Hi all!

We were busy last night with another storm petrel (Lille Stormsvale) and nightjar (Natravn) catching attempt. While we put the nets up, Ragnar led a night tour, showing some guests species of Grenen by night. The tour used a thermal monocular to spot harbour seal pups, roe deer, natterjack toads, and even a purple sandpiper (Sortgrå Ryle) - which we were able to hand net and show to the guests up close, once the bird had been rung and its biometrics recorded. As the sun was rising, Sean and I went to close the nets, where an unringed juvenile nightjar (Natravn) was waiting for us, making a nice end to a long night.

Purple Sandpiper (Sortgrå Ryle)

Today’s ringing team were out at Kabeltromlen for sunrise, and caught 12 birds, with 8 new birds – a little better than the past few days.  Hopefully the coming winds over the weekend will encourage some more movement and leave empty net rounds in the past!

Meanwhile, the observation team was out at Worlds End 3. They had a quiet morning, with a little wader migration including greenshank (Hvidklire) and bar-tailed godwit (Lille Kobbersneppe), as well as a few fulmar, (Mallemuk) and a single great skua (Storkjove).

After returning home for lunch and a few admin tasks, some of us went on afternoon walks, seeing grey plover (Strandhjejle), tree pipit (Skovpiber), spotted flycatcher (Grå Fluesnapper) and a redwing (Vindrossel).

Lucas and Joe cooked us some pasta, as the rain begun for the evening – luckily it should blow over before morning observations and CES ringing tomorrow.

Ringing (Beach at Det Grå Fyr)

Sortgrå Ryle (Purple Sandpiper): 1

Ringing (Fyrhaverne)

Natravn (Nightjar): 1

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)

Solsort (Blackbird): 1

Rørsanger (Reedwarbler): 3

Gærdesanger (Lesser Whitethroat): 1

Tornsanger (Greater Whitethroat): 3

Gransanger (Chiffchaff): 1

Total: 12

People at the station: Simon S. Christiansen, Lucas Corneliussen, Rosa Hicks, Ragnar Smith, Robbie Lawler, Joe Zeno, Asia Kane, Nils and Jette

Link to today’s observations from observers in the area

Today’s blog starts last night. We set the nets for Storm petrels once more this season, we were optimistic despite the lack of success thus far this season. At c.01:30 this morning we struck gold with a European Storm-petrel (Lille Stormsvale) flying into a net. For several at the station it was a lifer and for others it was the first time they had seen one in the hand up close and personal. With the news going out on Zello we had some local birders coming to the station whilst some - including Thomas Buus Nielsen and Jan Lindgaard Rasmussen - were traveling from far away waiting from the beginning of the night hoping to glimpse this mysterious and diminutive Seabird. With measurements taken and a small crowd gathered round it was time for pictures. This was a rare chance to get close to this species with Skagen being the only place in Denmark that undertakes Storm petrel ringing outside of breeding areas. The bird early this morning was the 9th petrel for the station with 3 European Storm-petrels (Lille Stormsvale) in 2021 (one being a recapture from Norway), 2 in 2022, two in 2023 and one thus far in 2024: there was also a Leach’s Storm-petrel (Stor Stormsvale) caught in 2022. Hopefully the success will continue.

European Storm-Petrel (Stormsvale)

With the nets closed Simon, Joe, Asia, Rosa and Lucas all headed out to Kabeltromlen for ringing, whilst me (Robbie) and Ragnar undertook the observations. Migration was slow today with only 4 birds in the ringing and few birds over the sea. There was a small movement of some wader species over World’s End Three, including some Golden Plover (Hjejile). The only notable movement out to sea were modest numbers of Fulmars (Mallemuk) and Terns (Terner) migrating out of Kattegat.

On a personal note, it has been great to be back after a two-year absence since August 2022 and I have enjoyed my short visit. Hopefully my being here is a good omen as I have had Storm petrels on my last two visits. The birding here is a nice relief from overcrowded and underperforming London nature reserves, and hopefully the next few days will continue to supply some exceptional species.

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):

Munk (Blackcap): 1
Kærsanger (Marsh warbler): 1
Gransanger (Chiffchaff): 1

Total: 3

Ringing (Beach at Det Grå Fyr)

Lille Stormsvale (European Storm-petrel): 1

Total: 1

People at the station: Simon S. Christiansen, Lucas Corneliussen, Rosa Hicks, Ragnar Smith, Robbie Lawler, Joe Zeno, Asia Kane, Nils and Jette

Link to today’s observations from observers in the area

Hello everybody!

As Joe and I were cycling to the Kabeltromlen ringing site before sunrise, a Mosehornugle (Short-eared Owl) flew quickly over our heads and disappeared into some nearby bushes. This got the morning off to a good start, as neither of us had seen this bird in Skagen before and an owl is always a welcome sight.

 We opened the nets and Lucas joined us shortly afterwards for the first round. Ringing today was slow, with a total of 9 birds caught, but we did get 2 beautiful juvenile Løvsanger (Willow Warblers), as well as a very fresh-looking juvenile Rørsanger (Reed Warbler). We were also visited by our lovely guests before the final round.

The beautiful juvenile Reed Warbler we caught today, showing a fresh wing.

Meanwhile Ragnar, Robbie, and Rosa were doing morning observations. They saw some unusual birds, such as Lærkefalk (Hobby) and Havørn (White-tailed Eagle). Today was a good day for gulls, with the observers spotting a Sorthovedet Måge (Mediterranean Gull) and 5 Dværgmåge (Little Gulls)! Other highlights included Dværgryle (Little Stint) and 2 very close Storstrubet Lom (Black-throated Divers).

After returning to the station, we rested a bit and entered the data. Simon arrived around 2pm, having been away for a few days for his brother’s bachelor party, and together we went through some pictures we had taken of birds while he had been gone. We discussed the ageing and sexing of a Rødstjert (Common Redstart) and a Blåhals (Bluethroat) and refreshed our understanding of how these birds moult.

Lucas cooked us a delicious dinner and Ragnar has now begun baking a cake. As the evening progresses, we will try once again to catch Stormsvale (Storm Petrels). Let’s all hope we’ll have good luck!

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):

Gærdesanger (Lesser Whitethroat): 1

Gransanger (Chiffchaff): 1

Kærsanger (Marsh Warbler): 3

Løvsanger (Willow Warbler): 2

Rørsanger (Reed Warbler): 2

Total: 9

People at the station: Simon S. Christiansen, Lucas Corneliussen, Rosa Hicks, Ragnar Smith, Robbie Lawler, Joe Zeno, Asia Kane, Nils and Jette

Link to today’s observations from observers in the area

Waking up at 03:30 AM, Asia and I headed out to Kabeltromelen for another day of ringing. We were able to get all the nets open on time and we were then joined by former guests Jeppe and Linda Rørbæk. Jeppe was eager to join us for rounds today, so we suited him up with a pair of waders and headed out on a round once Rosa arrived. The first round was still quite dark with the heavy cloud cover, and unfortunately Jeppe and I did not find any birds in our nets -- but Rosa and Asia arrived back to the ringing site with not ONE but TWO different Water Rails (Vandrikse). I had previously missed out on ringing the last few individuals caught at Kabeltromelen for one reason or another, so I was quite excited to catch them.

Vandrikse (Water Rail)

One was an adult and the other a hatch year (1k). The rest of the ringing morning was quite slow with a mere 6 new passerines and a single recapture. The highlight of which was a 1k Tree Pipit (Skovpiber). 

Skovpiber (Tree Pipit)

On the observation front, Joe was once again not feeling too well so he did not join for very long, but Robbie and Ragnar stood strong for the duration of the counting period at Worlds End 3. Despite a relatively slow morning, they were happy to see the (somewhat resident) Crested Lark (Toplærke), a beautiful alternate plumage Little Stint (Dværgryle) and a nice flock of 19 Common Snipe (Dobbeltbekkasin). 

The crew arrived back at the station at around 10:00 AM and had a quick morning meeting to plan the rest of the day. Robbie, Ragnar and I headed out to Elle Krattet soon thereafter and had relatively few birds with the storm brewing from the south while Rosa cycled south of Skagen to chase the Swallowtails (Svalehale) - successfully. During the rain, the crew entered in their data from the day and completed the remaining quality assurance checks from the recent week. Fortunately, the rain was short lived and the crew headed out to Grenen to check the beach for downed migrants. Not much was around, but two 1k Little Gull (Dværgmåge) and a dark morph Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove) stole the show. 

Dværgryle (Little Stint)

Dværgmåge (Little Gull)

In the evening, we did a quick check of the beach and went for a quick swim - swimming streak day 10! (it was significantly colder today haha). Robbie made a great chili dinner which was perfect for a cooler evening. And so another day passes at Skagen Fuglestation. What will tomorrow bring? We will have to wait and see!

Vi Ses!

Ringing (Kabeltromelen)

Water Rail (Vandrikse) - 2

Blackcap (Munk) - 1

Common Chiffchaff (Gransanger) - 2

Reed Warbler (Rørsanger) - 1

Marsh Warbler (Kærsanger) - 1

Tree Pipit (Skovpiber) - 1

Total: 8

Link to today's observations from observers in the area

People at SKAF: Lucas Corneliussen, Ragnar Smith, Rosa Hicks, Robbie Lawler, Asia Kane, Joe Zeno, Jeppe & Linda Rørbæk

Up again early in the morning after a night of ringing which resulted in a recapture of a juvenile Nightjar (Natravn), but no European Storm Petrel (Lille Stormsvale). Trying to catch European Storm Petrels in Skagen has begun to share a stark resemblance to the Greek myth of Sisyphus, who as a punishment from the gods of Olympus, was forced to roll a large boulder up to the top of a hill, only to have the boulder roll down to the bottom, repeating for eternity. But we will try again at some point, weather permitting.

Not hindered by lack of sleep the ringers went to the Kabeltromlen while me and Robbie went to Worlds End 3 to do the standardized counting. In my hubris I didn’t bring a coat thinking I wouldn’t need and was punished for it with a relatively cold morning and a not all too exciting morning obs, though with some good highlights such as Little Gull (Dværgmåge) 1k, Caspian Gull (Kaspisk Måge) 1k and the “local” Crested Lark (Toplærke) that has been visiting the tip for almost a month now, though we have yet to find where it spends it day when not doing its almost daily trip to Grenen.

Worlds End 3

Kabeltromlen had a day where quality over quantity was the slogan with a very nice 1st winter male Bluethroat (Blåhals), probably white-spotted (Sydlig), as the first red-spotted (Nordlig) are usually found around 5-10th september as they migrate from the mountains in Northern Scandinavia. A funny episode was a Common Kingfisher (Isfugl) that flew with full force into one of the nets, but due to the speed it was going at, it bounced out of the net and kept flying!

1st winter male Bluethroat (Blåhals)

1st winter Common Redstart (Rødstjert)

When we came back to station it was time to do the weekly cleaning session, but with six people at the station it was a short affair, got to keep it nice and tidy. After that everyone except me, went into the city to meet up with Lisa to get some ice cream and do some shopping. I went to Stokmilen just south of Skagen to see the two Swallowtails (Svalehale) that have been hanging out on top the dune for almost a week now and look for Silver-spotted Skipper (Kommabredpande), both two very rare butterfly species that I have wanted to see for a long time. And to put it shortly, the photos speak for themselves.

Swallowtail (Svalehale)

Silver-spotted Skipper (Kommabredpande)

After that we cooked some dinner and went for a short evening obs at Sandormsvinget and that was the end of the day as everyone were spent and another day was waiting.

Evening Obs from Alex's Dune

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)

Gærdesmutte (Eurasian Wren): 1

Bluethroat (Bluethroat): 1

Rødstjert (Common Redstart): 1

Rørsanger (Eurasian Reed Warbler): 5

Gærdesanger (Lesser Whitethroat): 2

Tornsanger (Common Whitethroat): 4

Munk (Blackcap): 1

Gransanger (Eurasian Chiffchaff): 1

Musvit (Great Tit): 1

Total: 17

People at the station: Ragnar Smith, Lucas Corneliussen, Asia Kane, Rosa Hicks, Robbie Lawler, Joe Zeno

Link to today's observations from observers in the area

Hello all!

Last night we attempted to catch storm petrels once again, with none showing up this time, but we will not give up! A nice consolation to the lack of Storm-petrels were two Nightjars, an adult female and a juvenile recapture, seen late during the night.

Today Asia and I got up before sunrise to open the nets for another day of ringing. After the nets were up, Lucas and Simon joined us. We had a decent number of birds today with a Willow Warbler (Løvsanger) and many Common Whitethroats (Tornsanger) making appearances. The highlights of the day didn’t end up in the nets. Early in the day, Lucas spotted a Goshawk on a perch against the dunes. This was a new bird for me, the Eurasian variant of the recently split goshawk species. Later in the morning, Simon led a tour for a group of birdwatchers from Finland where we showed them the ringing process and Simon talked about what we do here in Skagen.

A tour group obesrving a bird being rung

Ragnar was solo on observations today at World’s End 3 and he witnesses loads of seabirds passing by the tip of Denmark. He observed good numbers of Fulmars and a possible shearwater that he later deemed to be a fulmar. A highlight for him today was observing a two-meter-long tuna jump out of the water! He also saw 25+ migration attempts from raptors in the area.

Lucas and Rosa did some birding individually in the afternoon. Lucas observed an early season rock pipit, heard by Ragnar as well, near the lighthouse. Rosa took a bike ride and saw a spotted flycatcher, two red kites and some Honey Buzzards.

A returning volunteer, Robbie, arrived this evening and he will be staying with us for several days helping out with observations. He spotted a Red-backed Shrike near the sandworm track during a walk after he arrived.

We will be attempting again to catch Storm-Petrels again tonight for the third straight night, fingers crossed we’ll get one!

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)

Marsh warbler (Kærsanger) - 3

Chiffchaff (Gransanger) – 3

Willow warbler (Løvsanger) – 1

Common whitethroat (Tornsanger) – 5

Blackbird (Solsort) – 1

Lesser whitethroat (Gærdesanger) – 2

Reed warbler (Rørsanger) – 1

Reed Bunting (Rørspurv) - 1                                    

Great Tit (Musvit) – 1

Total: 18

Ringing (Det Grå Fyr)

Eurasian Nightjar (Natravn) - 1

Total: 1

People at the Station: Asia Kane, Joe Zeno, Lucas Corneliussen, Rosa Hicks, Robbie Lawler, Simon S. Christiansen, Mette Møller Christiensen

Link to today's observations from the Skagen area

Hi all!

For those eagerly awaiting the news of a storm petrel (Lille Stormsvale) or nightjar (Natravn), I’m afraid neither were successful, but alas – we will try again tonight! With this, the night ringing team headed to bed at 3:30am, passing the baton to the Kabeltromlen team as they headed out for the dawn ringing.

This ringing was more successful, and while there were only 13 new birds, there was a nice diversity of species, including sedge warbler (Sivsanger), willow warbler (Løvsanger), and water rail (Vandrikse). Between net rounds we were talking about pheasants (Fasan), then less than 5 minute later I was presenting Simon with Skagen’s first ever pheasant (Fasan) to be rung!

 The above photo shows a female pheasant (Fasan) - the first to be rung at Skagen!

While we were out ringing, Lucas was on morning observations, documenting a slow push of wader movement including 40 golden plover (Hjejle) and 30 tringa species, as well as 30 fulmar (Mallemuk), and 60 gannets (Sule).  

We then received an exciting email from Jurmo Bird Observatory about a Skagen ringed coal tit (Sortmejse), which was recaptured in Finland, travelling 672km over 21 days! The Observatory said they usually ring 100 – 300 coal tits (Sortmejse) in the autumn, and a handful in the spring. However, weather patterns last autumn caused an invasion year, with a record of more than 2000 ringed before the new year and 27 ringed in spring. Thank you, Kim Kuntze, Lauri Kokkala, and Jurmo Bird Observatory, for this brilliant additional information.

The Skagen ringed coal tit (Sortmejse), recaptured in Finland. Photo by Lauri Kokkala.

To prepare us for another long night of net watching, Lucas, Mette, and I went for a refreshing swim. Keep your fingers crossed that the storm petrels (Lille Stormsvale) and nightjars (Natravn) decide to visit our nets tonight!

Swimming – we’re on day seven in a row and are trying to convince ourselves that we’re acclimatising!

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)

Marsh warbler (Kærsanger) - 2

 Chiffchaff (Gransanger) – 2

Pheasant (Fasan) – 1

Water rail (Vandrikse) - 1

Sedge warbler (Sivsanger) – 1

Willow warbler (Løvsanger) – 1

Common whitethroat (Tornsanger) – 1

Blackbird (Solsort) – 1

Blackcap (Munk) – 1

Lesser whitethroat (Gærdesanger) – 1

Reed warbler (Rørsanger) - 1

Total: 13 

People at the station: Asia Kane, Joe Zeno, Lucas Corneliussen, Rosa Hicks, Simon S. Christiansen, Mette Møller Christiensen

Link to todays observations in Dofbasen from the Skagen area

In Ragnar’s absence, I woke up later (04:40 AM) than the ringing crew (03:45) and headed out to Worlds End 1 to begin the days morning observation count. After a few relatively unproductive days from Worlds End 3, I thought I would switch it up and try my luck with others here. The first hour was relatively slow with only a few fulmars (Mallemuk) and a handful of Northern Gannets (Sule), but as the morning progressed, it slowly picked up speed. As did the wind. By the end of the morning, it topped out at 14 m/s. An adult dark morph Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove) and several species of alcids (alkefugl) were nice consolation prizes, but unfortunately, nothing crazy rare went by continental Denmark's northern most migration hotspot. 

On the ringing front, the ringers finally got an extra 15 minutes of sleep as we adjusted the first round time by 15 minutes. Unfortunately, the extra sleep did not help them as they were only able to keep the nets open for four rounds before the wind and lack of productively were simply too much to justify keeping the nets open. The whole crew returned to the station by 09:30 and began completing some chores around our home away from home. Data was entered, photos in the archive were adjusted and the station cleaned. This was all in preparation for tonight as we will try once again to ring European Storm-Petrels (Stormsvale). And so, another day at Skagen Fuglestation passes, what will tomorrow morning (tonight) bring – we will have to wait and see. 

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)

Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) - 2

Blackcap (Munk)  - 1

Chiffchaff (Gransanger) - 2

Total: 5

People at SKAF: Lucas Corneliussen, Rosa Hicks, Joe Zeno, Simon Christiansen, Asia Kane, Mette Møller Christiensen

Link to today's observations from observers in the area

Hello everyone!

Today I was on observation duties, so early in the morning I biked out to World’s End 3 to look for anything interesting that was around the tip of Denmark. For the first hour of observation, I was alone, but after an hour Knut Peterson joined me to look for seabirds. In the first hour I spotted two Little Terns (Dværgterne) foraging along the coast, a solid bird for the Skagen area. As he arrived, Knut informed me of a Ruff (Brushane) and two Temmink’s Stints (Temmincksryle) in a nearby pond. I temporarily left my post to observe these shorebirds and I encountered a Curlew Sandpiper (Krumnæbbet ryle) and a Red Knot (Islandsk ryle ) as well. Returning to World’s End 3 we were met with not many migrants as the winds were quite strong today with a Caspian Gull (Kaspisk någe) being the highlight of the final few hours. At the end of our count, we were able to read a few color rings on Lesser Black-backed Gull (Sildemåge) and Great Black-backed Gull (Svartbag).

Today the ringers were back at Kabeltromlen after ringing at the CES site the day before. It was a windy day, but the ringing still commenced. A total of 9 birds were rung, and it was a good day for Chiffchaffs (Gransanger) as 6 were caught. A couple other birds including a Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) and a Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger) ended up in the nets as well. In a few days the winds are expected to calm down and hopefully this means we will get more birds!

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)

Chiffchaff (Gransanger) – 6

Reed Warber (Rørsanger) – 1

Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger) – 1

Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) - 1

Willow Warbler (Løvsanger) - 1

Total: 10

People: Rosa Hicks, Asia Kane, Joe Zeno, Simon S. Christiansen, Lucas Cornelliussen

Link to today's observations from observers in the area

Hello all!

Today Rosa, Joe, and I were up bright and early to head to our CES site. It had been a while since our last visit, and we were interested to see if many new birds would be caught today. The ringing today went better than the last few days at Kabeltromlen – we caught a good number of birds, including recaptured breeding adults and new juvenile birds. Most of the birds caught were Rørsangers (Reed Warblers).

We were later joined by our guest Lærkebjørn, who kindly brought us the battery for the hedge trimmer as we had forgotten it at the station. When we had some time between rounds, we refreshed our understanding of moult strategies with Simon to help us remember the details of yesterday’s talk.

After we had closed the nets, we used the hedge trimmer to remove the reeds and other plants that were obstructing the net lanes. We finished half of the nets today, and will do the rest soon.

Joe hard at work with the hedge trimmer!

Meanwhile, Lucas was carrying out the day’s observations. He had a slow day, but saw a flock of roughly 200 Sule (Gannets) and a Storkjove (Great Skua). In the afternoon, he went for a refreshing swim in the ocean.

Tomorrow we are back to ringing at Kabeltromlen. It will be interesting to see what we catch!

Ringing (Skarvsøen CES):

Blåmejse (Blue Tit): 2

Gransanger (Chiffchaff): 2

Munk (Blackcap): 2

Rørsanger (Reed Warbler): 8

Tornsanger (Common Whitethroat): 2

 Total: 16

People: Lucas Corneliussen, Joe Zeno, Rosa Hicks, Asia Kane, Simon S. Christiansen, Lærkebjørn

Link to today's observations from observers in the area