Cool birds, Coffee, and Chilly Counting

Today was another really lovely day of birdwatching in Skagen. The day started off quite windy, but Miles and I still cycled to Kabeltromlen to check if we could open any of the nets. We tried our best but eventually decided it wasn’t safe enough to ring and packed up soon after sunrise (which was really beautiful today!). I went straight to join the observers at World’s End 3 for the rest of the morning where there was quite a crowd of people today.

Overall, it was a slow migration day, but there were still some great highlights including two very late Sandwich Terns (Splitterne) and a Red Knot (Islandsk Ryle), which we haven’t seen in a while. A Little Auk (Søkonge) in the first hour is always a treat, and it was also very cool to see a Woodcock (Skovsneppe) appear out of nowhere in front of us! In the first hour, we also had a higher than usual number of Kittiwakes (Ride), over 150, and it's nice that flocks of Red Throated Divers (Rødstrubet Lom) are becoming a regular sight.

Even though the sun was shining brightly, I did find myself getting quite chilly as the morning went on, so I was quite jealous of the boiler suits that Florian and János were wearing today; they looked so cool and cosy. Maybe I’ll wear one next time because the forecast is predicting more cold weather on its way! However, the cold meant I was extremely grateful for the flask of coffee that Lise’s Dad brought along for us. Lise and I enjoyed a mug of coffee with our dark chocolate rice cakes whilst we stood on the sand dunes, which felt very luxurious indeed! It’s been great to spend time with Lise’s parents over the last few days and also thank you so much to them for gifting us 32 Flødebolle, which I’m sure will fill us with lots of energy and warmth for the next few days of observations and ringing!

In the afternoon, lots of birdwatching was done by everyone. Miles birded some of the patches around town and spotted a Woodcock (Skovsneppe) being flushed by a cat, a reminder of how deadly and dangerous outdoor cats can be to our native wildlife, especially birds! János visited the harbour for some “gulling” and, although he didn’t spot any rarities this time, he was rewarded with some epic views of a Red-throated Diver (Rødstrubet Lom), less than 10m away! Lise spotted a range of birds on her run and then enjoyed sunset up the lighthouse. Florian went birdwatching around the Nature Centre where he spotted two Chiffchaffs (Gransanger) and I bumped into him and we saw some nice Crested Tits (Topmejse) in the pine trees.

We both then headed to the beach for sunset but via different routes. I had a close encounter with a Polecat (ilder) by Cormorant Lake on my way which had a dead rodent in its mouth, and Florian saw a Goshawk as he cycled past Jennes Sø. For the third day in a row, the special Skagen light delivered an incredible sunset, full of pink, marshmallow-like clouds, glistening orange sea, and with plenty of Sanderling (Sandløber) scampering along the strandline, it was just perfection. Now, we're back at home and Lise is cooking us a delicious dinner which already smells delicious; I can't wait!

Link to today’s observations from the area.

People: Miles Scheuering, János Schadl, Florian Hatt, Amira Nuseibeh, Lise Mastrup, and our guests Birgit and Morten Mastrup.