The morning looked like it was going to bring a lot of rain, at least according to the weather forecast. So there was some hesitation about whether to head out at all. In the end, János and Dylan biked to Nordstrand. Turns out the rain only lasted for the first hour instead of the entire morning as anticipated. 

The migration was very good, with many birds and a good variety. There were for example, high numbers of Pallid Harriers (Steppehøg) and Black Kites (Sort Glente), a Little Ringed Plover (Lille Præstekrave), a House Martin (Bysvale) and a new spring day record for Kestrel (Tårnfalk). 

During the morning count, 177 Kestrels (Tårnfalk) were seen, followed by an additional 53 birds in the afternoon, bringing the total day count to 230 birds. This surpasses the previous spring record of 223 in 2016 by seven birds. The old record was set in May, when Kestrel (Tårnfalk) migration is typically much stronger, while the previous April day record was 150 birds. 

One of the 230 migrating Kestrels (Tårnfalk) (Photo by Erik Christophersen)

Adult male Pallid Harrier (Steppehøg) (Photo by Erik Christophersen)

In the afternoon, Gustav Juel arrived and will be staying with us for a week. On his way here he photographed an eagle near Uggerby that he initially looked like an adult Golden Eagle (Kongeørn), However, after a closer look at the pictures, the possibility of an Eastern Imperial Eagle (Kejserørn) was raised and finally identified! What a great find by our young intern! In was later also seen and photographed closer by Morten Jenrich Hansen in Måstrup Hede (see pics on DOFbasen). It's the first adult Eastern Imperial Eagle in Denmark since 1990.

Adult Eastern Imperial Eagle at Uggerby. Photo: Gustav Juel.

In the evening a Golden Eagle (Kongeørn) that has been hanging around in the area was seen hunting, and János got some amazing photos in the sunset.

Golden Eagle (Kongeørn) in the sunset

Golden Eagle (Kongeørn) hunting

Highlights of today:
Pallid Harrier (Steppehøg) - 8
Black Kite (Sort Glente) - 8
Kestrel (Tårnfalk) - 230
Garganey (Atlingand) - 2
Curlew (Storspove) - 216
Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove) - 13
Golden Eagle (Kongeørn) - 1
Little Ringed Plover (Lille Præstekrave) - 1
House Martin (Bysvale) - 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, Alix Bortolussi, Julian Helbig, Dylan Daunt, Simon S. Christiansen, Gustav Juel, Knud Pedersen, Hans Christophersen, Jørgen Hulbæk, Christiansen, Erik Christophersen

After a windy day and having to put some activities on stand-by because of the weather yesterday, today we could resume the normal schedule of ringing and migration counting in the mornings. 

The migration was a little slower than yesterday, and the sea was very calm. Some nice species were spotted nonetheless, with the first 3 Common Terns (Fjordterne) and 1 Arctic Tern (Havterne) showing up. Another highlight worth mentioning was the flyby of 7 adult Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove) in dark morph throughout the morning. 

Dunlin (Almindelig ryle) on the beach foraging 

On the side of the raptor migration the species and numbers were also pretty decent, with 3 Rough-legged Buzzards (Fjeldvåge), 2 Merlin (Dværgfalk), 4 Ospreys (Fiskeørn), as well as 3 Black Kites (Sort Glente).

Osprey (Fiskeørn)

By the end of the count, there were around 10-15 birdwatchers at Nordstrand! The season is picking up and the birders are starting to be out more and more, which is so nice to see.

Birders at Nordstrand

On the way back from Nordstrand, János stopped by Jenne sø and joined Michael Anker for a part of his ringing morning, and ringed some Chiffchaffs (Gransanger), Dunnock (Jernspurv), Siskin (Grønsisken), and cute Robins (Rødhals). What a fun morning!

The ringing session was also a little calmer than anticipated for such a peaceful morning, and we ended up with a total of 22 birds, compared to the 96 from two days ago. 

However, in the first round a nice surprise was waiting for us in a net, and Dylan had the chance of discovering it: a Chiffchaff (Gransanger) with a Spanish ring! 

Chiffchaff (Gransanger) recaptured at Grenen with a ring from north Spain

The little bird was ringed in the northern part of Spain, close to the French border. We have reported the recapture and will hopefully soon receive more information about this individual from the people in San Sebastián. 

The rest of the morning was lightly filled with some common visitors such as Robins (Rødhals), Wrens (Gærdesmutte), a Long-Tailed tit (Nordlig Halemejse), and some Dunnocks (Jernspurv) for example, which are always a delight.

In the meantime, we could keep an eye in the sky for passing birds and were excited to spot the first flock of Ring Ouzels (Ringdrossel) for the season! A total of 13 birds flew quite close above us and let us have a beautiful look at their rings :D

Ring Ouzels (Ringdrossel) in flight over the ringing site

We also had a very good view of a resting male Wheatear (Stenpikker), which was the first of the season for us. 

Overall a very nice morning for all of us! 

The afternoon was spent napping, cleaning around the observatory, Alvin and I went grocery shopping in town and he is preparing a very nice meal for all of us as I am writing this! 

Tomorrow, new day, new birds! 

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

People at the station: Alvin Johansson, János Schadl, Alix Bortolussi, Julian Helbig, Dylan Daunt, Simon S. Christiansen, Michael Ancher, Knud Pedersen.

Because of the strong easterly winds, there was no ringing today. I went to Nordstrand for the migration count to meet Knud and later Julian joined us. There was only little passerine migration, and the sea was also mostly calm, but the Raptors made up for it. We counted a total of 34 Hen Harriers (Blå Kærhøg), as well as good numbers of Kestrel (Tårnfalk) and Sparrowhawks (Spurvehøg). A couple of White-tailed Eagles (Havørn) and Ospreys (Fiskeørn) were also nice. It was interesting to see that many Harriers in such a short period, which allowed for a nice comparison between the age classes. We also saw the Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge) again.

White-tailed eagles (Havørn)

The bike ride back was quite exhausting, with 20 m/s wind slowing us down. When we arrived at the lighthouse, we had lunch and checked the moth trap. We didn't find any moths in the trap, which was probably because of the strong wind in the night. Then we eat the pancake cake I had made yesterday.

Pancake cake

In the afternoon Joey needed to leave again. It was nice to have him at the station, and we hope he enjoyed his stay. The others had used the morning to catch up on much-needed sleep and a bit of cleaning.

Later Simon came over to celebrate the Easter Fun Day, which is a tradition of the Observatory. We painted some eggs and had an omelet and beer. The evening ended with more data entry tasks and a delicious dinner by Dylan.

Painted eggs

Highlights from the observations:
Hen Harriers (Blå Kærhøg) - 34
Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge) - 1
Black Kite (Sort Glente) - 3
Merlin (Dværgfalke) - 7
Ospreys (Fiskeørn) - 4

No ringing today 

It was a nice day with calm winds, plenty of sunlight, and a beautiful sunrise. This morning Alix, Julian, János and I woke up early to go ringing. While we were setting up the nets, Julian spotted a Sparrowhawk (Spurvehøg) which was nice to see. After that we returned and ringed the birds from the first round. Then at 07:30 a journalist came to visit and do a bit of filming about what we do and why we do it. Then after a few rounds we found a White-spotted Bluethroat (Sydlig Blåhals) in the south nets which Julian got to extract while a guest was watching. We then decided to let Alix ring the Bluethroat as she was quite sad about the last time there was a bluethroat and she didn’t get to see it. This is the second male we have caught this spring. Before this year only one male White-spotted Bluethroat (Sydlig Blåhals) had been caught here. 

White-spotted Bluethroat (Sydlig Blåhals)

Treecreeper (Træløber)

While that was happening, Alvin and Dylan were counting migrating birds at Nordstrand and there were quite a lot of birds.  Although the morning count wasn’t as good as they had hoped they still saw Black Kite (Sort Glente), Sand Martin (Digesvale), 2 Garganey (Atlingand) and Scaup (Bjergand). 

Black Kite (Sort Glente) 

Morning sunrise at Nordstrand

When we all got home everybody but me went down to look at the moth trap where there were 9 moths in total and four new species for the spring. A little while after that Dylan and Alvin went on the rest of the beach walk from the lighthouse to Nordstrand where they found one dead Puffin (Lunde) and had really nice views of a Turnstone (Stenvender). While they were on the Beachwalk Julian and Alix were taking a nap while János was making a pancake cake which he had promised to make while he was doing that, I went out shopping for eggs, pasta and a little for myself. At 5pm Simon was at Nordstrand getting filmed live for the national tv which was cool. Alvin and Dylan were sitting quietly waiting and saw an interesting Harrier fly by as well as four Hen Harriers (Blå Kærhøg).  

Adult female Pallid Harrier (Steppehøg) or a hybrid Pallid X Hen Harrier? All plumage patterns points towards Pallid but wing formular and long p6 points towards a hybrid

Turnstone (Stenvender)

A bit after I came back from shopping, Dylan and Alvin came back from the beach walk and Alix and Julian woke up from their naps. Then some of us did some work while János was finishing the pancake cake. In the evening meeting we went outside to record some small videos which the journalist from earlier had requested. Then we had a fantastic dinner made by Julian. Later Dylan and Alvin went to try night catch some birds. They went to a new area and saw 2 Jack Snipes (Enkeltbekkasin) and lots of Common Snipes (Dobbeltbekkasin). 

Today has been a really enjoyable day. It is the first day since my arrival that the wind has turned East. Which produced some really nice variety in the ringing, and the observations.

The ringing team this morning was Alvin, Alix, Joey and Simon. They had a nice session with lots of Goldcrests (Fuglekonge) , Robins (Rødhals) and Chiffchaffs (Gransanger). Though the star of the show was a big female Sparrowhawk (Spurvehøg). They also had a couple really nice recaptures. A Goldcrest (Fuglekonge) carrying a Belgian ring and a Robin (Rødhals) carrying a German ring! These were our first non-Scandinavian recaptures for us, and we hope to recapture lots of other nice birds from other countries. Michael Ancher was also ringing today, and he caught some lovely birds including this brilliant Hawfinch (Kernebider) and 10 Brambling (Kvækerfinke).

Big female Sparrowhawk (Spurvehøg)

Hawfinch (Kernebider) ringed by Michael Ancher 

Julian, János and I were on the migration count this morning. It was a really nice session with lots of cool species including a Great Grey Shrike (Stor Tornskade) flying over the sea at one point, Tundra Bean Goose (Tundrasædgås), our first Barn Swallow (Landsvale) of the spring and Denmark’s first Tree Pipit (Skovpiber) of the year. Other observations throughout the day made by Knud and others were the first spring Black Kite (Sort Glente), Osprey (Fiskeørn), a second Great Grey Shrike (Stor Tornskade) and Skagen’s first Pallid Harrier (Steppehøg) of the year. Hopefully more of these to come in the next few weeks.

Sunrise at Grenen

Great Grey Shrike (Stor Tornskade)

Once we were all back, we looked to see what moths we caught overnight in our first spring moth trap. We caught three moths which were 2 Hebrew Characters (Gotisk) and 1 Red Chestnut (Rødlig Lærkeugle). Well done Alix and Alvin for making a working moth trap. We look forward to catching more moths over the spring.

Red Chestnut (Rødlig Lærkeugle)

In the afternoon Joey, János and I conducted the beach survey counting the dead birds that have washed up. We were also joined by Michael Andersen from TV2 Nord so he could film and interview us about what we do at the station. Michael also went to the Cormorant lake to interview Alvin and Julian. There were many birds washed up today including two Puffins (Lunde), Fulmars (Mallemuk), Guillemots (Lomvie) and Kittiwakes (Ride). It was a shame to also see a lot of plastic washes up including lots of small pieces of plastic that species like Fulmars (Mallemuk) eat. This will slowly kill the birds which is often why they wash up on our shores.

Alvin getting interviewed

Tomorrow looks really promising with great potential for some good ringing and migration counting. We will let you know how it goes! 

Since the storms are over now, we could finally resume our ringing today. Thus Alix, Shuyu and I got up early and biked to Kabeltromlen through the clear morning air before the sun would rise in a cloudless sky; carrying in bags all the stuff we had to bring home three days ago. As we arrived, we had to notice that the storm had left its marks all around the ringing area: Our wader hanger was torn down, bushes and whole trees lay in our way, one even fell on a net, some poles were leaning.

mess at Kabeltromlen due to storm

But we were able to fix and set up the nets again and start our routine with only a slight delay. During that, I finally got to see one of the Bitterns (Rørdrum) we’ve heard singing in the reed beds almost every day. It was flying pretty close and made up for a nice first highlight of the morning. When we came back from the opening round, we were welcomed at the Kabeltromle not only by Simon, but also by a box of extremely delicious cardamom and cinnamon rolls given to us very kindly by Henrik Højholm. Thank you very much, they were great!

A sweet surprise!

Overall, we’ve had a good amount of birds in the nets with many Chiffchaffs (Gransanger) and some Goldcrests (Fuglekonge). For Alix it’s been the first Goldcrests of the season, which she was very happy about and described as the highlight of her day. Also the Blue Tits (Blåmejse) were back again, but luckily only in rather manageable numbers.

Dealing with a net full of Blue Tits (Blåmejse).

For the last round Alvin joined us, who has been out for the migration count along with János, Dylan and Joey. They had a very good start to the observations with so many birds around that they had to organize themselves first not to get confused. The nice conditions and especially the absence of flying sand were greatly appreciated as well. A lot of great sightings awaited them today: 12 Shags (Topskarv), two resting Great Northern Divers (Islom), 59 Fulmars (Mallemuk), a Shearwater (Skråpe) that unfortunately was too far away for more precise identification, and a close flyby of a Puffin (Lunde) in breeding plumage. Some good opportunities to practice making Zello calls. Apart from the birds, they also had a very good view on the Orcas (Spækhugger) again.
At 12 o’clock, after the ringing, we dealt with the last pieces of storm aftermath which included fixing the wader hanger and rebuilding the tent, before heading home. Back at the station another sweet and delicious gift awaited us: A large carrot cake from the Lighthouse shop! Later this afternoon, Simon came by with Jacob Jensen, head of DOF Nature Department. He gave us some interesting insights into his role and work as well as the structure of the whole organization. At around six o’clock, we had to say goodbye to Shuyu who left by train this evening. We hope she had a good time here at Skagen Fuglestation! Also, she left us two very cute crocheted animals: A bird and a tiny seal :)

Handmade bird and seal by Shuyu. How cute!

In the evening, Alix and Alvin finally finished crafting the long-planned moth trap and placed it outside in the lighthouse garden after dinner. We are all greatly excited about what we may find in it the upcoming days. We’ll keep you updated!

Alvin and Alix building the moth trap.

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, Alix Bortolussi, Julian Helbig, Dylan Daunt, Shuyu Deng, Joey Vestermark, Simon S. Christiansen, Michael Ancher

The storm was fading this morning, although it was still too windy for ringing. However, it is possible to do migration counting. Alix, Alvin, János, and I went out early in the morning for the migration count. We managed to find a sheltered place at Grenen and started at 6 am and finished at 11 am, with 80 fulmars (Mallemuk) in total being one of the highlights. We also saw some ‘new’ wader friends, including 5 curlews (Storspove), 3 bar-tailed godwits (Lille Kobbersneppe), 5 shelducks (Gravand), and 2 turnstones (Stenvender).

There were not many tourists on the first morning after the big storm, but the sunrise was beautiful.

The beautiful sunrise while we were busy counting migrating birds.

Alvin counting migrating birds.

When we came back, Julian had already made some lovely Easter bunny buns!

Julian’s bunny buns with an Easter egg. I thought no one would mistake these cuties for chickens, Simon.

Afterwards, we did some indoor work. Julian worked on the picture archive, while Alix and Alvin tried to set up the moth trap. Meanwhile, János and the others were busy cleaning the gear, which was apparently a big job after the storm.

In the afternoon, Joey Vestermark joined us and will be staying with us for five days. I’m glad that the storm is over and that everything should be back to normal with him joining us. We then had a catch-up meeting with Simon about our plans. People shared their planned topics for the presentation sessions in the coming days, which sounds exciting. Simon also recommended some useful books for understanding the molting and aging of birds.

After that, János and Dylan went shopping with Simon to fill up our food storage. We can now survive another storm!

Alvin and Alix made us an amazing chili sin carne for dinner, which felt like the perfect end to the day.

Tomorrow will be the first ringing day after the storm! Let’s hope we have a good count and catch.

Summary of today's raptor migration in DOFbasen

People: Alvin Johansson, János Schadl, Alix Bortolussi, Julian Helbig, Dylan Daunt, Shuyu Deng, Joey Vestermark

We woke up to the sound of the storm howling through the house. Because of the wind and rain, we could neither go out to do the ringing nor carry out the migration count, which allowed us to catch up on some sleep. 

In the morning we did some computer work like sorting pictures into the archive. In the late morning, János bravely decided to go out in the storm and look for some seabirds, which turned out quite successful, with 6 Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove) including one being a light morph, as well as some Fulmars (Mallemuk) passing closely. Meanwhile, those of us back at the station did some cleaning and had some leftover risotto for lunch.

When János came back, he made a humongous banana bread, which was very much appreciated and almost entirely devoured by the evening. 

Banana bread enjoyers 

János licking the pot, with plastic wrapped around his head, to protect his precious hair

In the afternoon most of us wanted to go out and experience the storm, having the plan of going to the same spot János had gone to in the morning, but seeing that the visibility had worsened, that spot was not ideal anymore. Instead, we walked out to the tip and experienced some serious gusts of up to 37 m/s. The wind carried sand from the dunes that painfully stung our eyes. The wind also carried away Dylan's glasses, which ascended out to sea. Luckily, he has a spare pair, although they are not his favorites. 

Walking in the storm 

Observing the storm at the tip of Grenen

After making our way back, slightly shaken and with a bit of motion-sickness, we rested and had dinner.

Sunset

In the evening, once it had gotten dark outside, Dylan went out to look for roosting birds to catch. Shortly after going out, he called saying that he had caught a Cormorant (Skarv). It already had a ring on its leg, so we read the ring number and will soon find out where and when it was ringed. Handling Cormorants can be difficult to handle as they have very storng manouverable necks and a very sharp bill. So it is important to have a firm, but not too tight grip of the neck to insure that the bird and the handler remain safe. 

Measuring the wing

Closeup of the beautiful head with the turquoise eye

Inspired by this quick success, János and I joined to walk out to the tip again to look for more birds. During the day we had spotted some rusting Kittiwakes (Ride) which we were hoping to catch, but when we got there, they were nowhere to be found. 

Highlights of today:
Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove) - 6

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

People: Alvin Johansson, János Schadl, Alix Bortolussi, Julian Helbig, Dylan Daunt, Shuyu Deng

The weather today was getting quite stormy, with some very strong winds throughout the day. For this reason, we could not ring any birds today, as the strong winds would have made it unsafe for our feathered friends. 

János and Dylan still bravely went out for some migration counting and sat in a more sheltered area at Grenen, which unfortunately meant that their view of the sea and inland was not as ideal as usual. They were even joined by a young local birder, Alfred! They still had some nice numbers of birds all throughout and enjoyed seeing their behaviour in such strong winds and harsh weather conditions, because their flight styles can change quite a bit in these conditions and big waves meant the resting birds were also challenging to see.

On the way there Dylan saw a washed up squid on the shoreline and promptly returned it to the waters!

Alive squid found on the beach at Grenen, and returned to the waters

In the meantime, Alvin, Julian, Shuyu and I enjoyed a slow morning that felt like holidays. I made pancakes for everyone, it was really cozy! The counting team could also enjoy some when they came back home from their morning, which they loved!

Pancake breakfast

After that, Alvin and I went out with his parents and brother who were visiting for the weekend, and enjoyed a very windy tour of the lighthouse, a good lunch at the cafe and a visit around the Skagen town with a sandy ending at Stokmilen, a very high dune with a beautiful view.

Alvin on Stokmilen sand dune

View from the top of Stokmilen sand dune

In the meantime at the station, Julian started the « storm preparations » which included securing nets with extra ties at the ringing site, as well as taking down our equipment tent and the equipment for safe keeping indoors at the station until the weather clears up. As you can see in the picture, bringing everything back in one bike ride was challenging, but he succeeded! 

Nets securing

Julian with all of our equipment, clever packing!

We also had the pleasure of having the visit of Peter Brodersen and his son from the University of Copenhagen today, who were here to pick up some feather samples for their project about DNA in vagrant birds. They had a variety of feathers to choose from, and we will be taking more samples for them in the future as the occasions arrises. Their interest for this project would be to see if and what genes could be the cause for birds flying « wrong » by looking at the DNA in feathers of vagrant birds we have encountered here.

Peter Broderesen and his son picking out feathers for their project on vagrant birds DNA 

People at the station: Alvin Johansson, János Schadl, Alix Bortolussi, Julian Helbig, Dylan Daunt, Simon S. Christiansen, Shuyu Deng, Katrin, Tove, Eik and Inger, Peter Brodersen and his son, Alfred Godsk Geckler.

Alix, Alvin and I went out for the morning ringing session. We were unsure about how the weather would be, but it seemed okay enough for us to open the nets. The first couple hours of ringing were really slow with only a couple birds. Though this meant that we could cut back some of the buckthorn that has grown in places it shouldn’t have over the last couple years. All three of us ended up with thorns in us but I guess that made cutting the bushes more satisfactory in the end. By 9am the weather had gotten a lot worse. The wind increased and there was steady rainfall. In these sorts of conditions, we have to close the nets to ensure that no birds get too wet whilst laying in the mist nets. Kabletromlen is also good for watching migratory birds. We saw some nice species like Hawfinch (Kernebirder) and some Red Crossbills (Lille Korsnæb).

Me holding my buckthorn bush trophy!

János and Julian were doing the migration count this morning. But unfortunately for them, the only animals getting soaked were them. Even during the rain, we have to continue our migration count to make sure the data from the counts over the spring are as good as possible. When it is rainy, very few songbirds migrate. So, the main focus for them was towards the sea where thousands of seabirds were passing including Guillemots (Lomvie), Kittiwakes (Ride), Gannets (Sule) and Common Scoters (Sortand). They also had a brief visit from the Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge) which is always nice to see.

Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge) flyby 

At lunch we had a surprise visit from a local who said they had found a Gannet (Sule) washed up on the beach. But this time it was carrying some jewellery. All the way from the UK! Very few Gannet rings have been re found in Denmark from the UK. The two most recent have been from colonies in Scotland. Including from one of the world’s largest Gannet colonies called the Bass Rock. We will also be able to find out how old this bird was. There are so many interesting questions. Where is this bird from? Was it ringed as a chick? We will let you know all this information as soon as we find out about it. This also shows how important the collection of rings from washed up birds is. So much amazing information can be found out from just one ring.

In the early afternoon Simon picked up our next short-term volunteer called Shuyu. She has come from Aarhus and will be staying with us until Tuesday. Let’s hope that we can have a good day of weather when she is here.

In the evening we had another wet spell, so we decided to go and try catch some Jack Snipes. Unfortunately, there were very few birds around, so all our efforts were not rewarded. But hopefully we will catch a few more birds in the coming evenings.