New Arrivals

The solitude of the lighthouse has been shattered by the arrival of the volunteers Johanna and Mira, the first newcomers of the spring. They have migrated north this spring from Kiel in Germany. The arrival of some company has of course been lovely, although it has led to me nearly losing my voice having not spoken so much for a long time. We have also discovered that the world of birding and birders is a typically small one, with it not taking too long to find links between us. What this does mean though, is that I can justifiably start eating the chocolate that the Autumn volunteers kindly left for the Spring team. Tomorrow two more volunteers will arrive and the lighthouse will suddenly be back to life.

Back to life was not what I felt like this morning when my alarm went at six to tell me to go birding. The wind and the rain could be heard from within my bedsheets and sitting at the beach was the last thing on my mind. I quickly sent a message to Knud asking whether perhaps the weather was too poor for birding. He was ever positive and assured me that the forecast would be rewarding. He was, as always, right and the rain soon abated, even to be overcome by sun towards the end of our stint. That Knud was also questioning his life choices when cycling through the rain was though reassuring to hear.

I was rewarded with two new birds for me, a Glaucous Gull (Gråmåge) and a Red-necked Grebe (Gråstrubet lappedykker), which I felt as the bare minimum payment for the courage to get going this morning. Other notable sightings were Iceland Gull ( Hvidvinget Måge) and Shag (Topskarv). The horizon was often quite misty so there are none of the usual ship sightings for me to needlessly digress onto. 

With us being treated tomorrow to an extra day of February, the weather forecast has taken this a little too literally and predicted rain and wind again. The forecast was sure enough for Knud and I to agree not to go birding, which I will be a little grateful for. The arrival of new volunteers means that the responsibility of the writing of the blog will be shared around, but I am sure you will not be too disheartened to hear that. I will be leaving Skagen reluctantly on Sunday so am looking forward to making the most of my final days here. 

Link to today's observations from observers in the area

People: James Wareing, Knud Pedersen and Michael Anker

Michael has continued his ringing work with the results below:

28th February

Ringing (Jennes Sø):

Nordlig Gråsisken (Common Redpoll) - 5

Ringing (Nordstjernevej):

Nordlig Gråsisken (Common Redpoll) - 14

Lille Gråsisken (Lesser Redpoll) - 1

Musvit (Great Tit) - 1

Solsort (Blackbird) - 1

Blåmejse (Blue Tit) - 1

Grønirisk (Greenfinch) - 1

Total: 24