Ringing From Dawn Till Dusk

What a day! This morning, Florian and I were leaving the lighthouse on our way to Worlds End 3 and Florian already noted several passerine species in the parking lot and that it could be a good day for migration. At the migration count activity was good for the first hour or two, though it did start to tail off. Passerine numbers were very good, with 647 bramblings (Kværkefinke) and 514 Redwings (Vindrossel) in total. We also had a European Shag (Topskarv) resting on the beach. It seemed to be a quite unusual behavior, and we were a bit concerned but eventually it walked over to the sea and swam off. While Knud was photographing the Shag and I was distracted by gulls, Florian spotted a large loon directly overhead, heading southeast. He quickly took a photo and upon review, was able to see it was a Great Northern Diver (Islom). Us Americans know this species as Common Loon, but it is quite a nice bird here. There were several flocks of Twite (Bjergirisk) around, with several landing on the dune directly in front of us, offering fantastic views. I have seen this species once before, but it was great to see these adorable finches up close.

European Shag (Topskarv) at the tip (Grenen). Photo by Knud Pedersen

At 10:04, Simon called me and asked me to come help with the ringing as they were having quite a busy day. I went back to the lighthouse to grab extra boxes and encountered a significant gnat hatch on the way. There were also SO MANY BIRDS. The vegetation was dripping with passerines and almost every single bush or tree had several birds in it. When I arrived at Kabeltromlen, Gabriel informed me that they had just returned from a net round with 200 birds. That did not quite compute, as it was double the total number of birds caught in a whole day while I’ve been here. That figure did start to sink in when I was scribing and filling multiple pages just with Goldcrests (Fuglekonge) from a single net run.

Box with Goldcrests (Fuglekonge). Photo by Gabriel

While these exorbitant net run totals did abate, there was still considerable activity all afternoon. We continued to get new birds, so we did not close the nets. At one point, a flock of Long-tailed Tits (Halemejse) flew by the banding table, which brought much excitement and clapping. Clapping causes passerines to drop down, often increasing the chances of catching them. We were all out on the following net run and got to share a moment of jubilation upon finding the entire flock in the first net. In total we ringed 36 Long-tailed Tits, including 1 of the northern subspecies (Nordlige Halemejse), which has a pure-white head.

Elation at finding the Long-tailed Tit (Halemejse) flock in the net. Photo by Gabriel

Later, while I was scribing for Simon, we noticed Gabriel and Florian hurrying back from a net run, and Gabriel was holding his face. A Eurasian Treecreeper (Træløber) had pooped directly in his eye while he was trying to extract it. Despite the circumstances, he remained in good humor while Sarah poured water in his eye to flush it. We were able to clean it well, and on the next net run Gabriel was first on the scene to extract a Great Gray Shrike (Stor Tornskade). Perhaps the treecreeper bequeathed him with special powers? We were very excited to catch a shrike and surprised by how large it was. It was definitely a highlight for me, even overshadowing the many Long-tailed Tits.

Gabriel rings the Great Gray Shrike (Stor Tornskade) under Lars Bo's watchful eye, while Simon releases a Eurasian Wren (Gærdesmutte). Photo by Miles

Stor Tornskade (Great Grey Shrike). Photo: Gabriel Axelsson

Night was falling when we finally closed the nets and we did not return to the station before 8 pm. Simon ordered us pizzas because there had not been time to cook dinner and his father Gunnar (who had arrived in town earlier in the day) brought it to us! It was a delicious treat after spending the whole day ringing! The crew put in a huge effort today and we greatly appreciated the help of Jeppe and Lars Bo.

Stor Dompap (Northern Bullfinch), the northern subspecies. Photo: Søren Skov

In total we ringed 742 birds at Kabeltromlen. Michael Ancher was also out ringing at Jennes Sø and caught an additional 129 birds until 1 pm. This makes a total of 871 birds today. The most ever ringed on a single day in Skagen.

The previous record day was 10 October 2010 when locals ringed 683 birds. The result of todays was also more than double the previous high for Skagen Bird Observatory (since it began in 2017), which was 372 birds on 28 March 2024. 

While we have not been able to start entering data as the Danish ringing database is currently offline for maintenance, we have counted that we caught 25 total species!

The ringing table and the team was lightening up when the last bird of the day was ringed. Photo: Florian Hatt

Ringing (Kabeltromlen):

Ringing (Jennes Sø):

Eurasian Wren (Gærdesmutte) 6

Dunnock (Jernspurv) 1

European Robin (Rødhals) 7

Song Thrush (Sangdrossel) 1

Eurasian Blackcap (Munk) 2

Common Chiffchaff (Gransanger) 10

Goldcrest (Fuglekonge) 25

Crested Tit (Topmejse) 1

Blue Tit (Blåmejse) 2

Eurasian Treecreeper (Træløber) 4

Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken) 66

Total: 129

Highlights from today’s observations at Worlds End 3:

European Shag (Topskarv) 1

Great Northern Diver (Islom) 1

Twite (Bjergirisk) 9

Brambling (Kværkefinke) 647

Redwing (Vindrossel) 514

Today’s observations from the area can be found here

People: Gabriel Axelsson, Florian Hatt, Sarah Partridge, Amira Nuseibeh, Miles Scheuering, Michael Ancher, Simon S. Christiansen, Gunnar S. Simonsen, Jeppe Madsen, and Lars Bo Jacobsen.