Dav bloggen!

Endnu en god dag i Skagen er gået. Vi var alle ude at ringmærke ved kabeltromlen fra solopgang, og blev traditionen tro stukket af hundredevis af myg. Morgenen var domineret af 1k juvenile torn- og gærdesangere. Vi fangede også en flot gråsisken han.

Alt i alt en fin morgen i ringmærkningen med de fugle vi kan forvente på denne årstid.

Eftermiddagen har budt på lidt forskellige praktiske opgaver såsom netsyning, reperation af cykler og dataindtastning. 

Folk på stationen:

Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Rita DeLucco, Esben E. Hansen og vores gæster.

Earlier in the day, Hanelie set out for the harbor in hopes of coming across oystercatchers (Haematopus) that she heard were breeding on the flat roofs that are safely at bay of predators below. Unfortunately, she did not end up finding them, but she was able to spot as well as photograph the herring gull chicks (Sølvmåge) on the roof of some of the downtown buildings.

Herring Gull Chicks (Sølvmåge). Photo Credit: Hanelie Sidhu

As the day went on it quickly became what seemed to be the perfect day for orchid counting with Knud and his wife Inge. In the early afternoon, Hanelie, Alice, and I departed with Knud and Inge towards the area of Hulsig, where we selected specific fields for the counting of orchid individuals of three native species with the aid of our tally counters. The species we targeted were the distinctly white Platanthera bifolia (Bakke-Gogelilje), the very spotted Dactylorhiza maculata (Plettet Gøgeurt), and the astonishingly purple Dactylorhiza majalis (Purpur Gøgeurt). We spent a number of hours individually counting our sections of the vast fields, which we then tallied up to calculate the total number of individuals spotted of each species. By the end of the excursions, we had counted 8872 Platanthera bifolia (Bakke-Gogelilje), 10714 Dactylorhiza maculata (Spotted Cuckoo-herb), and 301 Dactylorhiza majalis (Purple Cuckoo-herb). A brief analysis of the total number of individuals of each species compared to last year's numbers indicated that more individuals were spotted compared to last year. The species with the highest jump in numbers compared to last year was the spotted orchid Dactylorhiza maculata (Plettet Gøgeurt) which doubled in numbered from over 5000 individuals to well over 10 000 individuals.

Dactylorhiza maculata (Spotted Cuckoo-herb) on the left,Dactylorhiza majalis (Purpur Gøgeurt) on the right. Photo Credit: Alice Scalzo

Platanthera bifolia (Bakke-Gogelilje). Photo Credit: Alice Scalzo

After our orchid excursion, Knud and Inge were kind enough to take us by their lovely home. For most of us it was the first time we had the pleasure of seeing a Danish home and backyard which to our surprise, Knud mentioned that in his garden alone he has spotted over 200 species of birds, many of whom were attracted by his fruit-laden trees. The couple also gave us a tour of their home, which was a wonderful opportunity for all of us to finally see the inside of the characteristically yellow homes that adorn Skagen, and gave us yet another discovery on our adventure in Denmark!

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

Observations of the day in DOFbasn from observers in the area

People at the station: Knud & Inge Pedersen, Esben E. Hansen,, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Rita DeLucco, our Guests. 

Hi everyone!

The events of this blog entry start exceptionally already in the last hours of yesterday, because as Alice announced, today, we were night active and have been Nightjar chatching in Sandmilen the whole night. But it was another successful night. Around nine o'clock in the evening, Lars Bo, Esben, Alice, Rita and I drove in a packed car to Sandmilen. After we had set up the nets there, we had to wait. It would have been quite comfortable, Esben had had the idea to bring blankets and we had the cake with us, which Mette had brought yesterday - that was good refreshment, thank you - but unfortunately the air was full of midges. Therefore, we have tried with all means to cover our faces, and that`s how we look then, on our blankets, but not quite the most successful night picnic ;)

In the first round we were rewarded, for all the torture the midges did to us, two male Nightjars „Natravn“ in the nets! Alice and I had the honor to ring the two and again marvel at their enormous gorges when they hissed at us one or the other time.

Of course this first successful round left us hoping for more, in the second round the nets were empty. Between two net rounds Lars Bo and I headed towards the sea with the thermal Binoculars and chacher net. We wanted to escape the midges and also hoped to see and catch resting birds on the beach. But after a while we realized that the beach was further away than expected. So we returned empty-handed for the next net round, but the nets were also empty. When finally already the first birds started to sing, Song Thrushes „Sangdrossel“ and Robins „Rødhals” and then soon also Goldcrests „Fuglekonge”, we set off for the last net round and put down the nets afterwards. Nothing this time either. And yet a successful night, with two Nightjars can already be satisfied. But we are wondering where the bats are, because we had not seen a single one. At sunrise we drove back to the station and soon all crawled into bed. In the morning, Knud was observing at Nordstrand. And around five o'clock in the morning Rolf heard a Zitting Cisticola ”Cistussanger”at World's End 1. At that time, we had just crawled into bed. Still, it's very cool, because it's the 5th danish record and the 4th for Skagen. and of course we hope to maybe hear it tomorrow.... We then slept late of course, I was up first and started cleaning the kitchen after a brunch, then Esben, Alice and Rita came too. Esben set off after dinner in pouring rain to Netto to do some grocery shopping. Alice, Rita and I then cleaned up the Nightjar equipment in the lab. Now we hear the mixer, because Esben makes falafel for us. We are looking forward to a good meal and maybe an evening walk?
Take care, see you tomorrow!

Hanelie

Observations of the day in DOFbasn from observers in the area

Klik her for at se opsummeret observationer af rovfugle i Skagen

People at the station: Knud Pedersen, Esben E. Hansen, Lars Bo Jacobsen, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Rita DeLucco, our Guests 

This morning Megan, Rita and me opened the nets with a fantastic sunrise.

Mesmerizing Sky, Photo by Megan Nepshinsky 

Little did we know that the south-easterly winds would bring so many nice species into our nets. Around 8 it started. We arrived with our freshly extracted Green Sandpiper, confident we had the rarest bird. When we came up from the south side Erik asked me "Did you extract it?" I was confused. I didn't tell anyone yet but maybe my smile was suspicious. "Extracted what?" I asked him "The Paddyfield!" 

Paddyfield Warbler (Lille Rørsanger), Photo by Alice Scalzo

A Paddyfield Warbler? That is the second one caught this spring and with that a new record for Denmark! We took all the measurements of the two cool new birds and filled out the rarity sheet, excited for the next rounds for good reason.

Green Sandpiper (Svaleklire), Photo by Leona Gottschalkson 

On top of the Paddyfield Warbler and the Green Sandpiper we were surprised by our first 1k Bearded Reedling(Skægmejse), a Jay(Skovskade) and a Redwing(Vindrossel) with a Bruthpatch.

Bearded Reedling (Skægmejse), Photo by Megan Nepshinsky

Redwing (Vindrossel), Photo by Leona Gottschalkson 

A very good Ringing Session. After some last minute new Species close up for me, Alice, Megan and I went to the secondhand shop in the city. Alice had planned to go there again since 1 month but it was always either to busy or closed when she wanted to go. After that we went Sunbathing on the beach enjoying the heat and listening to the sound of breaking waves. 

A last souvenir, Photo by Alice Scalzo

Megan is sadly not coming back to the station because coming all the way back up from Germany is a bit complicated for only 3 days. Her place will be filled with Hanelie though, who's happy to have a few more days up here.

Because Megan is leaving we had some cake and afterwards said goodbye to her. It was so nice to have her on the team, we will really miss her! She helped so much, taking care of Birders Club and even compiling a Volunteer welcome package!

After she left we started cleaning. I decided to clean the Lab, but before that I went to the cool Bunker the others had told me about. It was a bit scary to be honest because there was an Armour lying on a mattress which looked on first sight like a body. In the area I was able to discover 2 new Species for my Butterfly List and also 2 new Moths.

White Satin Moth (Atlaskspinder), Photo by Leona Gottschalkson 

When I came back to clean the Lab Esben had arrived. He will be ringing with us for the next week.

This will be my last Blog because I will leave tomorrow in the morning. I had such a great time here in Skagen, I got to know so many different interesting personalities, went on excursions with nature preservation enthusiasts and simply had a lot of fun with my team exploring the area and birding together. Together we collected a lot of unforgettable memories and planned our future travel and birding plans. We helped each other out when feeling tired or unmotivated and I am so thankful for this experience. It taught me so much in such a little timespan! 

Thank you so much! All of you, I wish you a great rest stay!

Have a nice Day,

Leona

Ringing Totals:

Lille Rørsanger: 1

Skægmejse: 1

Svaleklire: 1

Skovskade: 1

Vindrossel: 1

Blåmejse: 1

Lille Gråsisken: 1

Rørsanger: 1

Rødhals: 2

Tornsanger: 3

Gransanger: 4

Gærdesanger: 9

Munk: 10

 Total: 36

 Observations of the day in DOFbasn 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: Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Leona Gottschalkson, Megan Nepshinsky, Rita DeLucco, Oluf Lou, Esben, Our Guests Jesper and Hanne

Today, Leona and I started our morning around 3:15 in the morning as we started to prepare for our morning observations in Verdensende 1. Though it was early, the pleasant bicycle ride to the location was more than enough to wake us up and prepare us for hours of meticulous observation, but if we did need to be awoken further a cloud of mosquitoes awaited us on the shrub-bordered paths to the observation site. Once we successfully fought our way to the observation site we were greeted with rays of sunshine, and many Common Scoters (Sortand). But the scene that most impressed us was the aggressive pursuit of two skuas (Kjover) after a single determined Arctic tern clutching at its fishy meal.

Upon returning to the lighthouse, Hanelie soon greeted us with a tasty proposition we had heard much about, apple pancakes. Within an hour, all the rooms were filled with the smell of cinnamon, dough, and baked apples, and as expected the pancakes tasted as delicious as they smelled. After our morning meal, Hanelie, Alice, Megan, Leona, and I discussed how we would divide the group to tend to the mist nets in grave need of repair at various sites and in the attic. By the end of the afternoon, team Alice, Megan, and Leona successfully patched up all the nets on the north side all the while enjoying the wonderful weather and the avoiding the hungry mosquitoes, while team Hanelie and Rita struggled with the nets from the attic but remained confident it will be in working order by tomorrow.

Alice Scalzo Mist Net Repair. Photo Credit: Megan Nepshinsky

Rita DeLucco Mist Net Repair. Photo Credit:Hanelie Sidhu

The end of the day came to a natural end as we approached closer to dinner which would turn out to be a Danish surprise. Much to our surprise, the friendly next-door guests had prepared a traditional Danish home-cooked meal which they kindly and creatively turned vegetarian in order to suit our dietary preferences. The meal in question “tarteletter” stuffed with bechamel sauce and butter beans and topped ever so elegantly with mushrooms and asparagus graced a platter in several rows. By the end of the meal we were positively stuffed and were informed that “tarteletter” in Danish means “take it easy”, which we did after three or more servings of the local delicacy. As we all prepared to say our goodbyes and goodnights, our guests shared yet another surprise, a life-like painting of a feather from Nightjar (Natravne). A bird I hope to encounter in the near future for the very first time.

Tarteletter Dinner by guests Jesper & Anne. Photo Credit: Megan Nepshinsky

Water Color Painting of Nightjar Feather by guest Jesper. Photo Credit: Leona Gottschalkson

Observations of the day in DOFbasn 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:  Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Leona Gotctshalkson, Rita DeLucco, Megan Nepshinsky, our guests Jesper and Anne 

Hi everyone!

This morning Rita, Alice, Megan and I went out with Skopes and Camera along the beach to Worlds End 3. On the way there we saw a few Sandwich Terns „Splitterne“ very close to the beach, which we were not happy about because they are probably sick with the bird flu, which currently affects quite a few seabirds, especially Gannets „Sule“and Terns „Terne“. At present we receive many messages of dead Gannets and a very sad zello call reached us in the afternoon: Claus Madsen had found 53 dead Gannets "Sule" between Gammle Skagen and Kanderstederne.
Back to our morning count: we counted the resting Gulls and Terns. There was also a Little Tern "Dværgterne" and we saw three light morph Arctic Skuas „Almindelig Kjove“ chasing Terns „Terne“. We also tried to read Colerrings, we saw two Color-ringed Gulls and one Ringed Sandwich Tern.

Northern Gannet "Sule"

But unfortunately we did not manage to get close enough to read the rings. We made our way back to the station, there we used the time to take care of the Picture Archive and the Raptor summary, to update guidelines, to eat or to rest a bit. Also, Ritas suitcase arrived while she was sleeping and when she came out of her room from her nap, she was happily surprised to be finally reunited with her luggage that had been lost yesterday at the airport in Amsterdam. Jesper and Anne met friends today and went to the museum together. In the afternoon they went shopping with Leona, Rita and Megan. On this occasion they could also pick up the bike we had in the workshop. Alice and I meanwhile drove to Kabeltromle where we took care of the nets. Back at the station Megan had cooked us well, once again, we ate and then Knud came by, bringing us a dead Great Skua „Storkjove“as well as a dead Eagle Owl „Stor Hornugle“ for the freezer. This was a sad event, the owl was very fresh and in good condition and Knud's guess is that it was predated by White-tailed Eagles „Havørn”. We would rather have seen it alive than marvel at the great plumage on the lifeless owl body.

Simon & Lisa has gone on vacation but they still tried to go out with Trammelnets futher south in Vendsyssel to try and see if they could catch Quails (Vagtel) in the night. One came close but none got ringed, but they found quite a few. 5 singing males and 1 individual calling.

Tonight there was another event in Skagen: The Barn Fire on the beach, for us not Skandinaven quite impressed and we also saw the Danish Princess Marie, who visited Skagen and gave a speech. After that we came back to the station and we early birds quickly crawled into bed, respectively I plan to do so soon when this blog is finished.

Good night, see you tomorrow! 

Hanelie went to Batteriskoven this morning, she found a young blackbird that she really liked and Alice wanted to go out with the stations camera but the SD Card had magically disappeared. So she stayed in and worked a bit on her applications.

Gladly it turned out Simon had taken the SD Card so she didn't have to worry anymore that she lost it somewhere.

We then went out to the cormorant lake so that Simon could show us the new place for the CES ringing and to show us where we will prepare the reeds for nets. While walking there we saw a group of 4 Bearded Reedlings(Skægmejse) and a Bittern(Rørdrum) flying over. Another lifer for me were the Bearded Reedlings which I still wanted to see before leaving as I am leaving already in 4 days, so that was really nice.

Checking out new places for nets, Photo by Alice Scalzo

Afterwards we worked a bit on the raptor project and then went back to the station to eat something. Alice then went to the station garden to put up the last net and to take the owl net down. Hanelie also went out in the field again and looked at some plants.

Galium pallustre, Photo by Hanelie Sidhu

In the meantime Meghan had worked on the welcome package for new volunteers and finished it so everything was ready for Rita. She arrived today and will be part of our team until the end of July. Megan was a big help for Rita today because she helped to coordinate everything as unfortunately her luggage was lost on the way and also by just being in touch with her from the beginning. Now apparently the luggage is in Aalborg, so let’s hope that it will arrive in the next few days.

Our guests joined us in the field today and afterwards Hanne went on a walk at the beach and looked at the Eiders, while Jesper had a nap. After that they made another walk through the dunes together.

Observations of the day in DOFbasn 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: Simon S. Christiansen, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Leona Gottschalkson, Megan Nepshinsky, Rita DeLucco, our guests Jesper and Hanne