Not a day to late

All of us had arrived yesterday after a long day of travel at the lighthouse. Many thanks to Knud and Jørgen who picked us up from the train station. For Alix and Alvin it was the first time in Skagen, and after a quick breakfast we started our walk to Grenen, to do the first standardized migration count of the season. It was well before sunrise when we heard the first Skylark (Sanglærke) and it was the start of a great morning with good numbers and species of birds. Maybe the first sign of a good spring season? We had a continuous migration of Skylarks (Sanglærke), Jackdaws (Allike) and Mistle Thrushes (Misteldrossel) and Alix saw her first Snowbuntings (Snespurv). It was fun to see how enormously the dunes hade grown since my last visit in January and after a while Knud and Erik joined us, and it was nice to see them again. At some point Knud called out a Puffin (Lunde) but unfortunately it landed shortly after, and he was the only one to see the bird. Overall it was a very good morning, and we are looking forward to the upcoming weeks and months at the station.

The first standardised migration count of the year. Photo: Knud Pedersen

Alvin at Grenen

After the end of the count, we walked back and had lunch before Saxe and Gustav arrived. They will stay here with us for a week before the other long-term volunteers arrive. After getting the bikes out of the shed, all of us went for a harbor trip. Fighting against the strong southerly winds. When we reached the harbor, I asked Saxe if there was a bird he would really like to see here, and while he was telling me that he would like to see a Shag (Topskarv) I was scanning the water and immediately found one. What a coincidence! And while Alix only had eyes for a close Seal, we enjoyed some good views of the bird.

European Shag (Topskarv)

We continued scanning the gull flocks in the harbor, but our only other nice finds were our third Black Guillemot (Tejst) of the day and a Caspian Gull (Kaspisk Måge). On our way back we stopped at the grocery store, and with the wind coming from behind, we had a much nicer ride back.

Skagen harbour

We ended the day with cooking together and, after a very good first day, heightened expectations for the weeks ahead.

Link to today’s observations in DOFbasen from observers in the area

People: Knud Pedersen, Erik Christophersen, János Schadl, Alix Bortolussi, Alvin Johannson, Saxe Lind Christiansen, Gustav Juel