Hejsa folkens

I dag startede vi med at tjekke om vejret var godt nok til at ringmærke, men dsv blæste det for meget i den tidlige morgen. Heldigvis blev vinden lidt bedere, så vi endte med at kunne åbne nogle af nettene ved 7 tiden. Vi havde ikke så mange fugle i nettene, men det var godt vi tog ud, for i den første runde havde vi både en skovskade, bjerg vipstjert og en gransanger aflæsning fra Italien. Så det endte alt i alt med at være en super spændende morgen, med en masse sjov.

Skovskade 

Mens Cora, Hanelie og jeg ringmærkede, var Andrew og Lucas, gået ud for at kigge efter lidt fugle. Andrew fandt en Rovterne på stranden, og Lucas så både hedehøg, brushaner og en gulirisk, så det var to meget succesfulde ture som de havde.

Rovterne 

Efter vi alle var kommet hjem tog andre og Lucas også til flagbakken for at kigge lidt på rovfugle. Der var fint gang i både våger, gelenter og ørne. Dog ikke noget ud over det sædvanlige. Dog kom der en Hortulan flyvende forbi, så det var jo noget af en vild overraskelse for dem.

Om aftenen havde vi en aftale om at vi skulle kigge på en redekasse med tårnfalke, for at vurdere om de kunne ringmærkes. Andrew og jeg tog tog lige forbi mine forældres hus på vejen, for at se om vi kunne finde en grønspætte. Den fandt vi dog ikke, men vi så en masse spætmejser, Skovpiber og nattergal.

Lidt efter mødtes vi med de andre ude ved redekassen. Her snakkede ved med Martin, som ejede grunden, og satte en stige op for at se ungernes størrelse. Efter vi kom op kunne vi vurdere, at ungerne stadig skal have lidt tid inden de er klar til at få ring på. Vi glæder os til at vende tilbage.

Tårnfalke unger i reddekasse 

På vej hjem fra tårnfalkene stoppede vi ved Jerup strand for at se om vi kunne find lidt fugle. Her så vi den mest bedårende præstekrave unge sammen med dens forældre. Derudover så vi både klyder og Skestorke, samt en del andre vadefugle. Alt i alt en succesfuldt stop på vejen. Dog blev vi en smule forsinket, da jeg på vej tilbage til bilen opdagede at jeg havde tabt mine bilnøgler på stranden. Efter godt en halvtimes søgen blev de dog fundet og vi kom alle hjem i godt behold, dog en smule senere en planlagt.

Nu ser vi frem til endnu en god dag i morgen på Skagen fuglestation.

Vi ses derude.

Ringing Numbers: 

Gransanger 2 
Løvsanger 1 
Gulbug 1 
Bjergvipstjert 1 
Havesanger 1 
Skovskade 1

Total: 7

Highlights Skagen 

Rovterne 1

Gulirisk 1 

Brushane 2

Duehøg 1

Hortulun 1

Hedehøg 1

Highligts Tues Hus 

Thrush Nightingale 1

Spætmejse 3 

Skovpiber 5 

Highligts Jerup Stand 

Stor præstekrave unge 1 

Skestork 4 

Klyde 2 

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area

People: Lucas Corneliussen, Cora Köberle, Andrew Jacobs, Tue Baaner, Hanelie Sidhu, Simon S. Christiansen, Lisa Vergin, Eric Christophersen, Oluf Lou, Kim Skelmose, Hanne and Jesper

The wind was to strong to open the nets at Kabeltromle today and as the observation season ended yesterday and the windy weather was not really encouraging to go out, we stayed in a bit longer today. Later, everyone went on a walk and Tue, Lucas, Andrew and Cora saw a Montagues Harrier/ Hedehøg in Storsig not far from Ellekrattet, while I was on a walk at Grenen.

Montagues Harrier/ Hedehøg 2K female

Andrew also had a Little Tern "Dværgterne" on the sea close to the lighthouse.

Bird Higlights of today:

Montagues Harrier "Hedehøg

Little Tern "Dværgterne"

Todays observations of observers in the area can be seen here.

I was catching moths with light every night since I arrived here and want to show some highlights of the last days. I am entering the moths everyday on Arter, ObsIdentify and inaturalist so even if there is no list or pictures on the blog, you can keep updated.

Top row from left to right: Deilephia elpenor/ Dueurtsværmer; Hedya nubiferana/ Grå knopvikler; Spilosoma urticae/Hvid tigerspinder

Bottom row from left to right: Coscinia cribraria/ Plettet hedespinder; Zigzagspinder/Notodonta zizac; Pterosoma palpina/ Palpetandspinder

Pictures: Hanelie Sidhu

At the station: Andrew Jacobs, Lucas Corneliussen, Tue Baaner, Cora Körbele, Hanelie Sidhu and our guests Anne and Jesper Sandfeld

Rise and shine! Today was the final day of the standardized observation. After four long months, the standardized period has finally come to a close after today.  It has been a season with some spectacular birds with a pair of King Eiders (Kongeederfugl) in the first months to a Scopoli’s Shearwater (Skopolis Scråpe) in the final weeks! A season of highs and lows we will all never forget!

The observers got up this morning, unfortunately, to find that rain was barreling towards Skagen and meant that we were only able to count in the last hour of the morning. Despite this, we had a nice time reminiscing on the cold, foggy months, especially in March, which made us laugh as it was a similar day today as it was them, only 12 degrees warmer!

 The highlight of the morning were a pair of Little Terns (Dvaergterne) and large numbers of post breeding dispersal Grey Herons (Fiskehejre)!  We also saw Eric Christophersen who happened to be one of the first people we met in the field this spring at Grenen. A nice way to end the season!

 The observation team for the final day! 2 of whom have been here since day 1!

The ringers, Tue and Hanelie, headed out to CES and tried to open the nets, only to find out the rain was coming which led them to rapidly close them. They came home and immediately went back to sleep. 

In the late morning, Oluf came and picked up and took us up and took us south of Skagen to go meet up with the White-tailed Eagle (Havørn) ringers to try and ring a chick! Unfortunately, because the nest is new this year, it was unable to support the weight of Kim so he was unable to retrieve the retrieve. Regardless, it was very interesting to see him try to get up to the nest.

 Kim climbing the nest tree

Once completed, we said goodbye to Simon and Lisa, who are on their way to Iceland to complete fieldwork for the week. We wish them luck! Que into a special edition of the blog this week for updates from their trip as they will be ringing ducks!

Learning about the pulli Havørn ringing process with some "war" wounds from climbing

 In the afternoon, the rain kept us inside and we all took it easy. We expect the next couple of days to be very, very windy so ringing probably will not happen. But this allows us time to catch up on things we have been postponing the entire spring season.  Finally, in the evening, we welcomed Hanne and Jesper to the station. They will be staying as guests for the week. They also, coincidentally, happen to be the very first guests who stayed to the apartment during my first week at Skagen last year! 

And so, another observation season has come and gone at Skagen Fuglestation! What will the fall season bring? We will have to wait and see!!!!

Day Highlights:

Dværgterne 2 

Fiskehejre 49

Day Lowlight: 

The end of the spring season :(

MAJOR SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

- King Eider (Kongeederfugl)

- Surf Scoter (Brilleand)

- Booted Eagle (Dværgørn)

- Oriental Honey Buzzard (Tophvepsevåge)

- Black winged Kite (Blå Glente)

- Scopoli's Shearwater (Skopolis Scråpe)

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area

People: Lucas Corneliussen, Cora Köberle, Andrew Jacobs, Tue Baaner, Hanelie Sidhu, Simon S. Christiansen, Lisa Vergin, Eric Christophersen, Oluf Lou, Kim Skelmose, Hanne and Jesper

Today I went out to world’s end 1 with Lucas for observations we have been having fairly light eastern winds so the species and numbers passing through have changed noticeably from when the wind was more westerly. Some of the main species moving are European Starling (Stær), Eurasian Siskin (Gønsisken), Common Chaffinch (Bogfinke) and Red Crossbill (Liille Korsnæb) now with the better weather some raptors like European Honey-buzzard (Hvepsevåge) are coming through. Some interesting birds that came through were a late Long-tailed Duck (Havlit) migrating in a line with the Common Scoters (Sortand). A Black Tern (Sortterne) passing at the tip, Great Egret (Sølvhejre) going over the cormorant lake where some Great Cormorant (Skarv) have fledged now, a Black Kite was cruising over ellekrattet as well. Some waders made an appearance with Bar-tailed Godwits (Lille Kobbersneppe) and Eurasian Curlews (Storspove) and a few distant calidris type birds.

European Honey-buzzard (Hvepsevåge) photo Andrew Jacobs

In the ringing the influx of young Crested Tits (Topmejse) continued and the ringers got a Sedge Warbler (Sivsanger)  from the Netherlands so we will await to hear back about where this bird’s travels have taken it.

A recaptured Sedge Warbler (Sivsanger) from the Netherlands photo Hanelie Shidu

We had heard about a Short-toed Snake Eagle (Slangeørn) being around so went to Husig Hede to try and find it with no avail, some close Eurasian Hobbies (Lærkefalk) and a European Honey-buzzard (Hvepsevåge) were nice.

In the evening we went to Storsig for a walk to see if we could find a Red-footed Falcon (Aftenfalk) and had a nice stroll in the setting sun, there was a small falcon that passed us but it was completely backlit to hide its identity, maybe tomorrow we’ll be able to spot it!

Highlights from around Skagen today

Long-tailed Duck (Havlit) 1

Black Tern (Sortterne) 1

Great Egret (Sølvhejre) 1

Black Kite (Sort Glente) 1

Also in Skagen today from others

Short-toed Snake Eagle (Slangeørn) 1

Steppe Eagle (Steppeørn) 1

Red-footed Falcon (Aftenfalk) 1

Montagu’s Harrier (Hedehøg) 1

Observations on Dofbassen from the area today

Ringing:

Rødhals 1

Kærsanger 3

Munk 2

Topmejse 4

A recaptured Sivsanger from the Netherlands

People: Lucas Corneliussen, Cora Köberle, Tue Baaner, Hanelie Shidu, Andrew Jacobs and Simon S. Christiansen

Hejsa derude.

I dag stod Cora og Hanelie for ringmærkningen. Det var ikke den mest aktive morgen, men der var da et par fugle i nettet, blandt andet havesanger, musvit og et par juvenile topmejser.

Topmejse 1k

På morgenoptællingen, havde Andrew en fed morgen med en en del småfugle, og god aktivitet over havet også. Højdepunkterne var en topskarv, Lærkefalk og en sodfarvet skråbe. Sodfarvet skåpe, er virkelig en sjælden sommergæst, så det var bestemt en fed observation. Heldigvis nåede Cora også at se den fra Kabeltromelen.

Efter alle var kommet hjem, havde vi planlagt en tur ned til lille vildmose, med målet om at se sortspætte, kongeørn, stor hornugle og lille kirke ugle. Dsv vidste det sig at være som det ofte er med fugle, en del svære end man lige tror. Vi endte nemlig kun med at høre sortspætten en enkelt gang , og så hverken kongeørnen eller stor hornugle. Heldigvis var der god stemning og vi fandt også kirkeuglen, på vej hjem, så det reddede turen!!

På udkig efter Stor Hornugle 

Kirkeugle 

Mens vi var i lille vildmose, hørte vi en Zello omkring at der var set en Slangeørn oppe omkring Store klit!! Det endte med at ørnen blev set en gang inden den forsvandt ned over Hulsig mod nord, men vi krydser fingre for at den vender tilbage i morgen, så vi måske kan få en chance til!!

Vi vil takke af nu her fra en træt flok, som er klar til at give den gas igen i morgen.

Vi ses derude!

Ringing Kabeltromlen:

Kærsanger 1

Rørsanger 3

Topmejse 1

Munk 5

Havesange 1

Bogfinke 3

Gransanger 1

Total: 16

Highlights from Skagen:

Topskarv 1

Sodfarvet Skråpe 1

Slangeørn 1 

Lærkefalk 1 

Higlights Lille Vildmose tur 

Sortspætte 

Kirkeugle 

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area

People: Lucas Corneliussen, Cora Köberle, Tue Baaner, Hanelie Shidu, Andrew Jacobs and Simon S. Christiansen

This morning Hanelie and I went out to open the nets. Later also Lucas joined for the first round. There were not so many birds in the nets in the first rounds. But on the fourth I extracted a Reedwarbler (Rørsanger) with a ring on it, when I checked the ring number Icould see that it was ringed in Norway. It is always a bit exciting when you catch birds with rings from other countries. So now we are looking forward to receive the recapture letter of this bird.

Hanelie also brought two birds back from her round. One of them was an Acrocephalus Warbler. But when I took that one out of the bag we could see that it looked a bit different than a Marsh- or Reed warbler and also the wing was very short. We checked all the measurements again and then it was clear this one was another Blyth’s Reedwarbler (Buskrørsanger)! Already the second this year! It was only the 5th caught for the station.  

Blyth’s Reed Warbler (Buskrørsanger)

Oluf, Tue, Andrew and some other birders came by to look at the bird. Later also Jørgen Kabel and his dog Igor came by to have a chat with us and keep us company. The other highlight of the ringing was that we  caught five young Crested Tits (Topmejse) today. They were very nice.

 the young Crested Tits (Topmejser) 

The observations were observation wise a bit slow today but they saw a Shag  (Topskarv) and an Arctic Skua (Almindelig Skua). One other highlight of the observation were four young  Coal Tits (Sortmejse).

When we were back at the station we took a look at the Moths Hanelie caught in her traps tonight. There were some very nice ones like a Small Elephant Hawk-moth (Lille Vinsværmer) and an Eyed Hawk-Moth (Aftenpåfugleøje). 

Small Elephant Hawk-moth (Lille Vinsværmer). Picture: Hanelie Sidhu

Eyed Hawk-Moth (Aftenpåfugleøje). Picture: Hanelie Sidhu

After that I sat in the Garden, read a Book and enjoyed the sun. Today was the first day where you could finally feel the summer.

Later Tue and I went out to Grenen and the old Lighthouse Garden to collect some Elderflowers to make Elderflower syrup. Out while I was collecting the flowers Tue found Fawn lying in the grass. Sooo cute! 

very cute Fawn in the grass

When we came back Tue, Lucas and I went swimming. It was very nice.The water is still a bit cold but much warmer than in March.

Ringing Kabeltromlen:

Rørsanger 4

Gulbug 1

Munk 5

Havesanger 1

Gransanger 1

Buskrørsanger 1

Topmejse 5

Total: 18

Highlights from the observations:

Shag - Topskarv 1

4 young Coal Tits - Sortmejse

Arctic Skua - Almindelig Kjove 1

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area

People: Lucas Corneliussen, Cora Köberle, Tue Baaner, Hanelie Shidu, Andrew Jacobs and Simon S. Christiansen

Not many birds in the nets today but a calling Rosefinch „Karmindompap“ close to the nets while opening was nice, we heared them later as well from the ringing table.

Simon saw one at the Sandworm track that was collecting nesting material. Maybe it is attempting to built a nest.

Also Cora and Andrew had several Rosefinches „Karmindompap“ calling at the morning Observations at Worlds end one. Other nice observations were a Arctic Scua „Almindelig Kjove“ over the sea, a 1K Reed Bunting „Rørspurv” that had a funny call and was fedt by its parents and a Rook ”Rage”, which they did not see for a while.

Highligts from the observations

Rosefinch/ Karmindompap 4

Arctic Skua/ Almindelig Kjove 1

Today´s observations in Dofbasn from observers in the area.

Morning Observations at World´s End 1. Picture: Simon S. Christionsen

Also many 1Ks at the breeding bird monitoring at Cormorant lake, 152 Cormorant ”Skav” chicks.

I will catch moths during my time here at Skagen and had my trap out but did not get much, three different species in the trap and one that I caught in the grass, Ematurga atomaria ”Lyngmåler”. It is a common dayflying one but quite nice. Yesterday evening I found one moths and one caterpillar on the wall without light. I have built one more trap today and will try it out this night.

Ematurga atomaria ”Lyngmåler”. Picture: Hanelie Sidhu

At the station: Cora Körbele, Tue Baaner, Lucas Corneliussen, Simon S. Christiansen, Andrew Jacobs, Hanelie Sidhu

Another day, another early wake up at Skagen Fuglestation. With the solstice rapidly approaching and the spring standard ringing season starting to come to a close, we are now well within our earliest wakeup schedule (02:45)! Tue and I headed out the door at 3:15 AM to get to Kabeltromelen to open the nets for the morning. 

While we knew there would be raining coming in the morning, we knew we had a few hours to have the nets open and try to catch any late season migrants pushing through the area. It was quite cold this morning, with all the humidity in the air, but we still managed to have a fairly productive day! Several new Marsh Warblers (Kærsanger) and a few Gransanger (Chiffchaff) amongst the birds caught. 

On the last round before we needed to close for the rain, at 06:45 AM, we were about to close the same net that the Cettisanger was in, when I noticed a larger, brown-red colored bird hanging in the net with two other birds. I immediately recognized it as a Common Nightingale (Sydlig Nattergal)! This represents the third individual rung in Skagen and the very first for Sakgen Fuglestation (2 rung birds in the 2000s). This also represents the 16th record foe Skagen! A surprisingly rare bird despite its namesake! We aged the bird as an adult (3k+) which was also fairly surprising, given most of the rarities caught in Skagen are typically immature birds.

Sydlig Nattergal 

The observers also came over to see the Nightingale, after having a nice morning themselves, with a nice dark morph Pomarine Skua (Mellemkjove)! They also had far fewer Fulmars (Mallemukker) than in recent days with only 20 being seen! They were also some of the only observers present today at Verdens Ende, with only one other birder present! Very similar to what we had in March! A far cry from just 3 days ago when 30+ birders were present!

The remainder of the day was fairly slow with the most notable thing to happen being the arrival of former volunteer Haniele Sidhu! She will be here through the remainder of the spring season and into summer!

And so, another day passes at Skagen Fuglestation. What will tomorrow bring? We will have to see!

Highlights: 

Mellemkjove 1

Sydlig Nattergal 1

Hanelie Arrival!

Ringing:

Kærsanger 4

Rørsanger 1

Gransanger 3

Grønsiskin 1

Gulbug 1

Rørspurv 1

Sydlig Nattergal 1

Tornsanger 1

Total: 13

People: Lucas Corneliussen, Cora Köberle, Tue Baaner, Andrew Jacobs, Simon S. Christiansen, Hanelie Sidhu

Today had high winds so with ringing cancelled we all went to world’s end 3 for the observations to get a better look at the seabirds up close. As is typical on a windy day there were many Northern Fulmars (Mallemuk) flying offshore, however today there were quite a few Common Terns (Fjordterne) and Black-legged Kittiwakes (Ride) moving inshore. There were two Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove) a light morph and a dark morph, possibly the birds that seem to have been passing the tip every day for about a week now. A male Eurasian Wigeon (Pibeand) flew past us which was nice as a species we haven’t seen in awhile now. At the end of the observation period we saw a Long-eared Owl (Skovhornugle) out over the ocean in the gull flock as it flew inland past the lighthouse towards ellekrattet.

Common Tern (Fjordterne) photo Andrew Jacobs

After the observations Rasmus packed up and we said our goodbyes as he headed out from the station for the season.

Simon received a call of two Northern Fulmars  (Mallemuker) to be collected from the beach so in the afternoon Cora and I headed out to retrieve them for the Northern Fulmar (Mallemuk) project, they were easy to find but were rapidly being buried by the sand. While we were out we also tried to look for some gull rings however couldn’t get close enough to read them, although a nice Black-legged Kittiwake (Ride) flew right over them over land. There was a large flock of Common Terns (Fjordterne)  ripping around just offshore providing good views. Some of the terns flew over land up the sandworm track with a nice Little Tern (Dværgterne) with them.  Another bird we hadn’t seen for a little while was a Western Yellow Wagtail (Gul Vipstjert) with the White Wagtails (Hvid Vipsjert) at the beach entrance to the sandworm track.

European Herring Gull (Sølvmåge) photo Andrew Jacobs

Black-legged Kittiwake (Ride) photo Andrew Jacobs

When we got back to the station Tue got back from his trip and we prepared for the coming days.

Highlights:

Little Tern 1 (Dværgterne)

Long-eared Owl 1 (Skovhornugle)

Eurasian Wigeon 1 (Pibeand)

Observations from the area on DOFbasen today

People: Lucas Corneliussen, Cora Köberle, Andrew Jacobs, Tue Baaner, Rasmus Matthiesen-Juhl, Simon S. Christiansen, Anders Rasmussen.

Hejsa folkens, her kommer den dejlige melding fra Skagen Fuglestation. 

I dag startede jeg dagen ud med CES ringmærkning ved Skarvsøen sammen med Lucas, mens Cora, Andrew, Simon og Lisa stod for ringmærkningen ved kabeltromlen. Det viste sig at være en rigtig god ide at ringmærke to steder i dag.  Der gik nemlig ikke længe efter mig og Lucas havde taget første runde, før de ringede fra kabeltromlen med nyheden om at der var blevet fanget en Lille Rørsanger!!! 

Det var en nyhed der kunne sætte gang i os, og jeg kan love jer for at der var fart på da vi næsten løb gennem klitterne fra Skarvsøen for at kunne nå at se fuglen. Heldigvis nåede vi det, og sikke en fantastisk fugl at få lov at opleve så tæt på. Normalt finder man primært lille rørsanger i Centralasien, så det er altså noget af en sjældenhed her i Danmark, dog er Skagen helt sikkert stedet at være, hvis man vil have chancen for at se en af disse små fugle her i landet. 

Lille Rørsanger 

Efter vi havde set fuglen vendte vi snuden tilbage mod Skarvsøen for at færdiggøre ringmærkningen. i løbet af dagen var der især vildt mange Rørsanger, men hen mod slutningen, blev vi glædeligt overraskede af en ung Skægmejse i nettet. Det var en 1k fugl, altså født i år. Det var virkelig en stor oplevelse at have en af dem i hånden, da det virkelig er en unik og fascinerende fugl, som slet ikke kan sammenlignes med andre. 

Skægmejse 1k 

Ved kabeltromlen gik det fortsat også godt, da de både fangede en 1k Topmejse og 1k Sortstrubet bynkefugl. man kan virkelig se nu hvordan de første kuld er begyndt at komme på vingerne, det er en fornøjelse at kunne være med til at byde den nye generation af fugle velkommen. 

Topmejse 1k

Sortsturbet bynkefugl 1k 

Morgen observationen bestod i dag af Rasmus og hans far Anders. Der var ikke det helt store træk af fugle, og man kan mærke hvordan det store træk af fugle er forbi nu. Til gengæld er det også nu der virkelig er chance for at finde nogle sjældenheder, så det er bestemt ikke mindre spændende. Højdepunktet endte med at være en Topskarv, men der var også en Sandterne ude omkring grenen, som desværre viste sig at være svær at finde. Vi krydser fingre for at den lægger vejen forbi igen i morgen. 

Da vi kom hjem, havde vi lige et par timer, inden vi alle tog på Skagen Bryghus for at fejre en helt fantastisk sæson, inden folk begynder at tage hjem. Det var vildt hyggeligt, og bagefter havde vi en tur rundt i byen, hvor vi også lige lavede et ekstra stop for at hapse en enkelt øl mere. som afslutning fik vi også lige en lille is på torvet. det er ikke en dårlig måde at slutte en ellers helt igennem fantastisk dag af på. 

Vi ses derude.

Highlights: 

Topskarv 

Sandterne 

Ringmærkning Kabeltromlen: 

kommer senere 

Ringmærkning CES: 

kommerer senere 

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area