Cold, northern winds

This morning it still seemed a bit too windy to ring, but Amira went out to Kabeltromlen anyway to check. She was only able to open a handful of nets, and after a little waiting to see if the wind would relent, closed them again and joined the rest of us at Worlds End 3. The wind created several obstacles for us observers, the first being it was out of the north and quite cold and we only had two boiler suits, and the second was it created a lot of blowing sand. This meant that we could not look directly into the wind, at the risk of scratching the scope lenses. Despite this, there were several good birds, including a Great Northern Diver aka Common Loon (Islom), a Little Auk aka Dovekie (Søkonge), and a (relatively) close Northern Fulmar (Mallemuk). There were also good numbers of Black-legged Kittiwakes (Ride), with some flying over the beach and very close to us!

I was managing the cold alright, but when Amira mentioned that some of us could leave to do the fulmar walk to Gammel Skagen, I was quite excited. We left Florian, János, and Lise to finish the count while we went back to the lighthouse to collect bags, before beginning the walk. We walked back to Grenen along the beach and all the way out to the tip (I think it’s actually the first time I have been all the way to the end, despite the countless hours I have stared at it) before following the shore to the west. We did not see so many birds, alive or dead, and none of the dead birds were in good enough condition to collect, but it was still a beautiful, sunny day to be out on a walk.

Amira at the tip of Grenen during the fulmar walk. Photo by Miles

Simon picked us up from Gammel Skagen and brought us back to the lighthouse. Along the way, we stopped at Knud’s house to pick up some apples, which we plan to use in the coming days to attract Bohemian Waxwings (Silkehale) to the net we have in the garden. When we were there, Knud and his wife kindly invited us in for coffee with them and their friends, who Simon also knew.

After finishing the migration count, the observers ate lunch and then dispersed for their various “duties.” Florian went birding by the sewage plant and elsewhere in the industrial area, before joining János for some gull watching in the harbor (truly a tour of the best scenery Skagen has to offer). They did not see as many gulls as yesterday but did see several Caspian Gulls (Kaspisk Måge). They also stocked up on toast bread, in preparation for gulling in the coming days now that the temperature has dropped. Lise took care of some errands before picking up her girlfriend Mathilde, who we are excited to have visiting the station this week.

Florian gull watching at the harbor. Photo by János

This evening, János cooked us a delicious curry for dinner, before we finished up the last of the Listers documentary. We all quite enjoyed it, and it was especially fun for me, because I am familiar with many of the places, birds, and people featured in it. Tomorrow is Lise’s birthday, so hopefully the day will be filled with good birds and merriment!

No ringing at Kabeltromlen

Link to today’s observations from the area.

People: Miles Scheuering, János Schadl, Florian Hatt, Amira Nuseibeh, Lise Mastrup, Simon S. Christiansen, Michael Ancher, and Mathilde Lundt Larsen