Slow migration day with yummy meals to warm us up.

Hello everyone,

First I want to start this blog with very exciting news: Esben, Hanelie and I saw the northern lights while being out for night captures yesterday evening! They were faint but as it was our first time that did not limit our happiness. Forecasts predict that there might be some again today and maybe even brighter, so I advise all of you to have at least a quick look outside tonight, so you don’t miss them. After this nice sighting, we went to bed to then wake up to some amazing sunrise colours once again.

Today’s observation team consisted of Alice, Robbe and me. The wind was coming straight towards us, so it was quite chilly. Most of the birds did not seem to appreciate it much either as they were very few passing by, especially regarding sea migration. Even Northern Gannets (Sule) and Common Scoters (Sortand) were not present in many numbers or were just resting. The horizon was also pretty empty without the impressive flocks of Common Guillemots (Lomvie) and Razorbills (Alk). We did see more Whooper Swans (Sangsvane) than the previous day and so we might be seeing more from now on. Hopefully, the wind conditions will be better this coming week and we will get to see more individuals and species although it might mean having to be out on windier days. But this observation session was nonetheless enjoyable as we also were joined by other birders including Jørgen and Erik. We always enjoy having some company so if you ever see a couple of people with telescopes at Grenen in the morning don’t hesitate to come and say hello. One of the important birders that were also here this morning is already a famous representative of this blog who is capable of intensely staring at all birds passing by but also raising everyone’s mood. I am of course talking about Igor the beloved dog whose skills can be proved by the following photo.

As the migration was really slow apart from land migration, Alice and I ended up leaving a bit earlier while Robbe stayed until 11 am to finish the count with the locals. Once we were back, we started entering the observations on DOFbasen which you can check with the link below alongside records made by other local observers. We also cooked a mushroom risotto for lunch and decided to eat it outside to enjoy the sun and be ready in case a flock of raptors or other uncommon birds would appear. Hanelie and Esben could not join us for this meal as they were still busy planning the raptor GPS project for which we hope to share results in the coming weeks.

Observations of the day in DOFbasn from observers in the area

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

With a full belly, all three of us felt quite sleepy and we enjoyed a chill afternoon. Then, we got the chance to meet our two new guests Elin and Jens Vrang. They are from Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, but actually drove from Funen today. They even saw a White-tailed Eagle (Havørn) on the way while we were waiting to see one in Skagen! They already stayed at the station last year and we are looking forwards to spending time with them throughout evening meetings and some dinners among other things.

Tonight, we are going to be planning the coming week, but we also want to go for a night walk in the hope of seeing the northern lights. And the dinner of the day was an Asian turn on couscous with broccoli and peanut butter sauce cooked by Robbe. And tomorrow we will see Knud again for part of the migration count.

We hope you are looking forward to the new week like we are and hopefully we will meet more of you in the coming days.

Marion

People : Esben E. Hansen, Robbe Cool, Hanelie Sidhu, Alice Scalzo, Marion L'Huillier-Hunsinger, Elin and Jens Vrang.