We have been hoping, planning and preparing for this day to come. For over a week the volunteers at the station have been watching the weather and noticed that for the first time in many days, the wind has slowed dramatically down from 14 m/s to 5 m/s (SW). With that we were expecting good things. 

Waking up at 6 AM with the hopes of reaching Worlds End 3 fifteen minutes before dawn, we quickly hopped on our bikes and cycled quickly out. Arriving with time to spare we waited. And not long after, it started. Passerines began to fly over us in great numbers, with nearly 2000 Jackdaw (Allike) in the first hour and lots of Reed Buntings (Rørspurv), Eurasian Siskins (Grønsiskin), European Starlings (Stær) attempting to migrate. The first hour was also quite hectic with waterfowl with many geese migrating Northeast towards Sweden. Greater White-fronted Geese (Blisgås) comprising the majority of the flocks, but also including good numbers of Barnacle (Bramgås) and Pink-footed Geese (Kortnæbbet Gås). The sea, however, was quite slow this morning as visibility was quite bad further offshore, but a nice Black Guillemot (Tejst) and a male Long-tailed Duck (Havlit) made up for it. 

Pink-footed and Barnacle Geese migrating!

By mid-morning the passerine migration was beginning to wind down, but with the light southwesterly wind, many buzzards began to attempt to migrate via Grenen. We tallied 146 total Common Buzzards (Musvåge). We also got the first Eurasian Goshawk (Duehøg) of the season, a 2cy. individual quickly flew over near Worlds End 1 attempting to migrate. Further we also had several Red Kites (Rød Glente), one of which had a GPS tag on it. It was ringed and tagged on Fyn the 26th June 2023 by Hans Rytter as a young bird in nest. Which mean it's now a 3cy. Since it was ringed it has been on a trip to northern Spain. The bird is part of the project EuroKite. On their website you can find latest positions on their tagged Kites.

We opted to stay and extra 45 mins at the observation point as the buzzard migration continued, and fortunately for us we did as a Shore Lark (Bjerglærke) attempted to migrate over our heads. A lifer for Cora. 

Red Kite, part of the raptor show!

Heading back to the station at 11:45, Ragnar and I took a small detour and decided to spend a bit of time birding in Elle Krattet in search of vagrant woodpeckers and early migrants. We ended up finding a few Crested Tits (Topmejse), two or three Eurasian Treecreepers (Træløber) and accidentally flushed a Eurasian Woodcock (Skovsneppe). We then returned to the station and right as we were walking inside a White-tailed Eagle (Havørn) flew over headed towards Grenen. 

When we finally got inside, we quickly did our morning data and then headed back out to bird around Storsig and Jennes Sø. We did not find anything too crazy, but a pair of Common Cranes (Trane) were nice as well as some lingering raptors from earlier in the day.Out on the walk to Jennes Sø

Now we are preparing to head out this evening to try and do some nocturnal ringing with the hopes of finding snipes and woodcocks! But with the weather looking even better tomorrow morning than today we may not be out all that late!

And so another day passes at Skagen Fuglestation, what will tomorrow bring? We will have to wait and see!

Highlights:

- Long-tailed Duck (Havlit)

- Horned Lark (Bjerglærke)

- Common Buzzard (Musvåge) - 150+

- White-tailed Eagle (Havørn)

- Treecreeper (Træløber)

- Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge) - same bird as the last few days

- Caspian Gull (Kaspisk Måge) - 1 (2k), 1 adult 

- Eurasian Goshawk (Duehøg)

Link to today´s observations in Dofbasen in the Skagen area

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

People: Lucas Corneliussen, Simon Sigaard Christiansen, Cora Köberle, Janna Ouedraogo, Roman Spilldooren, Ragnar Smith

Sitting at the breakfast table we could already hear the wind blowing very strongly. We therefore thought it would become a day with almost no migration. We talked a bit about our wishes for the day-horned lark (Bjerglærke) or how about a white-billed-diver (Hvidnæbbet Lom)? We saw none of them, however it still was a day full of highlights.

On our way to the counting point, we already registered some movement in the air. It continued when we started our counting and especially in comparison to yesterday´s count it was a good migratory day. The birds arrived blow upon blow. It was almost hard to detect all the incoming swans. In the four hours we counted almost 500 whooper swans (Sangsvane) that tried to migrate.

Counting birds all over the place

During our count a yellowhammer (Gulspurv) appeared only four meters away from us and we could watch it very well. In the morning, we also had many migrating passerines. There we were able to see some new species for our Skagen list.

It was not that cold and in the end of our countings the sun appeared. That was nice and also motivated some raptors to fly over. In the end of our count we saw at least 28 common buzzards (Musvåge) in the sky. Due to the warm weather there were also some other animals. We could watch an adder (Hugorm- Vipera berus) and a moor frog (Spidssnudet frø-Rana arvalis).

In the evening we did our fulmar survey for the week. For that we walked on the beach, looking out for dead fulmars (Mallemuk). We could not find any, instead we found some dead porpoises (Marsvin). On the beach we also found a 3cy. (3k) glacous gull (Gråmåge) eating a seal and feathers from a dead Barn Owl!

Glaucous gull still with bloody face photographed by Roman

We had put some apples in the garden for the thrushes. When we came back from the survey some of them disappeared and we could watch some birds feeding on them. In the evening Ragnar Smith arrived on a visit the next couple of days.

The weather forecast for tomorrow looks very good so we are looking forward to a nice day of birding. Our oracle predicts some interesting species for tomorrow.

Highlights

• 2 Great-northern-diver (Islom) 
• 1 Glaucous gull (Gråmåge) 
• 5 bewick's swans (Pibesvane)
• 1 Pochard (Taffeland)
• 57 species during the count

Link to today´s observations in Dofbasen in the Skagen area

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

People: Lucas Corneliussen, Simon Sigaard Christiansen, Cora Köberle, Janna Ouedraogo, Roman Spilldooren, Ragnar Smith

We were up again today well before the sun appeared on the horizon. As predicted, the sun lost the battle with the clouds and it turned into another windy cloudy day. The weather did not look too good but the atmosphere was good so everyone was looking forward to a day at World's End I.

Pushup break to keep warm! But the count must continue!

At sea there were decent numbers of scoter's, Gannet's (sule), Red-throated diver's (Rødstrubet lom), Black-legged Kittiwake’s (Ride) flying. The surprise of the day today came in the form of a Horned Lark (Bjerglærke) unfortunately only Lucas saw it but it is a nice new species for the counts.

One of the local amphibians

I counted the birds that came from inland so mainly the passerines, raptor's and waterfowl. But with a shortage of birds to count i invented the migration watch workout. It is very good for exercising once in a while and is recommended against the cold (of course, all species are still counted and the rest take your species during the workout). So there are several exercises you can do such as; the scan and Squat, the binocular-check push up, the scope bicep curl.

When returning to the lighthouse found several amphibians such as moorfrog (Spidssnudet frø) and Smooth Newt (Lille vandsalamander). Once back at the station, Simon picked us up for a trip into the village to buy new bikes. We rode back by bike and this time the very strong south-westerly wind played in our favour! Even on a little too small bike, we flew back to our station.
All ready to go back counting tomorrow morning!

Hightligts from the observations:

Horned Lark (Bjerglærke)1

Black Throated Diver (Sortstrubet Lom) 1

Link to the observation in Dofbasen in the Skagen area

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

People: Lucas Corneliussen, Simon Sigaard Christiansen, Cora Köberle, Janna Ouedraogo, Roman Spilldooren.

We planned to go to the bunker for the migration count because of all the wind. But when we came there we decided to go to Worlds End1 to have a better view on the migration birds. That was a really good decision!

There were more passerines migrating today. Five Parrot Crossbills (Stor Korsnæb)and Lucas also saw some Waxwings (Silkehale). There were also more than 2000 Jackdaws (Allike) migrating today. We also had some Bean Geese (Tajgasædgås/Tundrasædgås) and one Blackthroated Diver (Sortstrubet Lom). There were also more raptors migrating today. It was a really nice migration count this morning.

Walking back to the Lighthouse

Later in the afternoon Simon picked us up and we went to the Harbour to feed the Gulls. There we found two colour ringed Herrring Gulls (Sølvmåge) which were ringed in Norway. And a reallynice Viking Gull which is a hybrid  between Herring Gull (Sølvmåge) and Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge).

Viking Gull (Gråmåge x Sølvmåge) in the harbour 

We also found four Caspian Gulls (Kaspik Måge). It was really nice to have so many Gulls so near by.

Having fun with feeding the Gulls

After feeding the Gulls we went to the mole. On the way there we saw some more Gulls hanging around on the ground. We stopped to take a closer look at them and found a beautiful 3k Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge) which unfortunately flew away with some other Gulls but we found it again just a few meters further.

It was really windy at the Mole but Roman found a Long Tailed Duck (Havlit) which was a decent final bird for this trip.

Hightligts from the observations:

   Parrot Crossbills (Stor Korsnæb) 5

  Bean Geese (Tajgasædgås/Tundrasædgås) 10

  Waxwings (Silkehale) 7

 Black Throated Diver (Sortstrubet Lom) 1

 Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge) 1 3k

 Vikinggull (Gråmåge x Sølvmåge) 1 2k

Link to today's observations in Dofbasen in the Skagen area

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

People: Lucas Corneliussen, Simon Sigaard Christiansen, Cora Köberle, Janna Ouedraogo, Roman Spilldooren.

We knew it was coming. The strong winds from the west picked up today as expected, but not in the way we envisioned. With our alarms waking us up at 6 AM, we quickly ate a nice breakfast and packed some coffee for the road and cycled out to Grenen. Arriving just after 7 AM, we were greeted by a small flock of Whooper Swans (Sangsvane) migrating north towards their breeding grounds in northern Scandinavia. The first of many in the morning. Fortunately, the wind had not quite picked up the way we were expecting and the crew had several good hours of counting without the elements interfering dramatically. 

The morning watch

The surprise of the morning was a 2k (1st cycle) Iceland Gull (Hvidvinget Måge) found amongst the large gull flock at the end of the Sandormentrak. Unfortunately, only a few of us were able to see the bird before the gull flock flushed and sent most of the gulls to hunker down from the wind elsewhere. Of other note, unlike the last few days, far fewer Jackdaws (Allike) made their way out to Grenen today with a mere two-hundred compared to the two to three thousand the previous days. That said, Guillemot (Lomvie) numbers were much better today with nearly five hundred being recorded across the four hour count period.

In search of Iceland Gull 

Passerine numbers, much like the Jackdaws, were also a bit lower today with fewer Snow Buntings (Snespurv), Eurasian Siskins (Grønsiskin) and Eurasian Skylarks (Sanglærke) being recorded. We did have a Fieldfare (Sjagger) and several Common Buzzards (Musvåge) attempt to migrate across Kattegat which was nice. 

By the end of the morning, the wind severely picked up at began to cover our gear with sand. The ride back to the station was not super easy today but it was still nice to be out in the sun!

The remainder of the day was fairly quiet around the station with the only other major project being the entering of the daily data from the morning and followed by the first deep clean of the apartment of the spring season. Tomorrow is forecasted to be even more windy than today so for now the volunteers are preparing for another cold morning of counting! And so, another day at Skagen Fuglestation passes, what will tomorrow bring – we will have to wait and see.

Link to today´s observations in Dofbasen in the Skagen area

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

Highlights from the observation:

- Iceland Gull (Hvidvinget Måge) - 1 2k

- Guillemot (Lomvie) - 468

- Black-legged Kittiwake (Ride) - 48

- Red-throated Diver (Rødstrubet Lom) - 200+

People: Lucas Corneliussen, Simon Sigaard Christiansen, Cora Köberle, Janna Ouedraogo, Roman Spilldooren.

Today was a windy day. Therefore, we had to observe the birds from underneath the dune top. Our observation started around 7:10 in the morning. In the beginning it was foggy far out the ocean and much sand was in the air. Due to the wind there were waves that made it hard to see resting ducks. The birds were also not happy about the conditions Therefore, we saw many migration attempts, but many of the birds headed back after a short while on the ocean.

Observing in the dunes

After a while the sun came out and the circumstances got better. The colors occurred very beautiful- the white of the breaking waves, the grey-yellowish sanddunes with green and yellow grass on it, the dark blue of the ocean together with the paler blue of the sky- all gleaming in the sun. We had some time to look at the different plumages of the resting great crested grebes (Toppet Lappedykker). Subsequently a group of snow buntings (Snespurv) flew directly in front of us and showed nicely in the sun.

Dune atmosphere

In the last two hours some kittiwakes (Ride) occurred. Knud explained us how to distinguish them from common gulls (Stormmåge) if they are far away. I am looking forward to apply this in the following days.

A species that surprised us with high numbers was the red-throated-diver (Rødstrubet Lom). In the last two hours we counted over 167 of them.

With these great observations we forgot that it was a bit cold and the time went on very quickly.

In the afternoon we baked an apple cake. After that we checked the netlanes for the ringing- which will start in some weeks. While checking the lanes we found many interesting animals. Directly at the beginning we found an adder (Vipera berus) that was bathing in the sun. Than we found a moth called dotted border (Agriopis marginaria) and a moor frog (Rana arvalis). They may stand for the beginning spring. We are curious which animals we will see in the following weeks.

Link to today´s observations in Dofbasen in the Skagen area

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

Highlights from the observation:

- Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge) - 1

- many red-throated-divers (Rødstrubet Lom) - 167

- some kittiwakes (Rides) - 8

People: Roman Spildooren, Janna Ouedraogo, Cora Koeberle, Lucas Corneliussen and Knud Pedersen

Today was our first official migration counting day. The day started with a lot of fog but after a good hour it cleared up completely and the sun even peeped through the clouds. We met Knud for the first time who helped us with the counting protocols and some determiation of some distant seabirds.

It was nice that sombody with so much experience could teach us on our first day. Knud found our first rarity of the counting season, a European Shag or Topskarv in Danish. We counted the large groups of resting sea ducks consisting of, Velvet Scoter (Fløjlsand), Common black scoter (Sortand9 and Eider's (Edderfugl). Far above Skagerrak and Kattegat a whole bunch of by; Guillemots (Lomvie), Red-throated Diver's (Rødsrubet Lom), Goldeneye (Hvinand) and Gannet's (Sule) passed by. Inland, large flocks of Jackdaws (Allike) formed and migrated north. And the first Hen harier (Blå kærhøg)  and Common buzzard's (Muavåge) passed through.

New team out on Worlds End 3. Photo: Knud Pedersen

You can read a presentation of us new volunteers elsewhere on this webisite on this link.

Around 10:30 AM the migration slowed down but we used our time well and Knud taught us the difference between Adult and Juvenile Buzzard's (Musvåge) and the ageing of hen Harrier's (Blå kærhøg). Back at the Lighthouse, we enjoyed last night's surplus pasta carbonara for lunch. We made a short attempt for a seawatch in the afternoon but it did not yield too much news. We heard that the Crane's (Trane) were on their way north in large numbers so we are looking forward to that tomorrow!

Scanning through the mist

Highlights from the observations:

European Shag (Topskarv)

Link to todays observations in Dofbasen from the Skagen area

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

People: Roman Spildooren, Janna Ouedraogo, Cora Koeberle, Lucas Corneliussen and Knud Pedersen

Today I woke up on my first day at the Bird Observatory. I arrived late in the evening yesterday so it was great that I could sleep till 9 AM. The sun was shining through curtains in my bedroom and when I looked outside I was delighted to see a whole group of Eiders (Ederfugle) bobbing on the Kattegat.

When I woke up, Lucas and Lauren were already up and going. It was nice to meet them, and Lucas showed me the area around the station. We already saw the (to me) first nice species like, Rock pipit (Skærpiber), Common Crossbill (Lille Korsnæb) and Velvet Scoter (Fløjlsand).

When we got back to the Observatory, we all left together on a twitch for Taiga Bean Goose (Tajgasædgås). But when we arrived there were only a few Geese of other species, so it did not look good for our quest for the Taiga Bean Goose (Tajgasædgås). We didn’t succeed in finding it, but it was nice to see the area.

Bewick's Swan (Pibesvane) with color leg ring

Along the way, we noticed a large group of Swans so we decided to check them out. It was a mixed flock of Bewick's (Pibesvane) and Whooper Swan's (Sangsvane. Between the smaller Bewick's Swans (Pibesvaner), there was a bird with a yellow colour ring on its leg. We tried to read it after which we had to leave to catch Lauren and Lucas's train. Once they were dropped off at the train station we continued our quest for the Bean Goose and the colourring code. The Taiga Bean Goose (Tajgasædgås) was still nowhere to be found but we were finally able to read the code on the Swan this time with a little extra effort!

After a longer while we managed to read the color ring

Afterwards we went to check the harbor in Ålbæk if there were Ruddy Turnstone's (Stenvender) or other waders and we found a nice group of Turnstone's. Simon said he would like to try to catch them at some point, and the group was compact enough to catch them so that story may be continued.

Roman Photographing Turnstones (Stenvendere)

Later, we picked up two new volunteers Janna and Cora. Back at the Bird Observatory, we had another evening meeting and got a tour of how everything works here.

You can read a presentation of us new volunteers elsewhere on this webisite on this link.

Looking at Cranes at Sørig Enge

Now Simon cooks a delicious smelling meal for us. Tomorrow awaits the start of the season with migrations counts at Grenen, and the migration has started so that we are looking forward to it!

We recieved some interesting information from Lisa Vergin about a GPS-tagged Taiga Bean Goose (Tajgasædgås) that passed Skagen late afternoon on the 23rd February. It started it's migration in Thy and later flew above Skagen on its way to Sweden. You can see it's track below.

Taiga Bean Goose (Tajgasædgås) passing Skagen on it's migration North on the 23rd February.

Highlights from the Observations:

Bewick's Swan 8 (at Sørig)

Turnstone 23 (Ålbæk Havn)

Link to todays observations in Dofbasen from the Skagen area

Ringing (Fyrhaven):

Gulspurv - Yellowhammer: 2

Total: 2

People: Roman Spildooren, Simon Sigaard Christinasen, Cora Köberle, Janna Ouedraogo, Lucas Corneliussen & Lauren Homan.

Her et par uger efter Ragnar tog hjem og inden forårets første assistent (Lucas) ankommer senere i denne uge, så jeg lige et snit til at skrive en sjælden dagbog fra min hånd.

Vintermånederne er den stille periode på fuglestationen normalt vis. Ikke fordi der ingen fugle er – det er der altid. Der kan f.eks. tjekkes måger og ænder eller tælles alkefugle og gæs. Man kan opsøge vadefugle som Stenvendere og Sortgrå Ryle i havnene og i haverne måske Silkehaler. Det er en stille periode på stationen, fordi der ikke er så mange logerende, og der er en pause i det meste feltarbejde, da trækket i vintermånederne trods alt er begrænset. Bag kulissen sker der dog stadig en del, særligt ved skrivebordet. Bestyrelsesmedlemmer og andre skriver flittigt til årsskriftet (udkommer hvert år omkring maj), fuglefestivalen og andre arrangementer planlægges, årets projekter i felten forberedes, der søges eksterne midler og ikke mindst bliver der lagt en vigtig indsats i at skaffe et godt hold af assistenter til sæsonen gennem at læse ansøgninger, lave interviews og lege med kalendergymnastik. Endnu en ting jeg fandt plads til denne vinter, var at give denne hjemmeside en ordentlig opdatering, så der nu er opdaterede tekster og billeder på de fleste af siderne.

Vinterperioden giver dog også mulighed for at reflektere over mange ting, som man måske ikke altid når i den travle tid. For 15 år siden i februar sad jeg på Ottenby Fågelstation i Sverige, hvor jeg var frivillig assistent. Dengang var jeg også ved at forberede den kommende sæson. Om aftenerne sprang jeg på isflager i mørket og ringmærkede Sortgrå Ryle, Skarv, Bjergand og Stor Skallesluger, men jeg læste også lidt. Bl.a. læste jeg de første dagbøger som blevet skrevet i Ottenby Fågelstations historie – de var dateret tilbage til 1946. Det var inspirerende at læse om opstarten af en fuglestation. De praktiske udfordringer, de innovative forsøg med ringmærkning og ikke mindst historierne om miljøet og folkene på stationen. Jeg sad derfor og drømte om hvor spændende det måtte være, at være med til at starte en fuglestation op fra grunden og se den vokse.

Dengang var det ikke noget jeg troede ville blive en realistisk mulighed. Der var mere tendens til at fuglestationer lukkede, ikke at nye åbnede. Men i 2017 kom der en chance, og så endda nær min fødeby (Aalborg). DOF indgik aftale med Naturstyrelsen om at drive en fuglestation i Det Grå Fyrs lokaler. Jeg blev ansat som naturvejleder og forstander af Skagen Fuglestation med nøglerne til nogle tomme lokaler den vinter. Ubeskriveligt meget er sket sidenhen. 2258 dagbøger er skrevet siden da, og fuglestationen står nu på tærsklen til dets niende sæson.

Ni år efter samme sæsonprægede koncept. Hvad kan en leder mon glæde sig til når ”endnu” en sæson står for døren?

Jeg glæder mig til der kommer en Ådselgrib. Den vil jeg gerne se i Skagen. Det er ikke umuligt, men det er også langt fra sikkert. Seneste (og eneste gang) der var en Ådselgrib i Skagen var i 1993. Hvis den ikke kommer i år, gør det dog ikke så meget, for jeg ved at jeg med sikkerhed vil opleve andre sjældne fugle og opleve høje forekomster for nogle arter – andre ikke. Sæsonens uforudsigelighed er spændende, ikke at vide hvilke arter og oplevelser der vil indprente sig i ens bevidsthed når året engang er slut. F.eks. var det fantastisk at at opleve de mange Sodfarvet Skråper vi havde sidste efterår, en gæst der imponerer med sin trækadfærd, hvor den rejser hele Atlanten rundt for at yngle på Falklandsøerne.

En vis forudsigelighed er der dog heldigvis også. Jeg glæder mig hvert år til at byde de almindelige langdistancetrækfugle velkommen - en for en når de ankommer i foråret. Jeg glæder mig også til at udvikle på de forskelligartede feltprojekter vi gennemfører med videnskabelige partnere. Det kan være meget udfordrende at arbejde med nye metoder og teknologi, men også meget tilfredsstillende når man ser resultaterne.

Assistenter og gæster sidste år efter en vandring på stranden i søgen efter ilanddrevne fugle 

Mest af alt glæder jeg mig dog til det sociale aspekt i at birde og opleve fuglene med gæstende og lokale fuglekiggere – og ikke mindst at arbejde med de frivillige assistenter der kommer til at bo på fuglestationen. Fem assistenter var der i løbet af et år i 2017. Det er med tiden vokset til over tyve - og vi har vokseværk. Der arbejdes derfor på at finde løsninger på at udvide antallet af værelser til overnatning, hvilket forhåbentligt vil ske inden for en overskuelig fremtid.

Man kan lære meget af dem som har set på fugle i en menneskealder, men har her de første otte år også lært at der er rigtig meget at hente fra de unge som bor her. De imponerer mig hvert år med deres ihærdighed, videbegærlighed og pligtopfyldelse. De er seriøse men samtidig utrolig rare og søde bekendtskaber. Det tegner rigtig godt for den kultur denne generation af fuglekiggere kommer til at tegne i fremtiden herhjemme og i udlandet. De vil gerne dygtiggøre sig selv fagligt, nørde ID og metoder og de er gode til at argumentere. De er aldrig selvhøjtidelige og er typisk heller ikke bange for at tage fejl. En rigtig vigtig egenskab er også, at de er meget imødekomne overfor andre. Det er alt sammen ting jeg har lært meget af, og så er det også bare med til at give mig selv energi og lyst til at stå tidligt op og gå på arbejde, uanset de mangeartede udfordringer dagene kan byde på. De unge kommer med forskellige baggrunde, og det samme gør gæsterne i lejligheden. Det overrasker mig hvert år hvor godt det går i spænd og at relationerne fungerer selvom pladsen kan være trang og privatsfæren lille. Man kan åbenbart komme meget langt med at være fælles om fugleinteressen.

Ringmærkere i ly fra regn under Kabeltromlen

I en verden der kan synes dyster og pessimistisk hvis man følger nyhedsstrømmen, er det rart at være et sted der er det helt modsatte. På fuglestationen insisterer vi på den gode stemning, alt andet bliver man træt af. En god stemning er heldigvis ikke svær at opretholde med det miljø der kendetegner fuglestationen i dag.

En risiko som altid findes på alle fuglestationer, er dog at de kan lukke sig for meget om sig selv (samme gælder sådan set også på et personligt plan for os enkelte fuglekiggere). Det er vigtigt at have for øje at håndtere gennem kommunikation og relationer udadtil, og kan nemt glemmes i hverdagens trummerum.

De bærende søjler for os er fugle, oplevelser, viden og fællesskab. Værdier der måske kan synes lidt vidtløftige, men ikke desto mindre giver os en retning og et holdepunkt i det daglige. Et arbejdsfællesskab og en social tilgang til arbejdet tror jeg på er det mest inspirerende og genererer bedre resultater. Ud over at vi fylder fuglestationen med engagerede folk vil vi derfor meget gerne have inputs fra andre udefra der har lyst til f.eks. at holde et oplæg til de unge på fuglestationen, tælle med os på obsposten eller være med i ringmærkningen.

Foredrag på stationen sidste år i maj om lydoptagelser og bestemmelse af trækkald

Jeg har fra start af ønsket at arbejde undersøgende og eksperimenterende og håber det udefra også kan ses. Vi laver ikke nye ting bare for at lave nyt, men fordi vi tror på det har værdi på sigt og fordi vi vil holde os relevante overfor vores interessenter og tiltrække folk der synes det er spændende.

Du kan følge årets gang her på fuglestationen gennem dagbøgerne her på hjemmesiden, men vi glæder os selvfølgelig også til at møde mange af jer i felten heroppe. Husk at det også er muligt som DOF-medlem at booke et ophold i vores lejlighed, hvor der stadig er ledige i uger tilbage - også i marts. Klik her for at se de ledige uger.

Jeg vil slutte denne dagbog af med at ønske alle læsere end god sæson med fuglene - hvad enten det er her i Skagen eller ude i den store verden. På trods af de mange konflikter og tosserier i medierne vil jeg desuden opmuntre med det faktum at der globalt set er flere mennesker der i dag har det bedre end nogensinde før målt på f.eks. levealder, antal mennesker i fattigdom og hvor mange der går i skole – og det er jo rart at vide.

I have now left the bird observatory for good after spending 206 days here. I started on 15/7 and have on 7/2 left for Zealand. Been an exciting 7 months and quite the unique experience. To be able to follow the cycle of season on all levels from high summer and 25 degrees to -5 degrees and 5 hours of sun and following the change of flora and fauna so intimately is an experience I can only recommend.

480 hours have I spent doing standardized migration counting at Worlds End 3 in great company, variable weather, but the birds were always amazing (When aren’t they?). It is almost impossible to choose between the best birds, but the highlights must definitely be the Brown Booby (Brun Sule), the third record for Denmark, two species of storm petrels (Stormsvaler) and my first Sabine’s Gull (Sabinemåge)! But again the highlights are many and if you asked me a different day I would give a different answer.

The social life at the Bird Observatory has also been amazing. To meet so many different people from so many backgrounds has been a precious experience that I probably won’t forget, it made my very long stay feel like a vacation. To be in company with so many people and hyper focus on birds is a liberating feeling and if you are a young birdwatcher, that alone is reason enough for you to be a volunteer at a bird observatory, even more so in Skagen.

Thanks to everyone who I have met in Skagen for adding in to make it as a great experience as it has been and thanks for reading.

See you againSwallowtail (Svalehale) 1/8, One of my many non-avian highlights and a stark contrasts to what is expected in Skagen here at the end of my stay

Summer and pizza with some of the early season volunteers (from left to right: Lucas, Rosa, Andrew, Joe and Ragnar)

Bird of the year: Brown Booby!

The quintenssential autumn visitor: Yellow-browed Warbler (Hvidbrynet Løvsanger), a rare visitor, though we found 7-8 individuals!

King Eider (Kongeederfugl) in Skagen Harbour!