The most wanted thing of us was to have nice weather after the period of coldness and wind. Yesterday was already relly nice, but today should top it! When we went out to head towards World’s End 3, we had this beautiful view:

You get the best view, if you are close to the end of the world.

Beside of the beautiful weather, the birds did not disappoint us, too. Some Songbirds were migrating and I could spot two high flying Wood Larks (Hedelærke). We could also hear the sharp calls of a Grey Wagtail (Bjergvipstjert). Many flocks of Whooper Swans (Sangsvane) – often found by their beautiful call – migrated east and summed up to a nice total of 580 birds! We could also pick out 11 Bewick’s Swans (Pibesvane). 10 Pink-footed Goose (Kortnæbbet Gås) flew south, which was a bit weird, since we would expect them to fly home now. Since the Sea was super flat, we saw way more roosting birds than usual. As a nice highlight, two Black-throated Divers (Sortstrubet Lom) were swimming close by.

Then the first Marsh Harrier (Rørhøg) of the year popped up, what a nice surprise. Is it finally getting spring? No! The biggest surprise of the day reminds on the coldest times of the year. A 2nd year Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge) flew directly over us. What a crazy observation! Fortunately, I had my camera ready but I did not have enough time to zoom in, because it was already so close. So enjoy this great bird – the picture is taken with 200mm focal length.

More than 5000 Jackdaws (Allike), 30 Rooks (Råge) and 300 Carrion Crows (Gråkråge) also made their way over the Sea. What a nice count!

In the afternoon, a part of us decided to go to Råbjerg Mile on train. The highlight was an lichen species, which was extinct for a while in Denmark. The nice nature was really enjoyable, so the motivation was high enough to go all the way back on bike. Another part of us entered Ringdata with Simon Sr. and proofed if our MOTUS-antenna is still working (it is!). Yet another part of our team had a walk to look for raptors. Their highlight was a young Goshawk (Duehøg). So everybody used the afternoon to be productive or to enjoy the nice weather. In the evening we saw four Woodcocks (Skovsneppe) foraging under the amazing sky full of stars. What a wonderful day with a wonderful companion!

The seal is also enjoying the sun. (pic by Isis)

Ringing (Jennes Sø):

Total: 35

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 at the station: Mira Kieckbusch, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Johanna Veentjer, Simon S. Christiansen.

After the short night we had due to the nightctaching-success Simon and Magnus had the evening before, we were all out early today, as we were looking forward for a bright morning. It is very interesting to see how fast the weather can change in Skagen. As the counting conditions were quite tough yesterday, today turned out to be sunny and with almost no wind. We started counting at World Ends 3 already before sunrise. Due to the calm wind conditions migration was not very high in numbers, but we had quite a nice variety of species.

One of our highlights this morning were definitely the Bewick’s Swans (Pibesvane). It was a pleasure to see them! Besides the Bewick’s we also had Whooper Swans (Sangsvane), some flocks of geese, especially the 37 Taigabeangeese (Tajgasædgås) should be mentioned at this point, and right in front of us at Grenen some Snow Buntings (Snespurv) decided to see how we were doing.

Mira and Simon counting at World's End 3

The conditions we were facing today were also quite typical for Jackdaw (Allike) migration. They are coming form the Inland in smaller groups and then gather in big flocks just over the tip before they go out over the sea.

After we went back from migration, we had a dip in the sea just at the beach right next to the lighthouse. That was fun and quite cold at the same time!

In the afternoon we decided to go “roun roun” with the bikes again and ended up at den Tilsandene Kirke in the South of Skagen. Unfortunately, the door was closed so we couldn’t get up there, but anyways, it was amazing to explore the area around there.

Now we are back at the station, I am sitting in our hygge livingroom and I can hear the ships hooting out there at the sea because of the heavy fog that has now enveloped Skagen.

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 at the station: Mira Kieckbusch, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Johanna Veentjer

Probably everyone thought that the weather couldn´t get worse after yesterday, but Johanna and Magnus experienced today, that it was possible. In the last day there was really cold wind and a lot of flying sand. Well, what is missing to that, to make it even more uncomfortable? Right, rain and snow. Nevertheless, Johanna and Magnus went out today to make the morning observation at Worlds End 3 and they stayed out for two hours. Due to the weather, there was no much migration going on, but they saw a Great Northern Diver (Islom) and some Common Scoter (Sortand) migration near the coast. But the rest of us was also really into finding rare birds, as you can see in the photo below.

In the afternoon we went out with Simon C. and Lisa to find the Red-breasted Goose (Rødhalset Gås) that was reported near Råbjerg Kirke. We saw a flock of ornithologists, but the Red-breasted Goose didn´t show up, although we looked at a stubblefield with some different geese (White-fronted Goose (Blisgås), Greylag Goose (Grågås), Barnacle Goose (Bramgås), Shelduck (Gravand)) for quite a long time. Probably it sat in the stubble field and laughed at all the people around the field, with scopes, binoculars and cameras.

If you can’t look at a red-breasted goose, you have to find other things, so there was a bet about the number of Red Polls (Gråsisken) in a flock. You can see a picture of the flock below, so everyone can estimate, how many birds are there. The solution, you find in the end of this blog entry, Magnus and Simon counted every bird in the flock shown in that picture.

While I am writing this blog entry and Johanna is making dinner, Magnus and Simon are out, with the big goal to catch a Bittern (Rørdrum). They already caught a Woodcock (Skovsneppe), a really active one. Now there are out again, and we will see what the evening will bring. We will keep you updated if they catch a bittern or fall in the swamp. Or probably both…

P.S.: They fell in the water. Not for a Bittern (Rørdrum), but for a Greylag Goose (Grågås), we ringed with Simon C. and Lisa afterwards.

Solution: There are 1013 Redpolls in the flock.

People: Johanna Veentjer, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kisé, Mira Kieckbusch, Lisa Vergin and Simon S. Christiansen

Link to todays observations from observers in the area

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

Hello everyone! This is Isis tuning in for the first time. It would appear as though I have quite a high standard to adhere to in this blog. I will try my best not to disappoint James (our recently departed) by overriding all his wise teachings regarding the English language. Skagen is truly beautiful, my first couple of days were cloudy and foggy, unfortunately, but when the sun came out yesterday we were all overjoyed to see the beautiful horizon again. 

Beautiful view of the sunny sky and sea from our lodgings. 

With the sun, however, came a toe-curling cold spell. After our windy, and sandy morning yesterday, we did not believe things could get worse.. (this will be followed up later). 

Since we were not able to go night catching last night (due to Simon C. being on a quest out of town), we spent the night playing Wingspan (Magnus had never played before!). It may be a bit stereotypical, to say the least, for bird observatory volunteers to spend their evening bonding over bird-themed board games, but it was a great way to unwind and tap into our competitive sides! Although some -Ahem, Simon and Mira- may have taken this competitive nature a bit too far, as they were caught in the very act of cheating (usually by accident, I must confess). During this, Magnus generously prepared some Danish sweets for us and tested our ability to swirl sugary icing over the top, Simon excelled at this task.

Simon had the most points! Whether he continued to cheat his way to the top remains a mystery…

When we woke up at our regular, painfully early, hour of the morning, we were horrified to find out that it could, in fact, get worse. This morning was not only colder, but also more windy than yesterday. Nonetheless, we swung our cold-resistant gear on and made our way over to World’s End 3. The cold did not stop the morning from being stunning, the way the wind carried the sand across the beach looked very mesmerizing. 

A group of gulls flying into the sunrise.

Migration was slow, as can be expected by the heavy winds. Most of us were in an ongoing battle with the unrelenting wind and the constant sting of sand in our face. The sand got everywhere.. And I mean everywhere. In fact, I can still feel it in my eyes as I am typing this right now. We decided to finish an hour early, since little migration was happening due to these unfortunate weather conditions. Magnus believes he may have seen a White-Tailed Eagle [havørn], but whether it was that or an Osprey [Fiskeørn] remains a mystery due to how far away it was from our observation point. Based on other observations around Skagen (and the time of year), it was most likely a White-Tailed Eagle [havørn] though. In addition to this, we saw four Common Buzzards [Musvågen] and another European Shag [Topskarv] today (yet again Magnus failed to see it). 

The sun slowly rises over the team.

After we had done the migration monitoring, we returned to the apartment for some food. To our surprise, after eating we came to find out that the bike keys were not in their usual place, so we had to go on a little scavenger hunt. We were not successful, but luckily a kind lady from downstairs was able to help us open the shed and take out the bikes. Although quite a few bikes are broken, we still had some fun riding around and picking out our bikes. 

Mira trying out her new bike.

We also received a beautiful delivery from Peter Jürgensen today. This involved a taxidermy of an Atlantic Puffin [Søpapegøje] and a Bohemian Waxwing [Silkehale]. Both were collected by members of the Skagen Bird Observatory team.

Atlantic Puffin [Søpapegøje] and Bohemian Waxwing [Silkehale].

To wrap up the day, Johanna baked a delicious banana cake and then Magnus and Simon went out to attempt some night catching. They were unsuccessful, but when they returned they had some delicious pizzas waiting for them (which I’m sure were most appreciated)!

Johanna’s banana cake. It was extremely delicious.

That’s all for today, I look forward to the next few months at Skagen. I have heard the weather might still have a couple more evil tricks up its sleeve though…

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: Johanna Veentjer, Mira Kieckbusch, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen.

This question will be answered in a few seconds, but before that I have to tell you about yesterday evening. Isis and I went out nightcatching to Grenen. Unfortunetely, we did not find any birds. In anyway some sleeping Seals (Sæl) and a cute Yellow-necked Mouse (Halsbåndmus – Apodemus flavicollis) were nice to see. When we looked into the sky, a weak greenish shine colored the sky between the clouds: aurora (Nothern Lights)! We continued round round and I finally spotted a Woddcock (Skovsneppe) in the thermal camera. It was Isis’s first attemp with the handnet, but she nailed it so a few seconds later we hold the bird in our hand and walked back to ring it.

Such a cool bird: look at it's eyes, which can look 360 degree around.

The only bad thing about this evening was, that I lost one of the torches. Spoiler – I found it again the next day and it still works.

Finally, the question „What is that?“ will be answered! It’s the sun! When we left the station to head to World’s End 3 for the daily count, we saw a warm colored, shiny object coming out of the sea and rising at the sky. After some discussions and a look into the field guide we agreed, that it must be the sun, we have not seen for a while. What a beautiful morning!

The mystery is solved - it's the sun!

The count started busy, since there were many Razorbills (Auk) and Guillemots (Lomvie) migrating. While Magnus was focussed on getting good numbers of those, the other volunteers (including me) counted the various remaining species.

Nice view from World's End 3. In this hour Magnus focussed on the Auks in Kattegat.

It was a nice mix of songbird migration and seabirds (havfugle), quantity and quality. Since they are super hard to see back home in Germany, I really hoped to get the chance to see a Iceland Gull (Hvidvinget Måge) in Skagen. When I spotted a young gull in the size of a Common Gull (Stormmåge) with shining through white primaries I directly knew that it has to be this species. Yeah! Unfortunately, it was quite far away, so I’m still hoping there will be a roosting one soon. The second highlight of the day was much closer: A Shag (Topskarv) showed up in the best sunlight and a short distance. That was really nice to see, since it was also for Mira the first pretty one. Also a Grey Wagtail (Bjergvipstjert) attempted to migrate. Since the wind was pretty cold, we were happy to leave after the standardised four hours to have a nice breakfast in the Bird Obs.

In the afternoon, Johanna and I entered the numbers from the count in dofbasen. Afterwards Simon Sr. showed us the plans, the station has this year. There are some exciting projects and there will be many highlights, but I don’t want to look to far in the future right now, because every day here is a lot of fun right now. Then we went for a walk to Nordstrand. The beach was super pretty in the afternoon sunshine and we looked for stones, shells and other potentially interesting objects close to shore. It was a really nice walk.

When we passed Kabeltromlen on the way back, we stopped in hope to hear a Bittern (Rørdrum) but except for calling Waterrails (Vandriksen) we could not hear any birds in the wind. So I tried to immitate the deep call of a Bittern. Just one moment later a real Bittern called. How cool is that?! Let’s just believe, it really answered to me for a moment. Don’t steel me my imagination. ;-) Isis prepared a nice dinner and afterwards we started with some nice evening activities. I’m really happy to be back at the station. It is just a beautiful place and there are so many nice people around. I really enjoy to see good friends again, but it’s also great to meet new awesome people. You can see – I’m ready for a super fun exciting season!

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area.

People: Johanna Veentjer, Mira Kieckbusch, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen.

So, Wareing, James Wareing, also known as Athletic James, has unfortunately migrated south, which is a bit reversed compared to the birds' usual migration pattern. Sometimes the German/Danish humor can be quite a mouthful - even for an undercover agent like James.

After a nice dinner, during which Simon (SK) showcased his talent as the chef, we decided to make use of the access we had to my car before my younger brother picked it up. Firstly, we went to “Brænderpasset” - a quite well-known location for birders in Skagen. Disappointingly, the fog made it impossible to see anything in the thermal camera.

The third spot - which is located at the southernmost part of Hulsig Hede, is also one of my favorite nature spots on Skagen Odde. Sadly, the fog completely shattered our hopes of seeing anything.

The next day, we woke up at 06:15 for bird observation in cold conditions, but with weaker wind than the day before. Therefore, the day turned out to be pretty good from a birder's perspective, with good numbers of both Razorbills and Guillemots in Kattegat. My family also came to visit the bird observatory. They brought a surprise with them, namely my nature-sensei, Hugo, who was teaching me to go looking for species in nature.

Ringing (Jennes Sø):

Nordlig Gråsisken (Mealy Redpoll) - 14
Grønirisk (Greenfinch) - 1
Solsort (Blackbird) - 1

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: Johanna Veentjer, Simon Kiesé, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Mira Kieckbusch, Isis Khalil.

Hej, this is James for what will unfortunately be my last blog. It has been a pleasure describing to you the mysteries of what goes on at the bird station in the winter. I am also happy to have taken on a rather mythical status myself. As the local birders start to wake up from their hibernation, I have had the fortune to meet a few of them and be greeted with ‘ahh, you are the James’. To maintain this mythical status, I shall now be migrating south, firstly to Husum in the north of Germany and then to England.

For those of you who have enjoyed the blog, do not worry, as you will be left in the very capable hands of the spring volunteer team. For those few who may miss the jokes, Simon Jnr. (Kiesé) assures me that he has a very funny Gannet joke that he just cannot wait to share with you all. We have also found that Magnus also has some things to share, some of which are appropriate for this blog. For those die-hard fans of the blog (my family), I may well be turning up as a rare vagrant in Blåvand Bird Station in April, so keep an eye on their website.

After that it is the Seychelles for two years for me, working as a conservation officer on a small island. It will be like Skagen in February, only warmer and with far fewer people. It is a tough life hopping between birding hotspots, but someone has to take up the burden.

That though is far too much about me and not what you came here to read about. As spring has officially started here, we did our daily seawatch from Nordstrand. Seawatch being the operative word, as we saw very few birds worthy of reporting. My dreams of seeing either an orca or a wolf here had to be contented by a harbour porpoise and the visit of a rather playful dog. There were not even enough ‘exciting’ ships for me to give my shipping forecast.

Nevertheless, fun was had by all and I can tell that Skagen has a strong team for the months ahead. While the other took advantage of Magnus’ car, I ran back home from Nordstrand and finished with a dive in the sea. I can confirm that it is still cold but refreshing. The call of the Indian Ocean rings strongly now.

In the evening, Magnus and Simon picked up the final volunteer to join the team. Naturally they had to have the obligatory harbour visit for Simon’s much sought-after Iceland Gull. It remains so, but they did have find a blond female….eider. Our new volunteer is Isis, born in Belgium, brought up in Panama and currently studying in Canada. Perhaps, therefore, this is a like-for-like swap as she will now provide the exotic background. Although, I do worry that all my work on English pronunciation lessons will be undone though. Thus starts a new season in Skagen. As I have mentioned before, to leave just before the main act starts, is teasingly frustrating, but the bird observatory is left in some most able hands.

When camping you are encouraged to take care to leave two things behind. Firstly: nothing. Secondly: your thanks. I have been kindly welcomed by all I have met here, and for that I am most grateful. A special thanks is also due to Simon Snr., for giving me the opportunity to come and spend five weeks here. As a sign of my gratitude, Simon, you can now have your chair back.

I do very much hope that I have the opportunity to return to what is a special place and maybe even to see a few more people (but not too many) and birds (many please).

James Wareing

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: James Wareing, Johanna Veentjer, Simon Kiesé, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Knud Pedersen, Mira Kieckbusch, Michael Anker

Michael has continued his ringing work with the results below:

1^st March

Ringing (Nordstjernevej):

Nordlig Gråsisken (Common Redpoll) - 18

Blåmejse (Blue Tit) - 1

Bogfinke (Chaffinch) - 1

Total: 20

Hej everyone!

my name is Mira and this is my first time here in Skagen, so everything is still new to me at this point and every time I go out I’m overwhelmed by the fantastic landscapes. Something that is also new to me is the amount of sea birds you can see here and also the distance in which you can observe them. This I realized when we started the day with four hours of morning observation at the Nordstrand with Knud. It was still quiet windy, but we saw some long-tailed ducks (Havlit), a white tailed eagle (Havørn) and one shag (Topskarv), from which Knud could say that it was an adult, while I only saw a dark bird at the horizon, heading to the west.

After the observation we went to Kabeltrommlen and checked the situation around there and then we went to the end of the tractor track to look for gulls. We didn’t find the Iceland gull (Hvidvinget måge) we were hoping for, but we saw an 2 calendar year Caspian gull (Kaspese måge), sitting in the front row of a flock of gulls and two Red kites (Rød Glente), which were the first Red kites in Skagen this year.

In the afternoon we went grocery shopping, but we wouldn’t be birding obsessed people, if we wouldn’t have used that to look for the Iceland gull (Hvidvinget måge) in the harbour, but even if we probably looked at nearly every gull, there were no white wingtips in sight. But we will continue our hunt in the next days.

The last two hours of daylight (I would’ve loved to write sunlight, but the fog didn’t disappear the whole day) we spend with a little walk along the beach and the dunes around World end 1. 

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: James Wareing, Johanna Veentjer, Simon Kiesé, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Knud Pedersen, Mira Kieckbusch

Hej everyone!

This is Johanna, one of the new volunteers that have arrived yesterday. It’s my third time at the station in Skagen now and I am very exited for the two weeks ahead. While Skagen welcomed us with sun yesterday evening, today started not bright. The rain and the storm made a count impossible, so we started the day a bit slower and then the three of us went for a long walk around the tip, where we saw some Sanderlings (Sandlober), a couple of hooded crows (Gramage)  feeding on a harbour porpoise cadaver, and of course some groups of gulls and cormorants (Skarv). We also saw two Merganser ( Toppet Skallesluger), Gannets (Sule), one Guillemot (Lomvie), and a Red throated diver ( Rødstrubet lom  ), as well as a group of Oystercatchers ( Strandskade). Besides we also found a dead Crested Grebe (Toppet lappedykker), a dead Guillemot (Lomvie) and a lot of dead seals.

What a surprise, we were the only persons walking at the beach today, and I always enjoy those walks where you are just surrounded by nature. Especially when you are walking around the tip, it is hard to imagine that it is flooded by tourists, not gulls, during the summer.

Seaweed fight at Grenen

In the afternoon the two other new volunteers arrived. Simon has been spotted before in Skagen, and having overwintered at the Wadden Sea he now migrated north. He was aided by some strong southernly winds and so arrived ahead of schedule. Magnus is from Danmark, so he hadn’t such a long travel to the station. He also brought some typical Danish cake for us, which was delicious.

In the evening, Simon K. and James decided to go out night catching and after half an hour they came back with a Rock pipit (Skærpiber)! We were all very excited, what a success! Now Mira, Simon and Magnus went out again for a second try. We will keep you updated!

Ringing (Ellekrattet):

Rock Pipit (Skærpiber) - 1

Total: 1

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area

People: Mira Kieckbusch, James Wareing, Michael Anker, Simon Kiese, Magnus, Johanna Veentjer

The solitude of the lighthouse has been shattered by the arrival of the volunteers Johanna and Mira, the first newcomers of the spring. They have migrated north this spring from Kiel in Germany. The arrival of some company has of course been lovely, although it has led to me nearly losing my voice having not spoken so much for a long time. We have also discovered that the world of birding and birders is a typically small one, with it not taking too long to find links between us. What this does mean though, is that I can justifiably start eating the chocolate that the Autumn volunteers kindly left for the Spring team. Tomorrow two more volunteers will arrive and the lighthouse will suddenly be back to life.

Back to life was not what I felt like this morning when my alarm went at six to tell me to go birding. The wind and the rain could be heard from within my bedsheets and sitting at the beach was the last thing on my mind. I quickly sent a message to Knud asking whether perhaps the weather was too poor for birding. He was ever positive and assured me that the forecast would be rewarding. He was, as always, right and the rain soon abated, even to be overcome by sun towards the end of our stint. That Knud was also questioning his life choices when cycling through the rain was though reassuring to hear.

I was rewarded with two new birds for me, a Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge) and a Red-necked Grebe (Gråstrubet lappedykker), which I felt as the bare minimum payment for the courage to get going this morning. Other notable sightings were Iceland Gull ( Hvidvinget Måge) and Shag (Topskarv). The horizon was often quite misty so there are none of the usual ship sightings for me to needlessly digress onto. 

With us being treated tomorrow to an extra day of February, the weather forecast has taken this a little too literally and predicted rain and wind again. The forecast was sure enough for Knud and I to agree not to go birding, which I will be a little grateful for. The arrival of new volunteers means that the responsibility of the writing of the blog will be shared around, but I am sure you will not be too disheartened to hear that. I will be leaving Skagen reluctantly on Sunday so am looking forward to making the most of my final days here. 

Link to today's observations from observers in the area

People: James Wareing, Knud Pedersen and Michael Anker

Michael has continued his ringing work with the results below:

28th February

Ringing (Jennes Sø):

Nordlig Gråsisken (Common Redpoll) - 5

Ringing (Nordstjernevej):

Nordlig Gråsisken (Common Redpoll) - 14

Lille Gråsisken (Lesser Redpoll) - 1

Musvit (Great Tit) - 1

Solsort (Blackbird) - 1

Blåmejse (Blue Tit) - 1

Grønirisk (Greenfinch) - 1

Total: 24