Golden Oriole

Today the winds were still coming form the west, but slightly from the South so we were hoping for lots of birds moving through Skagen today. Unfortunately, it was very cloudy in the early morning which meant the number of birds at the migration count was low. Today I was at the migration count with Knud and Jørgen. We did not see many passerines migrating, but we did see a Ruff (Brushane) and a female-coloured Golden Oriole (Pirol). The second one in two days!

Golden Oriole (Pirol), photo by Erik Chistophersen

János and Julian were at the ringing. They had lots of birds this morning catching mainly Willow Warblers (Løvsanger) and Blackcaps (Munk). They also caught the first Garden Warbler (Havesanger) of the spring, two Redstarts (Rødstjert) and two Yellowhammers (Gulspurv). Thy also had a close flyby from the Golden Oriole (Pirol) and it even landed in a tree. They also saw a partially leucistic Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger) with a white head and tip of tail. It was nice to have higher numbers than the last couple weeks. Hopefully these higher numbers continue.

Redstart (Rødstjert)

Partially leucistic Lesser Whitethroat (Gærdesanger), photo by Erik Chistophersen

Today was Alix’s last day at the bird station so Alvin and Alix had a quieter morning enjoying the local area. Looking through some bird books and having a relaxing time. Alix has been a great part of the team since the start of March. She will be heading to Blåvand Fuglestation for two months and we all hope that she has a fantastic time there!

In the afternoon János and I toured the area near us stopping at places like Batteriskoven, Saftevandsbakken and Stald Grenen. There weren’t many birds, but we did still had nice views of the Black-winged Kite (Blå Glente), some Pied Flycatchers (Broget Fluesnapper) and some resting Yellow Wagtails (Gul Vispstjert).

Highlights from observations: