The Morning Observation was our first task today. With a west wind of 8m/s we took some shelter in the dunes. On our way to the observation, a Whitetailed Eagle (Havørn) was the first bird I saw this morning. A nice start! The species that was most popular today were divers, especially Redthroated Diver (Rødstrubet Lom) with over 370 individuals counted. There was one Great Northern Diver (Islom) and several Razorbills (Alk) migrating south. Joseph did a great job today and spotted a 1K Sabines Gull (Sabinemåge), which was a nice highlight. A thousand Little Gulls (Dværmåge) also brightened the mood. All observations can be seen here. During the time, we were happy to see a beautiful rainbow, which at some point almost crossed the whole sky. You can see them almost every day here!

Due to the windy and rainy conditions, no ringing was done in the standard time. In the afternoon we were able to open some of the nets in the Stations Garden, which was a nice and slow way of passing the time till sundown. We caught 6 new birds: 4 Blackbirds (Solsort), 1 Blackcap (Munk) and 1 Chiffchaff (Gransanger). As well as one recaptured Goldcrest (Fuglekonge).

Just now, Anton has made a delicious soup, that warmed us up on this November Day.

People at the Station: Louis Poulsen, Anton Liebermann, Joseph Stephan, Antonia Greil

Med 5m/s fra V. var nettene oppe i dag, det væltede dog ikke med fugle i nettene, men lidt blev fine fugle var der da imellem, 35 Fugle blev mærket og 10 Genfagster, Højdepunkterne blev en fin ung han Spurvehøg, og en lækker Rødtoppet Fuglekonge [Firecrest]!

Spurvehøg [Sparrowhawk]

Rødtoppet Fuglekonge [Firecrest] og Blåmejse [Blue tit]

På obsen nød vi det lækre vejr og det fantastiske lys der var i dag mellem regnbygerne, og lidt fugle kom der dag også. Der kom stadigvæk lidt Dværgmåger [Litlle gull], det stilnede dog meget af til sidst, men lidt under 300 kunne det alligevel blive til, hvilket faktisk er en ret fin dag mange steder hvis bare man ikke sammenligner det med de seneste dage herude.

Ellers kom der fint med Stære med lidt over 4000 stks.

Lidt forkælede blev vi også med først en ung Mellemkjove [Pomarine skua], og senere 2 stks. lækre Islom [Great northern diver] som kom sammen lige over revet! der er altså bare lækkert er det!

Alle observationer fra i dag kan ses her:

Folk på stationen: Louis Poulsen, Anton Liebermann, Joseph Stephan, Antonia Greil

Efter nogle skønne dage på Danmark vestligste punkt, var forventninger til i dag ganske til stede. Den fik også et ekstra hak op ad stigen, da der havde været vejrskifte i nat. Vi stod op til vestenvind! Jeg kan næsten ikke huske sidste gang det var tilfældet. Den blæste 8-9 m/s, men fik alligevel åbnede alle garn i begge haver. Nu skulle det være. Rødhalse tikkede, vindrosler i luften og solsorte der røg ned. Første runde gav dog kun 5 fugle, også var de forhåbninger kørt i sænk.

Gråsejleren fra i går, som næsten blev set gå til ro, var umiddelbart ikke til at finde. Der lå dog en enkelt landsvale og kørte lidt rundt, men den forblev desværre alene resten af dagen. Grundet de tavse netrunder, var der tid til at stå ved vejrradarklitten og obse lidt, og det var da ganske fint, da der var lidt småfugle i luften, flere end de sidste par dage. Langt de fleste røg øst om fyret og forsatte mod NØ. 2 flokke af henholdsvis 6 og 8 store korsnæb skulle den vej, den sidste flok på 8 kunne jeg nyde med Bent, som lige kiggede forbi fyrhaven. Han fortalte at det er typisk ved vejrskifte, at fugle ryger mod NØ igen. Af andre småfugle kan nævens 2 hedelærker der skulle samme vej, flere småflokke af lille korsnæb, grønirisker og bogfinker det samme, samt enkelte engpibere.

Dagens Stjerne

Ude over havet var der dog meget bedre gang i den, og jeg fik en lille del af kagen fra klitten. Dværgmåger gik amok, og Louis blev derude til solnedgang og talte hele 3272. Kan det være ny huk rekord? Udover de skønne små måger, missede jeg desværre en Sabinemåge fra klitten, men den var gået meget meget langt ude kunne jeg forstå på Joseph senere. Samtidig var jeg også lige gået på en netrunde ved stationshaven, da en mellemkjove kom kørende og jagende lidt mod syd. Ellers blev der set en søkonge og en nordisk lap derude.

Vi lukkede nettene klokken 14:30, og dagens mærkninger løb op på.

Lad bare det varme vejr forsætte, så skal november nok blive en sjov omgang.

Folk på stationen: Louis, Joseph, Antonia, Anton

Today began with Anton, Antonia, and me opening the mist nets, while Louis and Böhmer headed out to the observation site. It was an eventful day with a great variety of rare sightings.

We not only spotted six Great Northern Divers (Islom), with four of them flying together in a single flock, but we also saw a Pallid Swift (Grasejler) that circled around the dunes the entire afternoon, accompanied by three Barn Swallows (Landsvale). Furthermore, we were graced with the majestic presence of both a Pallid (Steppehög) and a Hen Harrier (Bla Kaerhog)! You can find a comprehensive list of all observations here.

two Great Northern Divers // Photo: Louis Poulsen

Pallid Swift // Photo: Louis Poulsen

Pallid Harrier // Photo: Henrik Böhmer

The ringing started off rather slowly but took an interesting turn around 12 o'clock when we were pleasantly surprised by the first Bohemian Waxwing (Silkehale) of this autumn season. In total, we managed to catch 42 birds.

Bohemian Waxwing

It was truly an extraordinary day today! We went to bed feeling content and grateful, eagerly anticipating tomorrow, as the weather conditions are looking promising with a western wind.

People at the station: Anton Liebermann, Antonia Greil, Louis Poulsen, Joseph Stephan

Sadly, the weather was not suitable again for ringing today, so we could not open any nets. For me, this was an opportunity to get some rest, as I was feeling I was catching a cold, but I think I could successfully avoid it.

But for Louis, Joseph, Didrik and Lovis, a lot was happening at the Daily Morning Observation! Especially Louis, who was been observing today for many many hours, had a lot of highlights, one more exciting than the other. But the best were of course not less than 2617 Little Gulls (Dværgmåger)! That is a lot more than some days ago, where we had around 1000. The second best bird today was the Pallid Swift (Gråsejler), which we had been hoping to see for some days now. Today it finally came and the Observation-Team was delighted, for Joseph it was even a Lifer. And there was more: a late Arctic Tern (Havterne); some Goosander (Stor Skallesluger) which are quite common in other parts of Denmark, but not so often seen here; a Horned Grebe (Nordisk Lappedykker), which is also a nice sighting as there are usually around 5 sightings in the autumn season; and some Sabine’s Gulls (Sabinemåge). So, even though the wind conditions were not perfect (S 9m/s), it was a pretty awesome day to be out observing! All observations can be seen here.

Pallid Swift (Louis Poulsen)

While Louis continued to hold his ground observing, the rest of us took some time for birding, walking around the area and food shopping. When I went out to get some fresh air, I could watch a lot of waders on the beach: 20 Turnstones (Stenvender), some Oystercatchers (Strandskade), Red Knots (Islandsk Ryle), Dunlins (Almindelig Ryle) and many Sanderlings (Sandløber). Anton took a walk to Grønningen and found a Pallid Swift as well, which he was very happy about. Tonight, Didrik and Lovis made a lovely dinner (and even dessert!!) and it is their last evening with us, as they will return to Sweden tomorrow.

People at the Station: Joseph Stephan, Louis Poulsen, Antonia Greil, Anton Liebermann, Didrik, Lovis

Pga. 15 m/s fra SSØ, var nettene ikke oppe idag, og der var ikke andre end mig der gad med på obsen, så jeg hyggede alene sammen med hele 10 ande arter, og nogle lækre Dværgmåger.

Dagens ande-højdepunkt blev en lækker lækker Taffeland, gammel han, som kom trækkende inden for revet, det er den første der er set på hukket i år.

Ellers blev jeg også forkælet med lidt lækre Dværgmåger, ca. Halvandet hundrede stks., som i dag kom lidt bedre end de andre dage, flere af dem kom lige i strandkanten, og der var også et par stykker der fouragerede nede i strandkanten, hvilket gav nogle gode fotomuligheder, så jeg hentede kamera efter obsen, for at få nogle billeder til bloggen, det styrtede godt nok ned, men hvad gør det når det er verdens lækreste måge?;)

Foto: Louis, Dværgmåger [Little gull’s], ahmen altså? så bliver det ikke meget bedre;)

Alle observationer fra i dag kan ses her:

Folk på stationen: Louis Poulsen, Anton Liebermann, Joseph Stephan, Antonia Greil, Didrik og Lovis

Kraftig blæst fra sydøst var ikke nogen god cocktail denne morgen. Højdepunktet fra obsen blev en storlom og 8 silkehaler, der skulle en tur mod England. Nettene havde det svært, og vi kunne kun få omkring 30 meter op. Dette var dagens mærkninger:

Sidst på morgenen satte Louis og jeg klar på parkeringspladsen, og var klar til at tage imod en Gråsejler. Den kom dog aldrig, men til gengæld fik vi en trækkende skovsneppe, som kom tæskende ind fra havet. Bent kom forbi efter noget gammel data, og vi røg i en omgang hyggesnak.

Efter frokost traskede Louis og undertegnede i mosen i håb om ballade, men vi kunne ikke hive mere ud af hukket end en Snespurv. Joseph lavede lækre tyske snitzler, og de blev stornydt med en god salat og bådkartofler. I morgen ser vejret meget ens ud, dog med endnu mere vind, så det er ikke ligefrem meget lovende.

Folk på stationen: Joseph, Antonia, Louis, undertegnede og 2xsvenskere.

The weather today was unpleasant, with a wind speed of 7 m/s from the southeast and intermittent rain showers. The migration was quite slow today, but we still saw 2820 Starlings (Staer) and eleven Sparrowhawks (Spurvehög). You can find a comprehensive list of all observations here.

Due to the bad weather, only the nets in the station garden were set up, where we caught 15 birds, including a Great Spotted Woodpecker (Stor Flagspaette), which arguably was the bird of the day.

1K female Great Spotted Woodpecker

While Didrik, Lovis, and Louis went to Nymindegab to twitch a Ring-necked Duck (Halsbåndstroldand), Liva baked some delicious brownies, which all of us enjoyed to the fullest. Afterwards, Antonia and Felix prepared a mouthwatering Chili con Carne for dinner, while Anton, Liva, and I watched "The Mask," one of the best movies ever made.

Ring-necked Duck

We went to bed happy and grateful, looking forward to tomorrow, when we will face another great day at the Fuglestation.

People at the Station: Louis Poulsen, Anton Liebermann, Joseph Stephan, Antonia Greil, Felix, Liva, Didrik, Lovis

First of all: We are trying to revive the Instagram-Account of the Fuglestation! The last time it was a little bit inactive, but with a new month comes new motivation! So if you want to see pictures of the beautiful birds we ring and see at the observations, check it out: Blaavand Instagram

At the Morning Observation, Louis had wind conditions of 8m/s from NNO. He counted over 300 Common Scoters (Sortand), some Eiderducks (Ederfugl), Wigeon (Pibeand), Teal (Krikand) and Scaup (Bjergand). Again, there were some Little Gulls (Dværgmåge) and also some Redthroated Divers (Rødstrubet Lom). Passerines were seen as well, like Common Crossbills (Lille Korsnæb), Snowbuntings (Snespurv) and Goldfinches (Stillits). A Short-eared Owl (Mosehornugle) was getting in good sight and Louis took a nice picture of it! All observations can be seen here.

Photo: Louis Poulsen

Meanwhile, Anton, Joseph, Felix, Liva and I had the Nets open and were doing Netrounds until midday. It was quite cold compared to yesterday, I think I have to adapt to this low temperature now and buy some fingerless gloves (very essential for extracting birds out of the net!). When we opened the nets, a lot of birds were migrating and calling, so we expected a very busy day. 15 birds were caught in the Helgoland Trap before we even properly started with checking, so that was very promising! The first two rounds were quite full, but it calmed down quickly. We had a very nice male Lesser Redpoll (Lille Gråsisken), apart from that it was mainly Robins (Rødhals), Goldcrests (Fuglekonge) and Blackbirds (Solsort). In the last rounds, we had time to compare some adults and young ones of the same species, for example Robins and Blackcaps (Munks), which is always interesting to see side by side. In total we had 153 birds.

Then, in the closing round, the highlight of the day was caught! An adult Woodcock (Skovsneppe) was flushed and flying into the Helgoland Trap! With quick reactions and fast running, we managed to catch this amazing bird. Last week we had a Woodcock while we were out Nightcatching, and it was really nice to see this bird and its fascinating wing pattern now in bright daylight.

Photo: Felix K.

In the afternoon I took a walk with Felix on the beach and we saw two pretty Snowbuntings (Snespurv) very close while they were foraging. Felix took some nice pictures and afterwards we did a trip to the Supermarket with Joseph, to fill up the empty fridges. Two guests, Didrik and Lovis from Sweden, arrived, and now Louis has made a delicious Lasagna.

Photo: Felix K.

People at the Station: Louis Poulsen, Anton Liebermann, Joseph Stephan, Antonia Greil, Felix, Liva, Didrik, Lovis

Pga. omkring 12 m/s det meste af morgenen kunne alle net ikke være åbne i dag, men der blev alligevel prøvet med et par stykker, 14 fugle blev det til, med 7 mærkninger og 7 aflæsninger. 

På obsen var forventningerne rimelig høje, da vinden i dag var drejet om i SV efter mange dage i Ø.

Og da vinden var noget kraftigere om morgenen end hvad de lige havde lovet, så havde jeg selv lidt skråper i tankerne, men det skulle det altså ikke blive til, til gengæld begyndte der allerede før solopgang at komme lidt Dværgmåger [Little gull] trækkende, så det lovede godt for resten af dagen ..og det blev det sandelig også.

De næste par timer kom der ca. 300 Dværgmåger i timen, og sikke et syn, det er en af mine yndlings fugle, så det var en fuldstændig fantastisk morgen obs derude i dag. Kl. 1215 blev jeg nødt til at gå ind og der begyndte også at komme regnfyldte skyer indover. Men “heldigvis” begyndte trækket også at stoppe, så det var ikke så slemt at forlade obsen.

I alt blev det 1254 Dværgmåger [Little gull]!!

Helt klart en af de bedste dage denne sæson, for mit vedkommende:)!!

AD Dværgmåge [Little gull], underside

AD Dværgmåge [Little gull], overside

Alle observationer fra i dag kan ses her:

Folk på stationen: Louis Poulsen, Anton Liebermann, Joseph Stephan, Antonia Greil, Felix