This mornig I went to the migration. I was welcomed by a nice little flock of Arctic Terns (Havterne). Apart from that, migration over the sea was quite slow. Still, there were some resting birds, including a beautiful Razorbill (Alk) in breeding plumage close to the shore, along with a young Black Guillemot (Tejst) and three Red-throated Divers (Rødstrubet Lom). Later, another Black Guillemot (Tejst) joined them.
On the wader side, there weren’t many individuals, but I had a good diversity: Sanderling (Sandløber), Dunlin (Almindelig Ryle), Bar-tailed Godwit (Lille Kobbersneppe), Grey Plover (Strandhjejle), Curlew (Storspove)... I also spotted a migrating Red-necked Grebe (Gråstrubet Lappedykker).
For the first time, I saw the two baby Ringed Plovers (Stor Præstekrave) from the pair that’s nesting right in front of where I was sitting.

Sunrise from World's End III

Knud and Erik joined me during the second hour and then took care of the last two hours, which allowed me to go to the ringing. They had only caught a few birds. When I arrived, I ringed an angry young Reed Bunting (Rørspurv). In the last round, we had a Crested Tit (Topmejse) that didn’t want to let go of my finger.

Crested Tit - Topmejse

After that, we went back to the lighthouse and left directly to ring the Barn Owl (Slørugle) in the southwestern Vendsyssel. We stopped along the road because we heard that the Long-legged Buzzard (Ørnevåge) was on our route. But by the time we arrived, it had already flown back north — exactly where we had come from. So, we continued on to the Barn Owls (Slørugle).
We started with the farm we had visited before, but the adult owl had already escaped. We were ready now: Rose and I were holding the mist net in front of the exit, and the others placed a telescopic net in front of the owl box — but it was empty.
Then we went to another farm. Simon climbed up to take four chicks from a nest box, so each of us could ring one. They were already quite big.

Barn Owl  (Slørugle) 

The last farm had four chicks as well, but they were younger and still fluffy. All the farmers were very nice and offered us something to eat and drink.

A break between the Barn Owl ringing

On our way back, we stopped at the dunes south of Skagen, where the Long-legged Buzzard (Ørnevåge) had last been seen — but unfortunately, we didn’t see it, so we returned to the lighthouse.

Highlights from the field:

Long-legged Buzzard (Ørnevåge). 4th day. Seen by others at Hulsig

Black Guillemot (Tejst) : 2

Arctic Terns (Havterne) : 5

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):

Gransanger (Chiffchaff) - 5

Gærdesanger (Lesser Whitethroat) - 2

Kærsanger (Marsh Warbler) - 3

Rørsanger (Reed Warbler) - 2

Topmejse (Crested Tit) - 1

Tornsanger (Common Whitethroat) - 8

Rørspurv (Reed Bunting) - 1

Total: 22

Ringing (Vendsyssel):

Slørugle (Barn Owl) - 8 

At the station: Emma Fabre, Hanelie Sidhu, Rosemary Fricke, Simon S. Christiansen, Knud Pedersen, Erik Christophersen,  William Aarestrup, Andreas Bennetsen Boe the guests in the apartment Louise, Nor and Mikkel Østergaard, and the farmer Hans, Peter, Erik and their families.

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

We are welcoming clouds and a bit of wind back to Skagen after a few hot days recently. This meant working today was a much less sweaty affair! Hanelie and I opened the nets at Kabeltromlen half an hour before sunrise, and were joined by a number of people throughout the session. Simon was there early morning, followed by Daniele who helped with the rounds, Emma later on, as well as Mikkel, Erik, Ornella, and Gino who came to watch some of the action.

Hanelie giving Gino a good cuddle!

The morning was dominated by Common Whitethroats (Tornsanger) on the rounds. We had an early highlight - this stunning male Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken).

Lesser Redpoll – Lille Gråsisken

Meanwhile, Emma started the migration count this morning, seeing a Whimbrel (Småspove), a couple of Wigeon (Pibeand), and a Velvet Scoter (Fjølsand). Knud came to assist the monitoring and together they saw a fourth calendar year Caspian Gull (Kaspisk Måge)! He took over for the latter half so that Emma could join us for the last few rounds of ringing, where we bookended the day with a juvenile Dunnock (Jernspurv), which was showing a nice set of contrasting spots on its greater coverts.

Juvenile Dunnock – Jernspurv

Ringing totals

Musvit 2
Rødhals 1
Kærsanger 2
Gærdesanger 1
Rørsanger 1
Blåmejse 1
Jernspurv 1
Tornsanger 10
Rørspurv 1
Munk 1
Gransanger 3

 Total 25

After the ringing session Hanlie and I took garden tools to some shrubbery growing too near the nets, to prevent them catching on vegetation Wihle simon had the task to try changing a cable of the station’s radio tracking receiver, which is used to pick up signals from radio tagged birds. Despite a good effort, and help from Mikkel the problem seems to be with the antenna, which will have to be replaced in the near future instead.

Our radio tracking receiver

We volunteers have still had no luck with the Long-legged Buzzard (Ørnevåge) yet, but we have been hearing reports of it resting on the ground near Hulsig, so maybe we still have a chance!

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

Highlights at the ringing:

Lille Gråsisken
Kærsanger
Jernspurv

Highlights for morning observation:

Kaspisk Måge
Småspove
Fjølsand
Pibeand

At the station: Emma Fabre, Hanelie Sidhu, Rosemary Fricke, Simon S. Christiansen, Knud Pedersen, Erik Christophersen, our Italian guests Daniele Lavicoli and Ornella Cobianchi,  and the guests in the apartment Louise, Nor and Mikkel Østergaard.

From today on it is early mornings for all of us every day, as also the autumn ringing season started. Rose and I went to Kabletrommle for ringing while Emma went to Verdens Ende III for the migration count.

While opening we heard the Grashopper Warbler “Grasshoppersanger” again. It was very active this morning. For the first round, we were joined by Daniele, an Italian ringer and Simon.

It was a nice morning and Roses first full ringing morning of passerine ringing, she has mainly ringed seabirds before. In total we caught 56 new birds, mainly first calendar year birds. Highlights were an Icterine Warbler “Gulbug”, a partially leucistic Lesser Whitethroat “Gærdesanger”, which had some white feathers on its head.

Lesser Whitethroat "Gærdesanger" with white on its head.

Also a juvenile Willow Warbler “Løvsanger”. It is mainly juvenile Chiffchaffs “Gransanger”, that we catch, so it is important to be careful and always check the emarginations on the primaries, only five in the Willow Warbler and six in the Chiffchaff “Gransanger”. This should always be a routine in these two species, but especially at that time of year it is very important, as the juvenile Willow Warblers “Løvsanger” can have Chiffchaff-like dark legs, which will get lighter when the bird gets older.

Juvenile Willow Warbler "Løvsanger".

Ringing Kabeltrommle

After ringing, Rose and I fixed the wader hanger and then went back to the station.

Emma had a very slow sea migration count today. Very few birds were migrating but there was still one highlight, a Black Guillemot “Tjeist”! And she had some passerine highlights: She saw a Kingfisher “Isfugl” and there was a bird with a weird call. Emmas guess was Penduline Tit “Pungmejse” and luckily, she had a recording of the call. It was indeed a Penduline Tit “Pungmejse”, which is quite rare out here, it is not seen yearly in Skagen.  I wish we would have it in the net!

While we were still at Kabletrommle and Emma took a nap after the count, the Long-legged Buzzard “Ørnevåge” had been seen again. It was the same bird as yesterday, Knud again managed to take very good pictures. Also Simon saw it today, yesterday he had missed it.

When we all met at the station, we decided to look for it together and went to North beach on top of the bunker. We saw some raptors but did not manage to find the Long-legged Buzzard Ørnevåge”.

At the end we decided to explore the inside of the bunker and after going back to the station. While it was very hot outside today and the last days, it was refreshingly cool inside the bunker.

Juvenile Løvsanger

Highlights Morning Observations:

Pungmejse

Isfugl

Tjeist

Highlights in the field:

Ørnevåge

Today´s observations by obsers in te area can be seen here.

Later in the afternoon, our new guests, Louise, Nor and Mikkel arrived at the station. Mikkel is working for Ørneclubben, the kids group of DOF.

After data entry we had the evening meeting with Simon. Now we are looking forward to another exciting day in the field, hopefully this time with Long-legged Buzzard “Ørnevåge” for us.

At the station: Rosemary Frikke, Emma Fabre, Hanelie Sidhu, Simon S. Christiansen, our Italian guests Daniele Lavicoli and Ornella Cobianchi and the guests in the apartment Louise, Nor and Mikkel Østergaard

Today was my last full day at the station, but at the same time the first one where I could finally sleep in a bit! Last night, Rosemary took over the night shift as we set out to catch some European Nightjars (Natravn) in the Lighthouse Garden. Unfortunately, we had no luck catching any, but it was a warm summer night, which made it a nice experience for her nonetheless.

This morning, Hanelie and Emma headed out for morning observation. It was quite calm overall, but they were lucky to see an Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove) chasing a tern offshore. Later Erik joined them out at the tip, and together they also saw some Honey Buzzard (Hvepsevåge) coming in from inland.

View from World'end III

Later in the day, we received message about a rare Long-legged Buzzard (Ørnevåge) found by Erik C. from his garden in town! Unfortunately we missed it before it returned, but it gave us some hope for more raptor activity in the coming days.

2cy. Long-legged Buzzard - Ørnevåge Photo by Knud Pedersen)

Since it was cleaning day, we spent the afternoon tidying up the station but as the heat became almost unbearable, we decided to head out for a swim together. It was the perfect way to cool down. Emma even found a big crab on the beach!

Crab

To end the day on a sweet note, I treated everyone to ice cream! I’m incredibly grateful for the time I’ve spent here at Skagen Fuglestation: the birds, the beautiful landscape, the late nights and early mornings, but especially the people I met! Thank you for the amazing memories and the chance to learn and contribute.

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

People: Pauline Nähring, Hanelie Sidhu, Emma Fabre, Rosemary Fricke, Simon Sigaard Christiansen, Erik Christophersen

The day started with a win, as on our way to Lands End III this morning Emma and I heard Grasshopper Warbler (Græshoppesanger) singing, a new bird for my life list! 

A still sea and little wind today meant quite a calm migration count for us, something I am grateful for while I get the hang of the method! Early on we had a couple of Greenshank (Hvidklire) stood at the tip of the beach before heding south east, a green Sandpiper calling as it headed north west and a light morph Artic Skua (Almindelig Kjove). Later, Simon and Erik also joined us, and amongst regular Gannets (Sule), Common Scoter (Sortand), Sandwich Terns (Splitterne) and some Common Terns (Fjordterne) highlights included four Honey Buzzards (Hvepsevåge) heading east, a Turnstone (Stenvender), and a Rosefinch (Karmindompap). 

Grasshopper Warbler (Græshoppesanger) by Emma 

After the count I went to find a Crested Lark (Toplærke) that Erik had seen near Sandormsporet but did not get lucky this time. Instead, I watched some Ringed Plover (Stor Præstekrave) chicks that seem soon ready for their first flight, one of which was already ringed by our team in the past weeks. I also had a go at reading some gull rings with mixed success in the impressive heat haze for 9am.

A ringed Ringed Plover chick (Stor Præstekrave)

Meanwhile, Pauline and Hanelie spent the morning ringing at Kabeltrommel for Pauline’s last time before leaving tomorrow. They were joined for a while by our guest Frank. Their highlights included a juvenile Eurasian Treecreeper (Træløber), a Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken) two young Robins (Rødals), and a Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) that was ringed here in 2020!

Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken) photo by Pauline

Juvenile Eurasian Treecreeper (Træløber)

The afternoon was spent cleaning and oiling bikes in the sunshine. We also said goodbye to our guests Karen and Frank this afternoon - it was a pleasure to meet them, and we hope they enjoyed their stay!

Today’s observations in DOFbasen from observers in the area can be seen here.

Ringing totals KAB:

Highlights:

Rosefinch - Karmindompap
Grasshopper Warbler – Græshoppesanger
Hobby - Lærkefalk

People: Pauline Nähring, Hanelie Sidhu, Emma Fabre, Rosemary Fricke, Simon Sigaard Christiansen, Erik Christophersen, Karen and Frank Andersen.

In the morning, we all left for the migration count at Word’s End III. The weather was calm. We started with a slow movement of Scoters (Sortand). Then migration activity picked up a bit, with some Sandwich (Splitterne) and Common Terns (Fjordtern) on the move. We also saw a nice flock of Greylag Geese (Grågås). Inland migration was happening as well, with several flocks of Swifts (Mursejler) heading northeast.

Sunrise at World's End III

Knud and Erik joined us for the count. We also recorded some Kittiwakes (Rie). The highlight of the morning was an Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove) spotted by Erik — a light morph. It passed close to the beach, then quickly flew northwest and disappeared. Erik also detected a Bar-tailed Godwit (Lille Kobbersneppe). After that, he and Knud went down from the dune to the beach to read some gull rings. Then the migration slow down, but we had a nice flock of Velvet Scoters (Fløjlsand).

The team counting birds

After four hours of counting, we returned to the lighthouse. In the afternoon, we started installing the nets to prepare them for sewing. We managed to finish two nets. Then, while we were tidying up the nets, a man came to me and said there was a snake in the toilet!
We went to check and found a medium-sized Common Viper (Hugorm) near the door. Pauline put on her gloves and Hanelie grabbed a butterfly net — together they managed to catch it. We then released it in the grass behind the lighthouse.

While we were outside, we saw a Great Egret (Sølvhejre) flying over the sea near the beach — a beautiful bird.

Commom Vipera-Hugorm

Highlight :
Arctic Skua - Almindelig Kjove
Great Egret - Sølvhejre
Common Viper - Hugorm

People: Pauline Nähring, Hanelie Sidhu, Emma Fabre, Rosemary, Simon Sigaard Christiansen, Knud Pedersen, Erik Christophersen, Karen and Frank Andersen

Our day began with Hanelie and me heading out early for a round of ringing at Kabeltromlen again. While walking between the nets, we suddenly heard a Grasshopper Warbler (Græshoppesanger) singing nearby and got really excited! A little later in the day, Emma went out to The Tip of Denmark (Grenen) for some seabird observations and heard it as well. 

Tip of Denmark - Emma Fabre

On the 15^th of July the standardized 4-hour morning observations start after the summer break. Emma and I went to World´s end 3 this morning and started the sea migration count. We had some Common Scoters “Sortand” on migration and very few Red-Throated Divers “Rødstrubet Lom” and Auks “Alkefugl”. Many Sandwich Terns “Splitterne” came to forage not so far from the tip as well as Nothern Gannets “Sule”. Erik Christophersen joined us for a bit coming from the beach where he had been photographing and saw the Black-throated Diver “Sortstrubet Lom” first. A Great White Egret “Sølvhejre” was flying southeast in a group of ten Grey Herons “Fiskehejre”. Three Kestrels “Tårnfalk” landed on the beach – one of them was playing with some long roots that sticked out of the sand. That was fun to watch. But they also landed close to where the ringed Plovers “Stor Præstekrave” raise their chicks, so were a bit worried about them. We also had a Whimbrel “Småspove” landing on the beach.

Great White Egret "Sølvhejre". archive picture from 2022.

The last hour was a bit tiring; there was not much happening on the sea. We kept an eye on the birds but after the obs was finished, we were happy to go back to the station to take a nap.

Before noon, Simon came to the station. I also woke up and did a bit of data work with the ringing data and did the DOFbasn quality assurance. We are checking if all our data is also typed into dafbasn and if there are some mistakes in the data. I found some data that was not in and entered it. After, we had an early evening meeting with Simon. Then Pauline and I checked some ringing data while Emma went grocery shopping. We also took out one more net to sew. Luckily, it did not have as many holes as the last one so we could finish it today and it can be reused as soon as a net needs to be exchanged or for the nest year.

Net sewing. Picture: Hanelie Sidhu

Now Pauline is cooking an early dinner, maybe we can go to bed a bit earlier today to be fit again tomorrow morning for ringing at Kabletromle and Morning Observations.

Higlights Morning Obs:

Great White Egret - Sølvhejre

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

People: Pauline Nähring, Emma Fabre, Simon S. Christiansen, Hanelie Sidhu.

Today was CES day. We went to Cormorant Lake for bird ringing. Our first round was accompanied by a lovely young bird — a juvenile Bluethroat (Blåhals). Throughout the morning, we caught many Reed Warblers (Rørsanger) and other species. We also had three Lesser Whitethroats (Gædesanger)— two juveniles and one adult. While we were waiting between rounds, the sun warmed us, and we could hear the call of a Bearded Tit (Skægmejse) in the background.

young Bluethroat (Blåhals)

During the last round, we caught three young male Bearded Tits (Skægmejse) — two were already ringed, so we may have caught the last unringed chick. When we closed the nets, we rescued a bumblebee that had gotten stuck.

Three young male Bearded Tits (Skægmejse)

Then we went back to the lighthouse and had lunch.

I went out to look for butterflies and dragonflies around Cormorant Lake. I found about a dozen species and saw lots of Sand Lizards. Hanelie was checking data sheets with Simon, and Pauline took a nap.

Commom Blue - Almindelig blåfugl - Polyomatus icarus

Later in the afternoon, we continued sewing the nets. We finally finished one net after two days of work and many repaired holes. Pauline caught a Sand Lizard and brought it over to motivate us to finish the net.

Sand Lizard

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

Ringing (Skarvsøen CES):
Solsort 1
Rørsanger 6
Blåhals 1
Gærdesanger 3
Skægmejse 1
Munk 1
Gransanger 1

Total 14

People: Pauline Nähring, Hanelie Sidhu, Emma Fabre & Simon Sigaard Christiansen

The day began very early for us, with an alarm at 3am for a planned ringing session at Kabeltromlen. Sadly, the weather didn’t look very good, so we decided to stay at the station.

I still decided to go for a little walk to look for some amphibians or reptiles, and actually got rewarded with some nice sightings: four Natterjack Toads (Kreuzkrø) and one Moor Frog (Spidssnudet Frø). Even though we see them quite often, I still get excited each time.

After a few hours of rest, Emma and I jumped on the bikes and went on a grocery run to the city. After that, we spent the afternoon repairing our nets by sewing all the holes.

In between, we had a short but very cool break. It was finally time to ring the young Barn Swallows (Landsvale) that are nesting right here at the station.

Let’s hope the weather improves tomorrow, so we can successfully do more ringing :)

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

Ringing (Lighthouse Garden):

Landsvale: 3

People: Pauline Nähring, Hanelie Sidhu, Emma Fabre & Simon Sigaard Christiansen