The weather was not so nice this morning, but Florian, János, and Amira still had hopes to get out for some observing before settling in with computer work and cleaning. It was quite windy when Amira cycled to and from the pool, but then rain started shortly after, so they decided not to go out. I woke up early to have a meeting with a friend back in Oregon, then I went back to sleep and had a proper lie in. Around 9 I got up and frosted the pumpkin cake I baked last night. We all enjoyed it as a midmorning snack, and it was quite cozy in the living room, wrapped up in our blankets. We also had a researcher from Aarhus University stay in the apartment overnight. This morning, Lise helped her collect the snails and frozen fulmars (mallemuk) to bring back to Aarhus for analysis.

Red Kite (Rød Glente) at Nedermose. Photo by Florian

The rain let up later in the morning, so Florian, Amira and I went out on some outings. Amira and I walked first to Kabeltromlen, then further on the path to Worlds End 1, through the dunes to Worlds End 3, and then back along the beach to the sandormen track. It was extremely windy, but we still saw a nice Hen Harrier (Blå Kærhøg) and a flock of Bohemian Waxwings (Silkehale). Meanwhile, Florian took a walk out to the nature center, where he spotted a very late Red Kite (Rød Glente). This is the first that has been reported in Skagen in December (according to DOFbasen)! We have had strong winds from the south recently, so it was likely blown up from further south in Denmark. Other highlights from the walk were Crested Tits (Topmejse) and a Common Chiffchaff (Gransanger).

Pumpkin cake that I baked. Photo by Miles

In the afternoon, Simon came to the station and we sorted and cleaned the living room and various drawers. It took some time but there were several items that the station did not need, which we were able to take. Amira found a lovely moth poster, a jumper, and some sunglasses!

Amira and I at Worlds End 1 during our morning walk. Photo by Miles

Amira cooked us a delicious dinner of jacket potatoes (a quintessential English dish) and afterward, Florian and János gave great sessions on gulls (Måge). Tomorrow we are taking an outing to several harbors in the area, so it was great preparation for this trip. Florian focused on small gulls, especially rarer species, while János focused primarily on aging of our most common large gulls. We are very excited to apply what we learned during our outing tomorrow.

Standard ringing finished

Link to today’s observations from the area.

People: Miles Scheuering, János Schadl, Florian Hatt, Amira Nuseibeh, Lise Mastrup, Simon S. Christiansen

Today, lots of us woke up in a very good mood after yesterday’s observations and nightcatching successes. Although the standard observation season has now ended, Florian, János and I were still keen to take advantage of the brilliant weather this morning and headed out to World’s End 3 at dawn for a few hours of seawatching. The tip of Grenen is one of my favourite places to be at sunrise because the pools of water and the tops of the waves shimmer like gold, the beach is dotted with resting gulls (måge), the Sanderling (Sandløber) are happily scampering, and almost always there isn't a single other human around!

Although we technically didn’t have to be counting everything we saw, we couldn’t resist clicking the Auks (Alk/Lomvie), Kittiwakes (Ride), Divers (Lom), ducks and Gannets (Sule). There weren’t as many Red-throated Divers (Rødstrubet Lom) as yesterday, but yet again the record for Autumn high count of Guillemots (Lomvie) was broken with 2497 migrating past today (counted by Knud)! How crazy!

As well as the many auks, we also had a nice mix of our favourite usual birds like Velvet Scoter (Fløjlsand), Sparrowhawk (Spurvehøg) and Waxwing (Silkehale). However, after a couple of hours of counting, it was time for us to head back to the lighthouse so that we could start the big cleaning and sorting process needed to pack down the bird Observatory for the Winter. We all leave at the end of this week and there’s so much to do before then! However, Florian, János and I all made a reminiscent stop at Kabeltromlen on our way home, where I was very excited to spot a Firecrest (Rødtoppet Fuglekonge) without a ring in the bushes!

A big group effort meant that we finished our cleaning and tidying jobs quite quickly this afternoon, and so Lise and I both had time to go for a lovely run, whilst János scrolled on Xeno Canto, Miles went grocery shopping, and Florian made his family calendars for Christmas using photos he has taken himself. Now, we’re awaiting a delicious sweet potato and chickpea bowl dinner being cooked by Miles and enjoying our wonderful Christmas tree which we’ve now covered in glittery and shiny paper stars; it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

Standard ringing season has finished for 2025!

Link to today’s observations from the Skagen area.

People: Miles Scheuering, János Schadl, Florian Hatt, Amira Nuseibeh, Lise Mastrup, and Simon S Christiansen.