Thanks to our well-adapted sleeping rhythm, most of us woke up around sunrise. Although we could sleep a bit longer today. Alice and I joined Knud for the morning observations at Nordstrand because easterly winds were predicted for today. We missed the first hours, but luckily, we could help Knud out in the last hours because the cork of the migration bottle was removed by the sun. The siskins “Grønsisken” didn’t fly in groups, but they started to fly in streams. The effect at the seaside was smaller with increasing numbers of red-throated divers “rødstrubede lom”, 6 long-tailed ducks “havlit” and an adult male hen harrier “blå kærhøg”.

When we finished the morning observations, we decided to warm up at the cormorant lake and count the occupied nests. We could count 19 so far. I was hoping to see a viper in the meantime but until now, it’s still a shame species for me.

When we came back to the station, Marion had already arrived from the laser shooting. Marion and Hanelie went together to Thomas in the morning to help him with the laser binocular project. On their walk, they met a pretty male yellowhammer “gulspurv” who didn’t seem to be disturbed by their presence.

When arrived, Marion was happy to finally try the binoculars despite the lack of birds to shoot. She was impressed by the amazing shooting skills Thomas had developed already. Unfortunately for her, she missed the highlights of the day when she left. The increasing temperatures pushed some nice raptors towards world’s end 2. It began with a rough-legged buzzard “fjeldvåge” and a peregrine falcon “vandrefalk” but in the end, she had two golden eagles “kongeørn” in her sights. She was happy to shoot them. Although it sounds a little weird if you say it out of the context, it doesn’t affect the birds!

The two golden eagles were close to the lighthouse but Alice and I were just too late to see them because we couldn’t understand the Danish zello messages. Fortunately, we were comforted by some hugs from Igor.

In the afternoon we tried to assemble the new bike trailer we got. It took us some time to mount it on our bicycle but it survived our extensive shopping tour to the Netto. In the meantime, Marion could finish her assignment for her university which is a big relief for her.

In the evening, our guests made a great meal, named Dhal, for us. They talked about their lovely walk to Jennes Sø and how they enjoyed the bird sounds around there. Simon joined us too for the meal. He has been busy with meetings today. His first meeting was with birdlife Denmark for the project: Birds for all. In his second meeting, he talked about next week when some school classes will come to learn about nature education. Now, he is home and we are relaxing a bit before we start a busy day tomorrow because we go ringing again.

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area

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

See you tomorrow!

Robbe

People: Simon S. Christiansen, Robbe Cool, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Marion L'Huillier-Hunsinger, Thomas Kjær, David, Bent and Åse.

Hi everyone,

As you probably know, we tried our luck once more with night catching yesterday evening. Unfortunately, it was another failed attempt. However, we did find many Jack Snipes (Enkeltbekkasin) in the area of Hirtshals we were out. They were simply too reactive and escaped from a couple of meters away. Hanelie and Simon did manage to get very close to one and almost caught it, but it was half a second too fast for them. But this is still good news for future night catching excursions which are sure to happen. Meanwhile, Robbe who stayed at the station to get some rest faced a change of plans. After trying out the station’s guitar, he locked himself out of the flat while going out to place the guitar back. Unluckily for him, we were all in Hirtshals so no hero was there to rescue him right away. He, therefore, had to stay in the hallway for a little bit but Bent and Åse arrived not so long after as they left earlier than us and he could go to bed.

Now for today, I have a feeling it has both been a long and a slow day at the same time. Once again, I have had to step away a bit from the station’s activities due to my master’s assignment, but I will soon get back to it. All the activities were nevertheless taken care of perfectly thanks to Robbe, Alice and Hanelie. The earliest bird this morning was Hanelie who joined Knud for morning observations at Nordstrand. It was again a rather calm over the sea as well as across land, apart from some groups of finches (finker), Sandwich Terns (Splitterne), and a White-Tailed Eagle (Havørn). Afterwards, they decided to walk to the Cormorant Lake where they saw around 50 individuals, many of which were on nests. It looks like the breeding season is starting for them so we might start monitoring them soon.

Later on, Alice and Robbe also went out, but they headed to World’s End 2 together with Thomas. They got the chance to practice more with the laser binoculars although they weren’t many birds large enough for it, so it turned out mainly into a Wood Pigeon (Ringdue) shooting session. Simon also tried laser shooting for a little while after being out in a field at sunrise where it was unfortunately rather calm.

Bent and Åse used this sunny day to go wander around the lighthouse where they also saw little birds. When everyone got back to the station, we had lunch and we got to meet Robbe’s friend David. They met as Erasmus students in Odense the previous semester and he came to visit the area for a few days. After a quick “evening” meeting at around 4 pm, Robbe and David went for a walk. They manage to find some native plants identified by Robbe who is also a botanist and has much to teach us about plants.

(Erophila verna)

(Tussilago farfara)

In the meantime, Hanelie, Alice and I were cleaning the bikes to get rid of some of the salt that can accumulate quickly and to oil the chains. Teamwork made that task rather fast, and we could move on to other activities. Hanelie is working on some social media posts for the station so you should keep an eye out. If you haven’t seen them yet, there have been recent posts on both the Facebook and Instagram accounts of the station. Alice and Robbe are now preparing a dinner that already looks promising. And I am, yet again working on the flamingo assignment to finish it as soon as possible.

Last but definitely not least, we have some very exciting news to share. Hanelie was meant to be leaving us in two weeks but, after some arrangements with Simon and her university, it has been agreed she will stay until mid-June! You will therefore be blessed with more blogs and adventures from our always energetic dead bird expert.

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area

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

Tomorrow, we will practice our laser shooting skills some more and morning observations will take place as usual. Unfortunately, as Simon is occupied during the morning by meetings, there won’t be any ringing for the second day in a row.

Have a nice evening everyone.

Marion

People: Simon S. Christiansen, Robbe Cool, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Marion L'Huillier-Hunsinger, Thomas Kjær, David, Bent and Åse.

Så blev det min tur på bloggen. Jeg har været her siden fredag formiddag og vil begive mig hjem i morgen formiddag, selvom der er en eller flere høgeørne på vej. Hvis det sker, kommer jeg sprintende tilbage I fuld hoplala.

I dag var det lidt svære at være frisk som en havørn, så I stedet var vi friske eller nærmere trætte rignduer med samme tuden ved opvækkelsen. Ud kom vi dog, og det var endnu en fornøjelse at være omgivet af den fantastiske natur og diversitet af fugle.

Jeg var på observationsposten kl. 7 sharp sammen med Hanelie. Trækket var stille og roligt I dag, med de mere normale arter værende repræsenteret I scopefeltet.  Vinden var kold og til tider provokerende, da den rokkede mit scope rundt og besværliggjorde observationerne.  Hanelie og Marion byttede plads ved henholdsvis ringmærkningen og obsposten 2 timer efter solopgang. Da Marion ankom, fik hun set arter, hun tidligere havde dårlige observeringer af, rigtig godt I kikkerten. Det var blandt andet dværgfalk og havlit.

Foto: Erik Chrisophersen.

Efter observation, trak vi os tilbage til den grå fuglehule og tog noget frokost. Efterfølgende stod den på et oplæg af Simon, eller et oplæg af Simon på storskærm med nutids Simon på sidelinjen med bonus informationer og opfølgende kommentarer. Her blev vi introduceret til, hvornår, hvorfor og hvordan fugle fælder deres fjerdragt eller dele af den.

Inden aftensmaden var vi ude på en lille tur I området omkring Det Grå Fyr på jagt efter Stor Tornskade, som jeg tidligere på dagen havde set fouragende over heden. Alice havde endnu ikke set Stor Tornskade I Danmark, men har I stedet erfaringer med Iberisk Tornskade I Spanien. Nyt kryds blev det dog til efter en tids søgning, og vi kunne gå tilfredse hjem.

Senere ankom Åse og Bent, som er de nye gæster der skal være på stationen en lille uges tid. De er meget spændte på at følge med I livet på fuglestationen, og dyrelivet der omgiver Grenen. Bent er endda så ivrig efter fugle, at han vil slå os I en omgang ‘hvem kan stå tidligst op?’. De ser frem til en hyggelig uge og godt samvær.

Hanelie arbejder stadig på sin nocturnal migration opgave, og hun er begyndt at indtaste de analyseret lyde ind I en database. Hun ser meget frem til at være færdig. Færdig ligesom dette blogoplæg.

Tak for I dag.

Dagens ringmærket fugle:

Rødhals 1

Solsort 2

Gransanger 9

Fuglekonge 4

Blåmejse 3

Musvit 4

Total: 23

Klik her for at se dagens observationer fra DOF basen af fugle i Skagen

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

Folk på stationen: Simon S. Christiansen, Robbe Cool, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Erik Christophersen, Marion L'Huillier-Hunsinger, Gustav Nyberg, Bent and Åse.

I start this blog where it ended yesterday. Hanelie, Gustav and Simon went to Frederikshaven for nightcatching but unfortunately they did not catch anything. In the meantime Alice was finally doing her long-standing task: the picture archive and I fixed a hanger for the waders. To have a good rest, I went on ‘holidays’ in the apartment next door.

It soon became morning again. Hanelie, Marion and Alice went to Kabeltrommeln by the time I woke up. Gustav and I went to World’s end 3 for another morning of observations. The land migration was very slow again but in no time, we were surprised by the first highlight of the day: a glaucous gull “Gråmåge”. This was a new species for Gustav and made him very happy. In no time, we had our next moment of joy. A female merlin “Dværgfalk” was sitting on the beach and every now and then, she tried to catch some of the local birds. Unfortunately, that did not work out for her.

(merlin female)

In the meantime, Erik came to the tip and tried to score a shag. His patience did not pay off but he got an equally good consolation prize: an Icelandic gull “Hvidvinget måge” foraging just in front of him.

(icelandic gull and hooded crow by Erik Christophersen)

When we saw the Icelandic gull, I was still recovering from the last minutes. I did the most unforgettable sighting since my stay so far. When scanning the sea, I suddenly saw 6-8 sea mammals with big fins. I first thought I saw dolphins but I was not totally sure. I made a drawing and announced it on Zello in the hope Erik could see them too. The modern technology did not work out for us and unfortunately, he could not find them. When he came back, he looked at my drawings and he told me I definitely saw killer whales “Spækhugger”! One of my Skagen dreams came true! While I am writing this, I am still getting goosebumps when thinking about this morning.

The morning observations ended with some woodlarks “Hedelærke” migrating out. Together with the gulls, the woodlarks contributed to the 3 new species Gustav saw. Tired but satisfied we both went back to Grenen.

At Kabeltrommeln, the morning started busy with a big flock of tits in the nets. Alice was happy to see them and she used this opportunity to improve her extracting skills. The continuation of the morning was quiet. The most exciting catches were the male brambling “Kvækerfinke” and female blackcap “munk”, which were both the first for the ringing season. Alice came back earlier to work on her online courses about tracking, but Marion and Hanelie stayed at Kabeltrommeln to perfect the ringing area by cutting the branches around the nets.

Today’s ringed birds:

Goldcrest “Fuglekonge”: 1

Chifchaff “Gransanger”: 1

Dunlin “Jernspurv”: 1

Robin “Rødhals”: 1

Wren "Gærdesmutte": 1

Blue tit “Blåmejse”: 6

Brambling “Kvækerfinke”: 1

Blackcap “munk”: 1

Great tit “Musvit”: 7

Blackbird “solsort”: 1

At noon, everyone was busy with different task but those tasks came to an end when the first osprey “Fiskeørn” was announced on Zello. We ran outside and I found him immediately in my scope. We were all pleasured by this amazing creature.

(Osprey by Erik Christophersen)

Hanelie continued her afternoon with working on the nocmig and she almost finished it except for some mysterycalls. Simon had a meeting with two other observatories. Marion was continuing working on her assignments and Alice drew some nice eagles as preparation for the bonelli’s eagle we hope to see one of the next days. Gustav profited from his time he is spending in Skagen and went for a cycling tour. He found a firecrest “rødtoppede fuglekonge” between the goldcrests “fuglekonge”. When Alice was finished, we went for a walk at Bufogedskoven in the hope of finding a rarity. We really enjoyed walking in the forest as tall trees are quite rare in this neighbourhood. We found some treecreepers ss. familiaris “nordlig treelober” and learned to recognize some new bird calls. In our way back we did groceries. Back at the station, we were stunned by the see that suddenly turned purple by sunset. We enjoyed our last minutes outside and surprisingly found a northern wheatear “Stenpikker” on the rocks between the rock pipits “Skærpiber”. This is only the second record for Denmark this year and the first for Skagen.

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area

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

Unfortunately, we could not stay longer because the evening meeting was about the begin. Among other things, we talked about doing a boat tour for sea mammals and birds, but could not find anyone with a boat. Hereby a warm call for those who can arrange a pelagic for us.

When we were done, I started cooking a nice pasta with mushrooms, leek, walnuts and thyme. Hanelie was too tired to eat and went to bet earlier than usual. We all hope, she will get a good night’s rest. Now I am in the sofa, finishing the blog and looking back to a wonderful day. Sometimes, I still cannot believe what a fantastic experience I am having here. Thanks to the beautiful birds and great volunteers (and Simon!) to make this already so memorable.

I hope you all had a lovely day too!

Robbe

People: Simon S. Christiansen, Robbe Cool, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Erik Christophersen, Marion L'Huillier-Hunsinger and Gustav Nyberg.

Good evening everyone,

Today we will start this blog by mentioning last night’s evening. As you already know, it was Robbe’s 24^th birthday so we had planned to celebrate it after the activities of the day were done. We started with a nice dinner in town at Café Knuth’s together with Simon. The food was really nice, and we enjoyed also spending some time altogether outside of the station. After that, Simon drove us back to the station and we got ready to play Wingspan. This is a strategic board game that includes many dozens of European and American bird species. While Hanelie was explaining the rules to Alice and me, who had never played, Robbe was on the phone with his family wishing him a good birthday. Once everyone was ready, we played the game which took us quite a while, but we also had good talks, snacks, and drinks throughout and we quickly figured out that all of us are pretty competitive. In the end, Robbe won this one, but we can just pretend that was because we were nice to him on his special day. After that, we all got to try the carrot cake and ginger biscuits made by Alice and they both tasted amazing! Robbe also made a wish while blowing out his 12 candles. Let’s see if the wish is fulfilled in the coming days.

Then it was already late in the evening, especially compared to our usual rhythm, so Hanelie and I decided to head to bed. On the other hand, Alice and Robbe still had some energy, so they went to a nearby bunker and danced their heart out to music there. They came back and fell asleep closer to the time when we usually get up. Luckily for all of us, Simon kindly granted us a morning off so we could recover from that fun evening and get some sleep.

As a result, this morning we all woke up at different times but all of us enjoyed a very chill morning. We had not had the chance to take our time like this all together in the morning before, so we all appreciated it. Simon also ended up sleeping in later than usual before joining us at the station. We all still found some time to make progress on different personal tasks we had such as nocturnal flight calls recordings for Hanelie or online courses and university work for the others. Then, at around noon, Gustav who is staying here for a long weekend arrived. He has been a volunteer for the station before so for those of you who have been reading the blog for a while you probably have read some written by him.

Spectrogram of a night flight call of a Common Moorhen (Grønbenet rørhøne)

After we all had lunch, Gustav went out on a bike tour hoping to see some rare birds and enjoy the surroundings. He managed to see a Hen Harrier (Blå Kærhøg) alongside other bird species. Meanwhile, the rest of us stayed at the flat and kept working on our different tasks or resting. We also enjoyed another yummy piece of cake with tea in the afternoon and felt very British while doing it. Robbe also went to do some groceries and Hanelie got started on the dinner early on. By the lighthouse, some people also enjoyed a cold swim in the sea to celebrate the current Winter Bathing Festival lasting until Sunday.

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area

We also got some information back for a colour-ringed Bewick’s Swan (Pibesvane) seen by Finn Laugo that Simon entered online. This individual was ringed in its breeding ground in Ninitskya, Russia, on the 16th of August 2017. The ring was then read in Schleswig-Hollstein, Germany, and now seen near Skagen this year. We also learnt that a European Robin (Rødhals) ringed here in 2017 was found dead in France.

(Bewick Swan)

Tonight, Hanelie and Gustav are going night catching with Simon in Frederikshavn. In tomorrow’s blog, you will therefore get to hear if they got any exciting captures but also about the morning observations and ringing.

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

Good night,

Marion

People: Simon S. Christiansen, Robbe Cool, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Marion L'Huillier-Hunsinger and Gustav Nyberg.