Observations : 

This morning, Hanelie joined me for the birdwatching as, unfortunately, she couldn’t set the nets due to the strong wind.
It was lovely to share the birdwatching with her, even though the migration was rather slow. We were still able to watch two black-throated divers [sortstrubet lom] resting in the waves for several minutes. A beautiful sight. We also counted 21 little terns [dværgterne] feeding near the shore.

Todays observations can be seen here.


The ringed kentish plover [hvidbrystet præstekrave] that we have seen on Fanø, picture by Clara 

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Ringing : 

There was no ringing today due to the strong wind. 

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Later that day, we went on a little bike ride around Blavand... in search of a swimsuit! Because, yes, we were planning to brave the bitter cold and go for a spring swim before Hanelie leaves in two weeks’ time. Unfortunately, there were nothing but jumpers and hiking boots in sight!

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At the station: Clara Delahaye, Jorn de Jong & Hanelie Sidhu 

Weather at 6.00: NW9, 8°C, 6/8, 20km visibility

While the volunteers took a day off and slept in after their trip to Fanø yesterday, I (Henrik) did the morning obs today. The wind had picked up since yesterday and was now close to 10 m/s from NW. Starting out with low expectations, I was actually quite surprised by the numbers. The gannets (sule) came in good numbers, and this was by far the best day so far this spring (114). And more than that, many came quite close. The morning also gave 2 Black-throated Divers (sortstrubet lom), 3 Arctic Skuas (alm. kjove) and more than 1000 Common Scoters (sortand).

The Little Terns (dværgterne) have also now really arrived. Today there were 26 birds feeding in the shallows, creating the well-known Blåvand sound landscape. Even though the breeding area fence is already up, they paid no attention to this secure area – not yet anyway.

A walk along the “always”-route gave very few passerines in the bushes, but two Bluethroats (blåhals) in the northern part of the bog was nice. Both were males, one mute and singing adult. On the beach, Sanderlings (sandløber) are still present by the hundreds, but almost all adult gulls have now left for the nesting ground, as only few immature birds were present today.

Observations:

 Todays observations can be seen here.

Ringing:

Ringing was quite slow today. Only seven new birds and one recapture. Nevertheless, the morning brought two little highlights in the nets: One first for the season and one always there but seldomly in the nets – and this season the first one caught. The first for the season waaas: A Lesser Whitethroat “Gærdesanger”.

Lesser Whitethroat “Gærdesanger” by Hanelie

I was very happy about that, it is my favorite common species in hand and it has finally arrived. The seldomly caught one is a fun species in hand – a Woodpigeon “Ringdue”!

The moths:

As the few birds in the nets did not make much work, the moths helped to keep me occupied during the morning. In the night, I caught with three traps for the first time this season, because the conditions looked good: Rather low wind and not too cold. And it was rewarded: I had 11 different species of moths. The first  of the season come to the trap.

Phyllodesma ilicifolia "Hede-takspinder". Picture by Hanelie

It is a rather rare moths in Denmark but at the Danish west coast, it is not so difficult to get it. Last spring I also got it several times. And Saturnia pavonia "Lille natpåfugleøje" is of course always a highlight.

Saturnia pavonia "Lille natpåfugleøje"

Trip to Fanø:

It was already planned for long – a trip to Fanø to visit Joseph and explore the island. And see the Kentish Plovers “Hvidbrysted Præstekrave”. And finally, the trip was happening! After all nets were closed and all food packed, we went to Esbjerg and took the ferry to the island. Especially Clara was amazed to be on a boat – bit we were all a bit surprised, how short the boat ride was. Before we knew it, we arrived at the harbor of the island. From the boat we already saw the characteristic light green car – Joseph was there to pick us up. First we made a stop at Kims lovely house on the island and had some lunch. Then we went off and Joseph showed us the island. One of the first birds we saw were two Kentish Plovers “Hvidbrysted Præstekrave”. First goal of the trip accomplished!

Kentish Plover “Hvidbrysted Præstekrave”. Picture by Joseph.

Highlights on the beach were a very good number of Bar-tailed Godwits “Lille Kobbersneppe”, the Sperm Wales “Kaskelothval”, that are dead on the beach since late winter – it was very impressive to see them, although especially one of them smelled really bad.

Quite a thick skin, such a Sperm Wale “Kaskelothval”. Picture by Joseph.

The birds are happy about that unflagging food source we saw gulls feeding on them and late three White-tailed Eagles “Havørn”, that were sitting in a row on the beach, looking at the dead Whale.

White-tailed Eagles “Havørn”. Picture by Joseph.

Later, we saw a colourringed/ flagged Kentish Plover “Hvidbrysted Præstekrave” on the beach. It had the letter CT on its ring. After Joseph had entered it into CR birding, we found out that the bird - we had called it Carl Theodor – was ringed as a chick at Marker Wadden in the Netherlands. Last year, it had been observed breeding on Fanø! Interesting, that Carl Theodor is breeding so far from the place where he was hatched. We wish him the best luck for this years breeding season! Although we saw some overflying the Little terns “Dværgterne” were not yet inside their breeding fence. Instead, we saw quite a lot of Common Gulls “Stormmåge” that thought, that it was quite a cozy place inside. That did not make us very happy because the Common Gull is one of the worst predators of Little Tern Nests and chicks.

After that unpleasant discovery, we nevertheless had a nice evening by the fire with a lovely dinner that Joseph cooked us. After a very long day, we took the ferry back to Esbjerg Jorn drove us all back home to the station.

Tak til Joseph for en fantastik dag og godnat!

At the station: Clara Delahaye, Jorn de Jong. Hanelie Sidhu og Joseph Stephan (Fanø)

Observations : 

Todays observations can be seen here. 

Ringing : 

When I went out this morning to open the nets, I was freezing: It was only 3 degrees! Luckily, it heated up soon as it was a sunny day from the early morning on. Sunny days often do not bring so many birds, but it was better than expected. I was happy about two new Redstarts “Rødstjert” and a Firecrest “Rødtoppet Fuglekonge” that I found in the nets.

Redstart male/ Rødstjert han. Picture by Hanelie

Firecrest/ Rødtoppet Fuglekonge. Picture by Hanelie

And – what a chance: I had two foreign recaptures today! It was boths Chiffchaffs, one from Spanin and one from France.

Chiffchaff/ Gransanger with ring from Barcelona. Picture by Hanelie

Although the wind is coming from the wrong direction, Noth-Northeast, some birds are arriving!

At the station: Jorn de Jong, Clara Delahaye and Hanelie Sidhu

At the station: Clara Delahaye, Jorn de Jong and Hanelie Sidhu.

Observations : 

Unfortunately, due to the rainy weather, we weren’t able to carry out our observations this morning.

After the rain, I went down to the dunes to count the resting birds and see if there were any little terns inside the new fences (you never know!). But there was not.
There were also very few birds on the sandbanks this morning: 4 oystercatchers [magellanstrandskade], 13 sandwich terns [splitterne], one northern gannet [sule] feeding and a pair of little terns [dværgterne].

I then made my way to Sabine’s bunker and on into the inland areas. I was surrounded by the song of the skylarks! It’s always such a joy to listen to and watch them. I don’t think one should ever get used to the common birds we see every day, such as herring gulls [sølvmåge], chiffchaffs [gransanger] and other birds. Every species is unique and beautiful in its own way. Whilst wandering through the land, I also came across a common european viper, Vipera berus, which quickly slithered away when it sensed me approaching. I also took the time to observe a smooth newt, Lissotriton vulgaris, I love this species which moves very slowly and is so delicate.
In short, little joys – certainly not exceptional, but ones that fill you with happiness!

Todays observations can be seen here.

Ringing : 

Due to rain in the morning, the nets could not be opened this morning. Later in the day it was nice with calm winds, but I had an online class for university and a spontaneous online meeting in the late morning, also for uni, so the only work for ringing I did today was doing the data check, and I am nearly done, only three sheets are left.

After my meeting was finished, Jorn, Clara and I went to Grønningen. Unfortunately, it was high tide so there were few birds and all far away. So we decided to go to Grønninigen and that was a good decision, as we saw six Spoonbills "Skestork" very close. We could also see a big flock of Golden Plovers “Hjeile”. Two Wheatears on the field and some Barn Swallows “Landsvale” brought some spring feeling.


Spoonbills "Skestork" at Grønningen. Picture by Hanelie

Finally, you’re probably wondering: ‘What on earth is this title for the Blavand Observatory?’ 
Well, well, well, here is the explanation. When we were at Grønningen, we have seen two lapwings [vibe] making strange moves. They were moving up their asses in some strange movements. A behaviour that none of us has observed so far. They looked as though they were dancing to pop music – sort of twerking birds! That was quite funny to observe. Then, doing some researchs, it appears that it could be either a courtship display [see a video here.] or a movement they're making whilst building their nests [see a video here.]
Below, the picture we made to try to explain a bit more what we have seen !


Lapwings [vibe] twerking while they're making their nest or while courtship display, picture by Jorn

At the station: Clara Delahaye, Jorn de Jong and Hanelie Sidhu.

Observations: 

Today was a wonderful morning of birdwatching with Henrik, Thomas and Jorn!
We spotted over 150 red-throated loons [rødstrubet lom], which is quite a good number. They’re starting to move in flocks of five or six; we can’t wait to see large flocks of them arriving. It’s starting, it’s starting...!

At the end of our birdwatching session, we were lucky enough to see three cranes [trane] flying over the beach, really, really close, whilst they were making those characteristic, lovely calls! According to Henrik, it was one of the rare occasions they’ve flown over Blavand so close!

Todays observations can be seen here.

Ringing:

Today was a slow day for ringing. The most interesting of the morning was a female Greenfinch with an enormous tick. It is normal that we find parasites on birds, Dunnocks “Jernspurv” often have feather lice and many birds have ticks, often close to their bill or eyes. Some ticks also find their way to the neck of the bird, I think it is a good place for the tick, it is quite sheltered underneath the feathers and there is only a little chance that the birds get rid of it somehow. This tick profited a lot from that place, it was very large.

Tick on a Greenfinch/ Grønirisk. Picture by Hanelie

Tick after I took it off. Picture by Hanelie

I took it off and killed the horrible parasite, which had already taken a lot of blood from the Greenfinch. Later in the morning, the Eagle club came to the station, and luckily, after many empty nets, we could show them some birds.

Little Tern “Dværgterne” project:

In the meantime, Joseph, Jorn and the fence volunteers did hard physical work putting up the fence for protecting the breeding Little terns “Dværgterne”. But it is up now and looks quite promising!

John and Jorn putting up the fence. Picture by Joseph.

Putting up the electric fence against predators. Picture by Joseph.

After setting up the fence, Kim and Joseph managed to read some Little Tern rings. One of the Terns was ringed 2022 as chick here at Blåvands Huk and from ring readings we know that it returned at least 2024, 2025 and this year to Blåvand. We hope that it will have breeding sucess itself this year! 

This Little Tern/ Dværgterne was ringed here at Blåvandshuk in 2022. Picture by Kim.

At the station: Clara Delahaye, Jorn de Jong, Hanelie Sidhu, Henrik Bøhmer, Thomas Kristiansen, Joseph Stephan, Kim Fischer, the Little Tern fence volunteers and the Eagle Club

Observations : 

What a lovely morning for birdwatching! It got off to a slow start, but then we have spotted loads of lovely birds !!

Here are the highlights of the day :
- Egyptian goose [nilgås] - 1
- Parasitic Jaeger [almindelig kjove] - 1
- Male Wheater [stenpikker] - 1
- Little gull [dværgmåge] - 2
- Greenshank [hvidklire] - 1
- Whimbrel [småspove] - 8

Todays observations can be seen here.


Egyptian goose [nilgås] flying, picture by Henrik Bøhmer



A male wheater [stenpikker] resting at Blavand, picture by Henrik Bøhmer

Ringing:

This morning was streaky. Some rounds brought a good number of birds; some were very slow. But the first net in the station garden brought a little highlight: The first Pied-Flycatcher “Broget Fluesnapper” of the season! The first arrival of the season is usually a male, also this one.

The first Pied Flycatcher "Broget Fluesnapper". Picture by Jorn.

We are hearing the Chiffchaffs “Gransanger” everywhere now, but from time to time, there is also the melancholic song of the Willow Warbler “Løvsanger” in between. I also had three of them in the nets.

The moths:

This night was perfect for catching moths! I had seventeen species, four of them new for the season, these are highlighted in the list. I will show Selenia dentaria “Almindelig månemåler”, I was very happy about that one.

Selenia dentaria "Almindelig månemåler". Picture by Hanelie.

Also another Cerura vinula “Hermelinskåbe” was nice.

Little Tern project:

Joseph came to the station today for putting up the Little Tern “Dværgterne” fence on the beach tomorrow. In the afternoon, we painted some Tern decoys.

Hanelie and Jorn painting decoys. Picture by Joseph.

At the station: Clara Delahaye, Jorn de Jong, Hanelie Sidhu, Thomas Kristiansen, Henrik Bøhmer and Joseph Stephan

Observations:

This morning there was so much fog, we couldn’t even see the lighthouse !
So, unfortunately, the birdwatching had to be cancelled.

In the afternoon, I went to count the resting birds on the beach; there were lots of terns, and among them was a whimbrel [småspove] - see the photo below -, in France, that is not so common, so i was glad to take some time to observe it !  

Todays observations can be seen here.

A whimbrel, some little terns and herring gulls resting on the beach, picture by Clara



A flock of sandwich terns resting on the beach, picture by Clara

Ringing:

Bogfinke hun/ Chaffinch by Hanelie 

The morning did not look nice – a lot of fog. In the first hours the lighthouse was hardly visible from the station. But fog also means low winds so I had the nets open. But there was very little activity in that weather. The highlight came in the closing round. A Starling “Stær” in the same net as yesterday.

Stær han/ Starling male. Picture by Hanelie

This time it was a male (yesterday a female). If they are a couple?

The moths:

Despite the fog, I had ten species of moths. Two were new for the season: Ectropis crepuscularia “Birke-barkmåler” and Diurnella fagella “Bøgeprydvinge”.

Ectropis crepuscularia “Birke-barkmåler”. Picture by Hanelie

At the station: Clara Delahaye, Jorn de Jong and Hanelie Sidhu

Observations: 

It was quite a weird morning. Somehow I overslept my morning alarm, my bad... after saying goodbye to Rose, who was leaving us this morning, I went to take up my position on the dunes to finally start birdwatching at around 7.45 am. At first it was fairly quiet, apart from the gannets and scoters that were out and about. There were a few flocks of waders: some curlews and bar-tailed godwits, but nothing particularly impressive.

Then we went to count the resting birds with Jorn, further towards the northern tip, where you often find the largest numbers. We then saw a wide variety of birds, which was nice:

- sandwich terns [splitterne] - 18
- common terns [fjordterne] - 27
- little terns [dværgterne] - 4
- black-headed gulls [hættemåge] - 19
- oystercatchers [strandskade] - 9
- curlews [storspove]- 17
- bar-tailed godwit [lille kobbersneppe] - 4
- dunlin [almindelig ryle] - 1  

Then, realising that quite a few ducks were starting again to migrate, i decided to stay for about another hour to keep counting them! I've spotted :
- black-legged kittiwake [ride]- 1 (2K)
some brant goose, shovelers, teals, eiders, shelducks, wigeons and red-breasted mergansers :)

Todays observations can be seen here.

Ringing:

The first round brought a good amount of birds, surprisingly many Thrushes. A lot of Song Thrushes “Sangdrossel” but also a Fieldfare “Sjagger”! The last was quite surprising, it is more a bird to be expected in winter, either towards the end of the autumn season or maybe in early spring. And another species was first for the season: The Common Redstarts “Rødstjerts” arrived in our nets!

The first Common Redstart "Rødstjert". Picture by Hanelie

Also in the following rounds, there were always birds in the nets, although not so many anymore. It was a really enjoyable day for ringing, so nets were open until the afternoon. Rose left back to Germany to attend her courses for uni today, and unfortunately, she missed a bird, that she would really have liked to get in the nets: A starling “Stær”.

Starling "Stær". Picture by Clara.

I got it in the net this afternoon. I hope it will be not to long, that we will meet again at some birding place – and maybe with a Starling in the net. Nevertheless, the Fieldfare was also a very nice and more unexpected goodbye species.

Rose and the Fieldfare "Sjagger". Picture by Hanelie

The moths:

Ten different moths species today, five of them were new for the season. I was especially happy about Panolis flammea “Fyrreugle”.

Panolis flammea “Fyrreugle”. Picture by Hanelie.

But also Biston strataria “Broget vintermåler”. That species was already flying in other parts of Denmark since March, but it did not reach Blåvand, so I was even more happy to get it today.

Biston strataria “Broget vintermåler. Picture by Hanelie.

Also some other nice animals enjoyed the sun in the garden. Here a Sandlizard "Markfirben". Picture by Hanelie.

And a Slowworm " Stålorm" looking out of my hand. Picture by Hanelie.

Little Tern project:

This afternoon, Joseph and Kim came to the station set up some wooden flocks on the beach, together with Jorn, to have some better orientation where to put up the Little Tern “Dværgterne” fence. Because now, that they have finally arrived, we need to provide them with an undisturbed place for breeding! The whole team is hoping that the breeding success will be better than last year! On Sunday, Joseph and Kim will be back to put up the fence.

At the station: Clara Delahaye, Jorn de Jong, Rosemary Fricke, Hanelie Sidhu, Joseph Stephan and Kim Fischer

Observations:

Today was a pretty quiet day i would say, still, more than one thousand common scoters [sortand] going north, 29 sandwich terns [splitterne] and some northern gannets [sule] including a 2K !
Jorn and I also spotted a harbour seal from a great distance, but it wasn’t easy to identify the species. Jorn tried to take a picture from far distance so the common seal looks more like a banana resting on the beach (picture below) !

Finally, in the afternoon, with Rosemary and Hanelie we went on a walk around and we have spotted the first sand martin ! 
That was really cool.  

Todays observations can be seen here. 


Sand martin resting on the beach, picture by Clara 



A common seal looking like a banana really far away, picture by Jorn 

Ringing:

The first round today was slow and we already thought it would be a boring morning, but the following rounds did provide some birds. And we also got a special one in the net: A Willow Warbler “Løvsanger” with Norwegian ring!

Willow Warbler “Løvsanger” with Norwegian ring! Picture by Rose.

It must have been ringed in Norway, then migrated to Africa and now we caught it on its way back to it´s breeding grounds. Quite impressive, the yearly journeys of such small passerines. And it was doing very well, it had a fat score of 5! Now we are excited to find out when it was ringed, if it was last year or even some years before! The plumage of the bird does not give us any clue about the age of this species, as both adults and juveniles do a complete moult in winter.

Another nice catch was an adult female Linnet “Tornirisk”, that was ringed last spring, already then as a 3k+.

Linnet, female. Tornirisk hun. Picture by Rose

Already in the early morning, David heard a Nightingale “Sydlig Nattergal”. Later in the morning, it moved closer to the station garden, but we did not catch it unfortunately, so it remains a mystery if it was the one we ringed or a new one.

The moth:

A new species for the season was on the wall today: Cerura vinula "Hermelinskåbe".

Cerura vinula "Hermelinskåbe". Picture by Hanelie.

In total, I had seven species of moths.

At the station: Rosemary Fricke, Clara Delahaye, Jorn de Jong, David Manstrup, Bent Jakobsen, Thomas Kristiansen and Hanelie Sidhu