We have had quite the full house at the station this past month, but for the time being it looks like Morten and I will be by ourselves again. Lisa and James started their journey back to England this morning. Their enthusiasm for birding, British humour and baked goods will be missed. Eventhough they are gone, I know that my pronunciation of words like yoghurt and zebra will never be the same again! May they have a good time back home and an even better time in the Seychelles, whenever they manage to work through the cocktail laced bureaucracy of the island.

It seems that the weather, the number of people and the atmosphere have harmoniously accompanied one another here at the station. When I arrived in early March, there was a sharp and fresh winter air  all around and with only Morten and I here at the station the cold and misty conditions created a sense of isolation here at the most western point of Blåvand. Slowly the air became warmer, the sun showed itself more frequently and more volunteers arrived at the station. The sense of isolation turned into that of community. All this synchronized with the slow rise of spring.

It has been very inspiring to get to know people from different walks of life, all who have a binding interest in birds, nature and  philosophy on life. It would be fitting for the dry spell of birds to shift into an overwhelming storm of new arrivals, now that the leisurely enjoyment of social reciprocity has passed and a gentle forlorn feeling can use some tempering by busying the mind. From what I have been hearing, the weather conditions are changing in the coming days in such a manner that this storm of birds might actually show up.

This morning however was still a bit chilly, but otherwise the weather conditions were calm, and again the net count was not impressive. A total of 17 new birds and 5 recaptures. On the observation front it wasn’t any better. Most notable were the Gannets, but other than that numbers were very low.

In the afternoon something interesting did happen. While in the station garden Morten spotted six cranes flying over. After checking the database, it turns out this is only the fourth ever documented account of a group bigger than five Cranes here in Blåvand!

Six Cranes flying over the station

In the evening Morten has told me about the holiday of Store bededag, which is celebrated on April 26 this year. To end the day, we upheld the tradition of eating varme hveder the night before, which Morten grew up celebrating at home just like I’m sure many other families do.

varme hveder

People at the station: Lisa, James, Henrik, Morten and Maxim

If yesterday was Blåvand’s big day, then we were rudely brought back to normalcy today. Persistent cold weather means the bird pipes are still blocked and numbers of birds both ringed and observed over the sea were low. We did (and Lisa in particular) have the pleasure of two nice birds caught in the net, a Collared Dove and a Crested Tit.  

Yesterday’s Blåvand Big Day was an unqualified success and was a great way to spark our birding enthusiasm after some challengingly quiet days. We all went to exceptional lengths and I must confess to never having been as excited to see a Blue Tit, as I was when I finally found our first of the day at 16:45. The most elusive species of the day frustratingly was the Magpie, which was finally discovered by Lisa at 19:45, who wins the prize for last bird seen. The Blåvand budget could not stretch to too extravagant a prize, so she had to settle for eternal glory. Here were the final results from the big day:

Morten reported the exciting news that Lisa has recently spotted only the second breeding record for a certain species in Blåvands Huk (with the last being in 2016). I can imagine you as reader overcome now with anticipation as to what this species is. Perhaps it is also a rare bird for Denmark, or even Europe….

Well, I will keep you in suspense no longer, drum-roll please……..this was the Greylag Goose! This breeding record is not so much of a reflection on some successful habitat management, but rather that unexpectedly high amount of rain this year (particularly this April) has left a lot of flooding on the more. This was to the Greylags’ advantage as four goslings have been seen alongside three mallard chicks. Big news I am sure you will agree. In other breeding news, there are 14 Litte Terns on the beach which is great news. It will probably be time soon to erect a fenced off area on the beach to allow them to breed in peace. 

Finally, I must unfortunately add that Lisa and I will be leaving the station tomorrow. I would like to thank Henrik for letting us come, Morten for all his knowledge and patience in teaching us and the other volunteers Maxim and Bianca for their entertainment and admirably patient acceptance of my humour. We have had three wonderful weeks here and do very much hope that we will get the opportunity to return in the future.

Next stop for us is England before we will soon be moving to the Seychelles to work for a conservation organisation for two years. It will be much the same as Blåvand, with sea, sunsets and terns, but just a little warmer and a few more cocktails.  

David havde valgt at tage en overnatning herude, så der var ekstra øjne til den store Blåvand dag, som James fik sat i gang i går.
Nu skulle der ske noget efter at natten havde bragt vinden om fra den kolde norden- og nordøsten vind til en retning fra vestnordvest.
Vindskiftet var nok til, at temperaturen ved solopgang var ”varme” 6 grader i stedet for at være nede tæt på frysepunktet som de foregående morgener.

James havde kontaktet Skagen Fuglestation og de var også opsatte på, at der skulle ske noget i dag og lavede deres ”Big Day” i Skagens området.
Vi havde ikke intentioner om, at vi i Blåvand skulle leve op til diversiteten af arter på en forårsdag i Skagen, men gjorde da en ihærdig indsats for at få set så mange arter ved Hukket som muligt.
Aftalen var, at der kun måtte tælles arter på ture i området pr. gåben – ingen cykler, biler eller andre transportmidler og med skydning hele dagen, var det militære område lukket for færdsel fra morgen til aften.
Dagens antal arter er derfor udelukkende fra fuglestationens nærområde, Hukket og sommerhusområdet ind mod byen.

På tidspunktet for skrivning af dagens blog er listen på 66 arter – altså meget tæt på, at jeg som fuglestationens gamle rotte fik ret, da jeg i går aftes bød ind med 65 arter som et realistisk mål!

Ringmærkningsmæssigt blev det dog ikke nogen stor dag.
Maxim og jeg havde gang i begge haver lige til kl 10, hvor vi måtte lukke alle net pga tiltagende vind og en regnfront, der kom ned langs vestkysten og varede lige til kl 15:30 med 5mm nedbør i de timer.

Vi nåede i morgentimerne at håndterer 20 fugle, hvoraf de 14 var nye og fik ring på.
Blot en enkelt af disse var en langdistancetrækkende art – en Løvsanger -, så det lille skifte af vindretningen i nat førte altså ikke til nye årsarter i dagens net.


Kvækerfinke hunnen fra i går blev genfanget i dag - denne gang med en fin han som selskab i nettet!

Morgenobsen fra Sydhukket var til gengæld med noget mere aktivitet ude over havet end de seneste kolde morgener.
Tallet af Rødstrubbet Lom blev pænt stort med 420 trækkende, Sortand tallet nåede over 3200, der var 110 Suler og 100 Hav/Fjordterne.
De sidste trak desværre nord så langt ude, at de ikke kunne artsbestemmes med sikkerhed – lidt af en bet for dagslisten, da vi så hverken har Havterne eller Fjordterne der tæller med..

Et eftermiddagsbesøg ved Nordhukket og tjek af rastende fugle ved højvandet gav en god gruppe terner på 88 rastende Splitterner og 8 Dværgterner, men hverken Hav- eller Fjord-terner var inde at raste på stranden og det er stadig ikke lykkedes, at få det arts par med på ”Big Day” projektets artsliste.

Eftermiddagens højvande havde en god gruppe rastende Splitterner, men vi mangler en tæt på kysten Havterne eller Fjordterne til dagslisten..

Lige nu er det blevet tørvejr igen efter endnu en regnbyge, så det er tid til et sidste forsøg på, at få hentet en obs af fx Husskade hjem til dagslisten.
Der har været en her hver dag i over 2 uger, men lige netop i dag er den endnu ikke blevet noteret i notesbøgerne.

Dagens ringmærkning:


Folk på stationen: David, Maxim, Lisa, James og Morten

Thinking yesterday that we had finally reached the bottom of the all-time low of birds observed and ringed, we were surprised today: it can get worse! The morning temperatures and my frozen limbs had forced me to join the luckier (so I hoped) ringing team of Morten and Maxim. Meanwhile, James showed true endurance and continued the sea watch, counting an occasional Gannet here, a couple of Common Scoters there. Numbers of Scoters going south and north were almost identical, so in the end he wondered if they were just going round in one big circle. Even he admitted that his feet were on the slightly chillier side (that happens as often as you see a Black-browed albatross in Blåvand), although he still walked around barefoot afterwards...

The luck of the beginner was with me as I joined the ringers: A Siskin found himself caught in the net. A beautiful little bird that I had wanted to see close up for a long time.  

For the rest of the morning it was quality, not quantity. Rounds of empty nets allowed for several cups of hot coffee – much needed to fight the cold and onset of bird fatigue. All was forgotten when a lonely Wryneck found itself caught (how teasing that a second individual was calling not too far in the distance). Could we be so lucky and catch two Wrynecks the same morning?

The empty nets persisted throughout the day (news among the Wryneck’s must have spread well as the second individual stayed away from our nets). However, Morten proved, once again, his sixth sense for the right moment to open the mist nets. He caught one more bird (one that I particularly enjoy and had only heard a few days ago… how teasing): A Brambling

By following us throughout the last few days, by now you may have got the sense that we are just building up towards something big, really big. And we do not want to keep you on tenterhooks any longer – tomorrow is the day, Blåvand Big Day. Tomorrow will be breathtaking, full of birds and excitement. We aim to see 50 bird species in the area (no cars or bicycles allowed). We hope you are ready. For our part, the lucky socks are on and we are ready to go…

Ringed birds today: 3 Chiffchaffs, Brambling, Willow Warbler, Goldcrest, Siskin, Blackcap, Robin
Recaptures: Dunnock, Willow Warbler, Blackbird, Lesser Whitethroat and Wryneck

People at the station: Morten, Maxim, James and Lisa

That the bird pipes are still blocked is the headline of today. The birding frustration is certainly building up here at the station now. Weather forecasts are regularly scoured to produce some sort of positive omen that could portend the change in birding fortunes. It is almost bordering on lucky socks territory to change our luck. In the meantime, we did our best to make our fun own entertainment wherever we could find it.

In fact, levels of action were so low that Maxim arranged for his parents to come and visit him from the Netherlands and take him out for dinner (thus avoiding his duty of writing the blog). So the task of summing up an eventful day has been left to me. 

The seawatch was greeted with temperatures around two degrees to start with and this acted to gradually reduce the number of birders. With low numbers of birds, this was a true test of birding stamina and Henrik and I produced a synchronised sigh of relief when the alarm went off to signify that our three hours were complete. Science is still science, and no data is good data…at least we consoled ourselves with that.

Entertainment was though provided by a White-tailed Eagle that landed on the beach. This generally causes quite a commotion amongst the gulls and shorebirds owing to the undoubted alpha animal status of the eagle. It was though a chance for the pluckier/foolisher birds to show off their daring credentials. Two hooded crows, I like to imagine as a dare, gradually approached the eagle from behind. It reminded me of the children’s party game ‘what’s the time Mr Wolf’, with the crows cautiously getting ever closer to the tail of the eagle. As they did so, they put on a rather unconvincing act of pretending to feed before making an attempt to pluck off a tail feather.

At the start of the ringing it looked like we could be in for quite a special day. Blackcap and Blackbird were followed by Chiffchaff and Chaffinch. It looked as if Morten was working through his ringing bingo card alphabetically and we were eagerly anticipating the next round to feature Dunnock and Dunlin. Alas, the fun stopped there. Later in the morning we did though have our third Wryneck of the year to bring today’s total to nine ringed birds.

People at the station: James, Lisa, Morten, Maxim and Henrik  

With the unproductive birding weather of the month, we have been consoling ourselves that it is quality and not quantity that is important. Today we had neither. We were greeted at dawn by a magnificent red sunrise reflecting resplendently on the low tidal pools. I had the expression ‘red sky in the morning, shepherds’ warning’ in mind, but I had never realised that the true meaning was advice for a shepherd’s birdwatching duties. We are joined at the moment by ten members of the Danish Rare Birds Committee, but even the added fire-power we could not flush out too much to report.  

Ringing numbers were low, but we did at least have three Little Gulls and a Black-throated Diver on the seawatch. Consolation has been provided though by contact with Skagen Bird Observatory, who are also reporting low numbers of birds for this time of year. If Skagen cannot uncover many birds, then what chance do we have!

We are hoping at the moment that the birds are stuck in a migratory blocked pipe somewhere south of here. Any day now, we are expecting/praying for that metaphorical pipe to burst and a veritable Garden of Eden to burst our way. Any day now…

Lisa and I were keen to add a bit of extra work to the committee’s list and so, with the seawatch complete, cycled to Skallingen to see what we could find. The highlight was a Bluethroat, which is the first one recorded by the observatory this year. Otherwise, it was still relatively quiet and I cannot blame the birds with temperatures starting the day around two degrees and rain hitting us at intermittent intervals, which were as unpredictable as they were unwelcome.

With birding war stories not readily available for dinner time conversation, we turned to philosophy instead. With an international mix, you could perhaps have expected the relative merits of Spinoza, Kierkegaard, Hobbes and Heidegger to be compared and contrasted. Once again, we birders demonstrated our broad range of interests and we digressed instead to what truly does make a bird sighting and the value (or lack of) of list-making. That the bird discussions have digressed onto the theoretical, perhaps shows were our minds are at now...

People at the Station: Maxim, James, Morten, David, Henrik and Lisa.

Today at Blåvand Fuglestation was in many ways, in accordance with our familiar vernacular as birders, a variegated day. With the latest weather forecast of a rainy and windy morning in mind, many of us were gone to bed looking forward to sleep in today. However, there was no drumming of rain on the roof but a slight drizzle. Nevertheless, I was delighted by a few more minutes under the warm covers. Most birds decided for a late start as well, as there was not much movement to be seen during the sea watch routine. Only the Red-throated Divers seemed to have missed the call for a day off. They were seen flying high, perhaps in search of some sun above the clouds.

Despite several layers of clothing, I was struggling to keep up both, body temperature and excitement towards the end of the sea watch. Luckily, James had just the right recipe for restoring my spirits. He came running with that special look on his face that could only mean an exceptional bird sighting. For those of you who want to find it yourself, here is the view through his scope this morning:

For those of you who are similarly skilful to me in identifying gulls and appreciate a little help, below you can see the second-largest of all gulls, a Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus):

Today, it was not only us adjusting our working schedule due to weather conditions. Our neighbours at the military area must have called it a day as well. Their red balloons were lowered early for the weekend. As no more ringing would be possible today, Morten was happy to venture safely through the military training grounds. He came back with that familiar birder grin, telling us about a pair of White-tailed Eagles he had seen resting on the dunes nearby.

By and large, fighting the gusts was rewarded today and I am looking forward to uncover tomorrow’s feathered curiosities.

Ringed birds today:  Robin, Wren, Lesser Whitethroat, Greenfinch

At the observatory: Morten, Maxim, James and Lisa

En relativ kølig morgen med 6 graders varme og vindretning fra nordvest gav os ikke mange forventninger til ringmærkningen.
Vindstyrken var dog løjet nok af i løbet af natten til, at Maxim og jeg kunne arbejde med alle net i både Fyrhaven og Stationshaven i de 5 standardtimer.

Det endte med en ok dag, hvor vi fik sat ring på 24 fugle, hvoraf 2 Stillidser var første gang i år, at den art er fløjet i vores net.
Blandt dagens genfangster var der en pæn andel af gamle fugle.
En Jernspurv mærket i marts 2022, en Gærdesanger mærket i maj 2023 og en alderspræsident af en Skovspurv mærket i september 2019.

Under netrunder kunne vi jævnligt høre Vendehals fra træerne på den anden side af vejen ved Vesterled og fra nabogrunden Posthaven.
Desværre holdt den sig ude af fuglestationens have i dag, så Maxim fik ikke sin nye yndlingsfugl i hånden i dag.
Til gengæld kunne jeg ved middagstid glæde Lisa, da jeg stod med den femte ringmærkede Ringdue i år.
Lisa var kommet tilbage fra morgenobsen og kom straks ud i ringmærkningsrummet, da jeg meldte ”due i hånden”..

Morgenobsen fra Sydhukket stod Lisa, James og Anders for, hvor de bl.a. fik en gylden time med 6 stk Almindelig Kjove.
Ellers var det en morgen uden det store ternetræk, men dog lidt flere rastende Splitterner og Dværgterner inde på sandbankerne ved Hukket end i de foregående dage.
2 Havørne sammen over Mosen og rastende i klitterne nord derfor var bedste fugle over land.

Anders var over middag så flink, at inviterer os på en tur til Værnengene.
Jeg blev godt nok hjemme på fuglestationen i håb om flere fugle i nettene, men burde være taget med til oplevelserne med de store flokke af Bramgæs og Hjejler deroppe.
Nettene i haven fik jeg ikke meget ud af, da der overraskende kom regnbyger ind over Hukket allerede fra kl 14:30.

De andre kom hjem fra Værnengene i godt humør, med obs af bl.a. Skestorke, Havørn, Brushøns, Gul Vipstjerter o.s.v.






I morgen må vi se, hvad vejret tillader her ved Hukket.
Natten skulle give en del regn og nogle vejrprognoser har regnen til at fortsætte lagt ind i morgentimerne, hvilket så vil udelukke åbning af net i standartiden.

Rariteter kommer vi dog nok til at støde på de næste par dage – fuglestationen bliver fyldt op over weekenden af SU-medlemmer, der har booket sig ind til et af deres møder med behandling af sjældenhedsrapporter.

Dagens ringmærkning:

Folk på stationen: Anders, Lisa, James, Maxim og Morten

If yesterday was an exciting day, then today is now just another standard Blåvand day. We had our daily Wryneck to ring, this one was actually ringed by the station before on 21st July 2022. Despite Maxim’s best attempts, when it was released it refused to perch photogenically on a branch for me to photograph, but fled far away. I will not try and better Maxim’s eulogy to his new love the wryneck, but what I can say is that the novelty of this bird has not worn off on us. Otherwise northerly winds proved to be the known nemesis of the birder. The ringing was quiet, with just 10 birds ringed and 5 birds captured again (including a Linnet and Lesser Whitethroat from last year), and the seabird observation left little to report.

After an uneventful seawatch, Lisa and I went on a little road trip to Skallingen. This was a great chance to see some waders, which are not so frequently (and closely) seen from our observation point here. After a couple of rather desperate hours of unproductive searching we finally were rewarded with some magnificent views of Spoonbills. I was also happy to see Greenshanks and Pied Avocets, which on another quieter day would get a more generous write-up.  

Two more contrasting birds than wrynecks and spoonbills would be difficult to find. That they have evolved from one common avian ancestor speaks to the marvellous variety of nature. Whether they would recognise each other as birds, we will never know, but in my nerdier birder moments, I do like to imagine a hypothetical bird conversation between the two sharing contrasting life stories.

With Maxim’s blasphemous dismissal on yesterday’s blog as to the excitement of birding, we have devised a road trip for him. Being involved solely in ringing since he arrived, I think he has been afforded too much luxury in seeing all of his birds in his hand. This perhaps makes it quite understandable then that seeing birds from more than 5 metres away is just a little boring. We shall report back tomorrow as to if we have any luck.

In any event, we are very much looking forward to the new Blåvand normal of Wrynecks, Spoonbills and the next exciting bird to be reported on tomorrow’s blog.

With 21 ringed birds and 4 recaptures one would think today was not an overly exciting day in the life of a ringer, but you would be wrong!

This might be a bit controversial for birders to hear, but I can't say I have a strong passion for seeing a new species for the first time. I can appreciate the beauty or the unique demeanor a bird can have while handling them, but like all my interests I love the overall idea of ??something, but never a specific part of it. Sure, I have my affinity for passerines and raptors, and on the other hand I have had little interest in shore birds thus far. I much rather have one bird in hand, than a thousand in sight (through a lens). But today I might have found my niche when it comes to birds. I was so surprised by this species that I burst into laughter while observing its bizarre behaviour. It has truly stolen my heart with its "weirdness" and the sense of humor I found in it.

The species I'm talking about is the Wryneck. Before getting it out of the net, I asked Morten what species it is and all he said was: "It's a good one". I can't imagine hearing Morten make a bigger understatement ever again. When I started getting the Wryneck out of the net "it" started immediately, its namesake, while loosening its feet the bird started wiggling its head from left to right in a butter smooth motion. The sight of this bird partially entangled in the net and wiggling its head was the funniest thing to me, I couldn't stop laughing about it. So, there you have it, I love birds that make me laugh! 

The one and only Wryneck

Lisa (and the other volunteers) seemed to have the same affinity for the Wryneck and its beautifully weird head dance.

Another notable catch today was this lovely pair of Redpolls

The morning observations were not equally as exciting for Lisa and James. Most of the counting was done during their first hour or so, with Terns showing up in the biggest numbers. After all the birding was done we enjoyed the sunny weather, cleaned up the observatory and patched up some of the bikes for our next outings. 

To end today's post here is a Tree Pipit James spotted while enjoying the sunny weather this afternoon.

People at the station: Lisa, James, Morten and Maxim