After we had set up the nets at the beach last evening for storm petrels and opened the Nightjar “Natravn” net in the old lighthouse garden, it was the second night that we got called out of bed for - this time two - birds. Simon took the nightwatch, he was joined by Alfred and some birders that had come to stay the night here with us, hoping for some Stormpetrels “Stormsvale” or Nightjars “Natravn”. We had luck with the Nightjars “Natravn” this night, not with the Stormpetrels “Stormsvale”. Around midnight, Simon and Alfred found two Nightjars “Natravn” in the net, one a first calendar year bird, the one born that year, that we caught. The second was a 2K+ male.

Nightjar "Natravn". Picture: Alfred Godsk Geckler

The rest of the night was quiet and we could get some sleep before Sarah and I were the first one getting up to open the nets at Kabeltromle, followed by Markus and Alfred going to the morning observations at Verdens Ende III. 

It was a calm morning with very low winds. For Sarah it was the first morning ringing at Kabeltromle which she enjoyed quite a lot, we did not have that many birds, one good second round but apart from that it was rather slow. Nevertheless, we stayed a bit longer. Highlights were a first calendar year Robin “Rødhals”, seeing them in juvenile plumage is always a pleasure.

Robin "Rødhals". Picture: Sarah Partridge.

But also some first calendar year Willow Warblers “Løvsanger” were very nice as well as a juvenile Reed Bunting “Rørspurv”.

Ringing totals KAB:
Kærsanger 2
Gærdesanger 3
Løvsanger 3
Tornsanger 8
Munk 2
Rørspurv 1
Gransanger 2
Total 21

Nightringing:

Natravn 2

In the meantime, Markus and Alfred were joined by Ole at the morning obs. It was rather slow but nevertheless, they enjoyed the beautiful morning. Highlights on the sea were nine juvenile resting Black Guillemots “Tejst”. In the air some Common Crossbills “Lille Korsnæb” made it out to Verdens Ende III, to the pleasure of the observers.

Today´s observations of observers in the area typed  into DOFbasn can be seen here.

Highlights Ringing:

Natravn

Highlights Observations

Tejst

Lille Korsnæb

After ringing, Sarah and I checked if we could find some more Ringed Plover “Stor Præstekrave” chicks, but we did not. So we headed back to the station and had lunch with Rose, Markus and Mio, who had arrived at the station today for a three week stay. 

Simon found a Harald "Kæmpefluen" in the yard of the station. Picture: Simon S. Christiansen.

Apart from data entry, there were some small office tasks to do. Later in the afternoon, a second new volunteer, Louise, arrived. We repaired one more net and now, it is time for dinner and after Storm Petrel “Stormsvale” night the third, wish us luck!

At the station: Sarah Partridge, Markus Kemp Clément, Rosemary Fricke, Simon S. Christiansen, Ole Christiansen, Alfred Godsk Geckler, Mio Brix, Louise Buksti-Ladefoged, Hanelie Sidhu and our guests Jesper and Mette as well as guests for the Stormpetrel catching

Tiny plover chicks!

Hanelie and I opened the nets at Kabeltromlen for our first round starting at 4:45 this morning. It was a steady flow today, and we came back from each round with some new birds to ring! Plenty of our regular species were present, including common Whitethroats (Tornsanger), Chiffchaffs (Gransanger) and a few 1k Marsh warblers (Kærsanger). Simon came by a few times to check-in, as did Jørgen, our guests Jesper and Mette. We had several crossbills flying over during the session as well.

A pretty 1K Icterine Warbler (Gulbug) at Kabeltromlen.

The morning for Markus and Emma started with migration counting at lands’ end III, joined by Knud and Ole, seeing an adult dark morph Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove) resting, chasing some common terns. Knud also found a 1^st calendar year Caspian Gull (Kaspisk Måge).

Emma joined in with ringing, leaving Markus to finish the migration count, so she could ring a final few birds before leaving the station for Bordeaux this afternoon, we will miss her! Simon had discovered a new clutch of Common Ringed Plover (Stor Præstekrave) chicks at Grenen beach, so after our ringing session Hanlie, Emma and I went searching for them. Hanelie caught two of the young chicks singlehandedly (well done!), we might go for another visit in the coming days to see if there are any more chicks cropping up.

A freshly ringed Ringed Plover (Stor Præstekrave) chick.

Meanwhile, Simon and Markus headed from Kabeltromlen at the end of the ringing session around the Skagen area, in search of some rare shrikes. No rarities but they found 12 Red-backed Shrikes (Rødrygget Tornskade), as well as 4 Red Kites (Rød Glente), 7 Common Buzzards (Musvåge) migrating.

Hanelie has been running some moth traps around the obs, which had a Poppelsværmer in it today.

Poppelsværmer moth.

This afternoon we welcomed our new volunteer at the station, Sarah Partridge, who will be here for most of the autumn season. So together we fixed one of the nets, and set up the beach nets with Alfred for the night netting for storm petrels (Stormsvale) and nightjars (Natraven). Wish us luck!

Setting up the nets on the beach for storm petrels (Stormsvale)

Ringing totals Kabeltromlen
Gransanger 8
Kærsanger 3
Gulbug 1
Gærdesanger 1
Løvsanger 1
Rørsanger 1
Munk 5
Tornsanger 9
Rørspurv 2

Ringing totals Grenen beach:
Common Ringed Plover (Stor Præstekrave) 2

Total:33

Highlights in the field:
Caspian Gull (Kaspisk Måge)
Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove)
Red-backed Shrike (Rødrygget Tornskade)

Highlights ringing:
Icterine Warbler (Gulbug) 1K

At the station: Emma Fabré, Markus Kemp Clément, Rosemary Fricke, Hanelie Sidhu, Sarah Partridge, Simon S. Christiansen, Alfred Godsk Geckler, Knud Pedersen, Jørgen Kabel, Ole Christiansen, and our guests Jesper and Mette.

Hi everyone!

I am Markus, the most recent addition to the station crew. This is my first stint at any bird observatory. I am eager to gain more experience doing both migration counts and the handling of birds :D

For a detailed breakdown of who is currently at the station, click here.

Before getting into the details about the events of today, I must share the result of yesterday’s night catching with you guys!

A rain shower passed by at around 9 pm local time. Afterwards the wind had settled enough for us to go and set up the mist nets along with a few speakers at the beach, as well as a Nightjar net near the station.

Setting up the mist nets in between breakwaters at the beach. The calm before the "storm" arrived. Picture: Markus Kemp Clément

One of us remained awake for the night watch along with Simon, the rest went to bed, unsure of whether we would be woken up in the middle of the night.

I had barely managed to fall asleep, when Simon called me at 23:44 pm. A European Storm-petrel (Lille Stormsvale) had been caught in one of the nets. Everybody got up in no time, and we headed to the lab. As Simon had also reported the capture on Zello (the walkie-talkie app), quite a few people came by the station to observe the ringing of this mythical species.

It was a 3K+ individual, weighing in at 22,4g. Such a tiny creature that nevertheless is able to navigate the rough sea. When we released it again, it took height and then silently disappeared into the night.

It was my first ever sight of a Storm Petrel. Such a great experience!

European Storm Petrel (Lille Stormsvale) 3K+. Picture: Knud Pedersen.

We did not catch anything else during the night.

At 4:30am  I got up again and headed to Verdens Ende 3 along with Emma to do the migration count at sea. We had a flock of about 140 Common Terns (Fjordterne) resting at Grenen. We also had 3 Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove) foraging around Grenen throughout the morning obs. It was cool to get good views of their “parasitic” foraging technique, when they stalked terns and gulls, forcing them to drop whichever fish they had just caught.

Alfred, a young birder I know from DOF Ung, joined us for a couple of hours at the morning obs. He had brought some “Feltroulade” (“cake roll” I guess?), a popular snack among DOF Ung during our camps. You never know if you will end up staying outside for the entire day to do birdwatching. As a result, it is good to bring an extra source of energy.  

"Feltroulade" during the morning obs at Verdens Ende 3, thanks to Alfred! Picture: Markus Kemp Clément

At Kabeltromlen, Hanelie and Rose had a recapture of a juvenile female Bluethroat (Blåhals) early in the morning. I also saw a juvenile Bluethroat near Verdens Ende 3 later in the day. Perhaps it was the same individual.

Ringing totals

Kabeltromlen:

Rørsanger 2

Kærsanger 2

Gærdesanger 1

Løvsanger 1

Munk 3

Tornsanger 9

Rørspurv 1

Gransanger 4

Det Grå Fyr (actually on 29/7):

Lille Stormsvale 1

Total: 24

The juvenile female Bluethroat recapture from Kabeltromlen. Picture: Hanelie Sidhu

During midday everybody had a nap to catch up on some of the sleep we missed out on last night.

Now Hanelie is cooking dinner, and the smell of homemade Pizza is starting to spread around the apartment! I am looking forward to this dinner :D

Today´s observations by observers in the area typed into DOFbasn can be seen here.

Highlights Morning Observations:

3 Arctic Skuas foraging near the tip of Grenen.

1 Northern Fulmar migrating northwest.

Highlights Ringing Kabeltromlen:

Bluethroat

At the station: Emma Fabré, Markus Kemp Clément, Rosemary Fricke, Hanelie Sidhu, Simon S. Christiansen, Klaus T. Jørgensen, Alfred Godsk Geckler, Knud Pedersen, Jørgen Kabel, Erik Christophersen, Anders Bojesen and our guests Jesper and Mette.

This morning, Rose and I went out the earliest to open the nets at Kabeltromle. It was a bit windy and the nets in the reeds were quite exposed so we only had 140 netmeters open. 

When we came back from the first round, Simon was already waiting for birds at the Cable drum, but unfortunately, we did not have any birds, so he decided to go for a walk a bit and visit Emma and Markus at the Morning Observations. 

That´s how he missed the Great Spotted Woodpecker “Stor Flagspætte”, that we had in the second round. It was another juvenile.

Stor Flagspætte. Picture: Rosemary Fricke

We did not catch many birds today, only twelve, but of ten different species. Other nice species were a White Wagtail “Hvid Vipstjert” and a Lesser Redpoll “Lille Gråsisken”. 

Hvid Vipstjert. Picture: Rosemary Fricke.

Ringing totals

Gransanger 2

Gærdesanger 1

Rørsanger 1

Lille Gråsisken 1

Jernspurv 1

Kærsanger 1

Munk 1

Tornsanger 2

Hvid Vipstjert 1

Stor Flagspætte 1

Total 12

Emma and Markus did not have many birds migrating but they had a flock of about 95 Common Terns “Fjordterne” and 8 Sandwich Terns “Splitterne” resting on the beach. And there was also a highlight among the resting birds, they found a Slavonian Grebe “Nordisk Lappedykker” resting on the water! 

Nordisk Lappedykker. Picture: Markus Clement

Highlights Ringing Kabletromle:

Stor Flagspætte

Hvid Vipstjert

Highlights Morning Observations:

Nordisk Lappedykker

Today´s observations by observers in the area typed into DOFbasn can be seen here.

After ringing, Rose and I tried to see it but either we did not find it or it left. So we went back to the station. I checked my moth trap, it was not so many moths, only 15 different ones but one was new, Lycophotia porphyrea “Spættet lyngugle”, which has a quite interesting English name, True Lover´s Knot. I also had the Small Wainscot - Denticucullus pygmina in Danish Lille starugle. It is my favorite of the Wainscots and the first one that I caught this year and I was quite happy to see that species again after a year. 

After data work and a meeting with Simon in the afternoon, we went swimming all together. 

Tonight, we will try for Storm Petrels “Lille Stormsvale” and Nightjars “Natravn”. We will keep you updated in tomorrow´s blog.

At the station: Emma Fabre, Markus Clement, Rosemary Fricke, Simon S. Christiansen and our guests Jesper and Mette.

This morning, I went to the migration count. There were some migrating birds during the first two hours, including terns and Kittiwakes (Ride). I spotted a Fulmar (Mallemuk) far away heading southeast. Then I saw a group of waders land and disappear along the shore, so I went down to check if they were Sanderlings (Sandløber).

On my way back to the dunes, an immature Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove) flew over me for a few seconds—it was very close. I also observed an adult Black Guillemot (Tejst) in summer plumage resting quite far out at sea. The last two hours were very slow, with almost no birds migrating, but some were resting on the beach. There was a nice resting flock of Common Terns (Fjordterne), Sandwich Terns (Splitterne), and Kittiwakes (Ride).

Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove)

At the end of the four hours, I joined the ringing.
Hanelie and Rose woke up early for the ringing. They found a Black Redstart (Husrødstjert) at the entrance. They tried to catch it, but it went into the broom closet and hid beside some cables and pipes. So they left it inside and opened the front door so it could leave. Apparently, it flew out during the morning, as we didn’t see it again afterward.

young Yellowhammers (Gulspurv)

Otherwise, it was quite windy for ringing, so they didn’t open the reed net side. They caught 25 birds, including 3 Yellowhammers (Gulspurv), 2 young Bullfinches (Dompap), and 2 Icterine Warblers (Gulbug). They also saw two Jays (Skovskade) and one Lapwing (Vibe) flying around. When I arrived, I ringed one of the young Bullfinches (Dompap).

young Bullfinche (Dompap)

Afterward, we went back to the lighthouse, and Hanelie cooked a nice pasta sauce. Simon brought us a new volunteer, Markus. Then we spent the afternoon entering data and taking naps. In the evening, we sewed one net and threw away another one that had too many big holes.

Ringing totals:
Gransanger 4
Tornsanger 5
Gulbug 2
Gærdesanger 3
Munk 4
Rørspurv 1
Blåmejse 1
Dompap 2
Gulspurv 3

Highlights:

Fulmar (Mallemuk) 

Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove)

At the station: Rosemary Fricke, Emma Fabre, Simon S. Christiansen, Hanelie Sidhu, Markus Clement

Link to todays observations in DOFbasen from Observers in the area.

Hanlie and I were off to Kabeltrommeln this morning for ringing, though the wind meant we kept exposed nets shut today. There was a brief shower as we finished opening nets, which produced an incredible rainbow with about the highest arc possible this time of year since it happened almost exactly at sunrise time.

Rainbow sunrise over the lighthouse.

Though we didn’t get a high volume of birds today, as usual we had some brilliant specimens, including juveniles of several species - Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken), a Blue Tit (Blåmejse), and a Great Spotted woodpecker (Stor Flagspætte), which Erik turned up at the ringing just in time to see. You can find more pictures of our woodpecker this morning on our Instagram and Facebook. We also had some Crossbills (Lille Korsnæb) flying south over us as we were ringing, as well as more Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken) flying around.

Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken)

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Stor Flagspætte)

Meanwhile Emma started on the migration count this morning, seeing plenty of the usuals for this time of year, even having around 50 Common Tern (Fjordterne) resting on the beach with a few Kittiwake (Ride) and an Arctic Tern (Havterne) mixed in, as well as a resting Lapwing (Vibe), and some Golden Plover (Hjejle).  Erik and Knud joined her for some observing, meaning she could leave early to join us for the last hours of ringing. They spotted and photographed a ringed 1st calendar year Meditteranean Gull (Sorthovedet Måge)!

Meditteranean Gull (Sorthovedet Måge) colour-ringed 1st calendar year individual - Photo by Erik

This afternoon, along with standard data entry of our morning work, we have been doing some quality assurance on the backlog of ringing data, making sure there are no errors in our reporting!

Ringing totals:

Gransanger 5
Tornsanger 6
Blåmejse 1
Gærdesanger 1
Kærsanger 1
Lille Gråsisken 1
Stor Flagspætte 1
Total 16

Highlights:
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Sotr Fagspætte)
Mediterranean Gull (Sorthovedet Måge)

Link to todays observations in DOFbasen from Observers in the area.

At the station: Emma Fabre, Hanelie Sidhu, Rosemary Fricke, Knud Pedersen, Erik Christophersen.

This morning started very windy, I got up two times in the early morning, one time at normal waking up time for opening the nets but as it was too windy for ringing, I turned the alarm off again. The second time it woke me up was was a bit later for going to the morning obs. Rose and Emma were already up and Rose proposed I could also sleep in today. I did not mind that and went to bed again. Outside, the wind was still howling and after some more hours in my warm and comfortable bed I did office work which meant the picture archive for me, I was quite behind… After, I started reporting gull rings that we had read in the field.

The others returned from the morning observations; Knud joined them a bit later. They had some Arctic Terns “Havterne”, an Arctic Skua “Almidelig Kjove” and Knud saw a Fulmar “Mallemuk” very far out. A Grey Plover “Strandhjeile” was resting at the beach very close to the observers.

Grey Plover. Picture: Rosemary Fricke

Highlights

Arctic Scua - Almindelig Kjove

Fulmar - Mallemuk

Arctic Tern - Havterne

Today´s observations of obervers in the area typed into DOFbasn can be seen here.

While Rose and Emma took a nap and I still did office work, Simon came by for an hour to also do some work.

Saturday is cleaning day so we cleaned the station today and after, Emma and I went grocery shopping while Rose took a swim in the sea.

Tomorrow looks a little less windy, so we hope to be ringing again.

At the station: Rosemary Fricke, Emma Fabre, Simon S. Christiansen, Knud Pedersen, Hanelie Sidhu

Yesterday evening we installed the nets to catch Storm-petrels (Stormsvale) on the beach and Nightjars (Natravn) in the lighthouse garden. Simon and the others took the rounds during the night, while Rose, Hanelie, and I went to sleep to be ready the next morning for the migration count and the ringing.

This morning I went to the migration count. In the first hour, I had four Red-throated Divers (Rødstrubet Lom) resting together quite close to the shore, and I had some migrating terns. While I was watching the sea, I suddenly saw all the resting gulls fly away. There was a young Goshawk (Duehøg) flying over them, then it landed for a couple of minutes before leaving World’s End III.

Sunrise

During the second hour, Knud joined me. We had a really nice flock of 23 Arctic Terns (Havterne) flying northwest. On the land side, we had two nice resting birds: one Whinchat (Bynkefugl) and one Cuckoo (Gøg) being chased by starlings (Stære).

Two birders said they saw a flock of five Penduline Tits (Pungmejser) close by, so I tried to find them, but I didn’t. In the last hour, we had some raptors coming through — some Honey-buzzards (Hvepsevåge) and Common Buzzards (Musvåge).

young Bluethroat (Blåhals)

The ringers had a good number of species, with 11 species caught. In the first round, they got a young female Bluethroat (Blåhals). They also had a Willow Warbler (Løvsanger) with active molt, the first young Marsh Warbler (Kærsanger) and a Sedge Warbler (Sivanger). During the round, Hanelie heard a Bee-eater (Biæder); unfortunately, we didn’t see it from WEIII. They almost caught a Water Rail (Vandrikse), but it escaped from the net before they reached it.

Sedge Warbler (Sivanger)

After the morning in the field, Rose and I took a nap while Hanelie checked some data with Simon, then she checked her moth traps. In the evening, I went for a walk.

Ringing totals
Gransanger 2
Blåhals 1
Gærdesmutte 1
Rødhals 1
Løvsanger 1
Gærdesanger 1
Topmejse 1
Sivsanger 1
Kærsanger 1
Munk 2
Tornsanger 7
 Total 20

Highlights

Sedge Warbler (Sivanger) : 1

Bluethroat (Blåhals) : 1

Arctic Terns (Havterne) : 23

At the station: Emma Fabre, Rosemary Fricke, Hanelie Sidhu,Simon S. Christiansen, Lars Askholm, Andreas, Mikkel, Knud Pedersen, Jørgen Kabel

Link to todays observations in DOFbasen from Observers in the area.

Today we snagged up the opportunity of good weather to get the ringing at our constant effort site done for the week. For this, Hanlie and I cycled out to Cormorant Lake instead of to Kabeltrummeln. This was my first time there, and the namesake was no disappointment! When we arrived we had plenty of Cormorants (Skarv) to see on the lake, as well as a roost of Starlings (Stær), and a few Bearded Reedlings (Skægmejse) amongst the reeds of the lake. I got lost in the dark (oops), but after that it was smooth sailing. We were expecting a rain shower in the last hour and were vigilant of the visible rain coming our way. However, it split in two around us, raining mostly only north and south of us. We luckily only caught a small part of the rain for about ten minutes, meaning we could keep the nets open. Winner in numbers by far today were our Reed Warblers (Rørsanger). They breed here in the reedbeds so we caught a decent mix of adults and juveniles. This was punctuated with a singles of other species (see ringing totals). We also saw four Greenshank (Hvidklire) flying East over the lake, and while closing the nets heard some Cranes (Trane) behind the reeds.

Reed Warbler (Rørsanger)

Reed Bunting (Rørspurv)

Meanwhile Emma was out again at World End III for the morning count. Along with the regulars, Sandwich Terns (Splitterne) and Common Terns (Fjordterne), she saw a couple of Razorbill (Alk) resting, a young Black Guillemot (Tejst), some Oystercatcher (Strandskade), and a Great White Egret (Sølvhejre). Afterwards she went out to read some rings off the gulls sitting on the beach.

The afternoon was spent on our daily paperwork, as well as some much needed catch up on sleep, especially since tonight we will be trying for Storm Petrels (Lille Stormsvale) and Nightjars (Natravn)! Simon will be coming tonight for the night watch, as well as Lars and Andreas, letting us volunteers sleep. But we have hopes of being woken up to a catch! In preparation we will be cleaning up a bit around the laboratory and cutting some overgrown grass around the Nightjar (Natravn) nets and setting up the nets on the beach.

We also said goodbye to Mikkel, Louise and Nor Østergaard, our guests in the apartment, we hope they had a lovely stay!

Ringing totals Skarvsøen, CES

Gransanger 1
Rørsanger 12
Blåmejse 1
Tornsanger 1
Rørspurv 1
Total 16

Highlights ringing:
Lots of reed warblers! (Rørsanger)

Highlights in the field:
Great White Egret (Sølvherje)
Black Guilemot (Tejst)

At the station: Emma Fabre, Rosemary Fricke, Hanelie Sidhu, Simon S. Christiansen, Lars Askholm, Andreas, Mikkel, Louise and Nor Østergaard.

While the wind was very low the last days, this morning started more windy. Nevertheless, Rose and I went out to Kabeltrommle. Some nets in the reeds were to exposed but we could still have half of the nets open. The birds did not seem to like the weather to much (or they slept in today ;), however, we caught the first birds after 06:00. It was a rather slow ringing day, with few birds, I used the time between the rounds to start on a social media post on Barn Owls „Slørugle” and Rose read a book. After ringing, we exchanged a net and then went back to the station.

Ringing totals
Rørsanger 2
Tornsanger 2
Munk 1
Gærdesanger 1
Gransanger 4
Total 10

Net exchange. Picture: Rose Fricke.

I had the UV light on last night and went straight to my moths trap. I had some new species and I would like to show you some highlights from the last nights when I had the UV light on.

Moths highlights of the last days. Picture: Hanelie Sidhu.

In the meantime, Emma had already returned to the station after morning observations. There were some more birds than the last days, the highlight was a lightmorph Arctic Scua ”Almindelig Kjove”.

Today´s observations of observers in the area typed into DOFbasn can be seen here.

Highlights:

Arctic Scua - Almindelig Kjove

Peter came to the station with his dog Olga and he and Simon exchanged a cable of the radiotelemetry receiver. Now it is functioning again.

Peter at the radiomast. Picture: Simon S. Christiansen

In the afternoon, we had a meeting, after Rose and I went outside to repair a net while Emma was cooking.

Tomorrow we will be out for observations and ringing at the CES site Skarvsøen.

At the station: Emma Fabre, Rosemary Fricke, Hanelie Sidhu, Simon S. Christiansen, Peter Kristensen and Olga, Louise, Nor and Mikkel Østergaard.