Today we were able to ring again. Haneli, Raya and me opened the nets at Kabletromle and weren't disappointed. The nets were full of Willow Warblers (Løvsanger) and Lesser White Throats (Gærdesanger). The Highlight of today was 2 new species. We had the first Tree Pipits (Skovpiber) and the first Common Whitethroats.

First Common Whitethroat of the season

First Tree Pipit of the season

While ringing we could hear the Cuckoo (Gøg) which was singing between Kabletromle and World End 2. It is really early this year.

Manuel and Carsten joined the observations on Nordstrand. After that he left us because he will visit Hamburg to meet his family and for the upcoming Birdrace. Because Manuel had to leave earlier Knud took over the counting.

Robbe and Alice went to World end 2 to laser shoot.They could see a flock of 40 Buzzards. We still need to adjust but every day we're making a bit of progress. It is still hard sometimes to find the birds on the radar due to technical settings that need to be refined. With the laser binocular we get better at following the birds. Robbe and Alice were able to follow a Buzzard for 4 km today.

On the way back from the laser shooting Haneli and Robbe saw a Little Ringed Plover.

Later right after our Moult lecture with Simon, Gustav arrived. He will stay here until Saturday. He took a 4 hour walk and saw a lot of Pied Flycatchers (Broget Fluesnapper), Willow Warblers (Løvsanger) and Wood Warblers (Skovsanger).

Lisbeth and Carsten were a great help today because they did the groceries and cooked a delicious meal for us.

People:  Jesper Pedersen, Simon S. Christiansen, Knud Pedersen, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Manuel Tacke, Robbe Cool, Leona Gottschalkson, Raya Mathiak, Carsten Math Iversen, Lisbet Harms Lavsew

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

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

People:  Jesper Pedersen, Simon S. Christiansen, Knud Pedersen, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Manuel Tacke, Robbe Cool, Leona Gottschalkson, Raya Mathiak, Carsten Math Iversen, Lisbet Harms Lavsew

Early in the morning, Leona (who joined the station's team the day before yesterday) and Manuel stood in the wind on the northern beach. Together with our guest Carsten and some other observers, we enjoyed the stormy sea and the Gannets Sule flying close to the beach. Also quite some Fulmars Mallemuk could be observed. Otherwise, there was very little going on. This was quite convenient for us, because afterwards Hanelie and I wanted to head to Grenen for our laser project and stand at World's End 2 from 9h.

Together with Aarhus University, the exact migration routes of the birds are to be studied. For this purpose, a radar has been set up in the garden of the lighthouse and we have been equipped with high-tech laser binoculars. These can measure, among other things, the height of birds in the air and the distance to the observer. Together with Jesper, who sits at the lighthouse in front of the radar image and is supposed to find migrating birds, we started from the dunes at 9am, looking into the distance. We quickly found some migrating marsh harriers. Unlike the buzzards, which came a little later, the harriers actually made the strenuous journey across the sea, the buzzards in fact returned from the tip.

Therefore, we were able to "shoot" the harriers and transmit the data via Bluetooth from the binoculars to an app on a phone. This is really next-level-birding, isn't it? In the course of the morning, the wind died down and it became really summery. The many Barn Swallows Landsvale fund few Sand Martin Digesvale flying around did their part. Very beautiful!

While Robbe enjoyed some free time in Aarhus, Alice worked on her (exciting but busy) online courses and Leona picked up a friend and joined for a laser shoot, afterwards they spent some time on the beach. Lisbeth and Carsten took advantage of the sun later in the day for short walks around Grenen and in the town. There is something for everyone up here ;-)

Klik her for at se dagens observationer indtastet i DOFbasen af observatører i området (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

Yet another sunny day – not much rain this spring. Anders and Robbe opened the nets this morning. Simon joined in and around 30 birds were ringed, the highlights being a couple of Redstarts (Rødstjert) and a Jay (Skovskade), that gave Anders a couple of scars. Line (that has stayed at the station earlier as an intern) and her father Michael were among the visitors this day.

Hans and (a little later) Manuel did the counting at Nordstrand. On the way out there Hans saw a Racoon Dog (Mårhund). Quite a few people joined and about 30 were assembled and the spirits were high when everybody was rewarded with a nice Yellow-billed Diver (Hvidnæbbet Lom) that was passing by. More than 700 Red-throated Divers (Rødstrubet Lom) and a Black- throated Diver (Sortstrubet Lom) also showed. Other (minor) highlights were two Little Gulls (Dværgmåge) and the first Little Tern (Dværgterne) of the year. After the ringing Anders spent some time at Saftevandsbakken seeing a few raptors and two White Storks (Hvid Stork) that passed after attempting to migrate at Nordstrand. At Stald Grenen he also saw a group of 12 Ring Ouzels (Ringdrossel).

Returning to the Lighthouse he found a Viper (Hugorm) that had found its way to the station, staying on the concrete platform. 

Hanelie woke up a little late after an (unsuccessful) owl-catch during the night. She and Robbe went to Batteriskoven, finding a couple of Pied Flycatchers (Broget Fluesnapper). After this they visited the gallery, where Axel Thorenfeldt shows his great bird-paintings. A visit there is to be recommended.

Hans did a soundscape-count for DOF, hearing the first Reed Warbler (Rørsanger) and adding another couple of Camberwell Beauties (Sørgekåbe) to the impressive list of this species this spring.

The ’batmen’ – Johan Eklöf and Stefan from Sweden paid a visit to the station bringing a bat-detector, that now records the bats passing the station the next month.

At the evening meeting Simon told about the life as a leader of the station and the life as volunteers was also a topic. Also different (possible) projects were discussed.

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  

Photos: Anders Brinkmann

Todays ringed birds at Kabeltromlen:

Rødhals: 2

Rødstjert: 2

Gærdesmutte: 2

Sangdrossel: 1

Munk: 1

Gransanger: 6

Løvsanger: 8

Skovskade: 1

Rørspurv: 3

Total: 26

People/Folk: Simon S. Christiansen, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Manuel Tacke, Robbe Cool, Anders Brinkmann, Hans Christophersen and more.

Today the sun woke up earlier than I did. And after enjoying the golden morning at breakfast, I went to Jesper Pedersen with Alice. We tried to figure out how to calibrate the laser binocular but we were unsuccessful. Thomas came too but only to find his glasses that he lost last day.

The others were ringing in the morning together with Lars. Unfortunately, the nets were almost empty. Hanelie was happy with the meadow pipit ‘engpiber’ they caught but she had to hurry to be at time at the station. Because today we finally made a trip.

Together with Alice, Lisa and Hanelie, we drove to Hirtshals to see the aquarium and get a guided tour from Anders. Marion joined us too in Hirtshals which made it a really nice reunion. In the aquarium, we discovered the fauna of the North Sea. Anders took us behind the screens and showed us a rare fish they caught: the wreckfish. We were all really amazed by the skeletons of the whales they had and the horn of the narwal. We finally had the feeling of being on holidays and profited from this day to eat nice fish and chips in the harbour. Tired but satisfied, we came back to the station. The girls took their time to set up the owl net, which will now be a stationary net as well.

Today, Manuel took the time to enjoy the birding without having to many tasks. He first made a stop at Batteriskoven to find the flycatchers ‘broget fluesnapper’, but only the wood warblers ‘skovsanger’ were present. He continued his trip to the gallery of Axel to have a nice talk with him and in the late afternoon he had a look at the nocmig, together with the chairman of DOF.

Earlier this day, Simon also went to Batteriskoven to search the wryneck ‘vendehalse’ that was seen but without any result. He also announced that he has a new boss.

The third person that went to Batteriskoven was Anders and he had more luck with the pied flycatchers. He wanted to spend the whole afternoon on watching raptors but he had the ‘luck’ to enter the ringing data.

Hans started this day quite early and went to Nordstrand. It was too cold and foggy to see birds but he had nice company. His birding highlights of the day were 8 fulmars ‘mallemuk’ during the migration counts, a group of 12 ring ouzels ‘ringdrossel’ and a golden eagle ‘Kongeørn’. During the day he brought Birte to the station and later he also visited the harbour to find a nice gull. In the evening, Hans and Anders eased our work by doing the raptor summary.

Surprisingly, while I am writing this blog, Axel found a female citrine wagtail ‘citrin vipstjert’ at the cormorant lake!

Good night,

Robbe

Engpiber: 1

Gærdesmutte: 1

rødhals: 4

Munk: 3

Gransanger: 1

Løvsanger: 4

Bogfinke: 1

Rørspurv: 4

Total: 19

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area

People/Folk: Knud Pedersen,Simon S. Christiansen, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Manuel Tacke, Robbe Cool, Anders Brinkmann,  Jesper Pedersen, Birthe Drustrup & Hans Christophersen, Lisa Vergin, Anders Østerby, Egon Østergaard, Lars Bo Jacobsen

There is a German saying that says: "Eine Schwalbe macht noch keinen Sommer", one swallow does not make a summer. That is certainly true. But maybe 20 or so? ...At least they are really arriving now. Today Manuel and Robbe were able to observe several migrating Barn Swallows Landsvale and House Martins Bysvale during the morning observation. For the most part, however, it remained fairly quiet in Grenen. Three migrating Whooper Swans Singsvale and a few Wheatears Stenpikker in the dunes were nice observations. Otherwise, there was not much migration to observe today. At least the beautiful Kentish Plover Hvidbrystet præstekrave was sitting on the beach in Grenen today, but only Hans was able to see it at close range - and managed to get an arty shot.

The weather forecast for the next few days remains sunny and clear. This is of course very nice for being outside, even if the wind is still quite cold. But for birdwatching, it would actually be good if there were a rainy day. When the weather is clear, the birds just move up and through and you don't get to see much of them. When the weather changes, fog or rain, they avoid long distances and come down to rest. That's better for the birdwatchers, of course. But this spring has been very dry so far and there has been exceptionally little rain so far. The sunny weather continues to attract beautiful butterflies to the sun, with Camberwell Beauties continuing to show themselves.

The fact that the birds are not in the bushes to rest can also be seen from the ringing figures: In five hours, only 25 birds were in the net, including another day without any excitement. But even with the Willow warbler Løvsanger, Chiffchaff Gransanger or Blackcap Munk, you always have to look very closely to see where the moult limits can be found in order to accurately determine their age.

In Batteriskoven there are still some Pied Flycatchers Broget fluesnapper around and in the afternoon Anders managed to get some decent shots.

In the evening Birte and Hans cooked for us, there was delicious lasagne with a great salad for the big group. Over the weekend Anders (also a board member) is also a guest, so we have a full house at the lighthouse. At the table we talk about Pink Floyd's early work, Anders' band, our language skills and what it's like to live in Aalborg.

(Pictures by Hans Christophersen & Anders Brinkmann)

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area

People/Folk: Knud Pedersen,Simon S. Christiansen, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Manuel Tacke, Robbe Cool, Anders Brinkmann, Rasmus Due Nielsen, Thomas Kjær Christensen, Jesper Pedersen, Birthe Drustrup & Hans Christophersen.

Surprised by the brightness of the sun, I woke up to late this morning because the battery of my phone died. I hurried to Nordstrand and there I met Manuel and Jørgen Hulbæk Christiansen among others. The migration was better than yesterday but there were no real highlights except for a possible Lapland longspur “Lapværling”. The numbers of red-throated divers “rødstrubede lom” were quite surprising and we finished the morning with more than thousand birds. While Manuel stayed at Nordstrand to enjoy the birds, I went to the cormorant lake and saw the glaucous gull “Gråmåge” landing and resting there.

Just when we wanted to leave to the lighthouse, we had a surprising zello about three golden eagles “Kongeørn” coming our way. We decided to go to a good viewpoint near the lemonade hill and started to scan the sky. We had a lot of different raptors but the eagles were nowhere to be seen. Until I found one just above us. We were both really excited with this observation and really enjoyed the next hour where we saw eagle four times.

Only our stomachs were not so happy and we agreed with Hanelie and Alice that they would bring us a picknick. They finished earlier already because, once again, the ringing was slow with less than 20 birds. Fortunately, we finally caught the first redpolls “Lille gråsisken”. Meanwhile Alex arrived too and showed them his lovely paintings that can now be seen in Galleri Molevit until the 8^th of May.

We all met in the city in the early afternoon, for Manuel and me to have our lunch, for all of us to enjoy a nice ice-cream.  We were accompanied by many raptors migrating on top of the city so we found ourselves a nice observation spot and watched the rough-legged buzzard “Fjeldvåge”, harriers “høg” and black kite “sort glente”.

Alice and I stayed a bit longer to look for clothes in outdoorshops and on our way back, we saw the golden eagle again. Immediately when we arrived, we joined the lecture about Skagen’s butterflies given by Jørgen Kabel. It was a really interesting presentation with adorable pictures taken by him. We are fully prepared to go on butterfly-hunt now. We were so captivated by the beauty of the species that Simon was afraid we would stop watching birds. Not only the guests joined us for this presentation but also Simon and Jørgen Hulbæk Christiansen.

Simon joined us for most of the day, but in the afternoon, he had a meeting with the director of birdlife Denmark. The guests joined the ringing in the morning and made a walk to Grenen afterwards. In the afternoon they enjoyed the golden eagle as well.

When we had the evening meeting, Rasmus and Thomas came to get the right equipment to make the radar operable the next days.

Klik her for at se dagens observationer indtastet i DOFbasen af observatører i området (Today’s observations in DOFbasen from observers in the area)

People: Simon S. Christiansen, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Manuel Tacke, Robbe Cool, Lisa Vergin, Rasmus Due Nielsen, Jørgen Hulbæk Christiansen, Thomas Kjær Christensen, Jørgen Kabel, Birthe & Hans Christophersen, Axel Thorenfeldt

Ringing Kabletromle

Gransanger: 4

Solsort: 1

Rødhals: 1

Lille gråsisken: 2

Løvsanger: 2

Gærdesmutte: 3

Total: 13