This morning Louise, Makus and I went out to world’s end 3 to do the migration count. Later in the first round Knud joined us. It was warm out there and not windy at all. Due to the lack of wind there were also not many birds migrating on the Sea today. But we saw some smaller boats driving out. They were going to catch some Tunas to put Taggs on them for a research project. While scanning the inland we found a young Merlin (Dværgfalk) sitting on a pole in the dunes. That was the first one for this autumn here.

In the third hour there was almost nothing going on, so we decided to end early and spend the last hour looking at some color ringed Gulls on the beach. 

On our way back we passed by the ringers at Kabeltromlen. 

The ringers were joined by Juri and Simon Sr. today. They caught a good amount of birds today. One of them was a beautiful Redstart (Rødstjert). There were also around 70 Coal Tits (Sortmejse) flying over Kabeltrommel, we were lucky and caught three of them. 

Coal Tit (Sortmejse)

In the last hour of ringing we were also able to observe many raptors flying over grenen. One of them  was a Goshawk (Duehøg).

After having a little rest at the station Sarah, Louise and I went out to Skarvsøen to take down the Nets because the CES period is over. On our way there we saw many Adders (Hugorm) and Sand Lizards (Markfierben).

Back at the station Markus prepared us a delicious dinner and later we and the others put up the nets on the beach to try to catch Stormpetrels (Stormsvale).

We also had the Nightjar net opened. Simon and I went to check it. We were lucky, it had caught a 1cy. Nightjar (Natravn). But there was also a second bird in the net. were very surprised about it, it was a Common Nightingale (Sydlig Nattergal). Only the third ringed for the station and the 17th record for Skagen. As we announced it on Zello also Knud, Jørgen Kabel and Egon Østergaard and also Simon and Lisa came by to see it.

Common Nightingale (Sydlig Nattergal) - only the second autumn record in Skagen ever.  

Common Nightingale (Sydlig Nattergal) and Nightjar (Natravn)

Ringing Kabeltromlen: 

Munk 2

Gærdesanger 5

Tornsanger 9

Rørsanger 3

Løvsanger 7

Jernspurv 1

Rødhals 1

Sortmejse 3

Gransanger 4

Rørspurv 3

Lille Dompap 2

Kærsanger 3

Musvit 2

Rødstjert 1

Total: 47

Ringing Lighthouse Garden:

Sydlig Nattergal - 1

Natravn - 1

Highlight of the observations:

Merlin - Dværgfalk 1k

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area

People: Rosemary Fricke, Markus Kemp Clément, Simon Kiesé, Louise Buksti-Ladefoged, Sarah Partridge, Cora Köberle, Simon S. Christiansen, Juri Van der Horst and our guests Grete and Stig. 

Last night Cora and Yuri was in charge of night catching. Unfortunately, luck was not on their side, and they had to close the nets at 02:30 due to rain. Markus and Yuri did spot two nightjars (natravne) near the nets, and Yuri almost managed to catch a skylark (sanglærke).

This morning, Simon and I opened the nets and had a pleasant start to the day with some good birds, including a spotted flycatcher (grå fluesnapper). Cora joined us for the third round, where we had six birds in the same net with, which included a bullfinch (dompap). We were also joined by our guests, Grete and Stig, who were happy to see the many birds they recognize from their garden up close. Unfortunately, the wind picked up, forcing us to close the nets earlier than planned.

a beautiful little spotted flycatcher (grå fluesnapper)

Meanwhile, Markus and Sarah took care of morning observations at World’s end III. I was a calm and nice session, highlighted by an arctic skua (almindelig kjove) and some razorbills (alk) in the water, as well as some sanderlings (sandløbere) running around on the beach. The gull numbers were impressive. Amoun them, they counted a staggering 1679 resting herring gulls (sølvmåger)!

At midday, Sarah and Rose enjoyed lunch at Blink to celebrate Rose’s birthday yesterday. They highly recommended it for the rest of us. Later, Rose and Cora tested the thermal gear and even ventured to the attic in search of Fuglestationen merch. Even though they did not find any t-shirts or caps, they did find and bring back the day’s most unusual find: a plastic crab.

Grethe and Stig kindly returned with cake and homemade sea buckthorn/apple marmalade (a big thank you – I can’t wait the have some for breakfast tomorrow during morning observations).

The attic crab and the homemade maramalade

Simon prepared an early and delicious dinner so that he, Markus, and Cora could head to Grenen for some evening birding. Their efforts were well rewarded with the sightings of a sooty shearwater (sodfarvet skråpe). What a spectacular way to round off the day!

the sooty shearwater (sodfarvet skråpe). 

Today’s observations by observers in the area of Skagen typed into DOFbasen can be found here.

Ringing at KAB: 

2 Gærdesanger

1 Grå fluesnapper

1 Rørsanger

1 Blåmejse

3 Løversanger

2 Munk

1 Dompap

2 Gransanger 

Total: 13

At the station:
Markus Kemp Clément, Simon Kiesé, Louise Buksti-Ladefoged, Sarah Partridge, Cora Köberle, Rosemary Fricke, Simon Sigaard Christiansen.

Jeg vil ligge ud med at gribe pennen, hvor Rose efterlod den da vi skulle til at drage sydpå i forsøget på at ringmærke Tredækkere i går nat.

Vi var så heldige at have selskab af Knud og Lars Bo, hvilket betød at alle på stationen havde muligheden for at tage med. Inden mørket havde sænket sig helt, aflagde vi et besøg hos Simons far, hvor vi fik en særdeles fornem behandling, med kaffe og kage. Det var superhyggeligt, og skønt med et ekstra skud energi inden vi skulle trampe græsmarker natten igennem.

På Skagen Fuglestation anvender vi vores termiske kikkert til at spotte rastende fugle, for derefter at snige os nærmere og fange dem med et håndnet.

Volsted Kær var første target-område. Vi brugte et par timer her, desværre uden held. Bedste fugl her var en Dobbeltbekkasin. De er mere årvågne end Tredækkerne, hvorfor de kan være besværlige at komme helt tæt på.

Vi gik i hvertfald ikke et lige transekt henover markerne!

Vores andet målområde var en mark i Lindenborg. Det var en af efterårets første rigtig kolde nætter, med en temperatur mellem 5-7 grader i disse rurale områder. Kulden var derfor så småt begyndt at snige sig ind på os, og det var ikke alle der gik med til den fjerneste ende af marken. Her fandt vi dog et område der skilte sig ud ved at være en smule fugtigere end resten af marken. Pludselig var der mange Dobbeltbekkasiner (omkring 15-20 stk.). De var dog ikke helt lette at komme tæt på. Simon gik forrest med den termiske kikkert, jeg fulgte trop med nettet.

Gåruten på marken ved Lindenborg.

På kanten af det fugtige område fandt Simon en fugl, der ikke fløj op med det samme. Vi sneg os tættere på, men kiksede en smule med den lygte der skulle blænde fuglen og lade os komme på fangsthold. Derfor lettede fuglen på nogle meters afstand. Den var stor og tung, og kaldte ikke som Dobbeltbekkasinerne. Det var en Tredækker.. Øv, vi kiksede at fange den, men hey, de er her altså! Troen på succes blussede op, og varmen spredte sig atter i kroppen. Senere på natten fandt vi endnu en fugl der trykkede sig i græsset. Denne gang nåede vi så langt som til blot at mangle et sølle skridt, før jeg ville gøre udfaldet med nettet. Fuglen lettede dog, og igen var det en tung sneppe.  Vi fandt ikke flere Tredækkere i løbet af resten af natten, hvorfor vi i denne omgang måtte vende snuden hjemad mod Det Grå Fyr uden at have ringmærket en Tredækker.

Da vi efter en halvanden times kørsel nåede tilbage til toppen af Danmark var det første lys så småt på vej. Louise, der ikke havde været med sydpå, drog ud for at åbne nettene ved Kabeltromlen. Vi andre kunne lige nå en powernap på 30-40 min. Inden første netrunde omkring kl. 6.

På de første par runder var der sandelig fugle i nettene, med 25-30 fugle i den ene runde. Herefter stagnerede aktiviteten dog. Vi havde blandt andet selskab af Yuri, der har ringmærket meget i Holland.

Sarah og Cora stod for morgenobsen. De havde en del vadefugle, men manglende vid betød at der ikke var stor aktivitet til havs.

Vi havde alle en del søvn at indhente fra den forgangne nat, hvorfor der ikke var megen aktivitet på stationen i løbet af formiddagen og eftermiddagen.

Rose har fødselsdag i dag. Derfor spiste vi efter den fælles middagslur en lækker Cheesecake, og indviede vores internationale frivillige i en af de klassiske danske fødselsdagssange – den med instrumenterne :D Rose kunne frit vælge tre instrumenter. Vi endte med at spille på Valdhorn, Didgeridoo og Kain. De instrumenter har jeg trods alt ikke spillet på før.

Jeg har netop slået vores net op til at fange Natravne, imens nogle af de andre har rigget vores Stormsvale net op på stranden. Fingers crossed for at der er succes i dag.

Highlights Observations:

 2 Tredækkere ved Lindenborg

Today’s observations by observers in the area of Skagen typed into DOFbasen can be found here.

Ringing Kabeltromlen:

Fuglekonge 2

Gransanger 9

Rørspurv 6

Havesanger 1

Munk 5

Tornsanger 13

Rørsanger 2

Gærdesmutte

Grå Fluesnapper 1

Kærsanger 1

Rødhals 1

Løvsanger 3

Total 45

At the station:
Markus Kemp Clément, Simon Kiesé, Louise Buksti-Ladefoged, Sarah Partridge, Cora Köberle, Rosemary Fricke, Simon Sigaard Christiansen.

A short recap today as we will soon be leaving to go to … tonight in our first attempt of the season to ring Great Snipe (Tredækker)!

It will be the second night shift in a row for me, as last night I was up for another try at attracting Storm Petrels (Stormsvale) and Nightjars (Natravn). We had a very early juvenile Nightjar, but other than that it was a quiet and clear night, and I was joined for most of it with visitor Julius (thanks for your company!)

Natravn 1K 

While I slept in this morning the others were busy as usual. Sarah and Louise went to World’s End III for observations. With a calm sea there was not much activity in the way of seabirds, but they had a nice selection of wader flocks coming through, and individual Golden Plover (Hjejle) and Redshank (Rødben). A Great Spotted Woodpecker (Stor Flagpætte) also came by for a rest.

Today was also the final CES visit to Skarvsøen for the season. Led today by Simon, Cora and Markus, and joined by Julius, they caught a whopping 72 new birds today, the majority of which (32) were Reed Warblers (Rørsanger). Also, overhead they were graced with a Goshawk (Duehøg), Coal Tits (Sortmejse), and Common Snipes (Dobbeltbekkasin), as well as Bearded Tits (Skægmejse) in the netting area.

Whats better than this? Cake and birds at the CES!

No rest for the wicked today though as we spent time after work to prepare for a potential royal visit from the King of Denmark (otherwise known as Fred) to our apartment’s premium lavatory suite. Alas, his toilet break was abandoned, which is more unfortunate for him since the team caught a Goldcrest (Fuglekonge, i.e. “King of the birds”) in the garden net this afternoon instead - close enough, eh?

Now for a little nap for some and a dinner fit for a king (thanks Sarah), before heading out to Volsted shortly!

All observations for the area can be seen in DOFBasen.

Ringing totals CES:

Rørsanger 32
Gransanger 11
Løvsanger 3
Solsort 2
Rødhals 1
Munk 7
Gulbug 2
Tornsanger 5
Blåmejse 2
Gærdesanger 4
Rørspurv 2
Bogfinke 1

Total: 72

Highlights at Skarvsøen:
Goshawk - Duehøg
Bearded Tits - Skægmejse

Highlights at World’s End III:
Golden Plover – Hjejle
Redshank – Rødben

People at the station:
Markus Kemp Clément, Rosemary Fricke, Simon Kiesé, Louise Buksti-Ladefoged, Sarah Fartridge, Cora Köberle, Lars Bo Jacobsen, Simon S. Christiansen.

Today was a fairly sane Sunday for Skagen Fuglestation. I started the day opening nets at Kabletromeln with Simon, and then Cora joined us for the first round. It was a steady stream of birds today with four or five in the nets at every round, with a good range of species. I was pleased to see two Muskvit and always very excited to see the Fuglekonge. The closing round brought a highlight for everyone with one very sweet Træløber. There were few quiet moments between ringing but Cora managed to find time to capture several sand lizards (Markfirben) that we admired together. There was one Stor Flagspætte flying around but despite Cora’s encouragement did not want to come down into the nets. We also saw some Redpolls (Gråsisken), Linnets (Tornirisk), and a couple of Whimbrels (Småspove) flying overhead.

A Handsome young Gransanger

An adder feasting on a sand lizard

Rosemary and Markus went to Wrold’s End 3 for observing, enjoying a luxurious lie-in with the later sunrise of 05:59. There they did not see any rarities or much migration, but had a nice time counting the regular suspects and saw one arctic skua (Almindelig Kjove), which we were also able to see from Kabletromeln. Rosemary joined us for the last couple of rounds of ringing, and Markus stopped by after a chat with Eric. Louise did not join us today as she was at the wedding of her best friend, which she greatly enjoyed.

After a swim and lunch together, we all had naps this afternoon to stockpile some sleep for the next couple of nights out ringing.

Ringing Totals:

Solsort 1
Musvit 2
Løvsanger 6
Gærdesanger 2
Rødstjert 1
Jernspurv 1
Rørsanger 1
Tornsanger 9
Munk 8
Rørspurv 1
Dompap 1
Gransanger 9
Træløber 1
Total 44

Highlights:

Whimbrel (Småspove)

Arctic skua (Almindelig Kjove)

Today's observations from observers in the area can be found here. 

People:  Markus Kemp Clément, Rosemary Freaky, Simon Kiesé, Louise Buksti-Ladefoged, Sarah Partridge, Cora Köberle, Lars Bo Jacobsen, Eric Christophersen.

Last night we went to Jerup, a place half an hour south of Skagen, to try to catch and ring some waders. Luckily, Lars took most of us including the equipment with him in his car. Rose and I took the train, so we met around 11 pm at the beach. There was a thunderstorm over the Kattegat giving the night a nice atmosphere. When the nets were set up, we walked along the beach and I spotted birds in the thermal. It did not take long until this beautiful Oystercatcher (Strandskade) was under Cora’s hand net. We measured it, it got a shiny ring and we released it soon after.

Markus having the Oystercatcher (Strandskade) under control.

In the next round we got pretty close to a Greenshank (Hvidklire), but it walked so quickly, that we could barely keep up. A Redshank (Rødben) was more relaxed, so we took the opportunity to grab it. A new species in hand for most of us!

Long red legs: not the only feature to identify a Redshank (Rødben).

One more: this young Red Knot (Islandsk Ryle) was the third wader species tonight. Super cute Red Knot (Islandsk Ryle) accepting us as his friends.

The wind picked up, so we had to take down our wader net. Fortunately, there was one more Redshank (Rødben) and Red Knot (Islandsk Ryle). What a nice night!

Kindergarden: young Red Knot (Islandsk Ryle) on the left and young Redshank (Rødben) on the right.

Back at the station, I really appreciated the long nap. It was very windy, so we could not open our nets at Kabeltromlen. Standing the storm, Sarah and Markus headed out to WE3. The northerly winds killed migration once more, but the birds that fly in this wind are good ones. It started with a Manx Shearwater (Almindelig Skråpe) which came in a nice distance, always a great bird. Even though the observation was a bit more tricky, the next bird was even better: a Sabine’s Gull (Sabinemåge) headed northwest. Markus made a nice drawing of it documenting the most important features – congrats!

After waking up, Cora and I started packing the nightcatching stuff back in order. We also opened the net in our garden, when suddenly Johanna and MHL (Magnus) showed up. It was very nice to see them again and we had a nice chat. Then we also caught a House Sparrow (Gråspurv) and a Tree Sparrow (Skovspurv). It was the first bird ringed by Magnus since spring 2024 at the station, but his measurements were on the spot!

Sometimes I wonder if I should mention everything that we did today. There is so much stuff that repeats, much of them is fun. That includes swimming, shopping, data entry, eating etc. Louise was on a wedding, so she was not at the station, but we look forward to having her back here tomorrow. Saturday is cleaning day, that also had to be done. In the afternoon, Rose, Cora and I headed to “Sandormspurv” (how I call it). Few birds but good snacks and good talks were really refreshing. Best bird was a young Black Guillemot (Tejst) though.

The wind will finally die down the next days, so we are looking forward to some birds in the ringing and hopefully our first attempt on the Great Snipes (Trædekker) soon.

Ringing (Det Grå Fyr: Fyrhaverne): 

Tree Sparrow (Skovspurv) 1

House Sparrow (Gråspurv) 1

Total: 2

Ringing (Jerup):

Oystercatcher (Strandskade) 1

Redshank (Rødben) 2

Red Knot (Islandsk Ryle) 2

Total: 5

Highlight of the observations:

Sabine's Gull (Sabinemåge) - 1 K2+

Manx Shearwater (Almindelig Skråpe)

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area.

People: Rosemary Frikke, Markus Kemp Clément, Simon Kiesé, Louise Buksti-Ladefoged, Sarah Partrige, Cora Köberle, Lars Bo Jacobsen, Johanna Veentjer and Magnus Houen Lauritsen (better known as MHL).

This morning we were woken up by a Zello message. Louise and Sarah, who did the night watch, had caught a Nightjar (Natraven). While taking down the nets in the end of the night they could also observe a Stormpetrel (Stormsvale) flying in front of the nets. Unfortunately it did not go in.

Later Markus and I went to world’s  end 3 to do the migration count. It was not as windy as yesterday but still quite  cold out there. At the end of the first hour Knud joined us. Not much later markus spotted a Skua flying to NW. After watching it a bit we were sure it was a Pomarie Skua (Mellemkjove)! We could follow it over several minutes and also see it chasing some gulls. That was a very nice observation and the first Pomarine Skua (Mellem Kjove) for Markus!

Apart from this there was not much migrating. But there were many Gannets (Sule) flying around and some Waders like a Ruddy Turnstone (Stenvender) resting on the beach.

Because of the wind the ringers did not expect to catch much today but they could have most of the nets opened and caught some very nice species.

1K Whinchat (Bynkefugl) 

Like a Whinchat (Bynekugl), a Pied Flycatcher (Broget Fluesnapper) and a Great Spotted Woodpecker (Stor Flagspætte) who knew exactly how to defend himself against the ringers.

1K Great Spotted Woodpecker (Stor Flagspætte) 

They had a good variety with 13 different species today and also caught the first bird in the new net they set up yesterday.

After coming back and doing the data we all had some very long naps and some of us also went for a swim.

Now we are preparing everything for going Wader catching together with Lars Bo at Jerup Strand tonight.

Ringing Kabeltrommlen: 

Munk 1

Gærdesanger  2

Tornsanger 2

Rørsanger 1

Broget Fluesnapper 1

Dompap 2

Løvsanger 3

Jernspurv 1

Rødhals 1

Lille Gråsisken 1

Bynkefugl 1

Stor Flagspætte 1

Total: 21

Ringing Det Grå Fyr:

Natraven 1

Highlight of the observations:

Pomarie Skua - Mellemkjove!

arround 400 Gannets (Sule)

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area

People: Rosemary Frikke, Markus Kemp Clément, Simon Kiesé, Louise Buksti-Ladefoged, Sarah Partrige, Cora Köberle, Simon S. Christiansen, Lars Bo Jacobsen.

Today Cora, rosemary and Sarah started their day at the morning count. Here thay saw gannets (suler) feasting, ruddy turnstones (stenvendere), red knots (islandske ryler), grey herons (fiskehejrer), and a sooty shearwater (sodfarvet skråpe). the weather was really nice and quiet, when all of a sudden, they spotted a big dark cloud in the horizon. Rose just had time to say "I hope that it is not gonna rain" before they got blasted by wind. It was so sudden an dintense that all the gulls flew up on the beach.

Sunrise at Grenen

At Kabeltrommle, Markus, Simon, and I had two great rounds where we caught 13 birds. Mio joined us for the first round to ring one last bird before leaving to go back home to Germany (we are gonna miss you Mio. Hope to see you again soon). Just while on the third round, the wind hit. All of a sudden, we became really busy closing most of the nets. For the next two rounds we caught no birds. However, that was okay because that then gave us plenty of time setting up a new net, whivh turned out pretty good (if I should say so myself). Lets hope it is going to catch a lot of birds. 

Simon with the new net at Kabeltrommlen

After coming back to the lighthouse and putting in today's data, we all had different activities planned for ourselves. Markus anf Simon were so kind as to go grocery shopping. On their way ack they passed the bakery to buy us a cake. meanwhile, Rose had also discovered that we were low on snacks, so she decided to bake us a chocolate cake, so now we have two (oh well none of us are complaining). then Markus, Simon, and Cora also went out for a walk around Grenen. Here Cora managed to catch a sand lizard (markfirben). Rose and Sarah both had a swim. hey also created a bookclub for us. Currently we are reading "The Yellow Wall-paper", which we will discuss in the following days. 

the two cakes (delicious!)

I also went on a little evening walj. However, I managed to forget both my camera and my binoculars (I grabbed the wrong bag before heading out), so I am not entirely sure of what I saw. I did see a beatiful emperior moth (natpåfugleøje) larvea and two roedeers (rådyr). I think I also saw some whinchats, but due to the lack of binoculars it was a little hard to tell. 

Emperior moth larvea (natpåfugleøje larve) 

Now Sarah and I have just put up the nets for nightjar (natravn) and storm petrel (lilel stormsvale) catching and are getting ready for the first round. We just brewed our fist liter f coffe and are enjoying the company of Lars Bo, Jeppe, and Simon. Wish us luck!

All observations in the area from today can be seen here on DOFbasen.

Ringing at KAB: 

6 Tornsanger 

4 Munk 

1 Rørsanger

1 Løvsanger

3 Gærdesanger 

Total: 13 

At the station: Markus Kemp Clément, Simon Kiesé, Louise Buksti-Ladefoged, Sarah Partridge, Mio Brix, Cora Köberle, Rosemary Fricke, Ragnar Smith, Simon Sigaard Christiansen

Rose and Sarah blitzed out to Kabeltrommeln to open the nets today. At sunrise Simon Jr. and I joined them. Because of the wind we did not open all nets, but we got a nice variety of species today. To our surprise, we caught 4 very cute Goldcrests (Fuglekonge) today and on our last round we caught a nice Pied Flycatcher (Broget Fluesnapper). We also saw the young Goshawk (Duehøg) again and after we ringed the last bird a Temminck's Stint (Temmincksryle) flew over us. 

cute Goldcrest (Fuglekonge)

The Observation Team today, consisting of Cora, Markus, Louise and Knud, had to brave the strong wind at the beginning of the day. A bit later the wind slowed down and they briefly saw a first calendar year Mediterranean Gull (Sorthovedet måge) and some close Fulmars (Mallemuk).

After we all headed back, all except for Rose, Sarah and me had a nap directly or after lunch. Rose and Sarah went for their daily swim and meanwhile I showed my family, who were here today for a small break before they’ll continue their way to Sweden, the station, the Lighthouse and the area a bit, and we ate hotdogs at the parking place. Afterwards I went back to the station and started to prepare all my stuff, so that I have time in the evening and night to do some nightcatching and spend the last hours with all the nice volunteers I met here. With time all other volunteers got up from their nap and we did data entry. Cora and Simon cleaned the apartment, before we get a new guest tomorrow. In the late afternoon Simon Sr. arrived at the station, and we had the evening meeting to plan the next days. After that Simon Jr. and Sarah sewed a bird net and Cora prepared a delicious dinner.

sewing a net in the lighthouse garden

In the evening, two hours before sunset, we decided to open the nets at Kabeltrommeln again and tried to catch wagtails and swallows. Unfortunately we didn’t succeed but I was still motivated to catch something, therefore we left the nets open the whole night and I controlled the nets, with the hope to catch Water Rails (Vandrikse). But also the Water Rails didn’t want to come in our nets. But it was still a nice night.
Now its time for me to say goodbye to Skagen, but only for this year! I’ll come again next year. Once Skagen, always Skagen! I look back to three wonderful weeks here with many highlights: Storm Petrel catching and nightcatching in general, Worlds End migration count, Kabeltrommeln ringing and of course the awesome station team, with whom I have experienced so many great things! And with that another short stay for me at one of the best places in the world comes to an end.
Vi ses i 2026!

Highlights Observations:

1K Mediterranean Gull (Sorthovedet måge)

Temminck's Stint (Temmincksryle)

1K Goshawk (Duehøg)

Today’s observations by observers in the area of Skagen typed into DOFbasen can be found here

Ringing Kabeltromlen:

Gransanger 1

Fuglekonge 4

Jeg vågnede tidligt i morges, da jeg ville nå at tage afsked med Hannelie, inden hendes rejse hjem mod Tyskland. Det har været 3 gode, lærerige og sjove uger. Hanelie har især lært mig meget om kunsten at håndtere fugle i hånden! I sandhed en fornøjelse. 

Da jeg alligevel var vågen, drog jeg tidligt afsted mod Verdens Ende 3 på Grenen. De første af solens farvestrålende tunger begyndte samtidig at sprede sig over himlen. Temperaturen i dag var en smule lavere end i de seneste uger, og ligeså i Norge og Sverige. Derfor tror jeg på at vi vil opleve flere trækkende småfugle i den kommende tid. På morgenobsen havde Rose, Sarah og jeg selskab af Ragnar og Knud.

Solopgang fra Verdens Ende 3

I første omgang var der ikke gang i det store træk, men ved 7:30 tiden vendte vinden, og der var pludselig en snes Mallemukker der bevægede sig i Skagerrak. Kort tid efter stod jeg og spejdede indlands efter en ung Hede/Steppehøg, som jeg tilfældigvis havde fået et ultrakort glimt af, inden den gik lavt i terrænet. Desværre dukkede den ikke op igen.. Men! Alt imens jeg kiggede mod sydvest, hører jeg bag mig at Ragnar udbryder; ”Kjove!” i et tonefald der straks fik mig til at dreje teleskopet 180 grader. Hurtigt finder jeg fuglen, der et par hundrede meter væk er ved at passere nordvest om spidsen af Grenen. Jeg lægger mærke til at fuglen virker klejn. Kort tid efter konstaterer Knud at det da er en Lille Kjove!

Jeg får skudt et par dokubilleder, hvorefter der er tid til for alvor at ”opleve” kjoven i den håndfuld minutter vi endnu kan se den fra VE3.

Lille Kjove 1K trækker nordvest om Grenen kl. 8:03. Foto: Markus Kemp Clément

En snes minutter senere passerer en Storkjove ligeledes mod nordvest, og to Almindelige Kjover flyver lige hen over hovedet på os. Alle tre arter indenfor 20 minutter!

Ringmærkningsholdet havde ligeledes en ganske fin dag, med 25 nye fugle, fordelt på 8 arter. Heriblandt var 9 Løvsangere. At de små Løvsangere for alvor er begyndt at trække, taler godt for at vi kan få besøg af en Lundsanger inden længe. Jeg tror på at det kan lykkes os at kratluske sådan en frem!

Eftermiddagen blev ligeledes brugt på Grenen, i dagens anledning til en længere aftenobs. Vi havde solen i ryggen, og horisonten stod skarpt tegnet. Altså ganske udmærkede vejrforhold til havobs. Der var noget mere gang i trækket på havet, og i løbet af et par timer talte vi i omegnen af 250 Mallemukker. Derudover passerede én Almindelig Kjove og én Storkjove også forbi os.

Aftenobs på Grenen.

Ragnar stod for dagens aftensmad, en lækker pastaret med hjemmelavet tomatsovs, alt imens Sarah og Rose havde bagt en kage til dessert.

Highlights Observations:

1 Lille Kjove 

1 Storkjove

250+ Mallemuk

3 Almindelig Kjove

Today’s observations by observers in the area of Skagen typed into DOFbasen can be found here.

Ringing Kabeltromlen:

Solsort 1

Lille Gråsisken 2

Gransanger 1

Rørsanger 1

Gærdesanger 1

Løvsanger 9

Munk 5

Tornsanger 5

Total: 25

At the station:
Markus Kemp Clément, Simon Kiesé, Louise Buksti-Ladefoged, Sarah Partridge, Mio Brix, Cora Köberle, Rosemary Fricke, Ragnar Smith, Simon Sigaard Christiansen.