A fresh breeze from the north-east prevented us from putting up the nests for ringing this morning. When the wind is (too) strong, firstly there is less bird activity in the bushes and secondly the birds see nets inflated much more.

So it was a quiet morning for Alice and Robbe, who devoted themselves to cleaning the flat and got some paper work done. Hanelie and Manuel, on the other hand, were at Nordstrand shortly after sunrise, practically crouched into the dune to escape the sharp wind a bit. Together with a few local birders, we were soon surprised by two harriers, one of which quickly turned out to be a female Pallid Harrier Steppehøg.

The second individual was subsequently identified as this species from photographs. A good start. Otherwise, the bird migration (probably due to the weather) decreased significantly after the first hour and was also much less (visible?) than the past few days. At sea, a few Long-tailed Ducks Havlit mingled with the Common Scoters Sortand. These beautiful ducks are now in their breeding plumages. Also always a little highlight are Black Guillemots Tejst, today two birds flew just above the water surface heading east. The migration of the Arctic Skuas Almindelig Kjove continues, very beautiful to watch this elegant and powerful birds, as they often move very close to the beach and try to steal the prey from gulls or terns. In between the several Sandwich Terns Splitterne we could again manage to find some of our summery guests with red bills.

Hanelie then joined a German-Danish guided tour thankfully provided some German explanations. Highlights during the tour around the "tip" were some birds of prey, like quite a few Rough-Legged Buzzards Fjeldvåge and Kites Rød Glente & Sort Glente. There was a lot of interest in our work and an interesting exchange.

As we had postponed our regular clean-up-Saturday to today, we used the day also for sprucing up the flat. In the evening, new guests also arrived: Birte and Hans (Skagen Bird Observatory board member) are staying for a week and we are looking forward to going out together. The first thing they did was a long walk around the area, noticing many Kestrels Tårnfalk, it seems it was a good migration day for this species. Also, they passed by the Cormorant Lake Skarvsøen, realising that the birds really started off with the breeding activities, they counted almost double as many active nests than we did a week before. Some beautiful Vipers enjoying the evening sun allowed nice observations, too.

This morning Hanelie was first to get up, she went to Nordstrand for morning observations, and was son followed by Joakim Matthiesen, Jørgen Hulbæk Christiansen, Lars Paaby, that helped her count. There were quite a few Sparrowhawks (Spurvehøg) already, but also Ring Ouzels (Ringdrossel) and kestrels (Tårnfalk). Manuel and Robbe also joined. There weren't many birds, but they saw a Great northern diver (Islom). 

Because we could take a morning off today, we took advantage of this yesterday. Hanelie had another try for nightcatching but didn't catch anything unfortunately. Alice and I had a nice beach walk and saw the sea lighting up because of the “Morild”.

In the morning, Manuel and Hanelie wake up early because they are so used to the early rhythm. They went to the Poul Eeg camping, the industrial area, the beach and Flagbakken. They made a detour along the way to see a possible Iberian chiffchaff but in the end, it was just the common chiffchaff. They had a good time with nice observations of pallid harrier “Steppehøg”, hobby “Lærkefalkand” ring ouzels “ringdrossel”.

Meanwhile, I made a walk too and saw a nice rough-legged buzzard “Fjeldvåge”. Alice joined me and we finally went to the second hand shop. When cycling around in the harbour we climbed in a pier from which we could see three black guillemots “tejst” from very close.

Eventually I had a nice breakfast at 3 o clock when went back to the city. It was nice to try some traditional Danish dishes.

We all arrived at the station around the same time. It was a chill afternoon and we didn't have to cook because we had dinner with the people from blink and the exhibition again. Søren made a really nice curry for us and we all had a lovely evening with good talks.

Simon and Lisa have been busy too. Lisa started her day with working in the garden, while Simon was working on the radar together with Thomas and Jan Janssen. Later in the day, they went to Saftevandsbakken with Søren Knorr Søndergaard and saw the Camberwell beauty “Sørgekåbe”. Both Lisa and Manuel made a delicious cake for us in the afternoon.

Unfortunately the wind is still too strong to go ringing tomorrow, but we are looking forward a sunny day with some nice migration.

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

Robbe

People: Simon S. Christiansen, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Manuel Tacke, Robbe Cool, Lisa Vergin, Søren Knorr Søndergaard, Thomas Kjær

Early in the morning, as in the last few days, we are greeted by a brilliant sunrise over the Kattegat. There is a light fog over the areas and warm clothes are still a must, even though it already feels like spring during the day. Hanelie and Robbe open the nets for ringing at 5:15am, Alice and Manuel joined the little crowd at Nordstrand for migration counting from 6am and look up at the (somewhat too) clear blue sky.

The bird migration is steady these days, but not spectacular. This allows us to make many beautiful observations, as we can also take our time for individual birds. About 20 Arctic Skuas Almindelig kjove gave great views, as some of them migrate eastwards quite close to the beach. It is also a good occasion to take the time to get more familiar with the different calls of the still numerous Chaffinches Bogfinke and Brambling Kvækerfinke, as well as Linnet Tornirisk and Siskin Grønsisken.

A few Long-tailed Ducks Havlit (and other duck species) can be found amongst the hundreds of migrating Common Scoter Sortand, also keep a sharp eye on flying Red-throated Divers Rødstrubet lom as single Black-throated Divers Sortstrubet lom can be seen daily. The first Tree Pipits Skovpiber (a handful of birds migrating) mingle with the troops of Meadow Pipits Engpiber. Swallows can now be seen every day, today Barn Swallow Landsvale, but still very few. However, it is exciting to see the changes in the birdlife already within a few days. This will continue to gather pace over the coming days.

By the way, the Black-winged Kite Blå Glente is still in the area and thus nice to watch from close range for the third day in a row. This fantastic bird still attracts many observers not only from the region.

Ringing was also done today at Kabeltromlen, of course. In addition to the usual Robins Rødhals, Wren Gærdesmutte, etc., again some Willow Warbler Løvsanger were in the nets. What is particularly interesting now is that you can make a direct comparison between the Willow Warbler and the Common Chiffchaff Gransanger in hand. This is of course a totally different thing than reading about it in books or seeing it in pictures! A few Ring Ouzels Ringdrossel flew over the ringing station and gave nice viewss. Apart from that, the sun has also lured some European Vipers Hugorm out of hiding, exciting!

Data entry and checking the ringing data always takes a lot of time, but that is the only disadvantage of of high numbers in ringings and observations ;-)

We spent most of the afternoon relaxing, birdwatching and doing other things. So, Robbe went to Grenen Camping for some botanical observations. There he managed to discover what is supposed a first record for this region: the tiny and beautiful Crassula tillaea.

By the time writing, the delicious smell of roasted vegetables wafts through the flat and the sun shines through the windows from the other side of the lighthouse now.

Today, I was lucky to take a morning off. Meanwhile everyone except Manuel went to Kabeltrommeln to have another exciting ringing day. They caught almost as many birds as yesterday but no surprises yet. Two bramblings “Kvækerfinke “and a chiffchaff “gransanger” from Norway were the coolest birds.

Manuel went to the tip of Grenen to observe the migratory birds who were present in small amounts, but a white stork “Hvid stork “was a nice extra. He also saw his first tree pipit “Skovpiber “ here. Together with some barn swallows “Landsvale”, he could feel the first real spring vibes. Later at the station, we also saw the first yellow wagtails “Gul vipstjert“ and spoonbills “Skestorke” who were discovered by a kid while attending the open freezer day. This event is an exciting day for some, a disgusting afternoon for others. We showed our visitors the dead birds we collected for several projects and dissected a common scoter “sortand”. A local viper smelled the freshly cut duck and came along to say hello. The duck was out of the viper’s hunting range but he tried to catch a sand lizard instead.

Unfortunately this was only my first moment outside today. I had to do some work on the laptop for the university and for an exciting project about spontaneous vegetation in cities I am starting in Belgium. After the noon, Thomas came to give us the laserbinocular back. Fortunately, we don't have to collect the data manually in the future. In the afternoon, I worked on the raptor project with Esben and Simon, while the others were cleaning. Unfortunately, we had to say a goodbye to our guests who were really lovely again. Luckily, it's rather a "see you soon" because they will come back in one month. In the evening, we had an early meeting, because we booked a table in the restaurant Blink where Mathilde made a delicious meal for us!

We finished the evening with a nice walk before we got ready for a good night rest.

Robbe

Today’s observations in Dofbasen from observers in the area

Ringmæking Kabeltrommeln:

Vindrossel: 1

Sangdrossel: 4

Solsort: 3

Musvit: 2

Rødhals: 21

Jernspurv: 4

Gæerdesmutte: 7

Kvækerfinke: 2

Munk: 1 

Fuglekonge: 2

Gransanger: 10

Total: 57

Ringmæking Jennes Sø by Michael Ancher:

Lille Gråsisken: 13

Grønirisk: 1

Kvækerfinke: 5 

Bogfinke: 5

Blåmejse: 1

Gransanger: 7

Solsort: 1

Rødhals: 10

Gærdesmutte: 1

Total: 44

People: Simon S. Christiansen, Michael Ancher, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Lisa Vergin, Robbe Cool,  Dorte and Anders Østerby, Manuel Tacke, Thomas Kjær

Dagen fulgte mønstret fra første del af påsken: Vi vågnede atter op til en ny type vejr: Jævn-frisk og kold nordøstenvind. Dorte og jeg bor i lejligheden på Det Grå Fyr og vi forsøger at opleve så meget af fuglestationens arbejde som muligt. Til morgen besøgte vi Esben og Hanelie, der havde åbnet nettene ved Kabeltromlen til solopgang. Den kolde vind gjorde at fangsten var begrænset, men vi oplevede da mærkning af en Gærdesmutte Wren og genfangst af en Gransanger Chiffchaff, der var blevet mærket på stedet for nyligt. Hanelie brugte tid på at skære grene af træer, der var kommet for tæt på nettene. Manuel var på plads fra morgenstunden ved Nordstrand – her var det også en stille morgen, dog med fine oplevelser i form af Storkjove Great Skua og Sortstrubet lom Black-throated Diver. Alice og Robbe blev tilbage på stationen og arbejdede med deres studieprojekter – og senere på dagen brugte alle de frivillige tid på at få opdateret lister og arkiver.

Kl.10 var jeg og Dorte klar til at lede en to timers tur for 5 danske gæster. Fra fyret gik vi langs stranden, hvor vi kunne nyde mange nordvesttrækkende Suler (Gannets) og rastende Edderfugle (Eiders). Vi så også en Fiskeørn, der var trukket ud over Kattegat. Vi fik kigget på forskellige muslingeskaller (clams, mussels and razorshells) og også nogle fine eksemplarer af Skør slangestjerne (Brittle starfish sp) og Sømus (Sea potato). På tilbagevejen via Sandormsporet og Reservatet brugte vi tid på at kende de forskellige rovfugle i luften: Trækkende Spurvehøge (Sparrowhawks); Musvåge (Common buzzard), Rød glente (Red kite) og fouragerende Rørhøg (Marsh harrier), Blå kærhøg (Hen harrier) og Tårnfalk (Kestrel) – fra rørskoven kunne vi høre Rørdrum (Bittern) pauke. Vi mødte også Robbe og Alice, der var på tur med Michael fra Naturbutikken.

Dorte og jeg nød en god frokost på Blink, spisestedet ved Det Grå Fyr – og det kan varmt anbefales. Vi fik en ægte lokal og dagsaktuel ret: Smagen af Skagen med stegt kulmule (Hake) på en bund af kål. Midt på eftermiddagen tog vi i felten med Robbe for at tjekke noget grej til et mærkningsprojekt på rovfugle – Esben fik et lift, så han kunne proviantere til aftensmad. Hjemme igen samledes vi til aftenmødet – forinden kunne jeg dog lige råbe: Ung Gråmåge Glaucous Gull, der fløj forbi køkkenvinduet til de flestes fornøjelse –dem, der nåede at se den.
Efter aftenmødet, hvor alle fortæller om dagens hændelser og oplevelser, gav jeg et oplæg om, hvilke hvaler og delfiner, der kan ses omkring Grenen, og hvordan de kan kendes fra hinanden – på et ønske fra fuglestationens frivillige efter den store oplevelse med spækhuggere i tirsdags. Og så var de unge klar til at få aftensmad.

Observations of the day in DOFbasen from observers in the area

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

Ringmæking Kabeltrommeln:

Solsort: 1

Rødhals: 2

Gærdesmutte: 1

Dompap: 1

Gransanger: 1

Total: 6

Ringmæking (Jennes Sø):

Spurvehøg - 1

Gærdesmutte - 2

Rødhals - 1

Fuglekonge - 2

Blåmejse - 1

Bogfinke - 2

Gulspurv - 3

Total = 12

Folk: Simon S. Christiansen, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Robbe Cool, Manuel Tacke, Dorte Holmgaard, Anders Østerby og Michael fra Naturbutikken.