Divide and conquer was the plan today with the station team splitting into three groups for the morning field tasks. And conquer we did!

Magnus was at World’s End 1 for the count and saw the first immature Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove) of the season. There was also a Corn Bunting (Kornværling) and several Rosefinches (Karmindompap).

Simon Jr, Seán and Oluf were nearby at Kabeltromlen and had a fairly quiet morning. Their ringing highlights were a Tree Pipit (Skovpiber), Bullfinch (Dompap) and Spotted Flycatcher (Grå Fluesnapper).

Isis and I went to Skarvsøen for the third CES session of the season. Simon Sr also joined us with Emma Ellis, a visiting bird ringer from France and we were very happy to see the pair of Ferruginous Ducks (Hvidøjet And) flying over Skarsøen. Between rounds Simon heard a Blyth’s Reed Warbler (Buskrørsanger) singing in the bushes near our nets so got out his recorder. Then the bird stopped singing. We were a little confused about why but then checked the nearby net and realised it had stopped singing because we had caught it!

Blyth’s Reed Warbler (Buskrørsanger)

Simon Sr took lots of measurements to confirm the species whilst Simon Jr ran at lightning speed from Kabeltromlen to see the bird, as did Jørgen from Nordstrand. It is only the third of this species to be caught by the station since 2017!

It was particularly interesting to compare the Blyth’s Reed Warbler (Buskrørsanger) with a Reed Warbler (Rørsanger) which we had also caught. On the right you can see that the Blyth’s Reed Warbler (Buskrørsanger) which has a greyer plumage and a strong supercilium. It also has short wings (a short primary projection) and a long beak.

Reed Warbler (Rørsanger) – Blyth’s Reed Warbler (Buskrørsanger)

Otherwise it was also quiet for us at the CES site. As Isis and I were closing the nets, the clouds were starting to roll in and rumbles of distant thunder could be heard; as we cycled back the rain started and we got absolutely soaked!

After drying off and refuelling, data was entered and with the rain now stopped Magnus headed off on an entomology trip with a friend to look for a rare spider which they were very pleased to eventually find. A bit later in the afternoon a Short-toed Eagle (Slangeørn) was reported south of Skagen so of course Seán, the two Simons, Mette and I all sprinted to Simon Sr’s car to try and see it. We stopped at several places on our way south and searched the sky but unfortunately didn’t see the bird.

Short-toed Eagle (Slangeørn) by Jeppe Therkildsen Madsen.

We didn’t have much time to keep searching as we had to return to the station to ring a Tawny Owl (Natugle) chick from the Jerup Rescue Centre. It was a very fluffy stinky little thing!

Tawny Owl (Natugle)

And then an unexpected visitor was found walking in the lighthouse shop, a Feral Pigeon which Knud has now taken to look after.

We hope it likes its new home!

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Total: 19

CES Ringing (Skarvsøen):

Total: 14

A link to today's observations from volunteers and local observers.

Sum of observations of raptors on DOFbasen from today

People: Seán Walsh, Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Oluf Lou, Emma Ellis, Jørgen Hulbæk, Jørn and Marianne.

Simon and I went up an hour later than the ones that put up the nets for ringing, because we went for the count. We had breakfast together with Freya, before heading out for counting birds. Simon by bike and I by foot, because we are low on bikes. There was fog in the air. Quite a lot actually. We could barely see the sea, and that’s why we decided to move down to Kabeltromlen, where we could hear and see the passerines even better.

After four hours of counting, it was clear to us that it was one of the slowest days of the year so far, and that not even the passerines were migrating in high numbers. But we were able to participate in the ringing and mostly just see what they caught. Unfortunately, it was quite slow as well, but with a nice variety of species. Among the species were the Redbacked Shrike, which mostly are seen from distance. Also a sparrowhawk showed up, which always is a nice species in hand.

Sparrowhawk 2. calender year, male. Poto by Simon Kiesé.

Redbacked Shrike. Photo by Simon Kiesé.

In the afternoon, the weather turned better and the migration increased. My family and friends came by to invite me for lunch at a restaurant in town. I gave them a room tour at the lighthouse, before we had coffee and cake in the garden. Unfortunately, the weather turned bad after a few hours, and turned into a thunderstorm at the end.

The late afternoon and evening was spent with data entering and having a nice dinner, with SK as the chef.

We said hi to the new guests in the apartment, Jørn and Marianne, and bye to Kirsten and Freya.

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

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People: Seán Walsh, Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Kirsten, Jørn and Marianne.

Ringmærkning (Kabeltromlen)

Spurvehøg (Sparrowhawk) 1

Rødrygget Tornskade (Redbacked Shrike) 1

Solsort  (Blackbird) 1

Gulbug (Icterine Warbler)1

Tornsanger (Common Whitethroat) 3

Bogfinke (Chaffinch) 6

Munk  (Blackbird) 3

Sum: 16

This morning the other volunteers and I bravely woke up to begin our morning duties as professional mosquito breakfasts. To add to our pain, midgets/knats had also mass spawned the day after some mild wet weather, completely eating alive any part of our uncovered (and sometimes even our covered) bodies. It was completely not worth it on the migration counting side of things. The most exciting time of the morning was when four Sortstrubet Lom (Black-throated Divers) flew right over our heads. Later, a little after 7am, Simon found an Orca which later turned out to be one of three in Skagerak, which were the first to be seen from Grenen this year. Simon also managed to guide a research ship in the area close to the Orcas, though unfortanately they couldn't get a biological sample. They did manage to get some pictures which were enough to identify each individual uniquely.

Foto af Olga Filatova, Syddansk Universitet

The ringers could only have been subject to more torture than us counters at World's End, with zero birds in some of the net check rounds. There were some cool birds though; notably a Landsvale (Barn Swallow) and a Blåhals, ssp. cyanecula (White-spotted Bluethroat) - the first colorful male ringed in Skagen of this subspecies.

Later in the day, Simon SC and I went to the Naturmødet in Hirtshals to see the various stalls and talks. We participated in a Danish gull quiz, and because of my lack of proficiency in Danish, proceeded to get 9th place, which isn't horrible. We also met with Simon's family while we were there, at which point the conference became a little less nature oriented and more food and beer oriented which was very fun.

Proof of me third-wheeling Simon's family while looking like the main character.

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet)

Reed Warbler (Rørsanger) 1

Marsh Warbler (Kærsanger) 2

Icterine Warbler (Gulbug) 3

Garden Warbler (Havesanger) 3

Bluethroat (Blåhals) 1

Spotted Flycatcher (Grå Fluesnapper) 1

Common Redstart (Rødstjert) 1

Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger) 3

Common Whitethroat (Tornsanger) 1

Willow Warbler (Løvsanger) 1

Common Chaffinch (Bogfinke) 2

Barn Swallow (Landsvale) 1

Total: 20

A link to today's observations from volunteers and local observers.

Sum of observations of raptors on DOFbasen from today

People: Frya Mørup-Ptetersen, Seán Walsh, Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Kirsten Bregn

It did not seem like promising weather today with both rain and mist in the early morning but we were all up with our usual early alarms hoping for the best. Although Simon Jr and Magnus did not stay at World’s End 1 for long, they counted an impressive 65 Dunlin (Almindelig Ryle) and also saw three Black-throated Divers (Sortstrubet Lom) roosting in the Kattegat. Due to the low numbers of birds migrating and the increasing fog over the sea, they then joined us at Kabeltromlen instead. It was very fun to have all five of us in one place for once! We started Isis’ birthday celebrations early with plenty of cookies!

Simon and Magnus continued the count from Kabeltromlen and counted two Rosefinches (Karmindompap) and five Golden Orioles (Pirol). The highlight however was a Turtle Dove (Turteldue) attempting to migrate. A great spot by Simon Jr! Sadly this species is declining across northern Europe; this was the first individual seen in Skagen since 2022.

Thanks to the change in weather conditions we finally had more birds in the ringing. Highlights were two Icterine Warblers (Gulbug), four Spotted Flycatchers (Grå Fluesnapper) and seven Pied Flycatchers (Bruget Fluesnapper). We also caught our first two Marsh Warblers (Kærsanger) in the ringing this spring.

Marsh Warbler (Kærsanger)

We also found a very interesting spider on the Kabeltromlen which, after some research, we found out was called ‘Pumpkin Spider’ in German and ‘Cucumber Spider’ (Agurkehjulspinder) in Danish and English. It’s colouration was stunning!

Cucumber Spider (Agurkehjulspinder)

On our way back to the station we bumped into Jørgen, Hans and Knud who had been out at World’s End 3 counting birds whilst also celebrating Bob Dylan’s birthday. We hear it was quite the party out there with music and plenty of cake! They very kindly gave us their leftover birthday cake, which was very very good, tak!

But it wasn’t just for Bob that we were celebrating today! As it is also Isis’s birthday (happy birthday Isisi!!) our party continued later in the afternoon with Simon Sr joining us with champagne, flags and singing the traditional Danish birthday song.

The rest of the afternoon was filled with raptor summaries, data entry, fixing bird bags and more birthday celebrations – the guitar came out and the party continued! We also received information about the colour-ringed Waxwings (Silkehale) which were read earlier in May in Skagen. The two birds were both originally ringed in Scotland in November 2023 and one was also re-sighted in Derbyshire, England in January this year. Fascinating stuff!

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Total: 41

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

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People: Seán Walsh, Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Kirsten Bregn.

Ahoy there friends, I don’t suppose you can guess what I have to say about the progression of our morning, given there has been no considerable change in the weather lately. That’s right, it was excruciatingly slow at best. That’s not to say we didn’t enjoy it, though. We started the day with two recaptured Blackbirds (Solsort), one male and one female. The female had a brood patch, and since they were next to each other in the net (and shared the same grumpy attitude) we assume they were a lovely young couple! We also got to watch a cruise ship float in from the distant ocean, into the Kattegat, and then dock at the Harbour. The town is full of life now!

The grumpy lovebirds.

After this, unfortunately, we had quite a few rounds with no birds. Our highest round (and the only ones we ringed so far) by 8 in the morning: 3 birds. We had started losing hope, so we decided to close half an hour earlier than usual… and what happened during the closing round fell right in line with the usual tomfoolery of the birds up here, 5 new birds! They really find a way to play with your toes, those feathered fiends. 

Though as compensation for the lack of birds, we did have two Wood Warblers (Skovsanger) today. Kirsten was very excited to be able to ring one of these vibrant little warblers. Considering how few birds we caught and ringed today, two Wood Warblers (Skovsanger) is quite good. 

And who doesn’t love looking at those little faces:

Wood Warbler (Skovsanger).

The count went as usual, with the main highlight being a singing Greenish Warbler (Lundsanger).

We also lost two of our team members today, Hayley and Simon (Jr), who have migrated to Gothenburg, Sweden in a most traitorous manner to enjoy a jazz concert, the station is very empty now. All jokes aside, we wish them a safe journey and lots of fun during their little field trip!

Hayley Land at Trafalgar Sqaurd. 

When we got back from the station, we immediately got to work entering data and checking sheets. Then we had a little bit of free time before Simon (Sr) came around to enter more data and check more sheets, but now all of that is done so we can focus on being out in the field the next few days as the birds (hopefully) pick up again!

I also spent some time updating the picture archive, so we don’t fall behind on that either.

Now the day is coming to a close, and Magnus is preparing dinner. It will be an early night for us at the station.

Catch us in the field!

UPDATE: We DID NOT in fact have an early night… As we neared the end of our dinner, Magnus received a Zello message from Erik Christophersen announcing a Lesser Kestrel (Lille Tårnfalk) by Storsig! This is only the 3rd record for Skagen, and a big wish list bird (and lifer) for me! Magnus was out in a flash, Seán and I were a bit slower, trying to see if we could catch it on foot first, before rushing back to get our bikes. 

In all the chaos, though, everybody was very glad to get a great look at this beautiful bird, along with a Red-Footed Falcon (Aftenfalk). Many pictures were taken, many new mosquito bites were received, and many happy birders paraded the streets. Now it nears 21:30, much beyond our bedtime. Let us dream of all sizes of Kestrels (Tårnfalk) as we prepare for the birdy days to come.

Lesser Kestrel (Lille Tårnfalk) and Red-Footed Falcon (Aftenfalk). Photo by: Magnus Houen Lauritsen.

Lesser Kestrel 2cy. Male with The Grey Lighthouse in the background. Video by Kent Olsen

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet)

Reed Warbler (Rørsanger) 1

Eurasian Blackcap (Munk) 1

Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger) 1

Willow Warbler (Løvsanger) 1

Common Chaffinch (Bogfinke) 2

Wood Warbler (Skovsanger) 2

Total: 8

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

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People: Seán Walsh, Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Kirsten Bregn

For the first time in many days, Simon Jr and Magnus finally had a reason to use their clickers at the migration count. After so many quiet days it was great to get some good numbers of a couple of species again. The highest count went to the Common Gull (Stormmåge) with almost 2000 individuals clicked. Also seen in impressive numbers were Velvet Scoters (Fløjsand). In fact, the total clicked today is equal to the second-best count of this species in spring in Skagen ever! Other highlights from the count included a White-billed Diver (Hvidnæbbet Lom) and two Rosefinches (Karmindompap).

Unfortunately, it was much slower in the ringing, the first round producing no birds at all! Luckily we did manage to catch a few birds over the five hours but not many. As it was so quiet, there was plenty of time for Kirsten to practice her ringing skills, particularly focusing on fat scores to determine the condition of each bird. Our highlight was the first Spotted Flycatcher (Grå Fluesnapper) in the ringing this spring. Such a beautiful bird!

Spotted Flycatcher (Grå Fluesnapper)

Whilst at Kabeltromlen, we also received a very generous bag of cookies and a donation from Brian which was a lovely surprise. These will definitely keep us well fuelled during the ringing and counting for many days! Thank you so much Brian!

In the afternoon we focused on inside tasks including data entry, updating the picture archive and raptor summaries. We then had a picture session with Simon Sr where we looked at some bird of the photos that we have taken in the field to determine their age. It was a very interesting session and will hopefully help prepare us for when we catch more difficult birds in the field!

This evening we have been treated to a delicious dinner cooked by the staff from Blink. We ate together with the people from the lighthouse, it was quite a party! We have been looking forward to it for ages and were not disappointed. The sunny weather was perfect, the food was amazing and the company great! Thank you everyone for a really nice evening.

We finished the evening by checking a House Sparrow (Gråspurv) nest above Blink to see if there were chicks inside old enough to ring.

Unfortunately, it was empty but with the adults close by we hope they will have eggs soon!

Finally, some of the children that visited us here at the station have been inspired by our blogs to write their own. You can read all about their birding adventures in Skagen here.

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Total: 11

A link to today's observations from volunteers and local observers.

Sum of observations of raptors on DOFbasen from today.

People: Seán Walsh, Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Kirsten Bregn, and our friends from Blink and the lighthouse.

We knew from the forecast yesterday that bird-wise, our day would be pretty boring in our usual day-to-day morning tasks. Magnus and I took care of the observations, from World's End 1 in the morning. Each successive day during the week has gotten progressively worse for migration; a sign it's beginning to slow down in most species, particularly at sea. Though sea and passerine migration was slow, there was an explosion of Mursejler (Common Swift) during the day, not that our morning count included these numbers. Some people reported over 2,000 individuals migrating over Skagen, headed for Sweden and Norway. During our count, Magnus noticed a Tornsanger that had been ringed, probably at Kabeltromlen. We were not able to read such a ring though.

The highlight of our count was a Grønspætte (Green Woodpecker) which are uncommon as far north as Grenen.

Kabeltromlen had a slow day too, unexpectedly. To continue the streak of Kernibider being caught, two were caught today, and I got to ring one for the first time! I had been feeling a little bit left out of the rarer birds being ringed while I manned the radar with Mads, so this was a nice consolation (but not at all a downgrade despite the biting.)

After our usual, us volunteers were tasked with putting up the rest of the Kabeltromlen nets, 50 more metres that were not able to be used due to high water levels so far. With the sun and complete lack of rain the last two weeks, water levels dropped low enough that we could put up the last of the regular nets. This task took us a little while, but once we got into our groove it went by quickly. These nets should up our chances of catching the rarer passerines as they become more likely coming into June, even if regular migration slows down.

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Total: 13

A link to today's observations from volunteers and local observers.

Sum of observations of raptors on DOFbasen from today.

People: Seán Walsh, Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Kirsten Bregn.

So… *Switching into danish*

I dag var fordelingen således: SK og MHL lavede morgenobs, og IK og HL ringmærkede. SW hjalp ved radaren.

Dagens morgenobs måtte have været en dygtig elev i skole. For den fulgte berettermodellen ganske nøje. Som sædvanligt var der den første spændende halve time, hvor nyankomne spurvefugle måske vil synge, og dermed blive hørt fra morgenstunden. Derefter byggede det langsomt op til point of no return med mosehornugler, en islom, og pirol, inden det hele ramlede inden for kort tid, med både skovhornugle i ringmærkningen, lille kjove tæt på Kattegat-kysten og en gulirisk. Derefter døde det fuldstændig ud igen.

I ringmærkningen fik Isis sig lidt af en overraskelse, da der pludselig sad en større fugl i nettet. Den var umiddelbart blot brunlig, og gav derfor indtryk af noget, der kunne ligne en rovfugl. Isis satte i løb, og nåede at få fuglen under kontrol, inden den viklede sig selv ud ad nettet. Her så hun, at der var tale om en ugle. Uglen skulle vise sig at være en skovhornugle, hvilket var blot den fjerde i stationens historie. Skovhornugler er generelt mere sjældne end mosehornugler på denne tid af året i Skagen. Uglen - med de dybt orange øjne - blev fremvist til en større skare af fugleinteresserede, alt imens en lille kjove gled forbi langs Kattegatkysten. Uglen blev efterfølgende sluppet på behørig afstand af publikum. Alle synes at være godt tilfredse med oplevelsen.

Foto: Simon Kiesé

Foto: Isis Khalil

Tilbage på Det Grå Fyr, fik alle velfortjent tidlig middagsmad, inden de fleste af os tog sig en tiltrængt middagslur.

Efter endt middagslur fik jeg besøg af min familie i et par timer, som medbragte mit nye magasin “Naturen”, hvori jeg er redaktør. Bladet endte med at blive rigtigt flot, hvis jeg selv skulle sige det, med mange interessante artikler. Vi fik middagsmad i fyrhaven, hvor jeg blandt andet også observerede en gråbåndet bredpande, hun, i færd med at fouragere på engelskgræs.

Foto: Magnus Houen Lauritsen

Senere på eftermiddagen havde vi et længere “evening-meeting”, hvor vi planlagde den kommende uges gøremål, inden Sean var klar med lækker aftensmad til alle på stationen, inklusiv vores nye gæst, Kirsten, der bor i nabolejligheden i den kommende uge.

/Magpie/Krøllebille/Magnus/MHL.

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):

Subtotal: 26

Ringing (Jennes Sø):

Subtotal: 5

Ringing (Nordstjernevej):

Subtotal: 1

Total: 32

A link to today's observations from volunteers and local observers.

Sum of observations of raptors on DOFbasen from today.

People: Seán Walsh, Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Kirsten Bregn, Michael Anker.

I'm impressed! I've expected mid May to be tough, since there are many nice birds and the sun rises early, so there is not so much time for sleep. Indeed my average per night is with a bit over 5 hours still okay, but way less than I would need back home. But in anyway I feel very good. Maybe it's the good weather and the fresh air, maybe the good company. In anyway, I'm impressed even in the lack of sleep we were able to set our alarm for midnight to go nightcatching. Even if we did not suceed, it was nice. We heard a Thrush Nightingale (Nattergal). I tried to get closer, but the way to the bird seemed endless. Finally it was 1,3 km away from the point, we heard it first. That´s crazy, isn't it? Since this blog is dedicated to the voice of birds, you can listen to my recording of the bird now:

With the same weather like the previous days, the strong migration of Yellow Wagtails (Gul Vipstjert) finally stopped. Therefore new songbirds arrived, which we could experience mostly in the ringing. Some Garden Warblers (Havesanger), Icterine Warblers (Gulbug) and Reed Warblers (Rørsanger) could be ringed. A highlight was a Sedge Warbler (Sivsanger), which also got equipped with a new ring. Two Marsh Warbler (Kærsanger) sang in the area and completed the picture of summer. 

At World's End 1 another nice Songbird showed up. For me the first of the year - a male Rosefinch flew over and surprised us with its song in flight.

 A young Great Nothern Diver (Islom) and a Little Ringed Plover (Lille Præstekrave) passed by. Otherwise you could have called the count slow - at least in comparision to the great previous days. Over 5000 roosting Scoters (Sortand) were still great!

When a Crossbill (Korsnæb) passed by, the first impression was, that the calls sound less clicking that Common Crossbills (Lille Korsnæb) usually do. Even experienced birders struggle with the identification of the call by ear - at least if you are not really used to it. In flight it did not look so heavy billed, so we were looking forward to check the sound recording I made to make sure, we identify it right. Sound recordings are really great! We could proof, it is a Common Crossbill (Lille Korsnæb), call type N8.

 This call type "N8" is one of the most common ones of Common Crossbill in nothern Europe. Here it is usually disturbed:

Thanks for this great knowledge to Ralph Martin, who researched on this topic, made this map and shared the results public on his Blog AVESRARES - reed here about Common Crossbill (N8).

I hope you liked this trip into the world of bird sound recording and analysis. It is a very fun topic and recently we were able to document two interesting birds with my recorder during the count: a Little Bunting (Dværgverling), a Red-thorated Pipit (Rødstrubet Piber) and a Citrine Wagtail (Citronvipstjert) yesterday.

At 1 am, Hayley and I had a guided tour for a family from the netherlands. We showed them some nice birds at Nordstrand on the way to Skarvsøn. The highlights were Cormorant (Skarv) chicks and that all 9 Mute Swan (Knopsvane) chicks were still alive. Also both Red-necked Grebes showed up nice. Since the mid days sun hid some birds, we listened to some of the typical songbirds, which breed in the area.

On the way back, some more raptors showed up and we could see a young Pallid Harrier (Steppehøg) and a Montague's Harrier (Hedehøg) in the distance. Fortunately, a Osprey (Fiskeørn) was closer. Like every Saturday, we cleaned the apartment and the lab. Otherwise data had to be entered, I had a nice phone call and played a bit guitar. It's important to keep your bird-life-bird-sleep-bird-work-balance!

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Total: 25

Also Michael ringed at

Jennes Sø:

Total: 6

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

Sum of the raptors in the area based on observations typed into Dofbasen the same day.

People: Seán Walsh, Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Karen Marie Holk, Michael Anker.