Great Skua Day

This night it was raining. When the rain stopped, the ringing crew- Sarah, Gabriel and Amira- headed out to open the nets. After the rain, many birds were active and the ringers had a busy day. Especially in the first round the nets were crowded. Sarah was very happy about the many Robins (Rødhals). 26 of them were caught today so that was the top species during ringing. In total 95 birds were ringed today- a record for at least the last weeks. Also, the variety of birds in the nets was remarkable. Goldcrests (Fuglekonge), Wrens (Gæardesmutte), Pied Flycatchers (Broget Fluesnapper)… Amira came back very happy and told us about the first Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken) she had seen in the hand.

Nevertheless, I was very happy to be at the observation today. We had a great migration day! When we headed out this morning, we were motivated to see some cool birds, but we did not know what a day would follow. The count started with many Kittiwakes (Ride) that came in from Kattegat. We used the first minutes to watch the many Waders that were hanging out in a puddle at the beach. After an hour, Miles spotted a strange looking gull. A Sabines Gull (Sabinemåge)!! Under good light conditions we were able to follow this beautiful bird for a longer time. It sat down on the water and then moved on to Northwest. Later in the day, we heard on Zello that it was seen again not far from here.

The very concentrated, very happy counting team

We just recovered from the great Sabines Gull sighting, when Knud called out a Sooty Shearwater (Sodfarvet Skråpe) that flew by relatively close. Flo and I had just seen our first one some days earlier- very far out. Therefore, it was very nice to see one close enough to see the lighter underwings and some other details. We could follow the bird for a longer time- going up and down, surfing in the waves and showing its flying abilities. And this one should not stay the only Shearwater for the day. In total we saw four of these beautiful birds. Probably tomorrow the Great Shearwater (Storskråpe) that is at the Moment resting at the Swedish side of Kattegat will follow. At the ringing, the others were able to see two of the four Shearwaters.

Record shot of the Sooty

In general, there was not much time between the sightings of some special birds. When no Sabine Gulls (Sabinemåge) or Sooty Shearwaters (Sodfarvet Skråpe) flew by, a Skua (Kjove) did. We assume that we saw the same individuals several times. However, at least four different individuals were in the area and we could see them quite often. Besides the Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove) a Great Skua (Storkjove) moved with heavy wingbeats through our field of view. In the end of the count, a Merlin (Dværgfalk) flew over- always a nice bird. In the last hour, we heard a Red-Throated-Pipit (Rødstrubet Piber) flying over. We had talked about this bird the past days and it was a highlight to hear one in the field. After the end of the count, we stayed a bit to use the good conditions. Later on, I wanted to leave to check some trees in the inland for passerines. Every time when I started to pack up my scope, another nice bird flew by and I had to stay. Shortly after I left, the others saw a nice but very far out Long-Tailed-Skua (Lille Kjove).

What a Day! In the inland, I made a slight detour to Skarvsøen- always a good place. There I heard a Rock Pipit (Skærpiber) flying over and some Finches. A small checkup of Ellekrattet revealed no birds, so I went home.

In the afternoon we went for a swim and after that, it was time for Sarah to pick up her friend David in Skagen. Meanwhile, the others of us ate some Apple Crumble and prepared for the rest of the day. Shortly after that, Amira went on a walk through the heath to Batteriskoven. Flo, Miles and I started our way to Skagen to meet Sarah and David. On our way we saw Simon and Gabriel, giving a Tour to some volunteers from Thy. We went by and stopped for a longer time at Batteriskoven. There we could see some groups of passerines, hiding from the wind. We continued our way and met up with Sarah and David at a pub in Skagen. It was very funny over there and also interesting to talk a bit less about birds and a bit more about politics and other non-birding topics. On our way back, we almost flew with strong tailwind and Flo, Miles and I checked Batteriskoven again. When we came back to the station, the guests Karen Marie and Søren had cooked some nice dinner and we had a fun and vivid dining with ten people around the table.

Landscape around Batteriskoven

My last day here passed so quickly. It was certainly one of the best migration days and I really enjoyed it. I can´t believe that I am leaving tomorrow. The time up here is moving in a strange way. The days are so entertaining and fly by. At the same time, looking back, so much has happened. We saw many cool birds, talked about interesting topics, played games, went on a swim and had a good time. It was interesting to see the station in autumn and meet so many cool people here. I learned a lot and will really miss it. So I have to come back soon :).

Vi ses

 

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):

Rødhals 26

Lille Gråsisken 2

Gæardesmutte 3

Gærdesanger 1

Rødstjert 4

Jernspurv 11

Sortmejse 8

Broget Fluesnapper 1

Munk 20

Røspurv 1

Havesanger 1

Lille Dompap 3

Bogfinke 1

Blåmejse 1

Fuglekonge 2

Gransanger 10

Total new birds: 95

Highlights from World’s End 3:

Sabine Gull (Sabinemåge)

Sooty Shearwater (Sodfarvet Skråpe) 4

Red-Throated-Pipit (Rødstrubet Piber)

Long-Tailed-Skua (Lille Kjove)

Great Skua (Storkjove)

 

Link to todays observations in Dofbasen from the Skagen area

People: Gabriel Axelsson, Florian Hatt, Janna Ouedraogo, Sarah Partridge, Amira Nuseibeh, Miles Scheuering, Simon Christiansen, Knud Pedersen and our guests Søren and Karen Marie Leth-Nissen, David