Today (or in the night), me and the other volunteers woke up around midnight, because a European Storm-Petrel (Lille Stormsvale) has flown into the net. It’s a species that the bird station tries to ring every year, and I have been here for several times the past two years without catching any, so I was very happy (and very tired) when I saw the little, black bird. 

After seeing (and holding!) the Storm-Petrel, I decided to try and sleep some more. But one and a half hours later we were woken up again. This time, because a European Nightjar (Natravn) had flown in the other net. A very special bird, which we were also very happy to see.

1K Nightjar (Natravn) 

Another European Storm Petrel (a 3K+) flew into the net at 3 am. At 4 am, another Nightjar (an adult male with white patch in the wings and tail) flew in the net. I didn’t see any of them, because the sleep kept me in the bed.

Second Storm-Petrel of the night (3K+). Foto: Simon Kiesé

When we woke up in the morning, (except for Mio, who had been up all night) me and Alexander went to Verdens Ende 3 to do migration count, while 2xSimon, Jule and Moritz headed to Kabeltromlen to ring. Here they where visited by Lars Askholm from Sjælland and an Italian Bird Ringer; Michelangelo Morganti. They both also experienced the great birds last night.

The highlight in the first two hours on observation was a Ruddy Turnstone (Stenvender), but in the last two hours, we saw over 400 Common Swift (Mursejler) on migration. There were a lot of Barn Swallow (Landsvale) and Western House Martin (Bysvale) as well. The highlight at the ringing was also the many swifts, and the wader migration. They even got a big flock of 27 Oystercatchers (Strandskade).

When we got home, almost everyone went to sleep, but Simon and Simon took to Skagen station to pick up Katia, Simons girlfriend. When me and Alexander woke up, we put the birds we saw today on Dofbasen, while the rest either slept or was eating watermelon.

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

People: Jule Tappe, Mio Brix, Simon Kiesé, Katia Kit, Moritz Morteani, Alfred Godsk Geckler, Páll Van Kjærbo, Sophie Booker, Michelangelo Morganti, Lars Askholm, Alexander Nyholm, Simon S. Christiansen 

With the time, sunrise gets later and later, so our daily routine with ringing and migration counts gradually starts later as well. If you are at the station, you really feel this change, and it's cool to experience the natural day cycle. Today, the day cycle brought Simon and me to Kabeltromlen at around 04:30 to open the nets, which should be done about 30 minutes before sunrise. Alfred joined us later for the first round. During the first round, with an amazing sky above us, a Black Redstart (Husrødstjert) ended up in our nets: a species that we don't catch very often.

 Morning sky over Kabeltromlen

Later, during the second round, the other highlight of this ringing morning showed up: two Lesser Redpolls (Lille Gråsisken), one adult male and one adult female were hanging in the same net at the same time. It was great to see them and to learn how the adults look before their complete moult. Although the moult has already started in many adults birds, it had not yet begun in these individuals.

Adult female (left) and adult male (right) Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken)

The observation team, consisting of Jule and Alexander, also got to enjoy the amazing sky. However, the sky wasn't as impressive as their sightings of a total of six Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove). As yesterday, the birds came close to the shoreline and even closer when they flew over the beach, showing their typical foraging behaviour: chasing gulls and terns until they dropped their food.  All other skua species are also known for this behaviour, including the Great Skua (Storkjove), which was also seen today. It didn't come as close as the Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove), but Jule and Alexander still got some great views.

After we all headed back to the station, we welcomed Moritz, who will stay here for one week. To show him the area, Moritz and I walked out to Grenen, where we did some colour-ring reading of terns and gulls along the beach. We read a total of 14 rings, so we were quite successful! While reading the rings, we also saw three Marsh Harriers (Rørhøg) arriving from the sea and continuing their migration south.

After Moritz and I headed back to the station, we had our evening meeting and enjoyed a nice dinner prepared by Jule. Just a few minutes before Simon arrived for dinner, he spotted a Merlin (Dværgfalk) coming in from the sea. First of the season!

While eating, we looked out of the station window and noticed how calm and flat the sea was, so we decided to head out again for some evening observations at the Seal Bunker. Almost immediately after we started scanning the sea, the first bird I found in my scope was a 2K Great Northern Diver (Islom)! It was a fantastic bird for all of us to enjoy in such perfect conditions. Thanks to the calm sea, we also recorded good numbers of Black Guillemots (Tejst) and Razorbills (Alk).

Great Northern Diver (Islom)

Now we are trying to catch stormpetrels (Stormsvale) and Nightjars (Natravn) again. We'll update you in the next blog if we catch something!

Ringing Kabeltromlen: 

Chiffchaf (Gransanger)-2

Blackcap (Munk)-2

Whitethroat (Tornsanger)-13

Willow Warbler (Løvsanger)-1

Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken)-2

Black Redstart (Husrødstjert)-1

Reed Warbler (Rørsanger)-2

Total:22

Highlights from the observations:

Great Northern Diver (Islom)-1

Great Skua (Storkjove)-2

Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove)-6

Rosefinch (Karmindompap)-1

Merlin (Dvægfalk)-1

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

People: Jule Tappe, Mio Brix, Simon Kiesé, Moritz Morteani, Alfred Godsk Geckler,  Alexander Nyholm,  Simon S. Christiansen 

This morning, Alexander, Simon K. and Mette jumped out of their beds to open nets at Kabeltromlen. Alfred, Mio and I were on our ways shortly after. While I joined the other ones at KAB, Alfred and Mio drove to World’s End 3 for migration count.

In ringing, we had rounds with very varied number of birds, ranging from 0 to 15. In total, we ringed 25 birds, among them a Garden Warbler (Havesanger), many Common Whitethroats (Tornsanger) and a curious looking Reed Warbler (Rørsanger) with an exceptionally long 8th primary on its right wing (4 mm longer than on left wing). We have never seen anything like that, what an odd sight!

Right wing of Reed Warbler (Rørsanger) with exceptionally long P8.

In between rounds, we were entertained by overflying Golden Plovers (Hjejle), Curlews (Storspove) and a very athletic Wood Pigeon (Ringdue). Also, Simon found a steppe grasshopper (Chorthippus vagans, steppegræshoppe), a grasshopper species that is only spread in Skagen for Denmark. In addition, Mio and Alfred, who were joined by Erik and Knud, spotted some nice birds on the sea: 5 Great Skuas (Stor Kjove) and 4 Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove) were foraging in Skagerrag and Kattegat. This is a relatively high number and allowed the counters to get exciting photos! Knud even managed to read a ring from one of the Arctic Skuas resting on the beach so we now know it was ringed in Brattholmen, Mandal, Norway as a juvenile in July 2024. This means, it's a third calendar year bird.

Great Skua (Stor Kjove) and Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove). Foto: Alfred Godsk Geckler.

Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove) with Norwegian ring. Foto: Knud Pedersen.

Next to birds, there were also mammal observations that both the counting and ringing team got to see: three Orcas (Spækhugger)! The two females and one male were observed blowing water and swimming around Denmark’s tip. Orcas are a regular sight and Grenen, but are still rare and thrilling to see!

Orcas (Spækhugger) blowing water. Foto: Simon Kiesé.

After this eventful morning, we cycled back to the lighthouse for data entry, a nap and cleaning and we said goodbye to our guest Mette. Have a good journey back! Next up was a very early dinner, because the sightings of today’s morning motivated us for another bird watching session in the evening at Grenen with better light and hopefully just as good views. So in the evening, Simon, Mio, Alexander and Alfred walked out to World’s End 3 for seawatching. Later, they were joined by me, since I had to prepare this blog post! We were all rewarded with views of over 200 Fulmars and great views of skuas.

Young Arctic Tern (Havterne) with an Atlantic Herring. Foto: Simon Kiesé

Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove) chasing a Common Gull (Stormmåge). Foto: Simon Kiesé

Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove) chasing a Sandwich Tern (Splitterne). Foto: Simon Kiesé

Let’s see if this skua streak continues tomorrow!

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

People: Mio Brix, Simon S. Christiansen, Alfred Godsk Geckler, Simon Kiesé, Alexander Nyholm, Jule Tappe, Knud Pedersen, Erik Christophersen.

Jule was the first one who got up this morning to open the nets at Kabeltrommeln. Simon and Alexander joined her later for the first round. Due to the ongoing westerly wind, there weren't many passerines active, so they didn't catch many birds today. But on the last round they were all happy about a Tree Pipit (Skovpiber) in the net. These birds are always great to see close up.

My morning took me out to World's End 3 to do the migration count. I started with scanning the terns (Terne) and gulls (Måge). There were 7 Mediterranean Gulls (Sorthovedet Måge) on the beach, so still a good number after our and Skagen's all-time highcount of 14 (!) birds yesterday. While scanning the sea, I heard the flight calls of a Temminck's Stint (Temmincksryle), and then it flew quite close over the dune.

Temminck's stint (Temmincksryle) over World's End 3

Knud and Erik joined me at the end of the second hour, and a few minutes later, I spotted 2 Slavonian Grebes (Nordisk Lappedykker) swimming quite close to the shoreline. One 1K and one adult bird, which was moulting into winter plumage but still had some feathers of its breeding plumage. But that was not the only highlight of the count: while scanning the Kattegat to look for some resting birds, for example the known Long-tailed Duck (Havlit), which I also found later on, Knud spotted a 2K Great Northern Diver (Islom) close to the shoreline, another nice diving bird today! Jule, Simon and Alexander were also able to see both the Slavonian Grebes (Nordisk Lappedykker) and the Great Northern Diver (Islom) from Kabeltrommeln.

After we all headed back (with the good birds from today in our back), we had a quick breakfast and welcomed Alfred, who will stay here at the station until the 5th of August. Then Mette and Páll picked us up and drove us bit south to ring a clutch of Barn Owls (Slørugle) chicks. We really enjoyed the ride to this place with some music in the car! And of course, we enjoyed ringing the owls!

Taking Barn Owls (Slørugle) out of their breeding box

3 Young Barn Owls (Slørugle) waiting for their rings

After we drove back, most of us had a nap, and after that we did our daily tasks, including grocery shopping, and had a nice strawberry cake again! Thanks to Mette for bringing this delicious cake two days in a row!

1K Black Redstart (Husrødstjert) in the lighthouse garden. Picture by Alfred

And with that, another day at Skagen Fuglestation comes to an end. Let's see what the next days will bring!

Ringing (KAB):

Wren (Gærdesmutte)-2

Willow Warbler (Løvsanger)

Dunnock (Jernspurv)

Reed Warbler (Rørsanger)

Blackcap (Munk)-1

Tree Pipit (Skovpiber)-1

Total:13

Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger)- 6

Ringing (Nordøstvendsyssel):

Barn Owls (Slørugle)-3

Highlights from the observation:

Great Northern Diver (Islom)- 1 

Slavonian Grebes (Nordisk Lappedykker)-2

Temminck's stint (Temmincksryle)-1

Mediterranean Gulls (Sorthovedet Måge)-7

Cuckoo (Gøg)-1

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

People: Jule Tappe, Mio Brix, Simon Kiesé, Alexander Nyholm, Alfred Godsk Geckler, Mette Breede,Páll Vang Kjærbo, Lisa Vergin, Simon S. Christiansen, Knud Pedersen, Erik Christophersen.

The length of my blog post reflects the number of birds spotted today, which is why it’s going to be a short one (spoiler: it's not). The reason for this was the increasing westerly wind.

During the ringing session, we were particularly pleased by the good company, but also by a young Spotted Flycatcher (Grå Fluesnapper). Nevertheless, it’s lovely to see birds flying about, such as Honey Buzzards (Hvepsevåge) and a Mistle Thrush (Misteldrossel).

Alexander and Jule spent the morning at WE3, where at least a few waders, such as Bar-tailed Godwits (Lille Kobbersneppe), were resting. A young (1K) White-tailed Eagle (Havørn) flew so close that it almost took their breath away. Jule also finally spotted her very first Black-throated Diver (Sortstrubet Lom). Jule was watching Sule (and perhaps the gannets were watching Jule too).

Literally the only picture taken this morning, but a nice one. Taken by Jule.

In the afternoon I played some guitar. Mette gave us delicious Strawberry-Cake, which rounded up Mio's nice dinner. After that, we had some free time, that we wanted to use for one of our favorite activities: birding! So we went out to Grenen. Since I took my camera with me (it has been a while since I did that), you are privileged to see the following story in many pictures!

While walking out towards Grenen, there were already many Terns (Terner) flying around. Also my favorite one, the Arctic Tern (Havterne):

Pure elegance: adult Arctic Tern (Havterne). Picture by Simon Kiesé

Yellow-legged Gull (Middelhavsølvmåge) in between Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Both have yellow legs, but this is not a helpful criteria, since Herring Gulls (Sølvmåge) can also show this leg colour. Therefore we only identify YLG by its primary patern. Picture by Simon Kiesé

Young Arctic Tern (Havterne) waiting nervously for the partent bringing tasty fish. Picture by Simon Kiesé

We quickly spotted several Mediterranean Gulls (Sorthovedet Måge) in the flock. Even though we see them now every day, we directly noticed, that there were quite many. In the end we counted 14 young ones (3 with german rings): a new Skagen highcount!!

Young Mediterranean Gull (Sorthovedet Måge) - one of 14 birds today: a new Skagen highcount! Picture by Simon Kiesé

After these results (the pictures are not edited, just cropped), I was really satisfied and coult not wait to check the pictures on my laptop. That's why I now write this blog at 11.50 pm. Time to go to bed.

*Since the hosting had problems, I was not able to update the blog. So this version is updated now finally (yayyy) on the 3rd of August.

Quiz picture: can you identify both species? ;-)

Ringing (KAB):

Total: 14

Highlight in today's observations:

Yellow-legged Gull (Middelhavsølvmåge) - 1 (known 4K bird still present)

Mediterranen Gulls (Sorthovedet Måge) - 14 (New Skagen highcount!)

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

People: Jule Tappe, Mio Brix, Simon Kiesé, Alexander Nyholm, Mette Breede, Páll Vang Kjærbo, Simon S. Christiansen.

The day started really early today when a little over midnight Mette woke Simon, Mio and me up and told us they had caught a small black bird at the beach. Simon and I immediately realised that it must be a Storm-Petrel, so we quickly rush down to the lab.

 European Storm-Petrel (Lille Stormsvale) tonight. Picture by Simon Kiesé

It was a European Storm-Petrel (Lille Stormsvale) and suddenly the low amount of sleep seems worth it. Around 8 people went to see this seldom observed pelagic species in the middle of the night and it was a lifer for me.

Wing picture of the 3cy.+ Storm-Petrel. Picture by Simon Kiesé

Look at the white rump! Picture by Simon Kiesé

When we woke up again a few hours later it was time for ringing at Kabeltromlen. Today it was Jule, both Simon’s, Mette and me at the ringing. Today would be a day with a lot of birds and especially warblers and we ended up ringing 67 birds and 9 different species of warblers. Most common was a staggering 28 Common Whitethroats (Tornsanger). We also caught a nice Wood Warbler (Skovsanger). We had quite a few visitors at the ringing today as well, which was nice. 

Wood Warbler (Skovsanger). Picture by Knud Pedersen

Other highlights from the ringing include Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken) and Garden Warbler (Havesanger). During the ringing period a few good species came by including a Common Rosefinch (Karmindompap), adult Caspian Tern (Rovterne) and most surprisingly a summer record of Bohemian Waxwing (Silkehale). Only the 3^rd time this species has been recorded in the area during July. There was also a good number of Kestrels (Tårnfalk) flying through. 

Bohemian Waxwing (Silkehale) at Kabeltromlen. Picture by Simon Kiesé

Mio was on observation duty today at Grenen. In the first hour he had a lot of migrating shorebirds compared to the last few days including: Whimbrel (Småspove), Bar-tailed Godwit (Lille Kobbersneppe), Ruddy Turnstone (Stenvender) and a lot of sandpipers the “tringa” genus (Klirer). Espacially Spotted Redshank (Sortklire) is not that common up here. In the second he also had a Great Skua (Storkjove) migrating north-west.

We ended the day by watching 168 Fulmars (Mallemuk) from the dune just outside the lighthouse.

Ringing (KAB):

Chiffchaff (Gransanger) - 9

Blue Tit (Blåmejse) - 7

Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) - 28

Garden Warbler) Havesanger - 1

Blackcap (Munk)  - 5

Lesser Redpoll (Gråsisken, Lille (ssp. cabaret)) - 1

Willow Warbler (Løvsanger) - 1

Icterine Warbler (Gulbug) - 4

Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger) - 5

Wood Warbler (Skovsanger) - 1

Reed Warbler (Rørsanger) - 2

Marsh Warbler (Kærsanger) - 3

Total: 67 new (+7 recap)

Ringing (Det Grå Fyr):

European Storm-Petrel (Lille Stormsvale) -  1

Highlights from the observation:

Waxwing (Silkehale) - 1 (3^rd July record for Skagen; sound recording of its call on this link)

Caspian Tern (Rovterne) - 1 (Listen to recording of its call on this link)

Great Skua (Storkjove) - 1

Rosefinch (Karmindompap) - 1

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

People: Jule Tappe, Mio Brix, Simon Kiesé, Alexander Nyholm, Mette Breede, Lisa Vergin, Knud Pedersen, Simon S. Christiansen.

After the westerly winds had lessened over night, we were finally able to do some ringing today! Simon K., Mette and I went to Skarvsøen for CES ringing. We arrived at 4:15 in the morning and before having put down baggage, we already came across a highlight: A bittern (Rørdrum) flew over the lake and even called! They are such mysterious and cool birds that you get see rarely! In good spirit, we set up the nets and were joined by Páll, Leona and Sebastian for the first net round. While the first couple of rounds only offered a small number of birds, by the third round, we caught about 5 birds per round, making us busy but giving us enough time to study moult. We mostly caught Common Reed Warblers (Rørsanger), Chiffchaffs (Gransanger) and Lesser Whitethroats (Gærdesanger). Many of the warbler were recaptures from previous ringing sessions, with one Reed Warbler ringed as an adult in 2022. This means it is now at least 5 years old!

One of the adult Reed Warblers (Rørsanger) we caught.

In between net rounds, we watched the birds on the lake, among them Wood Sandpipers (Tinksmed), Common Snipes (Dobbeltbekkasin), Northern Shovelers (Skeand), a Little Ringed Plover (Lille præstekrave) and the Spoonbill (Skestork) that you might remember from yesterday’s blog. After ringing, Leona and Sebastian left to continue their journey around Scandinavia.

In the meantime, Alexander and Mio were doing the migration count from World’s End 3. Unfortunately, they had sea fog that blocked their view on the horizon but still managed to experience some nice observations. There was a Yellow-legged Gull (Middelhavssølvmåge) and four Mediterranean Gulls (Sorthovedet Måge) resting on the beach, several Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove) on the sea and two Black-throated Divers (Sortstrubet lom).

First calendar year (left) and second calendar year (middle) Mediterranean Gull (Sorthovedet Måge) next to each other.

Apart from birdwatching, there was also some mammal-watching going on as three Bottlenose Dolphins (Øresvin) swam around Denmark’s tip into Kattegat. A very cool sight! After the count, Mio and Alexander read rings of terns (Terne) and Gulls (Måge) on the beach.

By noon, we were all back at the lighthouse, entered data from the morning and took a nap. Alexander, Mette and I went into town to buy some groceries and also returned a lot of bottle deposits that had accumulated over the past couple of months. Thank you for driving us, Mette! After a delicious meal prepared by Simon K., we set up the nets on the beach for what’s about to happen tonight: We are going to try to catch European Storm Petrels (Lille stormsvale) and Nightjars (Natravn) again! Fingers crossed that there will be good news about that on the blog tomorrow!

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

People: Mette Breede, Mio Brix, Simon S. Christiansen, Leona Gottschalkson, Sebastian Jurr, Simon Kiesé, Páll Vang Kjærbo, Alexander Nyholm, Jule Tappe

Jule, Simon, and I were the first to breathe in the fresh Skagen air that morning. We went out to World’s End 3 to do the migration count. Later, we were joined by Leona and our guest, Mette.. As the combination of yesterday’s and today’s blog titles suggests, there was not much migration over the sea, and the numbers of roosting terns (terne) and gulls (måge) were lower than on the previous days. Nevertheless, an adult light-morph Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove) and several Fulmars (Mallemuk) kept us watching the sea. Fortunately, the smaller flock of terns on the flooded beach at Grenen was quite close, so we were able to read some colour rings.

Ringed Sandwich Tern (Splitterne) from Poland

After the standardized count, we all headed back to the station. After a short nap, we were woken by Sebastian, who had cooked a delicious lunch for us. This motivated Leona, Sebastian, and me to go to Skarvsøen to cut reeds and branches so that the nets would be clear for the next CES ringing session tomorrow.

After cutting down the reeds around the first net, I walked up and looked over Skarvsøen . I immediately noticed a white bird with its typical foraging behaviour: a Spoonbill (Skestork)! It was the first July record for the Skagen area. Normally, Spoonbills appear here during the spring season. Simon also came by to see the bird.

  1K Spoonbill (Skestork) foraging

After Simon had enjoyed watching the bird and Leona, Sebastian, and I had finished cutting down the reeds, we headed back to the station. There, we welcomed Alexander, who will be staying at the station for one week.

Now, after our usual evening routine of dinner and the evening meeting, we will all go to bed early so that we are ready for CES ringing and the migration count tomorrow.

Let’s see what the next few days will bring!

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

Highlights from the observations:

Spoonbill (Skestork)-1

Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove)-1

Mediterranean Gull (Sorthovedet Måge) - 1

People at the station: Mio Brix, Simon Kiesé, Alexander Nyholm, Jule Tappe, Leona Gottschalkson, Sebastian Jurr, Simon S. Christiansen, Mette Breede.

Tonight it was very windy and cloudy, so it was an ideal night to go nightcatching at Grenen.
Right before 11 pm Sebastian and I went out to the tip to approach some resting Arctic Terns (Havterne), Sandwich Terns (Splitterne), Greater Black backed Gulls (Svartbag) an Herring Gulls (Sølvmåge) which were sitting at a lagoon on the beach.
After 3 hours of trying to find approachable birds to catch, we decided to go back to the station and get some sleep.

As it was again too windy in the morning to open the nets at KAB Jule, Sophie, Mio and Simon K. went out to World's End 3 to do the migration count.

Already in the first hour they were surprised by several 5 Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove). During the count a total of 5 birds showed up.

Afterwards they were looking at a huge number of terns and aging them. Also they were able to read a Mediterranean Gull (Sorthovedet Måge) ring and a Swedish Lesser Black Backed Gull (Sildemåge) Ring.

 
Meanwhile Simon S. C. was able to see that the Eagle Owl (Stor Honugle) that was ringed 4 Days ago at Jerup Rescue Center was safely released back into the wild close to where it was originally found.

The wind should calm down the day after tomorrow, so Simon and Jule went to KAB to give the vegetation around the nets a good trim, as reeds and branches are growing into the nets.
In the evening Sebastian and I cooked a vegetarian lasagna and we all enjoyed our dinner together.

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

People: Mio Brix, Simon Kiesé, Jule Tappe, Sofie Bugge Kobberø, Leona Gottschalkson, Sebastian Jurr, Mette Breede.

The wind brought us together, and so all the volunteers and our guest Søren found themselves at the end of the world in Grenen: World’s End 3. The beach was flooded by the strong westerly wind (too strong to open the nets at KAB) and there were lots of gulls and terns flying around the large lagoon. Right from the start, I began counting the Arctic Terns (Havterne), as their numbers had so impressed me yesterday. Today there were significantly more again, and I managed to count 152 adults and 2 juveniles. Brilliant! As well as my regular count of terns, I naturally couldn’t help but keep an eye on the sea.

Jule watching the Sea during the pretty sunrise.

Here, the wind finally brought in a few more seabirds, such as three Arctic skuas (Almindelig Kjove), which delighted us with some magnificent views. Suddenly, a Great Skua (Storkjove) appeared. For Jule, this was a new species, and she caught a brief glimpse of the bird just before it landed on the sea. There were only a few Fulmars (Mallemuk) about until, behind a fishing boat, 30 of them suddenly appeared. In the end there even was a young Little Gull (Dværgmåge) foraging. All in all, a successful morning.

The evening was filled with sorting stuff, baking cake and our daily tasks. You see - we used the time wisely that we gained by not being out ringing today. We already miss having birds in the hand though.

In the evening our new guests arrived. Since everyone was motivated to go ringing, but the weather forecast does not look good for the next two days, we decided to give it a go in the lighthouse garden. This was a good decision, since we caught a pretty Barn Swallow (Landsvale). An old male, which we can tell by the very long tail steamers.

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

People: Mio Brix, Simon Kiesé, Søren Roed, Jule Tappe, Sofie Bugge Kobberø, Leona Gottschalkson, Sebastian Jurr, Mette Breede.