After having counted so many Fulmars (Mallemuk) and Kittiwakes (Ride) on our little seawtaching session yesterday evening, expectations were high for today’s migration count held by János, Dylan and Sverre at World’s End 3 (Jesper and Mette also joined them at some point). But in terms of numbers they were a bit disappointed, only very few birds were migrating both on the sea and inland. However, it was truly quality over quantity today: With a Great Skua (Storkjove) and even a Pomarine Skua (Mellemkjove), they had two very good highlights. The Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove) completed their Skua-triplet. There has also been a White-billed Diver (Hvidnæbbet Lom) called out on Zello, which unfortunately no-one of us saw. Meanwhile, Alvin and I were ringing at Kabeltromlen. It was a bit too windy to open all the nets and we also had to ring down by the tent for a period of time, but still we had a good time.

Opening nets in moonlight.

For the first couple of hours it was only the two of us, later Simon came by – and then a large crowd: Both people from Swarovski Optik and a group of danish birders visited Kabeltromlen today, in the end we had about forty interested people around. Simon introduced them to our work and the practice of ringing in general. Unfortunately, we didn’t catch a bird in the last round which we could have shown to them, but still we hope they enjoyed their visit.

Many visitors at Kabeltromlen today.

Later, some of the Swarovski employees also met us at the station – and had a nice surprise for us: A cutting edge stabilised scope for us to test for some time. Thank you very much for this opportunity! While all the others were napping, Sverre went for a birding walk around the area, met some people and talked to many locals. This way he got a great overview of all the different locations. Jesper and Mette spent their afternoon at Saftevandsbakken. Later, we opened the net in the lighthouse garden and caught a few birds including a Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger); overall a much more relaxed form of ringing compared to the more adventurous “expedition” ringing at Kabeltromlen.

Blackcap (Munk) ringed in the garden.

In the evening after dinner, János and Sverre went out to Grenen again, where they again observed high numbers of Fulmars (Mallemuk) as well as a resting Short-eared Owl (Mosehornugle) with slightly weird eyes.

Short-eared Owl (Mosehornugle) with a squinting eye. It's giving us a mad look!

People: Alvin Johansson, János Schadl, Julian Helbig, Dylan Daunt, Simon S. Christiansen, Sverre Dahl Porsgaard, Jesper & Mette

Today Dylan opened the nets by himself because Alix was leaving the station in the early morning, and I wanted to say goodbye to her at the train station. We all hope she will have a great time in Blåvand :)

In the last round of the ringing, we caught a Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) with an old ring on its leg. Turns out he was ringed here in 2022 as a second calendar year bird, which means he was born in the summer of 2021 and makes him almost five years old!

Five year old Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) male

János and Julian were out counting the migrating birds and had a very calm morning, with the highlight being a Merlin (Dværgfalk).

In the afternoon, Dylan and I set up the garden net to try and catch some birds, but even though we had the net open for three and a half hours, we did not catch any birds, which was a bit of a bummer.

Sverre also arrived in the afternoon and will be staying with us for 10 days. Welcome to the team!

After dinner, all of us went out to World's End Three to do some seawatching. Because of the wind, there were quite a few Fulmars (Malemuk) and Kittiwakes (Ride).

Seawatching from Grenen 

Highlights from the observations
Merlin (Dværgfalk) - 1
Black Kite (Sort Glente) - 1

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):
Gransanger - 3
Gærdesmutte - 2
Rødhals - 1
Gærdesanger - 4
Løvsanger - 2
Munk - 5
Tornsanger - 2
Total: 19

Link to today’s observations in DOFbasen from observers in the area

Summary of today's raptor migration in DOFbasen

People: Alvin Johansson, János Schadl, Alix Bortolussi, Julian Helbig, Dylan Daunt, Simon S. Christiansen, Sverre Dahl Porsgaard, Jesper & Mette

Today the winds were still coming form the west, but slightly from the South so we were hoping for lots of birds moving through Skagen today. Unfortunately, it was very cloudy in the early morning which meant the number of birds at the migration count was low. Today I was at the migration count with Knud and Jørgen. We did not see many passerines migrating, but we did see a Ruff (Brushane) and a female-coloured Golden Oriole (Pirol). The second one in two days!

Golden Oriole (Pirol), photo by Erik Chistophersen

János and Julian were at the ringing. They had lots of birds this morning catching mainly Willow Warblers (Løvsanger) and Blackcaps (Munk). They also caught the first Garden Warbler (Havesanger) of the spring, two Redstarts (Rødstjert) and two Yellowhammers (Gulspurv). Thy also had a close flyby from the Golden Oriole (Pirol) and it even landed in a tree. They also saw a partially leucistic Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger) with a white head and tip of tail. It was nice to have higher numbers than the last couple weeks. Hopefully these higher numbers continue.

Redstart (Rødstjert)

Partially leucistic Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger), photo by Erik Chistophersen

Today was Alix’s last day at the bird station so Alvin and Alix had a quieter morning enjoying the local area. Looking through some bird books and having a relaxing time. Alix has been a great part of the team since the start of March. She will be heading to Blåvand Fuglestation for two months and we all hope that she has a fantastic time there!

In the afternoon János and I toured the area near us stopping at places like Batteriskoven, Saftevandsbakken and Stald Grenen. There weren’t many birds, but we did still had nice views of the Black-winged Kite (Blå Glente), some Pied Flycatchers (Broget Fluesnapper) and some resting Yellow Wagtails (Gul Vispstjert).

Highlights from observations:

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

This morning Julian, Alix and Alvin were at ringing. The winds were coming from the Southwest today, so it meant we were hoping for better numbers of birds. Unfortunately, the cloud cover was higher than usual, so it meant the migration was a lot worse than we would’ve expected. Ringing totals were good in the first couple rounds with birds like Sparrowhawk (Spurvehøg) and Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger) caught. Then the number of birds slowed down because the team had to close a lot of nets due to the high winds.

Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger)

The first flowering plants of the spring

Ringing set up                    

This morning János and I were at the migration count. We too had less birds than we hoped but we still had a few nice species like Waxwing (Silkehale), Yellow Wagtails (Gul Vipstjert), Wood Sandpipers (Tinksmed), Rough-legged Buzzard (Fjeldvåge) and Little Ringed Plover (Lille Præstekrave). Hopefully the next few days will be better with higher numbers of migrating passerines.

Me at the migration count

We have had a few more tiring days so we all had a quieter middle of the day than normal so we could catch up on some much need sleep.

After a shopping trip I decided to go for an afternoon birding trip to the harbour and a couple other sites. I had a much nicer time than expected with some nice birds including 13 Common Sandpiper (Mudderklire), 2 Purple Sandpiper (Sortgrå Ryle), a Turnstone (Stenvender) and a Caspian Gull (Kaspisk Måge). It was really nice to see and hear the Common Sandpipers (Mudderklire) as we have not had many this spring so far. On the way home I stopped at Batteriskoven to try my luck for some spring migrants. I was able to see a couple birds including a male Redstart (Rødstjert) and Pied Flycatcher (Broget Fluesnapper). In the coming days we hope to see out first Wood Warblers (Skovsanger) of the spring here.

Black Kite (Sort Glente)

During my outing Alix and Alvin were enjoying some time outside doing some wood carving. Which was the first time they had done something like that. János aslo went outise to look at the sea and he saw a big group of 70 Fulmars (Mallemuk) following a couple of fishing boats on the sea from the Grey Lighthouse.

For dinner we had gnocchi bake made by Alix. It was very delicious and we look forward to eating the leftovers tomorrow. 

Highlights from today:

Ringing from today (Kabeltromlen)

Gransanger - 2
Gærdesanger - 1
Løvsanger - 2
Gærdesmutte - 1
Munk - 8
Sangdrossel - 1
Spurvehøg - 1
Total: 16

Link to today’s observations in DOFbasen from observers in the area

Summary of today's raptor migration in DOFbasen

People: Alvin Johansson, János Schadl, Alix Bortolussi, Julian Helbig, Dylan Daunt, Simon S. Christiansen, Søren

Today for migration was Alvin and I at Grenen. The morning started out with an absolutely beautiful sunrise.

Sunrise at Grenen

The migration was a little slow but we had the chance of seeing and hearing a few waders like Wood Sandpiper (Tinksmed), Common Sandpiper (Mudderklire) or Redshank (Rødben) for example. 

A Serin (Gulirisk) was called out around 07:30 and Alvin was lucky to hear it! 

As we were getting ready to round up the last hour of the count, a Waxwing (Silkehalen) was heard and Alvin spotted two Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove) far out which was so nice!

At ringing, the numbers happened to be a bit higher up today finally after a few days of very calm ringing sessions. The ringers caught the first Lesser Whitethroats (Gærdesanger) of the season, a beautiful male Bullfinch (Dompap), and a Sedge Warbler (Sivsanger) was heard by János! 

Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger) caught today  

In the afternoon the whole team went out to Nordstrand to finalise the set up of nets of our CES ringing site. After the efforts and installation, we were rewarded on our walk back with the sightings of 5 flying Spoonbills (Skestork), a Pallid Harrier (Steppehøg), a Wryneck (Vendehals) and even a White Stork (Hvid Stork) earlier in the afternoon.

Link to today’s observations in DOFbasen from observers in the area

People at the station: Alvin Johansson, János Schadl, Alix Bortolussi, Julian Helbig, Dylan Daunt, Simon S. Christiansen, Søren

Today's migration count was nice, with considerable movement compared to the previous week. Decent movement over the sea with Scoters (And), Divers (Lom), and good Common Tern migration (Fjordterne). What was notable though, was the Ring Ouzel (Ringdrossel) migration with 235 individuals! There was also a Great Northern Diver (Islom) that came from inland and migrated out over the sea.

In the ringing we recaptured a Redpoll (Gråsisken), that was ringed last year, an adult male.

After the morning duties, we went together with Simon to town and did some shopping at the pharmacy to buy, for example, station-suncream. Then we went birding, first in the industrial area in western Skagen and then at a horse field where we met a very cute dog and some beautiful horses.

Dylan with horse

Alix feeding horse with grass 

Dylan petting cute dog

We also went to Batteriskogen. There we saw three Pied Flycatchers (Broget Fluesnapper). Although we didn't find any mega rarities, we got to see some new birding spots, for most of us, and explore the town a little more.

Highlights from the observations:
Ring Ouzels (Ringdrossel) - 235
Great Northern Diver (Islom) - 1
Shag (Topskarv) - 5

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)
Gransanger 3
Fuglekonge - 1
Løvsanger - 5
Rødhals - 1
Munk - 1
Rørspurv 1
Musvit - 1
Sangdrossel - 1
Solsort - 1
Total: 15

Link to today’s observations in DOFbasen from observers in the area

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

After some calm migration days, we finally got a good spell of easterly winds again, which made for a decent migration count at Nordstrand. Julian and I were out today and had decided to go to the White Lighthouse (Blyantel) again to get better views of the passerine movements. The morning started well with many Meadow Pipits (Engpiber) and Chaffinches (Bogfinke) and they kept us busy until the end of the count. The stars of the migration count however was the 165 Ring Ouzels (Ringdrossel) migrating in flocks of up to 40 birds. Amazing!

We also had the first larger arrival of Common and Arctic Terns (Fjord- and Havterne) and got very good views of a breeding plumage White-billed Diver (Hvidnæbbet Lom) passing close to the shore. The ringers also saw the bird from Grenen, although rather distant. It was a Lifer for Julian and Alvin, but Simon unfortunately missed it, leaving the ringing site a bit earlier to do some birding at Elle Krattet. They also had a productive morning ringing 17 birds from a nice diversity. Enjoyable was a male Pied Flycatcher (Broget Fluesnappper) and a few Blackcaps (Munk) as well as Chiffchaffs (Gransanger) and two Willow Warblers (Løvsanger). Our new guest Søren was also out with them and took some pictures of the migrating birds.

Blackcaps (Munk)

Chiffchaffs (Gransanger)

After the end of the standardized ringing and counting, the ringers went back and had a nap, while I and Julian started what will probably be our last beach walk this spring. We walked back over the beach from Nordstrand to the lighthouse. It was not many dead birds, but we managed to collect a Gannet (Sule) and when we reached the tip, we got very good views of two Little Terns (Dværgterne) resting on a mudflat, hunting, and passing small fishes to each other. We made a 20 minute break to watch them, and I also got some good pictures.

Little Terns (Dværgterne) passing a fish

Little Tern (Dværgterne) hunting

When we came back, we had lunch and some of the cake I made yesterday before Dylan and Alix needed to leave to finish the beach walk from Gammle Skagen to Nordstrand. They did not find many birds and collected none, which shows that the beachwalk season is about to be over.

Me and Julian used the time to also take a nap and finsih the data entry, befor we had more cake.

In the evening Dylan cooked a dahl and later I went for an evening walk.

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

Alvin and Alix were up early this morning for the ringing. It was quite windy, so it meant that they had to decide which nets to open. In the end they opened 16 out of the 26 nets we have a Kabeltromlen. The number of birds caught was very low but they still caught a Chiffchaff (Gransanger), Robin (Rødhals) and Wren (Gærdemutte). During the ringing Alvin also saw the one of the Black-winged Kites (Blå Glente) from the previous days. We have all really enjoyed their presence recently.

Julian, Saxe, János and I were at the migration count this morning. It was pretty quiet but there were still a few birds moving of note. The highlights were three Shags (Topskarv), one Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove), Little Tern (Dværgterne) and 17 Fulmars (Mallemuk). I decided to head home early to finish my session on UK seabirds for the team that I will hopefully be giving at some point this week. After the migration count a Lapland Bunting (Lapværling) was heard migrating at Grenen, so János and I decided to go out to try and hopefully find it resting on the beach. We had no luck so that probably means it migrated out to sea.

Gannets (Sule)

Sandwich Tern (Splitterne)

After lunch we said goodbye to Saxe as he had to head back down south to continue with school. It was really nice to have him, and we look forward to seeing him again later in the spring.

In the afternoon János and I went for a local walk around Storsig, Ellekrattet and Grenen. We were rewarded when I found a male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Lille Flagspætte) very close to us in Ellekrattet. It was also close to a Great Spotted Woodpecker (Stor Flagspætte) which meant we could make some nice size comparisons with it. This sighting was by far my best sighting of this species and hopefully it sticks around so we can get some nice photos. At Grenen we also had a really nice feeding flock of 16 Barn Swallows (Landsvale) and one Sand Martin (Digesvale). This was our first larger flock that we have seen this spring, and we look forward to seeing way more.

We then came home and had a really nice dinner that Alix had made. Tomorrow, the wind drops and turns slightly to the South so hopefully it produces some nice birds.

Alvin and Alix posing

People: Alvin Johansson, János Schadl, Alix Bortolussi, Julian Helbig, Dylan Daunt, Simon S. Christiansen, Saxe Lind Christiansen, Søren