Some Birds Leave, Others Arrive

This morning, the wind was quiet again, so all the nets at Kabeltromlen were open. Unfortunately, we didn't catch many birds today. But this gave us the opportunity to take a closer look at the birds we caught and study their moult and practise our measurements. It also gave us the opportunity to watch the Waxwings (Silkehale) flying overhead and the roosting Great Grey Shrike (Stor Tornskade).

With some time and plenty of time spent outdoors, you could also find rare birds, such as the Yellow-browed Warbler (Hvidbrynet Løvsanger) that Simon discovered today. Listen to its call by clicking here!

The highlight in the nets was definitely the six Siskins (Grønsisken), which we don't catch very often.

Siskin (Grønsisken). Picture by Sarah Partridge

At the migration count, Knud, Jørgen Hulbæk, Louis, Cora and I enjoyed the calm sea, with quite a lot of Kittiwakes (Ride) migrating past. We counted around 800 over the four hours. Other highlights included at least one Nutcracker (Nøddekrige) and a Smew (Lille Skallesluger). Smews are quite rare up here, so it was a nice observation to see this bird migrating together with 6 Goldeneyes (Hvinand). 

We also saw a flock of 26 Snow Buntings (Snespurv) and tried to catch them west of the Sandormetrack using nets with a finer mesh. Unfortunately, however, they spotted the nets and flew around them several times. But we will try again another day when there is less wind.

In the afternoon, Cora and I went out again, around Batteriskoven and into town, where we found some big flocks of Waxwings (Silkehale)!

big flock of Waxwings (Silkehale) in town. Picture by Mio Brix 

That night, Cora and I went out night-catching again, where we caught another Woodcock (Skovsneppe). This was the last bird Cora ringed here during her two-week autumn stay, as she is going back to Berlin tomorrow. We will all miss her, and Skagen is looking forward to seeing her back in spring 2027!

During the 14 full days she stayed here, she and I caught 13 birds at night: 9 Woodcocks (Skovsneppe), 3 Jack Snipes (Enkeltbekkasin) and 1 Common Snipe (Dobbeltbekkasin).

Highlights from the observations:

Smew (Lille Skallesluger)-1

Nutcracker (Nøddekrige)-1

Yellow-browed Warbler (Hvidbrynet Løvsanger)-1

Link to today's observations in the Dofbasen from observers in the area.

Ringing (Kabeltromlen)

Blackcap (Munk)-1

Wren (Gærdesmutte)-3

Redwing (Vindrossel)-1

Blackbird (Solsort)-3

Robin (Rødhals)-1

Bullfinch (Dompap)-6

Siskin (Grønsiskin)-6

Ringing Nordstjernevej (Michael Ancher)

Rødhals 2
Fuglekonge 1

Ringing Jennes Sø (Michael Ancher)

Gærdesmutte 1
St gråsisken 2
Lille gråsisken 4
Rødhals 2
Blåmejse 1
Gransanger 1

Total: 21

People: Mio Brix, Cora Köberle, Simon Sigaard Sigaard Sigaard Sigaard Christiansen, Sarah Partridge, Louis-Marie Gourmelon, Christina Liu, Knud Pedersen, Jørgen Hulbæk Christiansen, Jørgen Kabel, Michael Ancher, Lars og Lone