It is still feeling like winter here in Skagen… Migration has mostly been thwarted for now. Johanna went for a long walk to Nordstrand and back this morning. She saw 12 Bearded Tits very close (Skægmejse) near the car park at Nordstrand. Yehonatan and Lauren opened the nets opposite the Lighthouse, they did not catch anything but saw a Woodcock (Skovsneppe). Lauren and I went to the harbour around midday, we were pleased to find a juvenile Iceland Gull (Hvidvinget Måge).

Iceland Gull

The same Caspian Gull (Kaspisk Måge) from the other day was showing well too, both species alongside each other at times.

Caspian Gull (below) with Iceland Gull

Simon, Yehonatan and Johanna successfully twitched both birds, a new species for both Yehonatan and Johanna. 

A full list of today's observations can be found here.

Today's raptor summary can be found here.

People at the station: Lauren Evans, Johanna Veentjer, Dante Shepherd, Yehonatan ben aroia

After the glorious sunshine of yesterday, we thought we’d seen the last of the snow but alas, we were wrong. Heavy snow, freezing temperatures and fog meant the typical morning observations were impossible. As soon as the weather improved slightly, Yehonatan and I trudged through the snow to clear the snow and ice below some nets as well as replenished the seed mix to support the wintering passerines in this cold period. I then carried on to Ellekrattet and enjoyed my best views yet of a very vocal pair of Bearded Tits (Skægmejse).

What a difference a day makes: the Grey Lighthouse (Det Grå Fyr) yesterday evening (top) and this morning (bottom).

Johanna birded the local area while both Dante and Simon checked the large flocks of Common Scoter (Sortand) and Eider (Ederfugle) resting in the Kattegat. They’re highlights were two male Long-tailed Ducks (Havlit) and a winter plumage Black Guillemot (Tejst).

We also received the ringing recovery information for the Swedish-ringed Common Redpoll (Stor Gråsisken) we caught last week with Michael Anker at Jenne sø. It was originally ringed as a first calendar year bird on 7^th July 2021 at Grisgarmen, Degernäs, Sweden.

The original Swedish ringing site and the recovery site (Skagen) of the Common Redpoll (Stor Gråsisken).

A full list of today's observations can be found here.

Today's raptor summary can be found here.

Skagen Fuglestation: Johanna Veentjer, Yehonatan Ben aroia, Dante Shepherd & Lauren Evans

Today we had a really calm and sunny day at Skagen bird observatoy, a good chance to go out after the snowstorm we had yesterday and expole the snowy area. 

Dante and Lauren went to try and do some sea watching, but as with almost no wind at all, and a very calm sea, not many sea birds we present.

meanwhile i (Yehonatan) went for walk around the staion are, where there is a feeding station for deer, but also many passerines came there to feed and fatten up to handle the cold weather, mostly Yellowhammers (Gulspurv)

Later on Joana Lauren and Yehonatan, went for a trip with simon to look for some raptors in the snow, but unfortunately, did not find any that are roosting at the area.

at that time Dante went to the harbor to look for some special gulls, but had no succes aswell.

we all had a nice evening meeting back at the station, and Johanna made a lovely dinner.

A full list of today's observations can be found here.

Today's raptor summary can be found here.

People:  Yehonatan ben aroia, Johanna Veentjer, Dante Shepherd and Lauren Evans.

Hi everyone!

Today, an immense snowstorm reached Skagen, such an incredible weather phenomenon!

Due to the heavy snowing, storm and fog we could not go for the morning observation, so we started the day a bit later. Dante and Lauren went out in the snow to see if they can spot any birds and check if the nets didn’t got loose from the storm. I met them later on their way back, while I was walking to Verdens Ende. It was incredible, the snow came nearly horizontally in my face while I was walking. It were around 28 knots, which is more than 50 km/h and I was astonished by the big waves from the Baltic Sea as well. I really liked walking at the beach in the stormy and cold weather, its just important to stay save and have the fitting equipment of course! Would have been cool to see some more birds, but there were only a few gulls and some Sanderlings at the beach.

When I came back to the station, I made some cookies (thanks to Solenn for the recipe!). We were sitting in the living room, doing some tasks on our laptops in the afternoon. Dante was out trying to see some more birds, but unfortunately he did not see anything special. I went for a second walk as well, this time over the Tractor Track to the beach. Almost the complete beach was flooded so I had to go threw the dunes and snowdrifts. It was very special to be there, just seeing how powerful nature can be. The pictures can not really represent the experience, but you might get an impression of how it was out there.

Beach covered by snow and water

Snowdrifts at Grenen

People at the station: Lauren Evans, Johanna Veentjer, Dante Shepherd, Yehonatan ben aroia

Hanelie left early this morning for Gedser Fuglestation, good luck Hanelie! Yehonatan and I had spent the morning making migration observations at Grenen. It was ideal weather conditions to see Shag (Topskarv), calm winds and sun, but they never came. Both the sea and overland migration were very quiet. The slow days make the good days even better though! Johanna, Lauren and Michael went ringing at Jenne Sø whilst we were counting, a Swedish controlled Common Redpoll (Nordlig Gråsisken) being their highlight. Yehonatan and Lauren enjoyed their first ever Northern Long-tailed Tit (Nordlig Halemejse) shortly after the mornings activities. In the afternoon I decided to walk along Nordstrand. My first Danish Caspian Gull (Kaspisk Måge) was nice to see, it has been a record winter for this species at Skagen with 5-10 individuals.

Caspian Gull by Dante

Meanwhile Yehonatan, Johanna and Lauren went to look for woodland birds and found several Waxwing (Silkehale) and Parrot Crossbill (Stor Korsnæb). Forecast snow and strong winds over the next few days should mix things up a bit…

Waxwing by Yehonatan

Skagen Fulfillment: Yehonatan ben aroia, Hanelie Sidhu, Johanna Veentjer, Dante Shepherd and Lauren Evans.

Jenne sø ringing totals (Michael Anker):

• Blue Tit (Blåmejse) 1
• Common Redpoll (Nordlig Gråsisken) 9

We started the morning going to do sea observation, Yehonatan, Hanelie, Joana and had a pretty slow morning with still not that many birds and alot of wind with some sand in the eyes.

Later we joined Michael Ancher, to ring at Jenne sø, all together. we had a few birds, but the wind was quite strong so we closed the nets early and went back to the station to eat a late breakfest 

In the after noon Simon came by to say hey and brought us some new wine glasses that we will surely use, and Joana made us a great pizza for dinner.

People-Yehonatan ben aroia, Eric Scheuering, Hanelie Sidhu, Johanna Veentjer, Dante Shepherd and Lauren Evens

Ringing at Jenne sø

Gråsisken-13

Grønsisken-1

Dear Blog Reader,

This morning was quiet. The rising sun put the and the sky in shing redish colors while Yehonatan, Eric and I went to Verdens Ende 3 for morning observations.

But we had a rather quiet morning. Some Whooper Svans “Sangsvane” were migrating, and again we had several Skylarks “Sanglærke” migrating, and although soon, we will hear their siongs from every Calluna field, it is always a pleasure to listen to their calls and songs. Besides big numbers of Gulls “Måge” also Oystercatcher “Strandskade” and Ringed Plover “Stør Præstekrave were resting at the tip and we saw a flock of 20 Snowbuntings “Snespurv” resting near Verdens Ende 3, which is more than we saw the last days, which gives us hope for our next attempt to catch them with Yehonathans nets in the weekend.

Did you already see the Black-throated Divers “Sørtstrubet Lom” at Grenen? There are two resting in the area, which we could observe several times already, also today.

Johanna went for a walk this morning. At Batteriskoven, she could observe one of the two Green Woodpeckers “Grønspætte” which are at Skagen for quite some time now.

Michael was ringing at Jennes Sø today and caught a Arctic Redpoll "Hvidsisken"!

Gulspurv: 1

Hvidsisken: 1

Lille Gråsisken: 1

Nordlig Gråsisken: 16

Total: 19

After lunch, we all went to Cormorant Lake to see, if the some Cormorants “Skarv” come to the nests already. But there were just a lot of Gulls “Måge”, having a bath at Cormorant Lake. On the way back, we could observe two Cranes “Trane” at Storsig very close.

We had a big shopping list, so after Cormorant Lake, Johanna, Yehonatan and I went grocery shopping. Now, Yehonatan is cooking for us and soon, Lauren and Dante will arrive, who will stay here for the rest of the year!

Take care!

Hanelie

Dagens observationer kan ses her

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

People:  Yehonatan ben aroia, Eric Scheuering, Hanelie Sidhu, Johanna Veentjer, Dante Shepherd and Lauren Evens

Hi everyone!
Today Hanelie, Eric and I went for morning observations while Yehonatan was looking for Snowbuntings.

The day started with clear sky, almost no wind and a beautiful sunrise. Beside the usual migrating seabirds, we also saw thousands of Jackdaws (Allike) migrating, as well as seven Buzzards (Musvåge).
After finishing the 4th hour, we went back to the station where Jørgen would pick us up (thanks a lot to Jørgen!).  Together we drove to different places in the area while the weather was brilliant. First we made a stop at Flagbakken and saw a Red Kite (Rød Glente) there. Afterwards we headed to Råbjerg Mile. There we got to see a pair of Cranes (Trane) at the small lakes next to the giant dune.

While walking back to the parking space, Hanelie discovered these interesting tracks. We weren’t really able to tell from what kind of animal they are.

On the way back to the station, we made a short stop near Hulsig, where we saw another pair of Cranes and a Sparrowhawk (Spurvehøg).

We spend the evening entering data and Eric made a delicious meal for us.

 Today's observations of observers in the area

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

People at the station: Yehonatan ben aroia, Eric Scheuering, Hanelie Sidhu, Johanna Veentjer, Jørgen Kabel and Igor

There was a little frost on the ground this morning as we walked to Verdens Ende 3 to start our morning observation and we knew that with the wind picking up again we would not enjoy the same calm and balmy conditions as we did yesterday when it almost felt like summer for a few minutes. With the return of some moderate wind out of the north we also noticed that the very visible migration we observed yesterday had all but stopped.

As the counting was quite slow, Yehonatan investigated two seals out at the point, one living and one dead. Two Common Ravens (Ravn) had already found the dead seal and were making breakfast out of it.

A sleepy, but alive, Harbor Seal pup. (Photo: Yehonatan ben aroia)

After our observations I walked back along the tractor track to look for any new birds that might have arrived there. While I didn't see anything new I did once again find the small flock of Reed Buntings (Rørspurv) that has been there for several weeks, if not longer.

Hanelie had noticed earlier that a Eurasian Green Woodpecker (Grønspætte) had been sighted yesterday near Batteriskoven so she and Yehonatan went in search of it and also for the Common Firecrest (Rødtoppet Fuglekonge) that had been found recently at Ellekrattet. They were able to easily find the Grønspætte and I met up with them after for the continued search for Rødtoppet Fuglekonge. Although we did not find it we did hear a Eurasian Bullfinch (Dompap) calling.

Grønspætte at Batteriskoven

While I have seen many Grønspætte and Rødtoppet Fuglekonge while living in Spain and Germany, I have not seen either species in Denmark and I know that they are both quite uncommon in the Skagen area. One of the resources I used to learn about the status and distribution of species is by looking at eBird (ebird.org). This is a great tool for finding out information on species and it also allows me to easily manage my sightings.

I am not much of a lister, at least a hardcore one, but eBird makes it so easy for me to know what species I've seen where, I can't help but keep track of things. For example, I know I've seen 88 species since I arrived in the Nordjylland region just over three weeks ago. It's also how I so easily knew I had not seen these two species in Denmark yet and that provided a little incentive for me to go and tick them even though I have seen many of them in other places over the last few years. I know there are a lot of other great resources and databases, particularly in Europe, DOFbasen being the obvious example, but it is a great resource for birders around the world and I encourage people to check it out if you've not already.

This afternoon we had a Zoom planning meeting with Simon and learned some more about the things that we will be working on in the coming days and weeks. It's amazing to learn about the diversity of projects that happen here and also impressive to think about the logistics and planning it takes to make all of these things happen. This evening Johanna has joined us, coming from Germany. She volunteered at Skagen in 2022 for a couple of weeks in September and will be here for the month of March. We're happy to have her here to help us out as things continue to get busier each day!

End-of-the-day UPDATE: I finally learned to play Wingspan! Thanks to Hanelie and Johanna for teaching me and Yehonatan how to play this very fun game.

Link to observations from today from observers in the area

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

People: Yehonatan ben aroia, Eric Scheuering, Hanelie Sidhu, Johanna Veentjer