Early in the morning I said goodbye to Rose and Py. Rose will now spend her last month of her internship at the Nationalpark Vadehavet on Rømø, while Py has gone back home to Copenhagen. In the morning I took care of some university matters concerning my Master's applications. Then I took the blood samples for the West Nile Virus study to the post office. Around 11 am Bent came by and picked out some photos for a presentation on Thursday about the history of the bird station.

In the afternoon I had time for a nice trip to Oksby Klitplantage. There I climbed Husbjerg and could watch a red deer. On the way back I could also see two Ravens (Ravn) and some Crested Tits (Topmejse).

It was the best weather for taking a walk.

Making a nice little coffee break in the sun.

On the paths there were so many of the Labyrintedderkop.

Finally, I picked up Morten from Oksbøl. In the afternoon Henrik Callesen came by and went for a walk, where he saw 5 Red-backed Shrikes (Rødrygget Tornskade) and 2 Wheatears (Stenpikker).

Tomorrow there will be some ringing again, so we’ll see how that goes, as the wind is unfortunately picking up again…

Fiolk på stationen: Bent, Morten, Henrik og Amelie

With very few birds in the nets, Morten and I had a lot of time to walk between rounds today. Morten also helped David a bit with the migration count. Just as I was leaving for another round, David told me that he had just heard a Rosefinch (Karmindompap) near the Fyrhaven. So I set off and was able to beautifully watch the bird singing in a tree. We hoped that the Rosefinch would also fly into the net. I even opened a new net for it... In the next round we even caught two individuals! In total only 7 birds were ringed today: 2 Willow Warblers (Løvsanger), 2 young Starlings (Stær), 1 Marsh Warbler (Kærsanger) and the two Rosefinches (Karmindompap).

Bent came by early in the morning, so I went on a nice walk with him. We walked in a very strong headwind to the Little Terns (Dwærgterne) and the Common Ringed Plovers (Stor Præsterkrave). Then we went back home over the Mosen and saw a Stonechat (Sortstrubet Bynkefugl) with a young. We also saw a male Red-backed Shrike (Rødrygget Tornskade) and some Reed Buntings (Rørspurv). Funny thing was that while walking I said to Bent that I would like to see a Harrier... Maybe a Pallid Harrier (Steppehøg), whereupon Bent said that actually the most likely one at the moment would be a Montagu's Harrier (Hedehøg). About 20 minutes later my wish came true and we had a wonderful view of a 2k male Montagu's Herrier.

Rose and Py made a nice trip to Kærgård Klitplantage today, avoiding the wind a bit. Sadly, today is Rose’s and Py's last day at the station. I will miss you and look forward to meeting Rose probably next week on Rømø! <3

Fiolk på stationen: Rose, Py, Bent, David, Morten og Amelie

Efter en hyggelig grill aften stod Amelie og jeg op kl 04 til en dag med ringmærkning, hvor vinden tog til fra nordvest. Trods net åbne lige til kl 18, så var dagens samlede ringmærkning nede på 18 mærkede og 7 genfangster.
Det ser desværre ikke bedre ud de næste dage - vi gyser ved tanken om endnu mere vind fra stik nord i morgen.
Jeg tager hjem for et døgn i løbet af i morgen, men det er nu ikke på grund af den ufordelagtige vejrsituatuion her, men en længe planlagt aftale omkring mine kontroller på AUH Skejby.
Jeg kommer dog retur igen i løbet af tirsdag eftermiddag og aften og er så klar til de sidste 2 uger af forårssæsonen.

Rose og Py var med på nogle omgange af ringmærkningsrunderne i stationshaven, så Py fik set, hvad det drejer sig om. De oplevede også dagens største fangst, da et par Ringduer fløj i et net på samme tid.
Parret fik lov at flyve afsted igen sammen, da Rose hjalp med at holde den ene efter ringmærkningen og Py forvigede, at de blev sluppet fri.
Ret flot, at vi nu har mærket 6 Ringduer dette forår - i alle forår med ringmærkning siden 1984 er det hidtil største antal på én sæson blot 2 stk.


David tog sig af morgenobs fra Sydhukket.
Som ventet uden det helt store. Lom trækket er ved at være overstået dette forår, så der kom blot 40 i bogen denne morgen.
Sortand tallet behøver dog stadig hjælp af en kliktæller med 1860 trækkende, men det var ikke en havfugle art, der blev obsens bedste fugl.
En Karmindompap fløj forbi klitten og satte sig kortvarigt i en busk ved toppen af p-pladsen.

Både David og Amelie nåede i løbet af dagen omkring stranden og Mosen, men en Rørsanger, en Bomlærke, lidt Rødryggede Tornskader o.lign. blev alt derfra - ingen overraskelser.

Morten Bentzon var på optælling for Naturstyrelsen og kiggede forbi for en snak og medbragte friske rundstykker.
Tak for det og håber så, at Amelie´s tal for ynglende Dværgterner på Hukket er velkomne i Naturstyrelsen overvågningsprogram.

Dagens ringmærkning:


Folk på station: Rose, Py, Amelie, David, Morten og Morten

Even though the number of ringed birds remained very small, we have ringed many different species today. It started with a Wood Pigeon (Ringdue) early in the morning. Morten and I also saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker (Stor Flagspætte) in the Stationshaven. Rose and Py were greeted in the morning with a House Martin (Bysvale). It was the first bird Py had seen in hand and for Rose and me it was the first time we had a swallow in our hands.

In the morning we also had a visit from Ulf, who came over for some bird watching. He spotted some Swifts (Mursejlers), which gave Morten hope for some migrating birds in the nets.

Today’s ringing data:

As there were not so many birds in the nets, I closed the Fyrhaven in the late morning and took a long walk through the Mosen and along the beach. I saw a Marsh Herrier (Rørhøg), a Red-backed Shrike (Rødrygget Tornskade), a Whinchat (Bynkefugl) and a Spotted Flycatcher (Grå Fluesnapper).

While Rose, Py and me were gone, Morten caught a Nuthatch (Spætmejse)! We would have really liked to see thate one...

Rose and Py also set off for a long walk at lunchtime and stopped by the Little Terns (Dwærgterne). They even went for a swim in the sea! When we were all back, we went shopping. In the evening we had a wonderful BBQ with nice conversations. David also joined us, who will probably stay at the station until Monday.

Fiolk på stationen: Rose, Py, David, Ulf, Morten og Amelie

Vores midnatsseance med stjernekig blev aflyst af drivende skyer, så vi var relativt friske til at stå op og åbne net lidt efter kl 04.
Ikke at Amelie oig jeg fik meget ud af den indsats, da blæst fra nordvest endnu engang gav en kombination af få net, der kunne åbnes og ingen trækfugle i haverne.
Det blev kun til 4 ringmærkede fugle og 9 genfangster af vores egne på 10 timer med åbne net - derefter opgav vi forsøget på fangst af fugle i dag.
Bedste fugl i hånden blev en Gærdesanger mærket af mig som 2k i maj 2020, genfanget i juni 2021, ikke set her i 2022 og altså nu retur i haven 4 år gammel.
Dagens fangster var alle præget af, at det var de lokale ynglefugle - flere af dem med rugeplet i et stadie, hvor de har små unger i reden.

Kunne vi ikke rigtig få antal af fugle i nettene i dag, så kunne vi i stedet have fornøjelsen af et monster i nettene.
Stor Gedehams lever op til dens fornavn og er ikke rar at håndtere...

Militæret startede deres pinse-ferie tidligt, så Amelie og Rose havde muligheden for at tjekke nogle andre af de lokale ynglefugle. I modvind fra nordvest gik de til terne-indhegningen og fik styr på 20 Dværgterner og 7 Stor Præstekraver i det område.
Det passer faktisk rigtig godt antalsmæssigt med, at de kunne se 14 Dværgterne reder i indhegningen, hvor der også var 2 reder af Stor Præstekrave, plus én udenfor indhegningen.

De kunne også noterer, at de seneste dages konstante blæst fra nord og nordvest har flytte masser af sand på stranden, så der er dannet en række sanddriver ved indhegningen. Flere af dem dækker den strømførende tråd, der skal holde Ræve ude, men vi håber, at indhegningen i sig selv kan give en beskyttelse af ternernes reder.


Rose henter her til aften sin kæreste, der ankommer med tog til Esbjerg og vi prøver derefter igen, at mødes lige efter midnat i haven. Håber på kig til en klar stjernehimmel med en "halv" Måne på himlen mod vest og lidt nattesnak om det store univers..

Dagens ringmærkning:

Folk på stationen: Rose, Amelie og Morten

As Morten mentioned yesterday, Rose and I got back very late at night after our adventure on Langli. At 10 in the morning Bjarne drove us to the island with the tractor. The weather was fine and there was not even a strong wind. First, we admired the beautiful building and could imagine how our friends had spent their summers and winters there, it seemed a bit out of time.

We spent an impressive and fun day with Thomas and Lars counting the eggs of Herring Gulls (Sølmåge) and Lesser Black-backed Gulls (Sildemåge) at 4 sites. We also recorded the nests of Eiders (Ederfugl). This took all day, including a lunch break when Thomas took photos of the sites with a drone.

Around 8 pm we ate dinner together in the sunset, drank beer and had funny conversations. Unfortunately, the low tide was delayed to 1 am, so it was not quite clear when Rose and I would be able to make our way back. In the end we decided to leave at 10, even though the water wasn't at the lowest level at that point. But it gave us a good feeling to have some brightness left. It was a great walk home, which took us 1:15 hours. Afterwards we were really exhausted and fell into bed around 1 am. Morten even got up again at that point because he wanted to watch a supernova that has been happening in another universe. He was lucky enough to see it for a few minutes as the sky cleared.

In keeping with the previous day, Rose and I didn't get up until 9 am today. It was a very windy day anyway and Morten had only opened a few nets in which he caught a few birds, there was even a new species for the season: a Barn Swallow (Landsvale). Rose and I had a nice trip to Kærgård Klitplantage and enjoyed some calming hours there. Tonight at midnight we are going stargazing with Morten, we are looking forward to it!

Today’s ringing data:

Fiolk på stationen: Rose, Morten og Amelie

Amelie og Rose tog i morges afsted til Langli for at hjælpe med ynglefugle registreringer.
Bent og jeg passede derfor dagens ringmærkning, der desværre var præget af relativ kølig blæst fra nordvest, så fangsten blev begrænset.
På tidspunket for denne korte dagsopdatering har jeg stadig nogle net åbne i stationshaven, men er blot på 10 mærkede fugle og samme antal af genfangster af vore egne fugle.
Alligevel har dagen da givet 3 mærkede Skovpibere, hvilket mere end fordobblede dette forårs antal ringmærkede for den art.
Desuden blev det til en længe ventet tilføjelse af Husrødstjert på dette forårs ringmærkningsliste.


Første ringmærkede Husrødstjert dette forår. Den har jeg ventet længe på, da arten har været registreret i området både i slutningen af marts og flere gange i april, men altså først nu, at én er fløjet i et net.

Mellem netrunderne har Vendehalse synget lystigt i nabolaget - åbenbart ligeglad med blæsten fra nordvest.
Bent havde en enkelt Mursejler og jeg har haft en Digesvale mellem de øvrige svaler, mens 2 Musvåger og 2 Ravne også har været i luften over Mosen.
Mosen har været lukket for adgang det meste af dagen pga forsvarets kampvognstræning og det har også forhindret os i, at få tjekket, hvordan ternehegningen på stranden klarer sig i blæsten.

Jeg afslutter her en kort dagbog for at passe endnu en netrunde, men der kommer opdatering fra Langli på bloggen i morgen, hvor der evt også kommer denne dags sidste fangster med.
Amelie og Rose er først tilbage her på fuglestationen efter kl 22 i aften, da de må vente på lavvande for at kunne gå retur ad ebbevejen fra Langli.
Personligt glæder jeg til at se deres beretning fra den dejlige ø, men den må altså vente til i morgen!

And a beautiful day comes to an end! Rose and I started into a slow morning. It had been blowing all night and the wind was still strong in the morning. Morten was up a bit earlier and even opened a few nets that were not so exposed. He caught the fourth Wood Warbler (Skovsanger) of the season, an Icterine Warbler (Gulbug) and a Spotted Flycatcher (Grå Fluesnapper). We then had a very late breakfast together with banana pancakes. Morten checked some ringing data today and even cut the grass under the nets.

Rose and I did a bit of coworking in the dining room. She worked on her report about her internship in the national park, while I did some research about my dried plants. Bent also came by and chatted with us. In the afternoon Rose and I went on a super great trip to Nyeng and Skallingen.

It was beautiful! We listened to music on the car and made lots of great observations. In one garden there was a huge group of Dådyr, which we could watch from the car.

We also saw Redshanks (Rødben), a Grey Plover (Strandhjejle), several hundred Sanderlings (Sandløber), Brent Geese (Knortegås), two Shelducks (Gravand) and several Oyster Catchers (Strandskade). On the way back we spotted a Lapwing (Vibe) with four chicks.

Because we lost a bit the sense of time during long talks, we made some quick and tasty fried rice and then packed up a few things, because Rose and I are going to Langli tomorrow, we are looking forward to it!

Efter en lun nat med 16 graders varme vågnede vi op til lidt tordenbulder i det fjerne.
Regn og tordenbyger lå nede over Tyskebugt og så ud til at komme op mod os i løbet af morgenen, men de endte med, at forblive ude over havet indtil kl 17.
Derfter fik vi både regn og mærkbart fald i temperaturen her til aften.

Inden da havde Henrik indtaget sin plads i klitten på Sydhukket fra solopgang.
Sidste gang i dette forår, at det sker og hans afslutning gav et par af de mere fåtallige arter herude.
Dels meldte han om 2 nordtrækkende Sortstrubet Lom og dels om 2 trækforsøgende Karmindompap.
Første gang i år, at vi med sikkerhed registrerer Karmindompap i området.

Det skulle vise sig, at være en ankomst med manér, da jeg over middag kunne ringmærke en hun.
Ny art for Amelie, så der kom lidt ud af dagens forsøg med net åbne fra kl 04:30 til regnen startede kl 17.
Der var godt nok begrænset antal fugle, men til gengæld nogle kvalitetsarter for Blåvand med både Karmindompap, forårets 3. ringmærkede Skovsanger og med 2 Kærsanger som ny art på dette års ringmærkningsliste.
Blandt dagens genfangster var de 2 Gulbuge nævneværdige. Den ene var den belgisk mærkede, som Amelie og Henrik havde i Kr. Himmelfarts ferien, mens den anden var mærket her for præsist et år siden d. 22. maj 2022.


Startede med en Skovsanger, der altid ser godt ud.


Lidt senere kom Kærsanger på forårets ringmærkningsliste


Men dagens art blev altså Karmindompap!

Midt på eftermiddagen kom der overraskende besøg af en gruppe på 10 fynboer, der bankede på og hørte, om de måtte få en guided tur med fortælling og visning af ringmærkning.
Tog dem med ind i stationshaven og ringmærkningslaboratoriet, hvor de fik den store fortælling, men desværre uden at kunne vise dem en fugl i hånden.
Nettene i haven var helt tomme på de to runder, hvor gæsterne var tilstede.

En anden gæst var tilkaldt for at løse vores problem med manglende varmt vand i køkken og på badeværelse, svigtene varme i ovnen og en opvaskemaskine, der ikke ville afslutte opvasken.
Viste sig at komfur/ovn, opvaskemaskine og vandvarmer er koblet på en og samme sikringsgruppe.
Den var så blevet overbelastet af, at vi på et tidspunkt har brugt både varmt vand, kogeplader, ovn og opvaskemaskine på samme tidspunkt.
Fremover holder vi os til kun, at køre opvask om natten, når vi ikke har gang i komfur og varmtvandsforbrug.

Rose dukkede op til spisetid i aften og bliver her nogle dage, bortset fra en arbejdsrelateret tur til Langli i løbet af denne uge.
En uge, der foreløbig ser meget udfordrende ud vejrmæssigt med kulde og alt for meget vind til ringmærkning.
Må så se, hvor meget ret i det, at meterologerne får denne gang.

Dagens ringmærkning:


Folk på stationen: Rose, Henrik; Amelie og Morten

Although the morning started slow, we were able to ring an incredible number of 21 different species today! We had a good number of Spotted Flycatchers (Grå Fluesnapper), with a total of 5 individuals ringed. During a short rain shower Morten had taken a Woodpigeon (Ringdue) out of the net, this bird weighed almost half a kilo... Great birds today were also a Tree Pipit (Skovpiber), an Icterine Warbler (Gulbug) and a Reed Warbler (Rørsanger). Also, the second Wood Warbler (Skovsanger) of the season was ringed.

I was especially happy about a Red-backed Shrike (Rødrygget Tornskade), which found its way into the Helgoland Trap. It was a beautiful female that at last made a little bit of friends with Morten after it made life difficult for us to get at least one reasonable photo.

Today’s ringing data:

Good observations today were 8 migrating Swifts (Mursejler) and a singing Marsh Warbler (Kærsanger) that Lars-Tom could hear on his afternoon walk.  When Morten heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker (Stor Flagspætte) this morning and told the others, it turned out funnily enough that it was not a woodpecker at all, but an Icterine Warbler. Lars-Tom had seen it the day before and could testify that it was a genuine imitation of a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Lars-Tom left us in the early afternoon today. Many thanks for the visit and the nice conversations! When David had also left and it became really warm, Morten and I had some ice cream in the garden. While doing so, he spotted two raptors. One was a Common Buzzard (Musvåge) and the second, which was very far up in the sky and rising higher and higher, was a White-tailed Eagle (Havørn). Even though the bird was very far away, this was a great observation for me as it is the first White-tailed Eagle I have seen since arriving here. Hopefully I will be able to observe another one a bit closer in the next weeks.

We are already excited to see what will be waiting for us tomorrow!

Fiolk på stationen: Morten, David, Henrik, Lars-Tom og Amelie