Exciting birds and a Fulmar survey

Isis and I were up just after 4am today so that we could get to Kabeltromlen to open the nets; our morning alarms are getting earlier and earlier! It turned out to be a beautiful morning and we enjoyed being out despite the early hour. Hanalie, Simon Sr and Lars all joined us ringing whilst Simon Jr and Magnus went to World’s End 3 for the count with Knud.

It was another quiet day at Kabeltromlen but luckily we had a few more birds to show Lars than the last time we were ringing. He was particularly happy to see a Common Redpoll (Stor Gråsisken) which was a new species for him, and to ring his first bird, a Robin (Rødhals). Although we didn’t have big numbers, we caught a nice range of species with other highlights including a Bullfinch (Dompap), Coal Tit (Sortmejse), Great Tit (Musvit), Chaffinch (Bogfinke) and Redwing (Vindrossel).

It was also a lot colder today and the sight of a Waxwing (Silkehale) flying over our heads made it feel almost like winter again!

Simon Jr and Magnus also had a very good morning at the migration count. Their first highlight was a beautiful Kentish Plover (Hvidbrystet Præstekrave) roosting near World’s End 3. One of our guests, Oliver, managed to capture this amazing photo of it as it rested on the beach.

Kentish Plover (Hvidbrystet Præstekrave) by Oliver Nielsen

Other highlights from the count included two Golden Eagles (Kongeørn) and a Black Kite (Sort Glente). On the way back, Simon Jr, Magnus and Knud also saw the Crested Lark (Toplærke) which had been spotted at the car park at Grenen. What a stunning bird!

In the afternoon, Hanalie enjoyed a birding walk and Isis met a friend and took our shiny new waders to Kabeltromlen ready for tomorrow. Simon Jr and I did the Fulmar (Mallemuk) survey, walking 10km from the lighthouse to Gammel Skagen and looking for dead Fulmars (Mallemuk) to collect so that the amount of microplastics in their stomachs can be analysed. Although we encountered several species washed up on the beach, we did not find any Fulmars (Mallemuk) this time but still enjoyed the walk and the sight of many cute Ringed Plovers (Stor Præstekrave) running around on the beach and a pair of seals relaxing on the sand.

Fuelled on snacks, we finished our day by making plans for tomorrow, checking sheets and entering data.

Ringing (Kabeltromlekrattet):

Total: 16

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.

People: Hayley Land, Isis Khalil, Hanelie Sidhu, Magnus Houen Lauritsen, Simon Kiesé, Simon S. Christiansen, Knud Pedersen, Lars Askholm, Family Nielsen