Hello everyone,
My name is Hannah, and I'm visiting my friend Julian at the Fuglestation in Skagen. I arrived on Tuesday, and since then I've been entering the world of birding. So, I'm still a beginner!

As you know from the previous blog post, we tried catching terns (Terne) during the night at the place where the North Sea and the Baltic Sea meet. We set up two nets over a small pond about 10 meters from the sea to be safe. Otherwise, the nets could have ended up in the water because of the waves and the movement of the sand. Afterwards, we returned to our base camp in the dunes and got some sleep. Every 30 minutes, someone checked the nets. Unfortunately, we didn't catch any birds at all. That was disappointing, but it was still worth the attempt.

At 3:00 in the morning, János left for Kabeltromlen to prepare the standardized ringing session, allowing the rest of us to sleep a little longer. He opened all the nets and completed the first round by himself.

One hour later, 400 meters further north, Alvin, Julian, and I closed the nets on the beach. We hadn't caught a single bird, and the wind had become too strong. We had to end the session to avoid any risk of birds being harmed in the shaking nets.

After taking down the nets, Julian and I joined János. Alvin stayed behind for migration counting. Normally, you might call someone a workaholic if they sleep at their workplace. For a birdwatcher, however, it's one of the best things in the world!

Apart from a Manx Shearwater (Almindelig Skråpe) and a Fulmar (Mallemuk), the migration count was rather slow because of the strong wind.

The situation wasn't much different 400 meters inland. In total, we caught nine birds plus one recapture. Three of them were Chiffchaffs (Gransanger), two Reed Warblers (Rørsanger), one Marsh Warbler (Kærsanger), one lesser whitethroat (Gærdesanger), one Common Redstart (Rødstjert), and one Blackcap (Munk).

Inbetween rounds, János heard a Golden Oriole (Pirol) and informed the birdwatching community via Zello. Three birders came by shortly afterwards in the hope of seeing it.

I'm really enjoying bird ringing. Walking between beautiful bushes and reed beds, carefully extracting birds from the nets and then analyzing them is a fascinating experience. I'm impressed by the knowledge and enthusiasm of everyone here.

Back at the station, a woman from Aarhus university arrived to collect some dead birds that the Fuglestation had gathered over the past months. She will examine the plastic found inside them as part of a large research project.

A few minutes later, Agnes from Sweden arrived. Welcome, dear Agnes! She will be staying with us as a volunteer for the next month.

After lunch, I showed her the cormorant lake. During the afternoon, everyone spent their time differently: taking naps, going for bird walks, working on their computers, or simply relaxing.

We enjoyed a delicious dinner cooked by János and finished the day with our usual evening meeting. Since it was Sunday, we also planned the upcoming week together on the whiteboard.

People: Alvin Johansson, János Schadl, Julian Helbig, Mathilde Sund, Hannah Bangard, Lars Bo, Knud Pedersen

We had south winds overnight. This brought in a fishy smell from the harbour, but also a good amount of birds to Kabeltromlen. We ringed many Reed and Marsh Warblers (Rørsanger and Kærsanger) and a couple of Sylvias, but the highlight was an totaly unexpected Red-breasted Flycatcher (Lille Fluesnapper). It even had a broodpatch, which was very fun to see, although we dont think it is a breedingbird.

Lille Fluesnapper with broodpatch

I was on migration count this morning, and after two hours of litteraly no mouvments I desided to quit and went over to the ringing. Just in time for the Flycatcher. I stayed there for an hour, befor I needed to go back and meet with Diana. She is a Post dock from Aarhus University and together we went to Skarvsöen to check the Cormorant (Skarv) colonie on plastic and fishing nets used as material for the nests. It was a nice walk and we had a long talk about birdringing and her job as a Seabird biologist and she took some pictures of the nests for her research.

After Alvin did some birding at WE2, he went on a much needed shopping trip and Julian and Hannah went for a walk to Storsig and Batteriskoven and afterwards for a swim. Next to different indoor tasks, I also analyzed data from my recorder at Grenen and found a Stone Curlew (Triel) calling shortly after midnight on the 5th of June. A great record for Skagen!

Nocturnal migrating Stone Curlew (Triel) over Grenen

The highlight of the day however, was the dinner! Alvin made halloumi burger – so good!

Crazy halloumi burgers

We had big plans for the night. As the wind was down, we thought it might be a good idea to try and catch terns at the tip. We prepared everything and biked out to Grenen. The nets were placed over a small pound that had formed close to the tip, and we made our camp on WE3, where we usually do the migration count.

Net settup at Grenen

We brought some blankets, drinks and a couple of candles, so everything was set for a cozy night outside. Even though we ended up not catching anything, it was still a nice trip and fun to spend a whole night at Grenen.

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

Summary of today's raptor migration in DOFbasen

People: Alvin Johansson, János Schadl, Julian Helbig, Hannah Bangard, Alix Bortolussi, Anna and Jesper Sandfeld, Agnes

And again we had success with the Nightjars (Natravn)! First, after setting up the four nets, we observed their spectacular flights and song all throughout the area, there were many around. Hidden in the sandy ground, I also found an Antlion (Myreløve), an odd-looking lacewing larva that digs little traps in the ground for ants and other small insects to get caught in.

Nightjar (Natravn) in flight.

Antlion (Myreløve)

Around midnight, Alvin, János and Hannah went back to the car, and I was the only one left outside to check the nets every twenty minutes. In between the rounds, I sat down on a small hill, listened to the Nightjars (Natravn), Woodcocks (Skovsneppe) and Quails (Vagtel), and sometimes also just napped for a few minutes. At 01:40 I had the first Nightjar (Natravn) in one of the nets, by then, I had almost started giving up hope. I called the other to wake them up and headed to the car. On the way however, I saw another Nightjar (Natravn) flying around the second double net, seemingly interested in the sounds we put up on the speakers. I stopped by to see what would happen, and eventually watched the bird fly into the net. When I got to the car, I could surprise the others with this nice double catch. What a great reward for us enduring the sleepless nights and all the biting mosquitoes – now everything was absolutely worth it!

Double Nightjar (Natravn), both 3K+ males.

After ringing the Nightjars (Natravn), we all went out again to take down the nets and pack our stuff. It was 03:00, when Lars Bo drove us home. Today’s ringing team consisting of János and Alvin had to head straight out again to open nets in time, Hannah and I had a few more minutes, since we could leave a bit later for the migration count, enough for a little breakfast. It was tough though out there at World’s End 3, only very few birds, apart from some flocks of Common and Velvet Scoters (Sortand og Fløjlsand), and I had quite a hard time staying awake. I did enjoy close views on two resting Black-throated Divers though.

Black-throated Divers (Sortstrubet Lom).

Hannah left after about half an hour, and went to the ringing at Kabeltromlen. There, they had better luck and way more birds than I, almost forty were ringed overall. The prettiest and most special of them was for sure the second calendar year Red Crossbill (Lille Korsnæb). János called me and I immediately went to see it, Mathilde also arrived just in time. The gorgeous red, green, and grey plumage, and its unique crossed beak make it such a fantastic bird.

Red Crossbill (Lille Korsnæb) ringed at Kabeltromlen.

This was basically where our day ended, because in the afternoon back at the station, we used most of the time to catch up on a lot of sleep that we lacked the past days and nights. Only Hannah went out for a walk in the rain.

People: Alvin Johansson, János Schadl, Julian Helbig, Mathilde Sund, Hannah Bangard, Lars Bo

After coming back from nightjar (Natravn) ringing, we had 5 minutes before going out to set up nets for the morning ringing at Kabeltromlen. Today was the last morning for Dylan and Olga and they ringed their last birds for this season.

Dylans last bird, Ictarine Warbler (Gulbug)

Olgas last bird, Garden Warbler (Havesanger)

The migration count was slow but luckily there was some gulls to look at, resting on the beach.

The rest of the day was spent sleeping for most of us, except for Dylan and Olga who left the station.

In the evening we went to Skagen Kiltplantage again to do some more nightjar ringing. Check out tomorrow's blog to see how it went ;)

Highlights from the observations:
Caspian Gull (Kaspisk Måge) - 1

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)
Kærsanger - 1
Rørsanger - 5
Gulbug - 1
Tornsanger - 1
Havesanger - 2
Munk - 10
Dompap - 2

Ringing (Skagen Kiltplantage)
Natravn - 1
Total: 1

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

Summary of today's raptor migration in DOFbasen

People: Alvin Johansson, János Schadl, Julian Helbig, Dylan Daunt, Olga Fernández Enríquez, Mathilde Sund, Hannah Bangard, Lars Bo, Knud Pedersen

This morning most of the team was at the ringing. It was a steady session with mainly Blackcaps (Munk) but a couple nicer species like Marsh Warbler (Kærsanger) and Icterine Warbler (Gulbug). One of the last birds of the morning though was this female Red-backed Shrike (Rødrygget Tornskade). This is the fifth Red-backed Shrike (Rødrygget Tornskade) that we have caught here this spring which is higher than the previous spring totals of this species. My favourite bird of the day a leucistic Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger). We have seen this same bird hanging around the nets since late April, so it was nice to see it up close one last time. The spring, however, has not yielded a Danish rarity yet so the whole team has their fingers crossed that one makes its way into the nets soon.

Female Red-backed Shrike (Rødrygget Tornskade)

Skagen's famous leucistic Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger)!

János was the only one on the migration count this morning. He had an enjoyable morning with quite a few Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove) and some gulls to look at in detail on the beach. Though the best thing of the morning was a massive flock of over 2500 Velvet Scoters (Fløjlsand)! Almost double the previous day record in Skagen. Unfortunately, they were a bit far out to look for rarer species, but it was still an amazing sight.

After a quick lunch I went on a walk around a few sites like Skarvsøen and Ellekrattet to look for some later spring scarcities. Species in mind were Great Reed Warbler (Drosselrørsanger) and Blyth’s Reed Warbler (Buskrørsanger) as neither had been found in the field yet the spring. However, to my surprise, I was able to find a Bonelli’s Warbler (Bjergløvsanger/Balkanløvsanger)! I managed to get a nice twenty second view of it allowing me to see all the important features. The bird did not call for me though, meaning I could not be certain whether it was an Eastern Bonelli’s (Balkanløvsanger) or Western Bonelli’s Warbler (Bjergløvsanger). I didn’t mind though. As it is still a very nice bird to see in Denmark. The others came out to try and re find it with me, but we had no luck. Maybe it turns up somewhere else in the coming days.

In the late afternoon Alvin also caught a Black Redstart (Husrødstjert) in the lighthouse garden. This is the first nice bird that the net in the garden has caught this spring, so we were all pleased. Plus, it is only our second Black Redstart (Husrødstjert) caught this spring.

Young Black Redstart (Husrødstjert)

Because the wind was low, we decided to go out and try catch some Nightjars (Natravn) over the night. We went a bit South of Skagen to the plantation and set up nets for 11pm and left them out with playback for three hours. We were super happy to find one young male Nightjar in the nets. It is a species we all really wanted to catch because of their amazing cryptic plumage and other very strange features (like combs on their claws!). We were absolutely mind blown by how amazing this bird was, and we hope to catch more in the coming nights. Nightjar (Natravn) catching does require to stay up ll night which can be very tiring! Each year the station tries to catch Nightjars (Natravn) in Skagen which sometimes means that we get some really nice recaptures. At the same site we also heard a few roding Woodcock (Skovsneppe) which was also nice as we haven’t really seen them since late March. My last day here in Skagen has been absolutely brilliant and I don't think I could've asked for a better ending.

Young male Nightjar (Natravn)!

Today was in fact my last full day in Skagen as I leave tomorrow morning to head back to Scotland. I have had the most amazing time here and have learnt so much. Not only have I gained some very valuable skills, I have also met some amazing people that I have been able to get super close to. So, this goodbye is harder than I imagined it would be. I am sure we will all meet up in the coming years again. I also want to thank all the local birders from Skagen who have passed on all their skills to me across the spring. The scene here is very special and I am sure I will be visiting here again soon! I hope you all have an amazing rest of the spring filled with lovely birds.

Today I had the pleasure of sleeping about thirty minutes longer than usual, since I have been lacking a lot of sleep the days before. I joined Alvin and Olga at Kabeltromlen from the second round on, whilst János was out counting at World’s End 3, and Dylan slept in to say goodbye to his family later, who took the plane back to Scotland today. For the ringing, the conditions were almost perfect, with overcast and almost no wind at least in the beginning, but still we didn’t catch as many birds, ten in total. One of them however was a species we haven’t caught yet this spring: An adult female Black Redstart (Husrødstjert). Dylan immediately came to see it after we called him, it was a new species for him to see in hand, since they are rather rare in Scotland.

Adult female Black Redstart (Husrødstjert).

Beautiful red tail feathers.

On his way to the observations, János flushed a Lapwing (Vibe) that was resting on the Sandormtracks. During the count, he also had a Mediterranean Gull (Sorthovedet Mage), five Caspian Gulls (Kaspisk Måge) and a Little Gull (Dværgmåge) resting on the beach. Among the many Fulmars (Mallemuk) out at sea today, he picked out two of the darker (“blue”) morph. Knud joined him a bit later. The biggest highlight came after the count though, when a Long-legged Buzzard (Ørnevåge) was called out approaching Grenen. Our observers had very nice views of the bird as it went straight overhead on a migration attempt and then turned south again. We at the ringing just were on closing round and for some reason didn’t receive the Zello messages. Because of that, we got the information a bit too late to see the Buzzard on its first attempt. But luckily for us, the Long-legged Buzzard (Ørnevåge) came up north again and this time we did manage to see it, just like Dylan who saw it from around the lighthouse. It was a lifer both for Dylan and for Alvin. Within the following hours, the buzzard was seen again and again many times.

Long-legged Buzzard (Ørnevåge)!

Back at the station, Alvin opened the net in the lighthouse garden mainly because we saw the Swallows (Landsvale & Bysvale) flying very low today. We didn’t get one of these unfortunately, but Alvin had a recaptured male Great Tit (Musvit) and realised that the female it’s breeding with in one of the nest boxes was ringed with the very next subsequent ring number on the same day some time ago. It seems like they have been sticking to each other for a while now :)
After some of the station work and much needed napping, we all went out to town to meet Simon at the ice cream shop. He lost a bet the other day when he promised us that there would come a rare raptor, and if there wouldn’t, he’d get us all an ice cream – so here we are, happy that the Long-legged Buzzard (Ørnevåge) turned up today and not before. So we got the ice cream and went to the harbour to enjoy it there. After that, we went to a nice little restaurant, where we had fries, and beer, and nice chats, while the rain pelted on the roof to make it even more cozy. In the end, Simon said goodbye to Olga and Dylan; he’ll go to Iceland with Lisa tomorrow morning to do some field work there, and won’t be here when the two of them leave. After having had so much food in the evening, we didn’t feel like any dinner was needed, so we just went to the supermarket to buy some stuff we need and then headed back to the station. We were all a bit surprised when we realised how late it was already. János spent the rest of the evening re-counting birds in pictures he took during his time in Georgia; he just sat in a chair for a long time clicking black dots on his computer screen. It was very tiring for him, but definitely with it, because the precise numbers were even higher than his previous estimate.

People: Alvin Johansson, János Schadl, Julian Helbig, Dylan Daunt, Olga Fernández Enríquez, Simon S. Christiansen, Knud Pedersen

Yesterday evening, we thought of trying to catch some birds like barn swallows (Landsvale) and quails (Vagtel). However, it looked that we were not going to be very successful, so most of us came back to sleep. On the contrary. Alvin was more persistent and decided to stay awake the whole night to try night catching. He could hear a spotted crake (Plettet Rørvagtel) singing the whole night, so decided to give it a try. He walked very slowly, closer and closer, but when there were just five meters left between them, it stopped to sing. He thought it was gone, but then it started to sing again. He turned the light on and approached very slowly. It was moving to the weeds and then he moved very quickly to catch it in the net. It took him a while to believe what had just happened, that he had just caught a spotted crake!

He took it to the lab and woke us up. We all were so excited to see the bird, it was just gorgeous.

The beautiful Spotted Crake that we ringed tonight

After ringing, photolabing and just enjoying the beautiful bird, Alvin and Julian released it. They also saw two quails and for a moment, they thought of trying to catch them, but they were far away, so they decided to close the nets and come back home. Trying to sleep was no longer worth it, so instead, they celebrated the catching with a big coffee, some biscuits and a big smile. Soon, it was time to open the nets. Alvin, János, Dylan and I joined the ringing today. It was a very nice day, with quite a lot of birds, especially Black caps (Munk) and Marsh Warblers (Kærsanger). We also caught a Sedge Warbler (Sivsanger). Besides, we could also see a Sooty Shearwater (Sodfarvet skråpe) and some orcas (Spækhugger) from Kabeltromlen.

Dylan’s family left Skagen today and went back home, and so did Kirsten and Alfred. On the other hand, a new intern arrived. Her name is Mathilde, she is from Skagen and started to be interested in ringing since she visited the station with her school some time ago. Welcome!

Meanwhile, Julian was at the migration count. The first hours he was alone, and then Knud joined him. The also saw the orcas, which were one male and two females, and the shearwater, in addition to several Arctic skuas (Almindelig Kjove), two-second-calendar-year terns (Terne), a Mediterranean gull (Sorthovedet Måge) and many velvet scouters (Fløjlsand).

Sooty Shearwater

After the ringing and the counting, Julian went with Alfred to Grenen and saw some Mediterranean gulls, a Kittiwake (Ride) and could ring some rings from the birds.

In the afternoon, Simon appeared with a pigeon (Due) on his hands. Julian and him brought it to Knud’s home as he has a place for pigeons and one of his was missing. They left the pigeon home, where it could eat.

The pigeon back home

Total: 39

Ringing (Det Grå Fyr):
Plettet Rørvagtel - 1

Total: 1

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

Summary of today's raptor migration in DOFbasen

People: Alvin Johansson, János Schadl, Julian Helbig, Dylan Daunt, Olga Fernández Enríquez, Simon S. Christiansen, Alfred Godsk Geckler, Kirsten Bregn, Lisa Vergin, Knud, Mathilde

Yesterday evening's Nightjar tour had eight Nightjars (Natravn) in the plantation, and they also heard a Spotted Crake (Plettet Rørvagt). In addition, us from the station also heard a Spotted Crake (Plettet Rørvagt) singing from the lighthouse.

The Spotted Crake (Plettet Rørvagt) was still singing during the first ringing round this morning. Ringing at Kabeltromlen was busy today, with many visitors present. Dylan's family came to visit, and his siblings joined us for the ringing rounds. It was great to have them there and they were lovely company and very enthusiastic.

Ringing at Kabeltromlen

We also caught a Northern Bullfinch (Stor Dompap), which is quite unusual for this time of year in Denmark. In addition, we heard a singing Common Rosefinch (Karmindompap), which is always a pleasure.

There was some raptor movement today as well, so Julian and Alfred went to Saftvandsbakken, where they found a 2K male Montagu's Harrier (Hedehøg).

2K Male Montagu's Harrier (Hedehøg)

During the morning observations, János and Olga had a good session at "World's End 3", where many gulls were resting close at the beach. Among them were six Caspian Gulls (Kaspisk Måge).

In the afternoon, Simon, Lisa and Jørgen Kabel went out looking for butterflies.

In the evening we set up a net to try and catch Barnswallows (Landsvale) around Ellekrattet. Although there were a few around none of them flew into the net.

We also set up a low net to try and catch Common Quail (Vagtel). We heard a few singing but none of them came close to the net either.

Highlights from the observations:
Caspian Gull (Kaspisk Måge) - 6
Spotted Crake (Plettet Rørvagt) - 1
Common Quail (Vagtel) - 2

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)
Gærdesanger - 2
Kærsanger - 9
Gulbug - 4
Rørsanger - 2
Munk - 7
Dompap, Stor - 1
Gransanger - 2
Total: 27

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

Summary of today's raptor migration in DOFbasen

People: Alvin Johansson, János Schadl, Julian Helbig, Dylan Daunt, Olga Fernández Enríquez, Simon S. Christiansen, Alfred Godsk Geckler, Kirsten Bregn, Lisa Vergin, Jørgen Kabel

We had two ringing teams this morning. Dylan and I went to Skarvsøen for the CES ringing, and the rest of the team (Alvin, Olga, Julian and Kirsten) did the standardized ringing at Kabeltromlen. This was only possible because Jørgen Hulbek took over the migration count for us, so thanks again!

When we biked out to Skarvsøen, I decided to bike all the way to the ringing site. This worked quite well since I had the mountain bike, and it meant that i arrived about 10 minutes earlier than Dylan. Apparently just in time to hear a few calls of a Spotted Crake (Plettet Rørvagtel) from the reedbeds of the lake. The same bird was also heard by Alvin earlier in the morning from Kabeltromlen.

Singing Spotted Crake (Plettet Rørvagtel)

The ringing was rather calm at both sites, but we caught many Reed Warblers (Rørsanger) and a Sedge Warbler (Sivsanger) was one of the nicer birds at Skarvsöen. Simon also came over for a few hours, and he later walked to Grenen. Our highlight was probably the very cute Red-necked Grebe chicks, and also the Mute Swans (Knobsvane) had a successful breeding season.

Ringing at Skarvsøen

Red-necked Grebes with chicks

At Grenen, Alvin spotted a Great-northern Diver (Islom) and a Golden Oriol (Pirol). They also had a Rosefinch (Karmindompap) singing at Kabeltromlen, a Bittern (Rørdrum ) overhead, as well as two Spotted Redshanks (Sortklire) and a very late Bramblin (Kværkerfinke). With only few birds in the nets, Julian had time to look for his much missed favorite stick and managed to find it just a bit down the hill.

Brambling (Kværkerfinke) at Kabeltromlen

After the ringing, Alvin joined Knud and Jørgen who were gulling at WE3. The gull roost was rather close, which allowed them to read over 20 color rings. They also saw the Mediterranean Gulls (Sorthovedet Måge) from yesterday again and two resting Black Terns (Sodfarvet terne )

Mediterranean Gulls (Sorthovedet Måge)

The afternoon was spent entering the data, napping, and going on small walks. In the evening Alfred arrived, who will stay with us for the next two days, and also Dylans family arrived in the late evening.

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):
Gærdesanger - 4
Kærsanger - 2
Rørsanger - 1
Munk - 3
Sangdrossel - 1
Solsort - 1
Total: 12

Ringing (Skarvsøen):
Gransanger - 2
Rørsanger - 9
Kærsanger - 1
Gærdesanger - 1
Sivsanger - 1
Munk - 2
Solsort - 1
Total: 17

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

Summary of today's raptor migration in DOFbasen

People: Alvin Johansson, János Schadl, Julian Helbig, Dylan Daunt, Olga Fernández Enríquez, Simon S. Christiansen, Kirsten Bregn, Alfred Godsk Geckler

This morning Kirsten, Olga, Alvin and I were at the standardised ringing. Given the recent weather conditions, we have hoped to have been catching lots of birds in the recent days. But the last days or so have been a lot quieter around the nets and today it remained that way. When we catch less birds, we do get to have longer looks at each bird we catch which can help us learn a lot more about each individual. I can also imagine how tired we would be if we caught lots of birds every morning!

Julian was taking part in the migration count this morning. The numbers of birds moving was better than expected with higher number of finches than the previous days. The stars of the show today though we the Canada Geese (Canadagås)! Even though they are not native to Europe they still have an impressive migration past Skagen between every late May and early June in Skagen. Today’s count was 687 birds migrating NE out to sea which is double the previous record count! We all wonder where the birds come from, but we have also seen that Canada Geese (Canadagås) have also been migrating in large numbers further South in places like Germany so we can only assume that they come from that direction.

Atmospsheric morning sky

After the ringing the weather remained rather wet for the rest of the day. That didn’t stop Alvin going out though! He had a really nice to around the tip at Grenen. Seeing a second and a third calendar year Mediterranean Gull (Sorthovedet Måge) and a Quail (Vagtel). Most of us then spent the rest of the day completing some indoor tasks and we enjoyed a very delicious meal prepared by Kirsten. In the late afternoon Simon also found a Turtle Dove (Turtledue) in Skagen By whilst driving home so we all hope that it sticks around. Fingers crossed for some good days to come…

Mediterranean Gulls (Sorthovedet Måge), the left and right hand birds in the close group of four

People: Alvin Johansson, János Schadl, Julian Helbig, Dylan Daunt, Olga Fernández Enríquez, Simon S. Christiansen, Kirsten Bregn