Slangeørn!

It was foggy in the morning so we all had a later start. Lauren and Michael went ringing at Kabeltromlen as usual and were happy for a bit of a lie in! They didn’t catch that many birds, just 7, so two Lille Korsnæb and two Topmejse were a good result! Zach had a Lille Præstekrave. Lauren went looking for Stor Præstekrave nests at Northstand and found 2, both with eggs.

I headed to Saftenvansbacken around 10 after the fog had cleared. 18 Hvepsevåge, a Blå Kærhøg, an Fiskeørn and a Havørn were the highlights when just before 1pm I got onto a raptor far away which looked like a Slangeørn. It stayed far in the haze for a while beyond Buttervej before slowly coming closer. The closest it came was somewhere over Nedermose and here I could see enough to be absolutely sure on the identification. Unfortunately I lost it to the south-west as I put the news out. I could see it had a pale head and obvious missing inner primaries which makes it a different bird to the one seen 10 days ago. It never came close enough for photos but I made some crude field notes after the event. Overall very exciting to discover a rare raptor in Skagen. The bird was seen briefly by one birder further soutn. The Steppeørn was seen again by others whilst looking for the Slangeørn.

Ringing totals from Kabeltromlen:

- Lille Korsnæb 2

- Topmejse 2

- Tornsanger 1

- Gransanger 1

- Rørsanger 1

Today's observations.