvit (Great tit) wing with all refreshed feathers

Jule and Louis went migration counting at Nordstrand with Knud, which was also fairly slow. It was wet and cold, but at least they managed to stay warm inside their boiler suits in Knud’s corner. And they got to see a nice variety of ducks (ander), including Havlit (long-tailed duck), Hvinand (Goldeneye), Bjergand (Greater Scaup), and gråstrubet lappedykker (red-necked grebe).

Havlit are particularly fun ducks because they are extremely beautiful, and also because they have an interesting and highly complicated moult strategy. Adult long-tailed ducks undergo four partial moults, each which suspend and overlap with each other, creating three distinct plumages, which is unusual among duck species. Long-tailed ducks breed in the high arctic, and limited research has been done on population changes. The wintering populations, in cold to temperate waters around the northern hemisphere, have declined by about 30% since the 1990s. As these ducks gather in dense groups on the sea, they are particularly vulnerable to oil spills, marine pollution, and entanglements.

After entering data, we spent a rather desultory afternoon at the lighthouse because of the poor weather. Mio dedicated some time to practicing his scientific smile (science is serious), and Jule impressed us all with some excellent dance moves inspired by bird songs (which we then had to guess). We then welcomed back our guests Lorne and Lars, who have been at the station several times before and will stay with us for two weeks. Mio and Cora went out in the rain to try to catch some Jack snipes (enkeltbekkasin), unsuccessfully this time, and now we will snuggle up on the couch for a hygge family movie night!

Ringing KAB

Solsort – 2

Gærdesmutte – 2

Lille dompap – 3

Blåmejse – 3

Fuglekonge – 2

Rørspurv – 1

Total 14

Highlights from WE3

Havlit – 2

Hvinand – 5

Bjergand – 1

Spurvhøg – 1

Link to today's observations in the Dofbasen from observers in the area.

People: Mio Brix, Cora Köberle, Jule Tappe, Sarah Partridge, Louis-Marie Gourmelon, Simon S. Christiansen, Knud Pedersen

When the alarm rang this morning, Sarah, Louis-Marie and I were up and going. It was once again time to open nets at Kabeltromlen in hopes of birds in the net. Wind had picked up since yesterday but we were still able to open most nets. Unfortunately, they caught more leaves than birds today and we also had one zero round. However, that gave us time to study the varying moult of Redpolls (Gråsisken), discuss identification of their subspecies (cabaret and flammea) and generally admire the birds that we did catch. It still, the day was not without highlights! We caught the first surely identified Bullfinch of pyrrhula subspecies, so of the northern breeding population. We had already heard some in the field in the days prior so finally catching this beautiful female was especially nice.

A nice female Bullfinch of the subspecies pyrrhula (Stor Dompap). Foto: Simon S. Christiansen.

In the same round, we had a Great Spotted Woodpecker in the net – the first for this autumn season. It was a first-year male with a suspended moult in the wing. The first year birds of this species also moult primaries in summer/autumn, but this individual had left the three outermost unmoulted.

 A beautiful 1k male Great Spotted Woodpecker (Stor Flagspætte). Foto: Simon S. Christiansen.

In the meantime, Cora and Mio were at World’s End 3 for our migration count. Our helping hand Knud also joined in the first two hours. Sadly, the sea was rather quiet today, so it was a good training in staying amazed by common species. Still, some good stuff was around like two Mediterranean Gulls (Sorthovedet Måge) and a Great Grey Shrike (Stor Tornskade) that migrated out onto the sea. What a curious sight!

At this point of the year, sunrise is so late that we only get back to the station after midday. So there, we ate lunch and entered data. Sarah then spend the evening working while I sorted my bird photos and worked in the laptop. Luis-Marie got the famous introduction talk by Simon were everything you need to know about the station is explained, so now he knows what will await him the next weeks. As dedicated birdwatchers, Mio and Cora went outside in the uncomfortable weather but did not see much. A decent flock of Crested Tits (Topmejse) was the highlight.

With everyone back at the station, we decided to finish the day with a SKAF family outing and went on top of the lighthouse. We enjoyed the view and asked ourselves how amazing this place where we live actually is.

Group picture on top of the lighthouse. Foto: Jule Tappe

Now, it has become very dark outside. Everyone is resting except for Cora who is preparing dinner. I’m sure, it will taste great.

Link to today's observations in the Dofbasen from observers in the area.

People: Mio Brix, Cora Köberle, Jule Tappe, Sarah Partridge, Laura Tamminen, Louis-Marie Gourmelon, Simon S. Christiansen, Knud Pedersen

As Cora and I went out to open the nets at Kabeltromlen, we really enjoyed the calm, windless morning. Some passerines enjoyed the morning as well and ended up in our nets. Today's highlight was definitely two Goldfinches (Stillits)!

Young Goldfinch (Stillits)

But catching and ringing birds isn't the only nice thing you can do at Kabeltromlen: It's also a great place for observing birds in the field, especially passerines. Today, we enjoyed watching the daily Red Crossbills (Lille Korsnæb) flying over and the first flocks of Waxwings (Silkehale) arriving.

The observers also had fun watching passerines. They spotted a Great Grey Shrike (Stor Tornskade) and a flock of Waxwings (Silkehale). They also saw a Nutcracker (Nøddekrige), which was visible very well from Kabeltromlen as well. But passerines weren't the only exciting encounters during today's count. Jule, Louis-Marie, Sarah and Knud also spotted several different duck species, including Long-tailed Ducks (Havlit) and Scaups (Bjergand). A flock of Whooper Swans (Sangsvane) added to the feeling of late-autumn migration in the air! 

Late autumn was also present in Michael Anchers ringing at Jennes Sø and Nordstjernevej, where he caught lots of Lesser and Mealy Redpolls (Lille og Stor Gråsiskin) and Denmarks 2nd Arctic Redpoll (Hvidsiskin) for this autumn!

After our morning, Cora, Louis-Marie and I didn't have much time to rest before heading out again for a beach walk to look for dead seabirds along the shore. It's a 10 km walk, so Simon drove us to the "Sunset Kiosk" in Gammel Skagen, where we started our survey.

But before heading up there, we stopped at the train station to sadly say goodbye to Laura, who was leaving for Estonia that afternoon. We wish you a safe trip back! It was really nice having you here!

During our beach walk, we didn't find any dead birds today. However, we did see some nice living birds, including at least two 1K Mediterranean Gulls (Sorthovedet Måge).

Beach survey with lots of walking (really, a lot!)

Meanwhile, Sarah and Jule did some office/laptop tasks at the station. Sarah worked on data for her new job, while Jule wrote the September monthly report for the observatory, which you will be able to read next year in our annual report (Årsskrift)!

In the evening, we all enjoyed a lovely and delicious dinner prepared by Sarah.

Tomorrow, the wind is expected to pick up again, so let's see what it brings!

Link to today's observations in the Dofbasen from observers in the area.

People: Mio Brix, Cora Köberle, Jule Tappe, Sarah Partridge, Laura Tamminen, Louis-Marie Gourmelon, Simon S. Christiansen, Jeppe Madsen, Simon S. Christiansen, Michael Ancher, Knud Pedersen

Hej I’m back again, and it is so nice to finally see Skagen and its birds in autumn after I have just been here in summer and spring before. 

I was really looking forward to birding here again and the morning observation with Mio and Knud really delivered! 

The sea was really calm and it did not look like there would be much migrating over the sea except steady coming flocks Razorbills (Alk) which were very nice to watch. 

While there firstly was not much going on over the sea there were many different passerines around including tree Waterpipits (Bjergpber),  some Snowbuntings (Snespurv) and tree Horned Larks (Bjerglærke) which also landed on the beach. It was really nice to watch the Horned Larks (Bjerglærke) and one of them also had a ring, so it was probably one of the birds the others ringed the week before.

In the second hour Mio spotted a Nutcracker (Nøddekrige) coming just in our direction, it circled over our heads and then migrated out over the sea. That was a really exciting observation.

Then suddenly Knud spotted two young Shags (Topskarver) flying over the sea quite close to the shore, they also went down to rest on the water so we got some nice views of them. They were actually the first ones for this autumn season.

Not much later there was a big Diver (Lom) passing by and after a few seconds we were sure, it was a White-billed Diver (Hvidnæbbet Lom)!

After we finished the count we went west of the sandormentrack to look if we could find some Lapland Buntings (Lapværling) on our way there we saw another Nutcracker (Nøddekrige) which came just over our heads and then probably  migrated out over the sea. 

On the beach we actually found a Lapland Bunting (Lapværling) and also many Twites (Bjergirisk).
Afterwards we went to Kaberltrommmlen to accompany the ringers, Jule, Sarah, Laura and also Jeppe who helped in the ringing today.

Ringers enjoying the ringing

The ringers also had a very nice morning where they almost caught sixty birds of fourteen different species. The most numerous species were the Wrens (Gærdesmutte) today. They also caught four Twites (Bjergirisk) and a really cute Treecreeper (Træløber). 

Another highlight in the ringing were quite some Bullfinches (Dompap) and two Coletits (Sortmejse).

Treecreeper (Træløber)

When we were back at the station Sarah made us some good lunch. Afterwards  we opened the net in the old lighthouse garden and tried to catch a Nutcracker (Nøddekrige) playing some sound, without success.

Michael Ancher had a busy time at Jennes Sø with more than 200 Redpolls (Gråsisken)!

Later we also welcomed our new Volunteer Louis-Marie.

Now we are looking forward to another nice autumn day tomorrow.

Highlights from the observations:

White-billed Diver - Hvidnæbbet Lom 1

Shag - Topskarv 2

Nutcracker (Nøddekrige) 4

Ringing Kabeltromlen:

Blåmejse 2

Sortmejse 2

Gærdesmutte 18

Rødhals 6

Munk 1

Gransanger 2

Fuglekonge 7

Musvit 2

Træløber 1

Kvækerfinke 1

Grønirisk 1

Bjergirisk 4

Lille Dompap 6

Dompap 3

Rørspurv 1

Total: 57

Nordstjernevej:

Rødhals 1

Skovspurv 1

Musvit 2

Bogfinke 1

Total: 5

Jenne sø

Vindrossel 1

Gærdesmutte 3

Lille Gråsisken 145

Stor Gråsken 51

Træløber 1

Stor Dompap 1

Blåmejse 1

Grønsisken 1

Rødhals 1

Total: 205

Link to today's observations in the Dofbasen from observers in the area.

People: Mio Brix, Cora Köberle, Jule Tappe, Simon S. Christiansen, Jeppe Madsen, Laura Tamminen, Sarah Partridge, Michael Ancher, Knud Pedersen, Louis-Marie.

Today was sunny and a bit windy, and Luis and I cycled to Nordstrand for Luis’s final migration count of the season. There, Knud had cleared us a space in the buckthorn so the three of us sat in our cozy nook. The count was very slow, but we did see a spectacular highlight, a handsome adult Havørn (White-tailed eagle) landed very close to us on the beach. It was so close that Luis could even read its colour rings!

My attemp at reading the Havørn colour ring

Other than that, we saw may alkefugle (auks), a couple of mallemuk (fulmars), and a 1k lille kjove (long-tailed skua), a bit late in the season for this one. There were also quite a few Ride (kittiwakes) migrating today. Kittiwakes have declined by over 99% across their range since the 1970s, due to a combination of factors, including climate change, habitat loss, and food availability. Like many other seabird species, kittiwakes are dependent on sandeels (sandåler) for their diet. Sandeel populations are declining due to both fishing practices and climate change. They are also changing their range due to rising sea surface temperatures, seeking out colder temperatures and therefore deeper water. This affects kittiwakes disproportionately because unlike other sandeel-dependent birds, they do not dive or swim, feeding only by skimming the water’s surface, so they are experiencing more pronounced reductions in prey availability. Another example of the importance of seabird conservation!

So, after that Knud went to go to a birthday party, so Luis and I finished up the count together. Despite the slight lack of birds in the last two hours, we had a nice time, and I will definitely miss all the trivia from Encyclopaedia Luis!

After this, we cycled home and I stopped by Jennes Sø so say hi to Michael and his Redpolls (Gråsisken). He had a whole box of them to show me when I arrived, so we got to compare the Lille and Stor (Lesser and Mealy) subspecies. Luis cycled on without me and was happy to see a Stor Tornskade (great grey shrike).

Meanwhile, Jule, Mio and Laura went to Kabeltromlen for a rather slow day of ringing. The highlight for them was two treecreepers (træløber), who are also one of my favourites! While it was slow, Simon showed them some old photos of when he caught some fun species and thought he was cool.

Ringers taking careful measurementsTræløber (Treecreeper), second cutest bird in Skagen

After some cleaning and bike repairs, we had to say goodbye to Luis, a very wonderful person to work with at the station. We will miss you! Tonight we are looking forward to welcoming Cora back to the station for two weeks.

In the evening Simon went to give a talk together with Michael Ancker for an art club at the art museum at Grenen. 

Ringing Jennes Sø

Rødhals 3
Lille gråsisken 53
Stor gråsisken 17
Kvækerfinke 1
Musvit 4
Stor dompap 1
Gransanger 1

Total 80

Link to today’s observations in the Dofbasen from observers in the area.

People: Mio Brix, Luis Q. Langfeld, Laura Tamminen, Sarah Partridge, Jule Tappe, Michael Ancher, Simon S. Christiansen,  Knud Pedersen, Birgitte and Bjørn Dahl Porsgaard

Link to today’s observations in the Dofbasen from observers in the area.

People: Mio Brix, Luis Q. Langfeld, Laura Tamminen, Sarah Partridge, Jule Tappe, Michael Ancher, Simon S. Christiansen, Erik Christophersen, Knud Pedersen, Birgitte and Bjørn Dahl Porsgaard, Paul Partridge, Linda Mertz, Anders Østerby + tour, Jørgen Kabel, Lisa Vergin, Sebastian Klein, Jonas Kjærgaard