The morning started with high expectations. It was the second day with warm temperatures after a longer cold period, and in the past days, many long-distance migrants had arrived. It was also the first day of the CES ringing at Skarvsoen, where we will be ringing every 10 days until September to monitor the breeding passerines. For Alvin, Alix and Dylan, it meant an early start to the day. Getting up at 3am, they had an amazing session ringing 35 birds. Interesting was a recapture of a Reed Warbler ringed last year at the same location. It was also the first for Skagen this spring.

Ringing site at Skarvsøen

Reed Warbler in the early morning light

They also caught a Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) and several Sedge Warblers (Sivsanger)

Comparison between Common (left) and Lesser Whitethroat (right)

The highlight of the morning, however, was a Citrine Wagtail (Citronvipstjert) migrating over, which was found and recorded by Alvin.

Flight calls of the Citrine Wagtail (Citronvipstjert)

In the meanwhile, Julian and I were counting at Nordstrand together with Knud, Oluf, and Jørn. For us the first hours were comparatively slow, with little movement on the sea and many of the passerines turning around still far away from the tip. In the last hour, however, our patience was rewarded with good numbers of Red Kites (Rød Glente) and some White-tailed Eagles (Havørn), as well as a Pallid Harrier (Steppehøg). We also got very good views of a hunting Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove).

After the end of the count, Julian went back to have lunch and finish some office tasks, and I made a small bike trip, checking a few areas for passerines, with birds of note being a Wood Warbler (Skovsanger) and two more Sedge Warblers (Sivsanger). I also had a short break before heading out again, this time for a longer period. I first went to Grenen to look for resting Pipits and Wagtails and after that to Batteriskoven and the industrial area. Here I found a mixed breeding pair of Carrion and Hooded Crow (Grakrage ssp. corone and cornix) building their nest and a Sand Martin (Digesvale) colony. So maybe we can try and ring them later in the season.

Since the sky was still filled with raptors, I made a stop at Saftevandsbakken, where I also met Alvin and Alix and we had good views of the Black-winged Kite (Blå Glente). I kept on birding, and also Dylan and Julian went out with Simon to check a few woodlands and the industrial area. In Batteriskoven they found a Firecrest (Rødtoppet Fuglekonge), which is a good species in Skagen.

Alvin at Saftevandsbakken

Alvin and Alix stayed a bit longer at Savtervandsbakken, where they also saw a Golden Eagle (Kongeørn). Beside our sightings, there was also a Turtle Dove (Turteldue), a Golden Oriol (Pirol) and a Red-throated Pipit (Rødstrubet Piber) and Red-rumped Swallow (Rødrygget Svale) seen in Skagen this day. So many good birds to keep us busy.

They day ended with a delicious dinner by Alvin and a nice sunset evening birding with a close flyby Hobby (Laerkefalk)

Highlights from the observations:
Pallid Harrier (Steppehøg) - 2
Golden Eagle (Kongeørn) - 1
Firecrest (Rødtoppet Fuglekonge) - 1
Black-winged Kite (Blå Glente) - 1
Wood Warbler (Skovsanger) - 1
Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove) - 1
Citrine Wagtail (Citronvipstjert) - 1

People: Alvin Johansson, János Schadl, Alix Bortolussi, Julian Helbig, Dylan Daunt, Simon S. Christiansen, Søren, Knud Pedersen, Jørgen Hulbeck C.

There were many people visiting Alvin, Alix and Simon as they were ringing at Kabeltromlen this morning: Søren, Knud, Hanne and Jens Eriksen and Johan Oli Hilmarsson from Iceland. They all picked a very good day; not only were there many raptors to see flying low above Kabeltromlen (among them, for example, three Black Kites (Sort Glente)), but also the ringing itself was quite successful despite the winds that made the team move down to a more sheltered spot for processing the birds. They caught the first three Sedge Warblers (Sivsanger) of the season, as well as the first Common Redstarts (Rødstjert). Also the number of birds ringed in total increased a lot compared to the past days. The reason for that might be the warmer weather and southerly winds, that cause more and more birds to migrate up to Skagen.

Sedge Warbler (Sivsanger) ringed at Kabeltromlen.

In the Baltic Sea, there was a Humpback Whale (Pukkelhval) which in March and April stranded multiple times along the German coast. It got a lot of medial attention, and was named “Timmy” (after the bay where it was laying). Many rescue attempts were unsuccessful and the whale’s health declining. In the end, a private initiative took over and actually managed to transport the whale and ship it to the North Sea. Today, this unusual convoy passed Skagen, and before I joined János and Dylan for the migration count at Grenen, I tried to find it through my scope just from the shore next to the lighthouse. It was very far out at the horizon, but I did manage to see it through the haze. What a strange happening to witness!

Far away view on the rescue operation for the Humpback Whale ("Timmy").

Before leaving, I also had a singing Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) in the lighthouse garden, which was the first one this spring for the Skagen area. At the migration count, the highlights were the first Black Tern (Sortterne) and four Shorelarks (Bjerglærke). Overall a good variety of species.
After lunch, we all went out again for birding at some point. At Batteriskoven, János and Dylan found a very early Garden Warbler (Havesanger) as well as many Pied Flycatchers (Broget Fluesnapper), and heard several singing Wood Warblers (Skovsanger). Apart from the birds, they also had two Camberwell Beauties (Sørgekåbe).

Camberwell Beauty (Sørgekåbe)

Alvin and Alix went out to Ellekrattet and Grenen, where they saw the Shorelarks (Bjerglærke) again. János held a great birding tour for two clients this afternoon, biking around the area and focusing mainly on raptors, of which there where many to see, such as Hen Harriers (Blå Kærhøg), White-tailed Eagles (Havørn), a Rough-legged Buzzard (Fjeldvåge) and an Osprey (Fiskeørn).

fantastic weather

After we’ve all come back, Simon gave us a helpful little session about the best techniques for summarising the raptor observations, a daily task for us which sometimes can be quite challenging. In the evening, six Bee-eaters (were called out on Zello, which Dylan went to see at Grenen. On our evening walks in the heathlands, we discovered high numbers of resting Wheatears (Stenpikker) and some Whinchats (Bynkefugl). For the Wheatears, we also set up a few traps to try to catch them, but unfortunately we haven’t had success. This is often a matter of luck, but hopefully we’ll manage to catch some of them soon.

Whinchat (Bynkefugl) l. and Wheatear (Stenpikker) r. close to eachother in the heath.

To finish off, something to celebrate: Alix, Alvin and János have now obtained their C-licences for ringing, which means that – under Simon’s responsibility – they can ring on their own from now on. Congratulations!

People: Alvin Johansson, János Schadl, Alix Bortolussi, Julian Helbig, Dylan Daunt, Simon S. Christiansen, Søren, Knud Pedersen, Johan Oli Hilmarsson, Hanne & Jens Eriksen