Today, we split up in the same teams as yesterday, but swapped tasks; this means that Alvin, Alix and I went out to Grenen to carry out the standardized migration count, while János and Dylan were ringing at Kabeltromlen. Since the conditions were promising for another try at catching birds in the dunes this morning, with very low wind and some fog, we got up extra early and therefore walked to the counting location in almost complete darkness, carrying with us the needed equipment to set up a net before the migration count started. When the net was in place, we still had almost one hour left, which we spent napping in the dunes to compensate for the little sleep we got at night. During the first 30 minutes, it was still very foggy, so we couldn’t count many birds. After that, it started to clear up, and soon the sun was shining brightly from a blue sky.

Alix at the sunny migration count.

It was within the second hour that the first bird flew in our net: a 2cy female Snow Bunting (Snespurv). I quickly got on my way to bring it to the others at Kabeltromlen for it to be ringed there. Simon, Lisa, János and Dylan were very busy with the large number of Blue Tits (Blåmejse) they’d caught in the meantime, when I arrived. After having delivered the bird, I returned to World End, only to head back again three minutes later, because we caught one of the Twites (Bjergirisk) that had been around the net for a while, attracted by the seeds and the sounds we’d put on a speaker placed nearby. So, I walked all the way to Kabeltromlen again and then back to Grenen, only for the story to repeat itself once more, this time with four new Twites (Bjergirisk).

Ringed Twite (Bjergirisk)

The last two hours were rather calm in terms of migration with the highlight being one Peregrine Falcon (Vandrefalk) attempting to migrate out.

For János and Dylan it has been the first day of ringing this spring, which they enjoyed a lot. They had luck with several different species, amongst them Bullfinches (Lille Dompap), Long-tailed Tits (Nordlig Halemejse) and a Reedbunting (Rørspurv). (For all species ringed see the list below.)

After we all met again at the station, had lunch and some much needed rest, the first half of the afternoon was spent with indoor activities like data entry, working on presentations, cleaning, etc.  Later, Alvin and János went out again to count resting seabirds for the NOVANA programme. Unfortunately for them, the fog came up again and they had to stop early. In the evening, Dylan and János biked into town for shopping and discovered a flock of Waxwings (Silkehale) right in front of the supermarket. Meanwhile I was out at Kabeltromlen again to start cutting trees for a new net lane.

Let's cut some trees!

It went very well, and just at sunset, the ten-meter-long clearing had taken its shape. Hopefully we will be able to set up the new net tomorrow.

Today was the first day of standardized ringing for the spring season, and it started with a beautiful and very colorful sunrise. Alvin, Julian and I went to open the nets up which were all frosty as well as the water slightly frozen, and met with Simon at the ringing site after. The weather was very calm and the birds woke up calmly and started being more active little by little. 

Sunrise while we opened the nets in the morning

Soon after the first round was completed on our side, Dylan and János who were out for the standardized migration counting and additional Snow bunting (Snespurv) and Twites (Bjergirisk) catching let us know they caught a few birds as well! Alvin went to pick them up and we had the pleasure of ringing 2 Snow buntings (Snespruv), 1 Twite (Bjergirisk) and 1 Yellowhammer (Gulspurv) caught by them.

Snow bunting (Snespurv) female caught today

Snow bunting (Snespurv) male caught today

Twite (Bjergirisk) male caught today

Throughout the morning, we fixed up some nets that had been mounted wrong or needed tightening. For all of us it was so good to be back at ringing, refreshing our memory and eyes for aging and sexing, and finding our efficient and careful handling hands again.

The birds came in at a fairly steady pace, with a total of 65 birds ringed during the standard 5 hours. I personally really liked this amount of birds and this diversity of species, because it is enough birds to be feeling a little busy and engaged, but not too many that it can become overwhelming and stressful. We were lucky to have time to study some of them who where difficult to age for example, and to take some nice pictures of certain individuals.

The first bird extracted from the nets for the season was a Robin (Rødhals), and the first ringed bird of the season a Chiffchaff (Gransanger)!

First bird ringed of the season, a Chiffchaff (Gransanger)

Volunteers at work, ringing birds

We eventually took the closing round at 11am and were rewarded by a flock of beautiful Northern Long-tailed Tits (Nordlig halemejse)! A total of 11 individuals, most of them being of the Northern subspecies. 

One of the Northern Long-tailed Tits (Nordlig halemejse) ringed today

By that time the migration team had finished their counting and joined us at the end to participate with the Long-tailed tits (Halemejse), which Dylan was particularly happy about as he was interested in seeing the Northern subspecies which is rare in his home area.

We took this opportunity to take a group picture of all the spring team together which is now complete! Thank you Simon for being the photographer here!

The spring team! From left to right: Julian, Dylan, János, Alvin, Alix

Migration-wise, the morning was pretty calm and quiet, but with some close fly-bys of Northern Lapwings (Vibe) and the first Bramblings (Kvækerfinke) and Chaffinches (Bogfinke) migrating for the season. The highlight of the migration morning was the discovery of a young Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge) by János which was resting and flying around our migration counting spot. This species was a new lifer for him, well done János! 

Glaucous gull (Gråmåge) in its 2nd calendar year

After a beautiful morning, we enjoyed some lunch together and the tiramisu Alvin and I made the day before.

We all look forward to more incredible days like these here, life is good. 

 

 

 

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

 

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

With an extra, well-needed, hour of sleep compared to yesterday, due to the unfavorable Snowbunting (Snespurv) catching conditions, we carried out the morning migration count as usual. Despite the limited visibility, the migration was fairly decent. Highlights included eleven Oystercatchers (strandskade), a cute seal resting on the beach and three Red Kites (Rød Glente) that showed themselves beautifully in front of us, even landing on the beach.

Harbour seal (spættet sæl) at Grenen

Red Kite (Rød Glente) at Grenen

The count was interrupted when the fog rolled in just before 9 am and we decided to head back to the lighthouse since we couldn't see the sea anyway. 

After lunch, the fog and clouds cleared and the afternoon turned out sunny and pleasant. Dylan went out to check for Little Grebes (Lille Lappedykker) without success but found two Firecrests (Rødtoppet Fuglekonge) by Ellekrattet instead, He excitedly pulled out his camera to take some photos, only to realize he had no batteries with him.  

Julian kindly brought additional equipment out to Kabeltrommeln, including tools and more poles, in preparation for tomorrow's first standardized day of ringing, which we are all very excited about. After putting up all the nets yesterday, we are already starting to feel at home in the swamp. 

János went to Flagbakken to look for some raptors and saw a Peregrine Falcon (Vandrefalken). He also went to the sea and the harbor in Skagen to do some more birding and found a Red-necked Grebe (Gråstrubet Lappedykker). 

Me and Alix made a tiramisu to rest in the fridge until it's ready, although some sugar-hungry volunteers have already made plans to eat it before it's properly set. Later we went into town for some second-hand shopping, visited the bakery and enjoyed the sun. 

In the evening, we also made some great pizza.

Evening Pizza

Ringing (Nordstjernevej)
Musvit (Great Tit) - 6
Blåmejse (Blue Tit) - 25
Rødhals (European Robin) - 1
Solsort (Blackbird) - 1
Træløber (Eurasian Treecreeper) - 1

Total: 34

Highlights of today:
Firecrest (Rødtoppet Fuglekonge) - 2
Peregrine Falcon (Vandrefalken) - 1
Red-necked Grebe (Gråstrubet Lappedykker) - 1

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

Summary of todays raptor migration on DOFbasen

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

We all got up again at 04:30 to try and some more Snow Buntings (Snespurv) and maybe some Twite (Bjergirisk). Unfortunately it was very windy which meant all the birds could see the net we had set up. So they were able to avoid it everytime they flew in to feed on the seeds we had put out. 

After we closed the nets János, Alvin and I did the morning migration count. There were lots of birds moving including a 15000 Wood Pigeons (Ringdue) which is surprisingly high, 3000 Jackdaws (Allike) and 2000 Chaffinches (Bogfinke). Because of this windy weather a lot of the birds we saw turned around at Grenen rather than heading out to sea towards Sweden. One of the rare species we saw during the migration count was a female Pied Wagtail (Sortrygget Vipstjert) which has come here all the way from the United Kingdom.

Wood Pigeons (Ringdue) and Stock Doves (Huldue) migrating

During our migration count Alix and Julian went to continue putting up the nets at our ringing site. They made very good progress throughout the morning which matched the effort they put into this task. They aslo enjoyed a few nice species throughout including the first booming Bittern (Rørdrum) of the year and this Moor Frog (Spidssnudet Frø) which will be beginning to breed soon. After some lunch Alvin and I went to join Alix and Julian to finish the nets. It felt really great to finish here and we all look forward to some amazing spring ringing. 

Alix putting up a mist net

Moor Frog (Spidssnudet Frø)

After we had finished the nets we came back to the lighthouse where János was making his famous hot chocolate which we all enjoyed very much. For dinner we ate a really nice and warming soup that Julian made for us. Perfect as we were all still pretty cold from being outside all day. Tomorrow looks like it might have some sun in it which will hopefully mean we see lots of migrating birds. We will let you know how it goes!

Highlights of today: 

15000 Wood Pigeons (Ringdue)

1 Pied Wagtail (Sortrygget Vipstjert)

70 Snow Buntings (Snespurv)

Highlights of the ringing at Nordstjernevej:

Dunnock (Jernspurv) - 2 

Great Tit (Musvit) - 2

Blue Tit (Blåmejse) - 1

Chaffinch (Bogfinke) - 1

total: 6

Highlights from ringing at Lighthouse Garden:

Blackbird (Solstort) - 1

total: 1

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

Summary of todays raptor migration on DOFbasen

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

The day started early at 4:30. After a small breakfast, we packed the ringing equipment and exited, and full of expectations, we walked to Grenen. Two things made the day special. First, it was Dylan's first day at the station, and second, we had decided to try and catch the resting Snowbuntings (Snespurv) at Grenen.

 

Morning walk to Grenen

We had planned this for a long time and had started to feed them with seeds on the beach a week ago. When we arrived, we set up the nets, put some more seeds out, and went a few dunes further away, where we could watch them from a distance. The conditions were nearly perfect well before sunrise, with thick fog limiting the view and hiding the net. It didn't take long until the first Snowbuntings (Snespurv) came to the feeding spot, and a few bird ended up in the net. We managed to ring four birds, two females and two males. All 2nd CY birds. It was a new species to ring for all of us, and they were so cute! What a nice first day for Dylan!

 

Snowbunting (Snespurv), 2CY male

 

Snowbunting (Snespurv) ringing

Since the view was very bad, we decided to go back to the lighthouse. But when on the way back the tiniest bit of blue sky showed, I decided to head back and start counting. The fog didn't really go away, but there were a few moments of decent counting conditions, and a Black-throated Diver (Sortstrubet Lom) and 33 Common Buzzards (Musvåge) were all nice. After some time, Dylan also joined me, and we counted until the end of the standard time.

We had some lunch and a short nap before we went to Kabeltrommeln with Simon to start setting up the nets. It was a lot of work, and there is still much to do before the start of the standardized ringing on Friday.

 

Alix and Julian with the new ringing tent

 

When we came back, Alix and Alvin made use of Simon's car and bought enough food until the end of the week. For dinner we had tortillas made by Alix.

Highlights of today: 

1 Black-throated Divers (Sortstrubet Lom)

54 Snowbuntings (Snespurv)

 

Highlights of the ringing:

4 Snowbuntings (Snespurv)

total: 4

 

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

Summary of todays raptor migration on DOFbasen

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

A rainy and stormy morning kept us from going out for migration count today. Only János, brave and unflinching as he is, packed his things and left to face the elements. It was only after a few meters that he had to realize the winds and the rain blowing directly in his face were just too strong, and so he returned without having counted a single bird. That way the first half of the day took place indoors and resulted in a finally fixed ringing tent, a lot of ringing sheets entered and checked together with Simon who came over, recorded sound data being assessed, as well as some fresh bird drawings.

As the weather cleared up towards the afternoon, Alix, Alvin and I decided to transport the required metal poles to Kabeltromlen in order to set up the mist nets there over the course of the next days, so we’ll be able to start the ringing season, which we all are very excited for, while János stayed inside to finish his computer work. Because of the large number of poles needed (84 to be precise), we had to think of a clever way to move them all the way from the lighthouse to the ringing site. Thus, we started engineering and came up with a crafty and bizarre-looking vehicle consisting of two bikes and two bags strung between them carrying the poles. Surprisingly this improvised device functioned very well, and Alvin and I were able to push it quite comfortably the whole way without it falling apart. We stored our cargo at Kabeltromlen and biked back, happy that everything worked out even better than expected. After this fulfilled mission, we had some great banana bread Alvin and Alix had prepared earlier.

A creative solution to transport the poles.

Everything safely arrived at its destination.

This evening, the fifth volunteer, Dylan from Scotland, will arrive. We’re looking forward to welcoming him! Tomorrow morning we want to try catching the Snow Buntings (Snespurv) at Grenen by alluring them with the seeds we’ve already put out. Wish us luck!

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

Summary of todays raptor migration on DOFbasen

This morning’s weather was promising, with a medium cloud coverage and low wind, so our hopes were up for a beautiful migration morning out at Grenen. Unfortunately, despite the supposedly great conditions, the whole morning was really slow migration wise, both for passerines, sea birds as well as raptors. 

As we mentioned in a couple of previous blog entries, we have been keeping an eye on a flock of Snow Buntings (Snespurv) and have been bringing them some seeds out at Grenen, and today they showed up in big numbers! We counted a flock of 31 birds, with a little group of 7 birds migrating towards the South West direction. 

Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be relatively bad, so we decided to postpone our first catching test for the little Snow buntings (Snespurv), and will try in the coming days when the weather permits a safe catching session. 

Litte flock of Snow Buntings (Snespurv) eating seeds

After a little lunch and relaxation, some of us went food shopping and some others on a nice walk around the lighthouse since the sun decided to show. Julian made pancakes which everybody really enjoyed!

View of Grenen on afternoon walk 

Highlights of today: 

2 black throated divers (Sortstrubet Lom)

1 black guillemot (Tejst)

31 snow buntings (Snespurv)

 

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

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

The morning migration count was good, with calm winds and several exciting species, such as Puffin (Lunde), Fulmar (Mallemuk) and Red Knot (Islandsk Ryle), among others. We also put out some more food for the Snowbuntings (Snespurv) at Grenen to encourage them to gather in one area. We are still hoping to catch them some day, and things are looking promising with two Snowbuntings (Snespurv) actually feeding on the seeds today.

In the afternoon we carried out a beach walk from Gammel Skagen to Det Grå Fyr with the aim of finding and collecting dead birds for the SUPRE project. Last time we completed this route, it took us three hours and thirty minutes, but today’s walk took us five hours and thirty minutes. Because of yesterday’s strong winds and rain, many dead birds have washed up on shore, which slowed our progress. By the time we got back to the lighthouse, the sun had already set and it was dark outside.

János, Alix and Julian walking

During the walk we encountered many Woodcocks (Skovsneppe), blackbirds (Solsort), gulls (Måger) and several auks (alkefugl). Although it was quite sad to see many dead birds, we took the opportunity to study the feathers of birds that you normally don't see up close, such as gulls and auks. In that sense, it turned into a valuable learning experience for us all.

Julian, János and Alvin identifying a wing

Highlights from the observations:

Puffin (Lunde) - 1

Great Egret (Sølvhejre) - 2

Red-necked Grebe (Gråstrubet Lappedykker) - 1

Fulmar (Mallemuk) - 1 

Red Knot (Islandsk Ryle) - 1 

Caspian Gull (kaspisk Måge) - 9

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

Summary of todays raptor migration on DOFbasen

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

The morning was windy and rainy, but nevertheless Alvin and I biked to Nordstrand to do the migration count. It was raining throughout, and at the end of the four-hour count we were completely soaked. But today proved again that it is always worth going out and that constant effort and time spent observing pays off with some good observations at some point. In this case we were rewarded with many large flocks of Red-throated Divers (Rødstrubet Lom) and an early Sandwich Tern (Splitterne).

János braving the rain

After the end of the count, we biked back to the lighthouse, put our clothes to dry, and had some nice hot chocolate and the leftover cake from yesterday. Later Simon came over, and we entered some ringing sheets and the observations of the morning. Alix also started fixing the ringing tent, and Julian drew a very beautiful Eider (Ederfugl) painting.

In the afternoon the weather had gotten much better, and so I and Julian went out to Grenen, and Alix and Alvin went for a walk. At Grenen I went to the tip to photograph the Gannets (Sule) flying low through the waves.

Gannets (Sule) at Grenen

A short seawatch produced a Little Gull (Dværgmåge) before we went back to the lighthouse, walking into a colorful sunset.

Lighthouse in the evening sun

Highlights from the observations: 

Little Gull (Dværgmåge) - 1

Sandwich Tern (Splitterne) - 1

Kaspisk Måge - 1

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 Johansson, Julian Helbig, Simon S. Christiansen

 

It’s János’ birthday today, and, appropriate for this occasion, we had pretty nice weather in the morning already, with a much clearer view compared to the past days, the sun and clouds taking turns and cold winds blowing from the north.

Grenen this morning.

At Grenen during the migration count, we were able to observe quite a decent amount of birds with especially high numbers of Whooper Swans (Sangsvane) and Common Buzzards (Musvåge).

In general, we could follow our daily routine without any unexpected interruptions, only once we were surprised by a Woodcock (Skovsneppe) landing right next to us in the dunes, and, after a brief moment, flying back to where it came from. Maybe it just wanted to congratulate János for his birthday, who knows…

After four hours of counting and sitting rather exposed to the winds, we were content with our work and at the same time happy to go back to the station and warm up again over some hot chocolate.

The afternoon was predominated by indoor activities such as baking several birthday cakes, drawing, testing a ringing tent and entering data.

After dinner, Simon and Lisa picked up Alvin, Alix and me for night catching, which ended up successfully: Alvin managed to catch a Woodcock (Skovsneppe), that János then ringed at the station. To celebrate, we all went up to the kitchen to enjoy the delicious and pretty cake Alix prepared, with 20 little paper birds on top. What a way to end this day!

Woodcock (Skovsneppe)

János with his birthday cake

 

Ringing (Nordstjernevej)

Dompap - 3

Jernspurv - 2

Blåmejse - 33

Bogfinke - 5

Grønirisk - 4

Musvit - 3

Total: 50

 

Highlights from the observations: 

Whooper Swans (Sangsvane) - 817

Common Buzzards (Musvåge) - 247

Grey Plover (Strandhjejle) - 1

Black Guillemot (Tejst) - 1

Lesser Black-backed Gull (Sildemåge) - 1

 

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 Johansson, Julian Helbig, Simon S. Christiansen, Lisa Vergin, Michael Ancher