What can I say? It is a bit too windy to open the nets and with the rain, seawatch is not so easy. We still went out this morning and afternoon and did see some birds. Actually, Grenen beach is quite nice, because it is flooded again, and the number of shorebird species is increasing. Only, we don’t have pictures because with the rain you try to not take out electronic equipment, if not necessary.

This morning on the beach there were several dunlins and sanderlings (almindelig ryle og sandløber), as there used to be, but in addition to that: 2 red knots (islandsk ryle), 1 ruff (brushane), 3 curlew sandpipers (krumnæbbet ryle) and a couple oystercatchers (strandskade), next to the ever present ringed plovers (stor præstekrave). In the afternoon, Simon junior went there again and saw that one of the red knots has a ring. We ringed a couple last year, so maybe it is ours. Maybe tomorrow we can get a picture and try to read the ring…

Also, in the afternoon, Simon saw a temminck’s stint (temmincksryle), a little stint (dværgryle), and a redshank (rødben), which I did not see in the morning. I think I saw a flock of about 60 redshanks migrating in the morning, but I could not get a good enough look to identify them for sure. But there is definitely quite a lot of shorebird movement, despite the wind.

Also, despite, or because of, the wind, the gannets (sule) are having a feast and I saw them for the first time just in front of the lighthouse. We can literally watch them fishing from the kitchen window!

(Archive Picture, because of the weather of today…)

And Simon was also happy to see some shearwaters (skråpe), two of which were manx (almindelig) and one unfortunately had to stay unidentified.

In the evening, we had dinner together with our guests from the apartment and started a betting round when would be the best time to go bird watching tomorrow. I think, since the weather forecast can’t be relied on, your best bet is to just wake up at 4 and see what it says then, and then maybe sleep for another hour or not, depending. Anyway, I believe that tomorrow morning Grenen beach can be very good for shorebirds, so I will definitely want to be there before the tourists come. As for other birds, we will have to see, if anything still moves – which will also depend on when the storm really picks up.

So enjoy the birding in the – way too early – autumn storm and stay safe!

People: Martina Hillbrand, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Lisa Vergin, Karen and Henrik Toft

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

As the wind was good again, we didn't want to miss the next chance to try ringing Storm Petrels (Lille Stormsvale). So we set up the nets again in the evening, as we had done the last few times. On our early notice, several observers from Denmark, partly from Copenhagen, had arrived. So we really hoped to have success this night. But unfortunately we did not catch the target species, at least in the Storm Petrel net.

On the other hand, the Nightjar (Natraven) net was once again a complete success! Already in the first round we were able to catch and ring a young bird. How cool!

Look at the fresh feathers of this juvenile Nightjar. (pictures: Simon Kiesé)

Later that night we caught a second one, an adult male, which to our joy was already wearing a ring. This bird was ringed by us last summer about 10 kilometres away in the breeding area, as Simon (the first) was able to tell us directly. Exciting to see one of the birds again. Unfortunately, I didn't wake up for this bird, which is better, as we had to get up shortly after 3am the next morning to go to Skarvsøen for CES ringing.

So while Martina and I had our hands full with ringing Reed Warblers (Rørsanger), Reed Warblers (Rørsanger) and Reed Warblers (Rørsanger), Seán went to World's End to do a quick migration count. He then went back to rest up from the night he had spent doing the net checks for us.

Both he and we finally saw the young Goshawk (Duehøg) that has been flying around here for a few days. At home in Germany I see the species quite often, but now I am of course motivated to see as many species as possible here in Skagen.
At 1pm Seán was picked up by Knud to be taken to the station. Seán's time here is unfortunately over again. It was nice to meet you and I look forward to seeing you here again next May. Have a safe journey to Ireland via Aalborg and Amsterdam!

Also Tine and her family left this morning. They got the chance to see the nightjar last night as their good-bye present. Thank you for all the interest you showed in our work and for being such lovely guests!

After a necessary and well-deserved break, the two remaining volunteers got back to work. Martina cooked and I started writing this blog and vacuuming the floor. Then our two new guests also arrived at the flat. As the next days are full of wind and storm, we unfortunately can neither ring nor do the standard migration count. Yay, finally a good night's sleep. I had almost lost faith in being able to sleep in here ;-) But as soon as it's dry, I'll use every minute to go seawatching. Hopefully the wind will bring some great birds. When the wind dies down again, conditions will be good for catching Storm Petrels. It has to happen again sometime, doesn't it?

I hope you have better weather or use the weather to hope for some shearwaters!

Ringing (Skarvsøen )

Tornsanger (Common Whitethroat) - 2

Rørsanger (Reed Warbler) - 27

Gransanger (Chiffchaff) - 5

Blåmejse (Blue tit) - 1

Munk (Blackcap) - 3

Gærdesanger (Lesser Whiterhroat) - 4

Lille Gråsisken (cabaret) (Lesser Redpoll) - 1

Løvsanger (Willow Warbler) - 1

Total: 44

People: Seán Walsh, Martina Hillbrand, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Lisa Vergin, Karen and Henrik Toft, Lise, Tine and Elinor

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

For the first time in a while, I did the morning migration count with Simon. I had spent the last week or so ringing with Martina where the weather allowed us as I entered my last week working at Skagen Fuglestation trying to learn as much as possible. In contrast to the last few days of migration, it was slightly better as the winds were a bit stronger. The morning started nicely, with some Mallemuk (Fulmar) and Lomvie (Guillemot) movement. Then, we began to see some skua movement at sea, even though there was none on the beach anymore. We saw four Storkjove (Great Skua) migrating north-west in total, and two Almindelig Kjove (Arctic Skua) also going north-west. As we neared the third hour of our count, the winds picked up even more and we saw many of the birds we had just counted coming back in the opposite direction. It was a sign to stop the migration count as not to risk double counting. The weather is a good omen, though, for our Stormsvale (Storm-petrel) catching tonight. If a bird as large and heavy as a Storkjove is driven back by the wind, then we are more likely to catch the small Stormsvale. 

Simon was also incredibly happy today as he saw his first large whale while doing the morning migration count! Rolf and he belived it to be a Minke whale. We observed it jumping many times out of the water from World's End. There have been some sightings of Minke whale lately in Danish waters and particuarly on the Danish north coast so it being a Minke seems likely.

Martina was supposed to join us on the migration count, but she believed she had once again been fooled by the weather forecast. As Simon and I got ready to leave, she was getting ready to also, but instead to go ringing. She opened the nets at half 5 this morning thinking there might be something. She only ended up catching a Gransanger (Common Chiffchaff) and, rather nicely, a Havesanger (Garden Warbler).

Today was my last full day here. I am a little sad I didn't get to spend it ringing at Kabeltromlen but I am confident that we will catch something nice tonight, even if its not a Stormsvale. I cooked a farewell dinner of sorts, chana dal, Martina's favourite meal. I attempted to make enough for leftovers, but it seems like it'll all be gone by tomorrow's dinnertime. I'm leaving tomorrow around lunchtime. The six weeks I have spent here have been amazing in many different ways. I have learned a new skill I have wanted to for years, I have seen many new and different birds compared to my home in Ireland. And I have met some really nice people from the beginning of my time here to the end. I look forward to seeing Simon Kiesé and Simon Christiansen again next May, when I return for the spring season, hopefully with more experience.

Tally ho.

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet)

Havesanger (Garden Warbler) - 1

Total: 1

Skagen People: Seán Walsh, Martina Hillbrand, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Lisa Vergin,  Lise, Tine and Elinor

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

A link to the results of the latest NocMig-Recordings on Trektellen.

Migration has officially started now, seeing that at the ringing, for the first time, we had more migrating brids than local birds. Although that is a really good sign, it still was a very slow day for ringing at Kabeltromlem. The night should have been reasonably good for migration and strong winds and more rain are on their way. Birds can somehow detect when bad weather is coming, so they can get away from it in time. This means that there probably was quite a lot of migration going on tonight, only, apparently, birds did not have a reason to stop at our place, they just went straight south. Whatever happened to all the whitethroats (tornsanger) that were in the area just a few days ago, we can only guess. They may either have learned where the nets are, so they can avoid them now, moved somewhere else around the area (although there is still plenty of food for them here!), or they have already started migration as well, in face of the bad weather to come.

It was Sean’s last day at the ringing, since tomorrow it will be too windy. At least, he got to see some species that he hasn’t seen so often this year, like willow warbler (løvsanger) and marsh warbler (kærsanger). Also, in the closing round, we still caught a very young icterine warbler (gulbug), showing that they had been breeding locally. The parents were both around the net and calling loudly, while we extracted the bird. We made sure to ring it quickly and take it back to them. Despite the not fully grown wings, the bird was already very skilled in flying!

Picture of the first willow warbler (løvsanger) this morning - first sign of migration!

Simon junior, meanwhile, was out doing the seabird count at World’s End 3. Again, he had very good views of some fulmars (mallemuk), but not much else to speak of (quote: ”I was there for three hours and had absolutely no birds”, quote two seconds later: ”I counted about 300 gulls, a few fulmars, a black-throated and two red-throated divers, two razorbills…” [look for the complete list in Danish in the DOFbasen link below]). So, despite it being slow, there were some nice species to observe, just not lots of them.

In the email, on the other hand, we had some interesting news from a foreign ringed chaffinch we caught earlier this year: it was a female that was ringed in March, probably on her wintering grounds, in Southampton, England. A little more than a year later it was recovered at Kabeltromlen, on the 31^st of May this year.

After the morning we all went home, and since yesterday was spent doing all the things, we didn’t have time to do before, there was not so much left to do today. We had a nap and then Sean cooked dinner for all of us and the guests from the apartment. Tine has gotten into birding very much, while her mother is enjoying the beach and the beautiful scenery, and her daughter is mainly just enjoying her last days of holidays before school starts again. She did come out with her mum to Kabeltromlen one last time to see the ringing today and quite enjoyed herself.

So this was it for “before the storm”. What happens after the storm, we don’t know, also it seems, a lot more storm is on the way. But for now, we hope that the wind will die down tomorrow evening, so we can catch storm petrels (stormsvale) again, hoping (or fearing) some have been blown our way.

Tomorrow morning should be interesting for sea watching so you will find us all out at World’s End. It will be too windy to set up nets for ringing in the morning.

Ringing  (Kabeltromlekrattet)

Munk (Blackcap) - 1

Tornsanger (Common Whitethroat) - 2

Gærdesanger (Lesser Whitethroat) - 1

Kæersanger (Marsh Warbler) - 2

Gulbug (Icterine Warbler) - 1

Løvsanger (Willow Warbler) - 3

Gulspurv (Yellowhammer) - 1

Total: 11

People: Seán Walsh, Martina Hillbrand, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Lisa Vergin,  Lise, Tine and Elinor

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

A link to the results of the latest NocMig-Recordings on Trektellen.

Today, again, we were a little bit fooled by the weather forecast: I woke up at 3am to look at the forecast which promised rain half an hour later, so I decided to wait for an hour, before we open the nets. Then at 4 I woke up again, and the weather forecast said the same, although I am quite sure it hadn’t rained in the meanwhile. Seeing that there had been many rain clouds everywhere between us and any place birds could be coming from right now (Sweden and Norway mainly), I decided to not take the risk of having nets open in the rain and just leave the ringing for today. The local birds we can still catch another time and this night is a better night for migration, so tomorrow I am hoping for at least some migrating birds at Kabeltromlen. The problem with having the nets open when it is raining is, that birds caught in the net cannot use their plumage to stay dry, because some feathers might be pushed to the side by a string of the net, so that a part of their skin is exposed. So when it starts raining, we always have to close the nets and make sure we take the birds caught very quickly, before they get too cold. In case of doubt it’s always safer to just not open them. The safety of the birds being more important than any data that might be missed.

So, I went back to sleep for a little while, while Simon junior and Sean went to World’s End 3 to do a migration count. They managed to observe a group of 15 fulmars (mallemuk) closely, which was quite nice. Other than that, however, there was not so much to observe. Even the shorebirds that had been on the beach for the last few days, had left. Not a lot of terns or gulls either. Talking about gulls, there was a mystery gull on the beach, which was maybe a yellow-legged gull (middelhavssølmåge) herring gull ssp. omisus (sølvmåge ssp. omisus) the species still being debated. We would highly welcome good pictures of it if anybody observes it.

The rest of the day was spent doing miscellaneous tasks that we had not managed to do the last few days. Sean went to Skarvsøen and did the cormorant count, I went to Kabeltromlen to fix some ringing equipment and then to the beach to look for ringed gulls, and Simon did some computer work.

During all that time we had the nets in the lighthouse garden open in the hope of catching something. We did have luck with a great tit (musvit) early on. Then nothing for long hours. Then, when all of us just came back from our various works we met out in the lighthouse garden and chatted a little with a German bird watcher who had come by for a visit and for discussing the above mentioned gulls. While we were there, a tree sparrow (skovspurv) came to sit in one of the bushes, where also the yellowhammers (gulspurv) are now busy carrying food for their young. Simon really wanted to catch it, so he played the tree sparrow call with his phone from the other side of the net. The sparrow did not seem very impressed, but just as Simon gave up, sure enough, the sparrow flew right into the net towards the place where Simon had played the call before. So we got to ring that one as well – a bird we do not often catch around here.

When entering the rings of the gulls I read at the beach, I found an old friend, that I have already read last year: JA688. The thing that is so cool about this bird is, that it has been ringed in 2008 as a chick in Norway, so it is 15 years old now! On the picture it is the ringed gull in the back, the one that is preening:

The next few days will be a little bit mixed, with various kinds of weather waiting for us: Tonight should be a good night for migration if the rain clouds over southern Sweden and Norway do dissolve like the weather forecast promises. So we hope for a good morning ringing tomorrow at Kabeltromlen. Then later tomorrow we expect quite strong winds coming from the west and we really do hope that they might bring some good sea birds with them, that we normally don’t get to observe close to the shore. So, Saturday will be observation day. And then Saturday night we will try to catch storm petrels again, hoping that some might have been blown our way with the strong winds. As usual, you are welcome to sit around Saturday night and wait if we get lucky.

Ringing Fyrhaven

Musvit (great tit) - 1

Skovspurv (tree sparrow) - 1

Total: 2

People: Seán Walsh, Martina Hillbrand, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Lisa Vergin, Peter Kristensen, Lise, Tine and Elinor

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

A link to the results of the latest NocMig-Recordings on Trektellen.

Last night we set up nets again. It didn't take long and when Seán checked the net for the first time, he could see a Nightjar (Natravn) flying around the net. Unfortunately it didn't fly into the net and flew off after a while. But when Seán went closer to the net, he saw that there was one hanging. For him and me, this was the first ringed Nightjar. What a cool bird! It was an adult female. It's totally exciting to see how the species is adapted to the darkness with its big eyes. The beak looks tiny, but when the nightjar opens it, it would fit a ping-pong ball. Perfect for catching all those pesky mosquitoes away.

  Nightjar (Natravn) - female ad. (pic: Simon Kiesé)

As today was a quiet migration day, there is not too much else to report. A pair (male and female) of Bullfinches (Dompap) made us very happy in Kabeltromlen.

Bullfinch (Dompap) - male (pic: Seán Welsh)

In the morning, Hans guided a bird watching tour from the lighthouse to Grenen beach. Several interested tourists were joining him. Their first stop was at the ringing at Kabeltromlen, where they got to observe the ringing of a reed warbler (rørsanger) and a whitethroat (tornsanger). Then they walked on to the beach and got some introduction to identifying gulls (måge) and the few shorebirds (ryle) that are still left out there. They also observed the gannets (sule) diving for fish.

The highlight of the day was something else. When Simon (the 1st) told us that one of our Storm Petrels (Lille Stormsvale) had been recaptured, we could hardly believe our ears. The first bird we had ringed last week was recaptured only 48 later, 370km away as the crow flies. It weighed 2.7 grams less, which makes sense given the distance this little bird must have travelled. This is the first reading of a Storm Petrel ringed in Denmark. Brilliant! Simon has also written an article about it in which the story is explained with a few pictures, feel free to check it out: The article about the Storm Petrel recatch.

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet)

Gulbug (Icterine Warbler) - 2

Gærdesanger (Lesser Whitethroat) - 3

Rørsanger (Reed Warbler) - 1

Løvsanger (Willow Warbler) - 1

Munk (Blackcap) – 3

Tornsanger (Common Whitethroat) - 4

Dompap (Bullfinch) - 2

Gransanger (Chiffchaff) – 1

Total: 17

People: Seán Walsh, Martina Hillbrand, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Lisa Vergin, Hans Christophersen, Peter Kristensen, Lise, Tine and Elinor

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

A link to the results of the latest NocMig-Recordings on Trektellen.

The day started quietly today as there was little bird migration despite the nice weather. Nevertheless, I lasted 3 hours at World’s End 3. Although there was hardly any migration, I was able to observe several cool birds. In the morning a Temminck's Sandpiper (Temmincksrylen) was sitting on the beach and later I could observe two Honey Buzzards (Hvepsevåge) and a Woodlark (Hedelærke). I also had really nice views on five Harbour Porpoises.

One of the few migrating birds was two Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove) heading north. Isn't that the wrong direction? Shouldn't you fly south? Well, at least they live up to their name ARCTIC Skua. It really fits to them, because they migrate from their arctic breeding grounds to subarctic wintering grounds. Their second englisch name Parasitic Jaeger is good as well, because it describes its behavoiur of chasing gulls and terns to steal their food, but in this part of the world we use the common one "Arctic Skua". Or the danish one Almindelig Kjove (I'm stil learning the danish bird names but I make progress :-)).

I also filled the boredom by ageing the gannets hunting at sea. Unfortunately, I could also see one that had caught its beak in a plastic string about 3 metres long and was dragging it behind it in flight. Afterwards I walked to Martina and Seán, who had had the nets at Kabeltromlen open since 4:30am.

Even during ringing there was no sign of newly arrived birds today. In the morning Simon (the 1st) stopped by, then also our guests from the flat, to whom we were able to show some nice birds. All in all, it was a quiet morning. Nevertheless, we were very pleased wto catch a Crested Tit (Topmejse) and a Chaffinch (Bogfinke).

 Seán checking the fat (condition) and moult of a young Blue tit (picture by Martina)

While Martina and Seán repaired and closed the nets, I walked back to the observatory and sat down to check the NocMig-recording There was not much bird migration during the night either, but I could identify a Curlew (Storspove), 2 Common Sandpipers (Mudderklire) and a Grey Heron (Fiskehejre) by their calls. You can see all the data under the link to Trektellen. After a short nap we held the evening meeting and are now preparing to hopefully catch waders tonight.

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet)

Tornsanger (Common Whitethroat) - 5

Gærdesmutte (Wren) - 1

Rørsanger (Reed Warbler) - 5

Gransanger (Chiffchaff) - 2

Musvit (Great Tit) – 7

Blåmejse (Blue tit) - 1

Topmejse (Crested Tit) - 1

Bogfinke (Chaffinch) - 1

Rørspruv (Reed Bunting) - 1

Total: 24

People: Seán Walsh, Martina Hillbrand, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Lisa Vergin, Lise, Tine and Elinor

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

 A link to the results of the latest NocMig-Recordings on Trektellen.

Last night, Simon the first lead a night tour at the light house, where visitors got to see some of the nocturnal wildlife around our area, including natterjack toads, bats and some moths. We also had the nets open like the last few days, hoping for either storm petrels or nightjars, or both. On one of the net checks the group got to see a nightjar that flew around the nets, so they got a very good view of it – although some might have preferred to have the bird captured in the net so they could see it up really close, it was still a very nice bird to observe.

No birds caught again all night.

Experienced followers of bird migration may know what is needed now: a change of weather, meaning mostly a change of wind direction. Especially early in the season, when they are not yet in a hurry, birds do not like to fly against the wind, since it costs them so much more energy. Northerly winds are expected during the next two nights, so we hope that migration will pick up a little. Also with lots of rain in the middle of the country a lot of birds might get trapped around our area, meaning we might catch more than usual. On the other hand, seeing how little accurate weather forecasts were these last few days, the rain might also come north and we will not get any migration again...

Since last night it did rain almost everywhere apart from Skagen, no migration happened, or very little anyway. At the ringing this morning at Kabeltromlen then, Simon junior, Benjamin, and me, again, had only local birds. After all the whitethroats we ringed already, it is amazing that we still catch so many without rings. On the other hand, it is also good that we keep recapturing the ones that already have a ring on, because, for one, it means they are still alive (up to 90% of juvenile birds die within their first five months), but also it gives us a chance to see how they move around, when they start leaving the area, and, especially helpful for our new ringers: it provides a chance to follow the moult and learn to identify the different ages later on.

Today, we actually caught a common whitethroat (tornsanger) that we ringed only a few days ago at Skarvsøen. It is a young bird but apparently already quite adventurous, since it has moved around quite a bit. Mind you, there is a lot more sea-buckthorn around Kabeltromlen than at Skarvøen, because the dunes here are higher and it is generally a little drier. All the Sylvia species currently feed almost exclusively on the berries of this bush. It is also the food they use to put on fat for their migration later on, however, first they have to finish their moult.

Of course, they are also very pretty birds:

The other two Sylvia species (lesser whitethroat/gærdesanger and blackcap/munk) are also amnog the very common local breeding birds and on top of our current list of species caught most often.

Benjamin has been out ringing with us for the last time during these holidays, since soon he has to go back to school. But he noticeably improved his skills both in identifying birds and doing the recording for us, so we really look forward to have him as a "real" volunteer next year, when he is 15 and therefore old enough to get a trainee ringing license.

Sean, although he stayed up all night, went out in the morning in the hope of seeing loads of shorebirds and migration going on at the tip. He soon gave up, though, and settled to sleep instead.

At Grenen beach, the shorebirds have remained more or less constant over the past few days, quite enjoying themselves in the many puddles the rain has left behind. Also there are red-throated divers (rødstrubet lom) resting in the water very close to the shore. This species is breeding in Sweden and Norway and the birds we observe now are mainly second-year birds, that do not breed yet. Some of them have their very pretty breeding plumage, they may also be older birds that did not find a mate or for other reasons chose not to breed this year.

Because lately the light has been so beautiful in the cloudy evenings, here are a couple of pictures of last night’s sunset out at the beach at Grenen.

Ringing  (Kabeltromlekrattet)

Munk (Blackcap) - 2

Tornsanger (Common Whitethroat) - 9

Gærdesanger (Lesser Whitethroat) - 3

Gransanger (Chiffchaff) - 3

Blåmejse (Blue Tit) - 3

Lille Gråsisken (Redpoll) -  1

Total: 21

People: Seán Walsh, Martina Hillbrand, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Lisa Vergin Benjamin Bech, Lise, Tine and Elinor

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

Last night, once again, Simon and Benjamin stayed up all night with several interested guests, hoping to catch either storm petrels (stormsvale) or nightjar (natravn), however, again they were unlucky.  The weather forecast has, once again, fooled us quite a bit. It did not rain at all at night, so the promised good conditions did not happen, unfortunately. Mind you, tonight, the rain has come and will probably stop before the nets are set up, so, who knows, maybe, finally we will get lucky again...

Sean and I got up at 3 am, while the others closed the nets at the lighthouse, in order to go ringing at Kabeltromlen again. Originally, the weather forecast had forecasted no rain at all this morning, then the current rain radar showed it to be pouring most of the morning. Despite that we stayed quite dry and we, luckily, did not have to close the nets early.

The ringing today, despite the weather, was quite interesting, although, most of all, we caught only juveniel whitethroats (tornsanger). The second brood probably just hatched and the young are moving around quite a bit now. Since whitethroats are breeding at a very high density in the dunes, there must also be nests close to our nets, so we catch them very regularly.

Also, as a nice surprise, we cuaght the first wren of the season, also a juveniel, quite young still, so must also have been born around the area. Also we caught the first juvenile blackbird today, if I am not mistaken.

And we had a recaputre of a very colourful adult male yellowhammer (gulspurv). Although they are also breeding at a high density, Yellowhammers are often observed and always heard but not so often caught.

On the migration side of the bird species range, today we caught only one sedge warbler (sivsanger), which is a bird not lcally breeding so it should be a bird from Sweden or Norway. We do not catch them often, however, because sedge warblers follow a migration strategy where they use very few stopover places, and instead, when they are in one place, put on huge amounts of fat (they can almost double their weight!) in order to then go very long distances without feeding again. If they land for the day then they just sit in a bush and don’t move, so they would not be caught, normally.

On the mammal front there have been news today. A flock of four Orcas as seen at Grenen and Nordstrand. From Kabeltromlen we did not get to see them, however, most people who went to the beach or to World’s End saw them. Also Simon got a good look at them, after he joined us for ringing for a while. The orcas will probably stay in the area for a while, as they were observed hunting a seal, so they probably like this place. If you go out this week, always keep an eye out for them!

In the afternoon we did some cleaning, the data entry and all that is required to keep the station going. Also, our new guests for the week arrived: Tine, Lise and Elinor. It is their first stay here and we hope they will enjoy it!

Tonight, there will be a guided night tour and again, we will try to catch birds at night. Since the weather forecast has been so unrelyable lately, I will not make any predictions, but the plan is to go ringing at Kabeltromlen again tomorrow.

Ringing  (Kabeltromlekrattet)

Solsort (Blackbird) - 1

Munk (Blackcap) - 4

Tornsanger (Common Whitethroat) - 11

Gærdesanger (Lesser Whitethroat) - 1

Gaerdesmutte (Wren) - 1

Sivsanger (Sedge Warbler) – 1

Gransanger (Chiffchaff) - 1

Blåmejse (Blue Tit) - 1

Grønsisken (Siskin) – 3

Total: 24

People: Seán Walsh, Martina Hillbrand, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Lisa Vergin Benjamin Bech, Lise, Tine and Elinor

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

Tonight, again, a ringing session took place and around 30 visitors, all eager to see a storm petrel (stormsvale) came and sat through the night, not giving up hope until the end, however, no luck this time. Conditions would have been just like Thursday night, but maybe this time it was too quiet out at sea. Mind you, tonight it won’t be quiet for sure with several rain bouts moving through, so despite the somewhat uncertain weather, we decided to still give it one more try and who knows, the rain might yet push a storm petrel towards our shore.

Simon junior and I slept through the whole of tonight’s adventure, somewhat happy to not be woken up for a bird, so we could catch up on some sleep, since, again, we got up at 3am to go ringing at Kabeltromlen. After yesterday at Skarvsøen, the masses of mosquitoes came as a rather unpleasant surprise, although, of course, they are normal around this time of year, and they are important bird food, so often, lots of mosquitoes also means lots of birds and that’s what we had.

We started slow, but then the day turned out to be really good and we stayed up until noon. We caught mainly the local breeding birds, however, the first migrants are being put into the mix, for example, willow warbler (løvsanger). One of the locally born birds we caught was a water rail (vandrikse). It was still quite young, and it was really cool to finally see the birds up close that normally are very well hidden between the reeds, and although we hear them a lot, so we know they are there, it is very rare that one actually gets spotted.

Like most rails, water rails do not fly much, they just walk around between the reeds looking for whichever food they can find, not being too picky about what’s for dinner. Although they are one of the bigger birds we catch, their bodies are very slim, so they can move between the dense vegetation in the reeds. The northern and Asian populations are migratory, so despite the very short wings, this bird is able to fly quite long distances when the weather around here gets too cold and days get to short, so our new friend might spend the winter somewhere in the Mediterranean. However, like most bird species that rely only on wetland habitat, numbers of water rails are declining, so every young bird we get is a good sign for a potentially endangered species.

Towards the end of the morning, we also caught bearded tits (Skægmejse) again: first a male, and in the next net check the female that it was paired up with. It was cute to observe the close bond between the two birds: while the male was in the net, the female kept talking to him from the reeds. Then, when the male was gone, the female flew into the net (whether on purpose, because she thought it would be something like a magical gate to another world, or by accident, because she was trying to follow me, when I took her partner away, I don’t know). After we ringed and released the female, we could immediately hear them calling to each other, so obviously the male had waited for his partner close to the ringing table.

It was also cute to observe Simon junior when he got to ring the male, he was very happy, it being his first – and, of course, they are just very pretty birds:

After the ringing, we cut the all-too-fast-growing vegetation in the net lanes, went shopping for food, cleaned and slept a bit, while Sean was cooking delicious dinner once again (dear future volunteers: expectations are set really high now, so maybe you should start to practice your cooking already and find some good recipes!).

And finally, tonight Simon the first and Benjamin will again entertain any visitors hoping to still catch a storm petrel this night, while the rest of us get to sleep so tomorrow we can catch even more birds at Kabeltromlen. If you come for a visit, don’t forget to be prepared for mosquitoes!

Ringing  (Kabeltromlekrattet)

Water Rail (Vandrikse) - 1

Munk (Blackcap) - 6

Tornsanger (Common Whitethroat) - 8

Gærdesanger (Lesser Whitethroat) - 6

Rørsanger (Reed Warbler) - 4

Kæersanger (Marsh Warbler) -  3

Gulbug (Icterine Warbler) - 2

Løvsanger (Willow Warbler) - 1

Gransanger (Chiffchaff) - 8

Musvit (Great Tit) – 1

Skægmejse (Bearded Tit) - 2

Lille Gråsisken (Common Redpoll) - 4

Rørspruv (Reed Bunting) - 1

Total: 47

People: Seán Walsh, Martina Hillbrand, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Lisa Vergin, Anton Arnesson & Benjamin Bech

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