We once again witnessed a beautiful sunrise when we walked to Grenen in the morning. There was very little wind, and the sun was shining all day.

János and Alvin on the way to the migration count site.

The first great bird was spotted by Saxe already before the official start of the migration count, with a Puffin (Lunde) migrating west. Unfortunately, still leaving some of us without good views of the species. After a while the resting Gulls on the beach flushed, and I spotted the Iceland Gull from yesterday in the huge flock. We ran down to the beach, just in time to have the bird fly directly over our heads. After the rather distant views yesterday, this was highly appreciated. Later we could also observe the bird roosting on the beach.

Icelandgull (Hvidvinget Måge)) flying over our heads.

After the first hour, Simon visited us with a group of students at Grenen. They will be back in two weeks to collect data on the disturbance of the Gulls resting on the beach, which are unfortunately regularly flushed by the many tourists visiting the northernmost point of Denmark. Hopefully we can use the data as an argument to set up a protected area on the beach to give the birds the needed rest.

It was also the first day with good raptor migration, with over 50 Common Buzzards (Musvåge) during the morning and many more in the afternoon. A Shag (Topskarv) and two Caspian Gulls were also nice (Kaspisk Måge).

Common Buzzard (Musvåge) over Grenen.

After the count we walked back and had lunch before we biked to Mikkael Anchers place to join him in the ringing in his Garden. We caught about twenty Great and Blue Tits (Musvit and Blåmejse). It was the first bird we ringed since the start of our stay at the Fuglestation, and for Gustav and Saxe it was one of their first overall. The birds literally gave a shit though… Among the Blue Tits (Blåmejser) were another bird with a swedish ring and one with a foreign danish ring.

Great Tit (Musvit) taking a shit on Alix hand.

During all of this, Buzzards (Musvåge) were flying over our heads, sometimes in groups of up to twenty birds. We later tried to catch and ring the Black Redstart (Husrødstjert), which has been hanging around in the Lighthouse garden for the past few days, but again without success. Tomorrow we will make a trip south of Skagen, where we will try to ring a Dipper (Vandstær) and are very much looking forward to this.

Total: 149

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

Summary of today's raptor migration in DOFbasen

People: János Schadl, Alix Bortolussi, Alvin Johannson, Saxe Lind Christiansen, Gustav Juel, Simon S. Christiansen, Michael Ancher

This morning started with another beautiful sunrise and even the moon showed at the start of the count. 

(The full moon in the start of the obs.)

The weather was really nice this morning, the sun was showing and a light breeze blew from SW. Our migration count started well with a lot of passerines and a lot of Northern Gannets (Sule). We had good numbers of Skylarks (Sanglærke), Reed Bunting (Rørspurv), European Starling (Stær) and over 2300 Jackdaws! The sea was quite quiet today, still good numbers for Kittiwakes (Ride) and Red-throated Diver (Rødstrubet Lom)

One of the day's best birds was a Pied Wagtail (Sortrygget Hvid Vipstjert) flying past the counting site, landing briefly on the beach before it continued southwards along the beach. A very nice bird and the biggest highlight of the day, or at least we thought...

(The Pied Wagtail, Motacilla alba yarrelli on the beach by Verdens Ende 3)

Jørgen Kabel paid us at short visit, and just before he left, he got a message from Rolf that an 3cy Iceland Gull (Hvidvinget Måge) was resting at the shore just north of the Sandormen Track! We quickly went down on the beach and found the gull sleeping quite a long way out on the water. Since it was only looking up in very short periods of time while preening its feathers, it was hard to get a good look at. Still a nice bird and a lifer for Alvin, János and Alix. 

(The Iceland Gull looking up for a short moment)

After watching it closely for some time, and it still only rarely looking up, Alix and Alvin went back to the station and took a swim in the ocean, me and Saxe also going back a little after. János stayed with the gull, but it disappeared before it gave better views. Alvin and Alix got groceries and when they came home, we tried to catch Rock Pipits (Skærpiber) and the Black Redstart (Husrødstjert) that has been in the lighthouse garden for a few days now. The Black Redstart was jumping and sitting right next to the net, somehow avoiding them. The Rock Pipits managed to get the worms out of the ringing traps, also avoiding getting caught.

Michale Ancher had a very productive ringing day in his garden with a total of 80 birds! Mainly tits including a Blue Tit (Blåmejse) with a Swedish ring and one with a foreign Danish ring. Two pretty Goldfinches also reached the nets.

In the evening Alix sent in the data for the ring we found on a dead Cormorant (Skarv) on the beach walk, and Alvin made a very nice dinner for us all.

Total: 80

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

Summary of today's raptor migration in DOFbasen

People: János Schadl, Alix Bortolussi, Alvin Johannson, Saxe Lind Christiansen, Gustav Juel, Simon S. Christiansen, Jørgen Kabel.

Endnu en dag og endnu en smuk solopgang. Alix, Alvin og János gik til Verdens ende 3, stedet vi laver vores træktællinger, mens Gustav og jeg cyklede.

Solopgang på Grenen (Sunrise)

Dagen startede godt af med solskin, der lidt senere forsvandt bag skyerne. Vinden blæste kraftigt fra vest, hvilket gjorde det noget koldere. Der var godt gang i fuglene fra starten af med 197 rødstrubede lommer (red-throated loon), 126 rider (black-legged kittiwake) og 167 suler (northern gannet). János havde en lunde (puffin) trækkende, men den landede før vi andre fik set den. To tejster

I dag var der også et godt antal småfugle fx en hedelærke (wood lark), der forsøgte at trække ud, men vendte hurtigt om igen. Den sang et par strofer før den forsvandt i klitterne. En stor korsnæb (parrot crossbill), der blev efterbestemt af Alvin og János. 9 bjergirisker (twite) kom kaldene forbi, men ligesom hedelærken (wood lark) vendte de hurtigt om.

På vejen til vores cykler så Gustav og jeg en snespurv (snow bunting), der overhovedet ikke var sky, hvilket førte til nogle gode billeder. Vi så også fire røde glenter (red kite) og tre musvåger (common buzzard), der svævede rundt over hovederne på os. Der lå en død alkefugl tæt ved sandormesporet, som vi tror var en alk.

Snespurv (Snow Bunting)

Lige da Gustav og jeg ankom til stationen, så vi 3 små korsnæb (red crossbill) komme flyvende og lande i haven. Husrødstjerten fra i går var fortsat på plads i haven og fouragerede rundt mellem bænkene i haven.

Lille korsnæb (Red Crossbill)

Vi spiste frokost sammen, hvor Gustav og jeg tog på en tur til Stald Grenen, hvor en sortmejse (coal tit) sang og en topmejse (crested tit) kaldte. Vi kørte videre mod Byfogedskoven, hvor vi på vejen så to tyrkerduer (eurasian collared dove). Nede i skoven var der en grønspætte (green woodpecker) og mange mejser. Bl.a. en topmejse (crested tit), nogle halemejser (long-tailed tit) og musvitter (great tit) og blåmejser (blue tit) i høje tal. Mens vi var ude, havde Alix og János rengjort lidt. Vi holdt et lille møde før vi alle tog ud. János tog ned på havnen for at se på måger, hvor han fandt 3 kaspiske måger (caspian gull) og en flok snespurve (snow bunting).

Tyrkerdue (Eurasian Collared Dove)

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

Summary of today's raptor migration in DOFbasen

People: János Schadl, Alix Bortolussi, Alvin Johannson, Saxe Lind Christiansen, Gustav Juel, Simon S. Christiansen.

Today started with the first real and colorful sunrise of our stay, which was very welcome and made the walk to our migration counting spot ever-so pleasant in contrast to yesterday.

Sunrise

A beautiful day with some clouds that cleared up quickly in the early hours, and some wind that picked up around 10am also brought us some nice birds for our count. The raptors were present for the first time today and we had the pleasure of witnessing several Common Buzzards (Musvåge) and Red Kites (Rød Glente) attempting migration, as well as steady numbers of sea birds including a notable number of Black-legged Kittiwakes (Ride) and a surge of Common Scoters (Sortand) in the last hour which made the counting challenging and extra fun for Alvin who was in charge of their count.

Other surprises for our morning were the migration of 2 European Shags (Topskrav) which gave us the opportunity to train our eyes to the differences in flight style compared to the Great Cormorant (Skarv). Gustav was particularly excited about because getting better at identifying European Shags (Topskrav) in migration was a goal for his trip here with us. Saxe also had a possible sighting of an Atlantic Puffin (Lunde) which was unfortunately too far away to be certain. For two days in a row now we have had sightings of small Auks which could either be a Little Auk (Søkonge) or an Atlantic Puffins (Lunde), but each times too far away to be sure! We hope for a good observation of one of them soon! 

Towards the end of our count Simon paid us a little visit as he was checking the walking path of our ringing site in sight of the upcoming ringing season which will start on 20th of March, and he brought with him the news of seeing the first Common Chiffchaff (Gransanger) and Black Redstart (Husrødstjert) of the season!

Our afternoon arrived quickly as Simon took us to conduct a ‘Beach Count’ where the goal is to survey the mortality of sea birds by taking a walk along the beach and reporting findings of dead sea birds. Our walk was 10km of beautiful sand and stones, which we conducted over 3h30 total. 

Nordstrand

During that time, we were on the lookout for dead sea birds (or parts of them) and we reported all identifiable deaths, as well as picking up a few selected species. Among these are Black-legged Kittiwakes (Ride) which we found today. However not picked up but reported was a ringed Great Cormorant (Skarv), from which we collected the ring and will be reporting it.

This survey project has for aim to track the mortality rate of sea birds and to explore the possible death causes by analyzing collected samples and individuals, which would help track diseases, pollution related harm, environmental related harm, etc.

Beach walk

As you can imagine we were also on the lookout for live birds of the area during that time, and had some great sightings of many Sanderlings (Sandløber), 5 Bar-tailed Godwit (Stor Kobbersneppe), and a great 124 Great Crested Grebes (Toppet Lappedykker).

 Sanderling

A long day spent nearly entirely in the field was a good start of the season!

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

Summary of today's raptor migration in DOFbasen

People: János Schadl, Alix Bortolussi, Alvin Johannson, Saxe Lind Christiansen, Gustav Juel, Simon S. Christiansen, Knud Pedersen.

The weather forecast for the morning looked quite rainy and foggy, but thankfully there was no rain, and the morning's migration count turned out pretty good with some decent numbers on Reedbunting (Rørspurv) and Skylarks (Sanglærke). We also had a couple flocks of Jackdaws (Allike) appearing from the low clouds after hearing them for some time without seeing them. To everyone’s delight, a group of Snowbuntings (Snespurv) also showed very well and surprisingly close, giving us excellent views. We were also pleased to spot a Slavonian Grebe (Nordisk lappedykker), adding another nice highlight to the morning’s observations.

 Snowbuntings (Snespurv) at Grenen

Observers at the migration counting site 

After finishing the standardized migration count, Saxe and Gustav continued birding along the beach and saw even more Snowbuntings (Snespurv) as well as a Caspian Gull (kaspisk måge) and a few Ringed Plovers (Stor Præstekrave) starting their spring display already. Meanwhile, me and János faced a rather sweltering bike ride back to the station through the soft and wet sand that made up the road, only to arrive at exactly the same time as Alix who had simply just walked the whole way back along the beach. 

When we got back to the station, Simon had just installed the new washing machine and was there to welcome us. In the afternoon we assigned everyone their keys and had a meeting about some practical information and guidelines for the coming weeks. We also prepared for tomorrow's beach walk, which we are all very much looking forward to. 

All of us had arrived yesterday after a long day of travel at the lighthouse. Many thanks to Knud and Jørgen who picked us up from the train station. For Alix and Alvin it was the first time in Skagen, and after a quick breakfast we started our walk to Grenen, to do the first standardized migration count of the season. It was well before sunrise when we heard the first Skylark (Sanglærke) and it was the start of a great morning with good numbers and species of birds. Maybe the first sign of a good spring season? We had a continuous migration of Skylarks (Sanglærke), Jackdaws (Allike) and Mistle Thrushes (Misteldrossel) and Alix saw her first Snowbuntings (Snespurv). It was fun to see how enormously the dunes hade grown since my last visit in January and after a while Knud and Erik joined us, and it was nice to see them again. At some point Knud called out a Puffin (Lunde) but unfortunately it landed shortly after, and he was the only one to see the bird. Overall it was a very good morning, and we are looking forward to the upcoming weeks and months at the station.

The first standardised migration count of the year. Photo: Knud Pedersen

Alvin at Grenen

After the end of the count, we walked back and had lunch before Saxe and Gustav arrived. They will stay here with us for a week before the other long-term volunteers arrive. After getting the bikes out of the shed, all of us went for a harbor trip. Fighting against the strong southerly winds. When we reached the harbor, I asked Saxe if there was a bird he would really like to see here, and while he was telling me that he would like to see a Shag (Topskarv) I was scanning the water and immediately found one. What a coincidence! And while Alix only had eyes for a close Seal, we enjoyed some good views of the bird.

European Shag (Topskarv)

We continued scanning the gull flocks in the harbor, but our only other nice finds were our third Black Guillemot (Tejst) of the day and a Caspian Gull (Kaspisk Måge). On our way back we stopped at the grocery store, and with the wind coming from behind, we had a much nicer ride back.

Skagen harbour

We ended the day with cooking together and, after a very good first day, heightened expectations for the weeks ahead.

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

Summary of today's Raptor migration in DOFbasen

People: Knud Pedersen, Erik Christophersen, János Schadl, Alix Bortolussi, Alvin Johannson, Saxe Lind Christiansen, Gustav Juel

Picture 1: Sun rise

Today felt like a full circle in the Skagen Bird Observatory world. Our first blog back at the start of January was aptly called ‘A Snowy Start’ with this blog at the end of our stay being similar conditions to when we arrived, hence ‘A Snowy End.’ However, things have changed since we arrived. During our stay we have gained an extra hour of sunlight with sun rise now nearer 8am, then the 9am darkness we had when we arrived. Not only that, but today we awoke to a gorgeous sunrise and for the first time this year it was not hidden behind the old Blink. The sun, slowly moving Northwards appeared over the bins, of all things, but felt warm and beaming.

Picture 2: Sun over the sea

We used our earlier start to take the opportunity to clean the rest of the apartment and to get bits and bobs ready for our departure. Finishing a little ahead of schedule we decided to go for a walk. We started with the sun over the sea and a small passage of gulls (Måge) all heading towards the tip but decided to go towards Ellekrattet as the snow was thick and twinkling in the sun. One of the first birds we saw along the way was a flock of very active and vocal Common Crossbills (Lille Korsnæb), the first ones we have seen this year in Denmark and in fact our 98^th species since arriving. Taking into consideration a few additional species Eleanor and I missed, but seen by other Skagen Fuglestation members, about 101 species have been recorded already this year which is impressive.

Picture 3: Bearded Tits (Skægmejse).

Moving on round, we went into the woods. They were lightened by the snow, and we quickly found a Goldcrest (Fuglekonge) in a small flock of Blue Tits (Blåmejse). They were actively foraging for food whilst a Jay (Skovskade) was being agitated by a bird of prey we could not see. However, we did find the remains of a Woodcock (Skovsneppe) which was very unfortunate but could have meant the bird of prey in question was something a little bigger. Carrying on round, we headed for Kabeltromlen. The reeds were quite clear of snow, and it was super surprising to find three Bearded Tits (Skægmejse) right next to the path! We left them in peace and continued our last walk round. Kabletromlen was surrounded by snow but looked glowing in the sun. We bumped into our regular Hen Harrier (Blå Kærhøg) and made our way over to Worlds End II.

Picture 4: Lighthouse for the last time, this time!

Dropping onto the beach it was nice to see our regular Eider (Ederfugl) and Common Scoter (Sortand) before reaching the observatory for an early lunch before Lisa arrived to pick us up. Thank you to Lisa for driving us to the station, we successfully boarded our train and have headed to Aalborg for a stay before our flight tomorrow – our birdy highlight being a pair of Goosander (Stor Skallesluger) on the river in Aalborg! However, it has been a great adventure and a very lovely and incredible trip in all ways. It has been great to help Lisa and Simon complete Bird Observatory tasks but also have a lot of time in this amazing location. We are looking forward to reading future blogs from the spring team. For those regular readers, it is only a few weeks before the next volunteers take our place and the migration counts, ringing and many more tasks begin! Good luck to the teams this year!!

Highlights:

-  Bearded Tits (Skægmejse) near Kabeltromlen

-  Common Crossbills (Lille Korsnæb) Ellekrattet

Link to Dofbasen here.

Observers: Thomas Weston, Eleanor Harris and Lisa Vergin

Picture 1: Lighthouse in the snow

Today we woke up to a very snowy day, the snowstorm of yesterday had settled creating a white wonderland to explore. The lighthouse courtyard was rather snowy, so we prepared ourselves for the cold which awaited. We had some nice breakfast, put on warm clothes and walked into Skagen to get some food and have one last look before we leave the area tomorrow. It was a rather cold walk with snowflakes falling on our face but super magical to be out and crunching through the snow. Skagen and the Lighthouse looked beautiful with snowflakes making the area even more stunning. It is lovely to have snow again at the end of our stay. On our way we took a small detour to Batteriskoven were we saw a rather cold Blue Tit (Blåmejse).

Picture 2: House Sparrows (Gråspurv) in the snow.

We arrived in Skagen to Snowplows clearing the roads, it was a hive of activity.  It seemed that more snow had settled in the city with thick snow drifts along our route. The plan was to have a look round some shops, head to the bakery, harbour and collect some food for dinner, all these things we achieved. Before making a stop at our favourite Bakery we did some urban birding and found a few Tree Sparrows (Skovspurv), Brambling (Kvækerfinke),House Sparrows (Gråspurv), Green Finches (Grønorisk) and a rather unexpected Sparrowhawk (Spurvhøg) just outside the bakery so this really did call for some sweet treats. We headed indoors to shelter from the snow with some pastries and hot chocolate. Whilst we were in the bakery the snow increased so we stayed for a little to warm up and watch it fall from within.

Picture 3: Frozen Harbour

We decided to take one last look at the harbour for any Gulls (Måge) so headed there. Once reaching it we saw that the harbour was slowly freezing which was rather impressive. Boats were marooned within unbale to escape this frozen landscape. One of the most unusual finds was a Rock Pipit (Skærpiber) sheltering in one of the small boats, it looked rather lost and uneasy in this urban environment. We also counted three Guillemots (Lomvie) sheltering on the water.

Picture 4: Deer in Snow

After heading the harbour, we headed back to the lighthouse for a late lunch and to plan the rest of the afternoon briefly stopping to watch a flock of Waxwings (Silkehale). On the way, we spotted a Common Buzzard (Musvåge) hunting in the snow and a Roe Deer looking rather lovely in this winter wonderland.  It was a lovely walk and nice to be out and about in the snow.

Picture 5: Us at the lighthouse

We decided to head up the lighthouse for one last time and enjoy the snowy scenery plus do some bird watching with the scope. It was rather beautiful at the top with a white view of Skagen and the surrounding area, cool to see it covered in a blanket of snow. After losing track of the time, we ended up spending around an hour sitting and observing from the top with some of our highlights being a Kestrel (Tarnfalke), Common Scotter (Sortand), Eiders (Ederfugl) and three Black-throated Diver (Sortstrubet Lom) to name a few. A lovely hour spent at the top listening to the waves and watching the world go by.

We headed back to the observatory to warm up and complete some admin tasks ahead of a quiet and restful evening ahead of our departure tomorrow.

Highlights:

-  Black-throated Diver (Sortstrubet Lom) – Det Grå Fyr

-  Waxwings (Silkehale) – Skagen By

Link to Dofbasen here.

Observers: Thomas Weston & Eleanor Harris

Today we awoke to a blizzard, the snow had been falling for most of the night, and it was forecast to remain snowing for the rest of the day. You could say it was a winter wonderland, but with the wind from the north it whipped and blew the snow everywhere, through the closed doors and even in through the windows too! As a result, we decided to clean the observatory and guest apartment ahead of our departure on Sunday.

Picture 1: Lighthouse in the snow

With the weather not easing after lunch, we braved the snow suits and headed out for a walk. It was cold and damp for sure, visibility was poor, and you could only see about 100m out to sea! In amongst the gloom a few passing Herring Gulls (Sølvmåge), Great Black-Backed Gulls (Svartbag) and a Common Gull (Stormmåge) were the only birds of note as we walked the road towards Ellekrattet in search of some shelter.

Picture 2: Ellekrattet in the snow

In the woods we saw a Great Tit (Musvit), Blue Tit (Blåmejse) and a Blackbird (Solsort). The snow on the ground brightened the place a little from the floor, but we could not find any other species here. We made the decision to walk back towards the beach and then follow the coast back to the lighthouse as conditions deteriorated further. On route, we found a very cold looking Rock Pipit (Skærpiber) and saw a flyby female Common Scoter (Sortand), plus a couple of Cormorant (Skarv) too. It seems like we saw everything moving out of the area or feeding up yesterday ahead of the cold and snow!

An evening of admin tasks, picture sorting, packing, dinner and a few games are the plan.

Highlights:

-  No specific highlights today

Link to Dofbasen here.

Observers: Thomas Weston & Eleanor Harris

Picture 1: Dunes

Today we woke up to another windy day, so we came up with a plan of what needed to be completed. The first job was the help the lighthouse team shift some screens ahead of their new exhibition which took around an hour or so to complete. Once this was done, we got ready to head out for a rather windy walk.

Photo 2: Black-throated Diver (Sortstrubet Lom) and Red-throated Diver (Rødstrubet Lom)

We decided to head to Nordstrand and enjoy some sunshine ahead of the snowy weather predicted in the next few days. The beach had turned into a mini dessert, which was impressive. Every time we walk to the Tip it seems to change. On the way, we counted an impressive 84 Sanderling (Sandløber) and a Turnstone (Stenvender) who was hanging out with the flock which was a lovely sight to see. Some other highlights on this section of the walk included Eiders (Ederfugl), Common Scoters (Sortand), Velvet Scoters (Fløjlsand), a male Goldeneye (Hvinand), a Black Throated Diver (Sortstrubet Lom), Red Throated Divers (Rødstrubet Lom) and two Snow Buntings (Snespurv) to name a few.

Once reaching North beach we decided to have a quick look at Cormorant Lake to possibly relocate the Water Pipit (Bjergpiber) we found yesterday so headed to the cleared area of reeds. When we arrived, we sat for a little in the shelter to watch and listen but no luck with the pipit, but we did hear one Blue Tit (Blåmejse) which was nice.  

We headed back to the lighthouse for some lunch and to warm up as it was rather cold with the persistent wind. Once reaching the lighthouse we spotted a Great Grey Skrike (Stor Tornskade) on the bushes which was amazing to see, however, it quickly disappeared and so we headed inside for some food and rest after a long walk.

Picture 3: Potential Habitat

After some lunch we decided to go and look for the Skrike so headed out to check several potential locations. Walking through the low winter sunshine was rather lovely but also cold. We had a look for the Shrike, but no luck, so we will keep our eyes peeled in the next few days.

Picture 4: Woodcock (Skovsneppe)

On the walk we saw the local female Hen Harrior (Blå Kærhøg), a Common Buzzard (Musvåge) and a Rough Legged Buzzard (Fjeldvåge) interacting with each other which was a coincidence as on our walk we were discussing if we would see all on one day. Today was the day!! On our way back we decided to have a look and walk through Ellekrattet with a thermal to see what was out there. I spotted a brief glimpse of a Bullfinch (Dompap) which was nice and on our walk through we saw 4 Woodcock (Skovsneppe) from the track. We also spotted a hare which was a nice but also unexpected find.

We headed back to the lighthouse to complete some admin and warm up with some tea and cookies which I made yesterday. Simon came round late afternoon, so we had some tea and a lovely chat and said our goodbyes as he is heading off for a few days. We will see what the plan is for the evening.

Highlights:

-  Woodcock (Skovsneppe) - Ellekrattet

-  Black-throated Diver (Sortstrubet Lom) - Nordstrand

-  Rough Legged Buzzard (Fjeldvåge) & Hen Harrior (Blå Kærhøg) – Ellekrattet

Link to Dofbasen here.

Observers: Eleanor Harris, Thomas Weston, Simon S. Christiansen