Morning observations:

The weather looked good for the observation today. Levi, Thomas and I were hopeful for some birds, but unfortunately the migration was slow today. Luckily the visibility was good, so we could finish the whole morning observation. We did saw some Sandwich terns “Splitterne” and Common terns “Fjordterne” again.

Today’s observations can be seen here.

After the observation I joined the ringing, which was more successful. We even caught a Common nightingale “Sydlig nattergal” and I got the opportunity to ring it! In total I got three new ringing species today!

The ringing:

I just entered the data and saw that we had 18 different species in the nets today, that is great, spring is coming to its peak in Blåvand. We did not just have the first Lesser Whitethroats “Gærdesanger” for the season, but also the first Common Whitethroats “Tornsanger”.

Lesser Whitethroat "Gærdesanger". Picture: Anne Hjortlund Hansen

Common Whitethroat "Tornsanger". Picture: Anne Hjortlund Hansen

And the day brought more surprises. Marit joined us in the ringing after the obs. And out of the last net of Krattet, she took a Common Nightingale “Sydlig Nattergal”!

Common Nightingale “Sydlig Nattergal”. Picture: Anne Hjortlund Hansen

Besides the appearence, you can also look at the lenth of P1 to differenciate Common Nightingale "Sydlig Nattergal" from Thrush Nightingale "Nattergal". I found a wing picture of a Thrush Nightingale I caught in Gedser last year. Common Nightingales have a very long P1 which has at least the same lenght of the primary couverts or a bit longer, while P1 in the Thrush Nightingale is very short, way shorter than the primary coverts.

The bird was announced on Zello and there was one birder close enough to come and see it. After showing the bird when I released it, it headed right to the nets again. I wanted to go and get it out again, but I did not find the Nightingale “Nattergal” in the net, but a .

Wryneck “Vendehals”. Picture: Marit Nillissen

This was also very much appreciated and there was now one more bird to show. We had the nets open for a little longer and in the last round, we had a nice Tree Pipit “Skovpiber” in the net.

Tree Pipit "Skovpiber". Picture: Marit Nillissen

In the afternoon, we all went on a walk together to explore some bunkers. And we found some nests of Stock Doves “Huldue” in some of the bunkers. So far, the parents are still on the eggs, but soon the chicks will hatch, and we might ring them!

We walked back on the beach and there was another surprise for us: We saw some Little Terns “Dværgterne” sitting in the fenced area!

And another good message waited in my e-mail postbox for me: A recapture letter from the Robin “Rædhals” from Norway! The bird was ringed at the 03.09.2024 in Norway at Ørin Feltstatjon. Now it is probably on its way back to its breeding grounds in Norway, after spending the winter a bit further south. The ringing site in Norway is 935,1 kilometers away from Blåvand. Imagine the distance this little bird flew just on its own wings. And this is just a short-distance migrant.

The Robin "Rødhals" from Norway - where it was ringed and recaptured.

What a successful day at Blåvandshuk!

At the station: Thomas Kristensen, Emma Grey, Marit Nillissen, Levi van der Os, Anne Hjortlund Hansen and Hanelie Sidhu

Morning observations:

After a server crash of four days we’re finally back with the daily blogs! The blogs of the previous days will be uploaded over time as we catch up, so don’t forget to take a look!

Today’s morning observations were quite good compared to the previous days. After two days of bad visibility, we finally had a full obs of three hours with good visibility. There was a decent amount of scoters “Sortand” today and we saw a single common murre/razorbill “Lomvie/Alk”. The most surprising part of the obs however was the large amount of red-throated divers “Rødstrubet lom” today. They flew in beautiful flocks of 10 to 15 birds above, across and under the horizon. Overall, a welcoming change compared to the foggy days before!

Todays observations can be seen here.

In the evening, we had a very fun movie night! We watched “The Big Year”, which was very appropriate for the station and had such a heartwarming and fun story!

The ringing:

We did not catch as many birds as yesterday, but we had some nice ones. On the wish list on the board, Anne had written that she wanted to catch some finches. And here they were, we had a beautiful Goldfinch “Stillits” as well as a pretty Brambling “Kvækerfinke”.

Goldfinch/ Stillits. Picture: Anne Hjortlund Hansen

Brambling/ Kvækerfinke. Picture: Anne Hjortlund Hansen

In the closing round, I saw a Robin with I ring in a net in the station garden. I wanted to check if it was one of today´s, but it had a Norwegian ring!

Robin/ Rødhals from Norway. Picture: Anne Hjortlund Hansen

I was really happy about that catch, it is not always the rare birds, that make me happy, but also recaptures, especially from long-distance migrants, that already have a ring and you can see in the database, that they were ringed one or two years ago and came back here from Africa to breed. Or recaptures from other countries! So now we are very much looking forward to the report of that bird, to see when and where it was caught.

The moths:

I did not have many different moths in the traps, just six species. I will show Gymnoscelis rufifasciata “Rødbandet dværgmåler”.

Gymnoscelis rufifasciata “Rødbandet dværgmåler”. Picture: Hanelie Sidhu

At the station: Emma Gray, Anne Hjortlund Hansen, Thomas Kristensen, Levi van den Os, Marit Nillissen and Hanelie Sidhu

The ringing:

More long-distance migrants have arrived in our nets! In the first round, we were amazed by many Pied Flycatchers “Broget Fluesnapper” and Redstarts “Rødstjert” in the nets.

Pied Flycatcher male/ Broget Fluesnapper han. Picture: Marit Nillissen

Redstart male/ Rødstjert han. Picture: Anne Hjortlund Hansen

And we were amazed, that we finally had a day with many birds in the nets! Unfortunately, the weather was not amazing, and when the fog turned into light rain, we had the nets shut for one hour, but could continue ringing after, as it got dry again. We still got quite some birds and also some more nice species, a Sedge Warbler “Sivsanger” and a Tree Pipit “Skovpiber”.

Sedge Warbler/ Sivsanger. Picture: Marit Nillissen

The observers went back earlier because of bad visibility and Marit and Thomas joined the ringing for some rounds. Thomas got to ring his second and third bird.

Before the visibility became less than one kilometer, they had some Sandwich Terns “ Splitterne” and a few Common Terns “Fjorsterne” on migration.

Todays observations can be seen here.

The moths:

The moths traps also caught quite well today, I had 15 different species, no new ones for me but four new ones for the season, in bold in the list.

Macrothylacia rubi male left, female right/ Brombærspinder han til venstre, hun til højre. Picture: Hanelie Sidhu

Pheosia tremula/ Poppelporcelænsspinder. Picture: Hanelie Sidhu

Trip to Skallingen:

Straight when the nets were closed, we grabbed our Binoculars and a Telescope and went to Skallingen in Annes car. We walked along the beach to look for dead birds for Levis project, but all birds we found were already quite rotten and not useful to take. There were not many birds on the beach, but we saw some Ringed Plovers “Stor Præstekrave” and Levi took some nice pictures.

Ringed Plover/ Stor Prastekræve. Picture: Levi van den Os

The last part of the way back, we left the beach and saw some birds in the meadows, especially Wheatears “Stenpikker”, and a nice Wryneck “Vendehals”.

Wheatear/ Stenpikker. Picture: Levi van den Os

Back at the station, Anne baked cake as her parents came to take the car home. Later we also had some of the cake, it was a Pied Flycatcher “Broget Fluesnapper” cake, Anne had painted one on it and it was nearly to sad to destroy the painting and eat the cake.

Pied Flycatcher/ Broget Fluesnapper cake. Picture: Hanelie Sidhu

At the station: Anne Hjortlund Hansen, Marit Nillissen, Levi van den Os, Thomas Kristensen, Emma Gray, Hanelie Sidhu

Morning observations:

As usual, Marit, Levi, and I walked up to the observation spot, but we didn’t expect to see anything due to the thick fog. We could barely even see the lighthouse, and we were right – visibility was very poor. Still, we decided to try to carry out the observation, but after the first observation period, we concluded that conditions had become too poor to continue, so we packed up and headed back.
Levi and Marit took turns joining the others at the ringing, while I chose to take a long walk around the area. There were quite a few birds today, so I decided to see how many species I could find in the locality. After the long walk, I returned to the station, where I saw that Bent had arrived. After a short break at the station, I decided to join him on his walk – and it certainly didn’t disappoint! We saw lots of birds, and many great species were added to my list.
By the end of the day’s trips, I had recorded 37 species in the area, including Redstart “Rødstjert”, Northern Wheatear “Stenpikker”, Little Tern “Dværgterne”, Tree Pipit “Skovpiber”, and no less than 135 Sandwich Terns “Splitterne”. After the trips, I joined in the Easter fun with the others at the station. So even though the day started out disappointing with another canceled observation, it ended up being a really lovely and enjoyable day.

Todays observations can be seen here.

The ringing:

A foggy morning was the start of easter Sunday 2025. This weather did not bring us many birds, but some easter surprises. The first was a female Ring Ouzel “Ringdrossel”, that I found in a net a fyrhaven. I have been predicting that species since one and a half weeks so I was really happy to finally take it out of the net. Anne got to ring it, it was a new ringing species for her.

Ringouzel female/ Ringdrossel hun. Picture: Emma Gray

But there should also be a new ringing species for me today, which gets more and more rare. At the end of the next round, when we reached the Krattet nets, I started to run, as there was a Wood pigeon “Ringdue” in the net. It is of course a very common species in the field, but I have never had one in the nets.

Wood Pigeon "Ring Ouzel". Picture: Emma Gray

The observers came back earlier as the visibility over the sea was really bad. And to make the day perfect, also Marit got a new ringing species, a White Wagtail “Hvid Vipstjert”.

White Wagtail “Hvid Vipstjert”. Picture: Anne Hjortlund Hansen

Levi also followed us on some rounds, he did not get his X-license yet, but he could release some birds, which he really enjoyed.

The moths:

Although it was not many moths species, also the traps brought some surprises. Two new moths species for me (of just seven species in total – quantity is not always quality :)

Phibalapterix virgata “Snerremåler” and Diaphora mendica “Grå tigerspinder” were new for me and I especially liked Diaphora mendica “Grå tigerspinder”.

Diaphora mendica “Grå tigerspinder”. Picture: Hanelie Sidhu

Easter at BLF

The easter surprises were not over yet, our easter program had just begun. After ringing, we blew eggs and painted birds on them.

Blowing and painting easter eggs. Picture: Emma Gray

It was really fun and we are really happy with our artworks.

The whole team, our easter eggs hanging from the lamp and the eggs that we found in the garden. Picture: Hanelie Sidhu

After Anne, in her job as intern of the easter bunny, hit some easter eggs filled with candy for us in the lighthouse garden.

Where is the easter eg? Picture: Anne Hjortlund Hansen

We found all the eggs, after, Thomas went home and for me, it was soon time for cooking. I made an omelet out of the blown out of the eggs with some vegetables and salat. Our neighbors gave us an ice cake in the afternoon, which we very much admired and enjoyed as dessert. Thanks a lot!

At the station: Marit Nillissen, Levi van den Os, Thomas Kristensen, Emma Gray, Bent Jakobsen, Anne Hjortlund Hansen and Hanelie Sidhu

Morning observations:

Today we were with 4 people at the morning observation because Henrik had joined us. It was a very quiet morning with not that much migration. Most of the birds were resting, such as the Sandwich terns “Splitterne” and Northend gannets “Sule”. Even though it was quiet, we did see two Arctic skua’s “Almindelig Kjove” flying by! Other than that, we also saw some Collared dove’s “tyrkerdue” migrating, which was nice to see.

The weather forecast of tomorrow doesn’t look that promising as it says that it will be foggy. But we are hoping that it’s going to be better!

Today’s observations can be seen here.

The ringing:

Today we just had twelve birds in total, six new and six recaps. One of the Willow Warblers “Løvsanger”, that we caught was first caught and ringed here at the station last year in spring. It is impressive to see that this little passerine flew all the way to Africa to its wintering grounds and now came back to breed and raise its chicks here in Denmark.

Robin/ Rødhals. Picture: Anne Hjortlund Hansen

The moths:

I did not have many moths species today, my favorite was Pachycnemia hippocastanaria “Mørk hedemåler”, which has a very pretty and filigree pattern on its wings if you look at it closer.

Pachycnemia hippocastanaria “Mørk hedemåler”. Picture: Hanelie Sidhu

In the afternoon Levi went out to take some pictures of the birds in the area. Here a Linnet male/ Tornirisk han. Picture: Levi van den Os.

Yellowhammer/ Gulspurv. Picture: Levi van den Os.

At the station: Henrik Böhmer, Levi van den Os, Marit Nillissen, Thomas Kristensen, Anne Hjortlund Hansen, Emma Gray and Hanelie Sidhu

Morning observations:

Today there was a lot of rain forecast, but fortunately for some reason we didn’t see a single drop. Unfortunately, though, the morning was really quiet. We did see a decent amount of scoters “Sortand” and sandwich terns “Splitterne” but only a handful of gannets “Sule”. We did see quite a few passerines today with a couple of white wagtails “Hvid vipstjert” and tree pipits “Skovpiber”.

Todays observations can be seen here.

The ringing:

We were tricked by the weather a little today. After the first round, it showed a big rain front on the radar. So we were shutting down the nets so birds would not get wet. When we were supposed to be in the middle of dark blue rain on the radar, which should have been rather heavy there was no rain at all. Therefore, we opened again and had the nets open for one more hour than standard although there were actually not many birds. Emma followed us in the ringing and got to know some European passerines. We also had a visit from some friends of Anne, who saw some birds in hand and got explanations on bird ringing and some tea at the station.

Annes friends and the team at the station. Picture: Hanelie Sidhu

Blackcap female/ Munk hun. Picture: Anne Hjortlund Hansen

The moths:

I had six different species today, two were new for the season, Selenia dentaria “Almindelig månemåler” and Agrotis ipsilon “Ypsilonugle”.

Selenia dentaria “Almindelig månemåler”. Picture: Hanelie Sidhu

At the station: Emma Gray, Levi van den Os, Marit Nillissen, Anne Hjortlund Hansen, Hanelie Sidhu

Morning observations:

Today was my second time with the morning observations. Yesterday the vision was way too bad to actually see anything. This morning however we had great vision, able to see the windfarms in the distance. It was quite rainy however, but nothing a couple of umbrellas couldn't fix. The migration was a bit busier today compared to Tuesday with a decent amount of scoters “Sortand” and gannets “Sule”. There were also a couple of large flocks of common/arctic terns “Fjordterne/Havterne” and we spotted a white-tailed eagle “Havørn” flying by.

Todays observations can be seen here.

A rainy morning at the obs. Picture: Thomas Kristensen

The ringing:

When my alarm woke me up today, rain was drumming against the window. The weather forecast did not look so good, a lot of rain during the morning. But the rain stopped and one hour delayed, Anne and I were opening the nets. We were expecting that we might shut down the nets soon and that was right, we had two dry rounds, then we had to put them down again. But after less than 45 minutes, the rain stopped again. We saw new rain coming on the radar, but there was enough time to close the open the nets in the station garden again for one round, but we closed the lighthouse garden properly and after that round also the station garden and we were just in time before we were hit by the new rain front.

Antonia with her last Chiffchaff "Gransanger" ringed at the station for this time.

The moths:

Twelve different moth species today plus one sp., I caught Saturnia pavonia again but another individual that was not as worn as the last one and very beautiful. There were also two new ones for the season, which are in bold in the table.

News of the station:

Today was a big departure day, Antonia left back to Germany and also Joseph and Frida left, but Joseph will be back in a week.

At the station: Antonia Greil, Anne Hjortlund Hansen, Marit Nillissen, Emma Gray, Levi van den Os, David Manstrup, Hanelie Sidhu, Joseph Stephan and Frida

The ringing:

It was foggy actually the whole day at Blåvandshuk until we sat together at the table for dinner, and it had finally cleared up. Nevertheless, we had 29 new birds of 11 different species. Highlights were a Black Redstart Husrødstjert, a Starling “Stær” and a Linnet “Tornirisk”.

Black Redstart "Husrødstjert". Picture: Antonia Greil

Linnet "Tornirisk". Picture: Anne Hjortlund Hansen

Starling "Stær". Picture: Antonia Greil.

Thomas, Marit and Levi went to the obs today but due to the fog, they could just count some resting birds and came back to the station very soon.

Todays observations can be seen here.

Our guests for the last night left today, we had a nice evening together yesterday but before, we took a group picture with everyone who was there.

Left to right: Hanelie, Frida, Anne, Antonia, Marit, Thomas, David. Picture: guests

The moths:

It was a pretty good night for moths, I had 12 different species, three new for me and two new for the season. The new ones are bold in the list. I was especially happy to get Saturnia pavonia “Lille natpåfugløje”, for the first time, although it was very worn. Besides that, I was happy to welcome back Pterostoma palpina “Palpetandspinder”, I already caught it last spring, but it is a very nice moth with its snout, I think.

Saturnia pavonia "Lille natpåfugleøje". Picture: Hanelie Sidhu

Pterostoma palpina "Palpetandspinder". Picture: Hanelie Sidhu

Trip to Filsø:

Birdwatching at Filsø. Picture: Marit Nillissen

After lunch, Anne, Antonia, Marit, Levi and I went on a trip to Filsø, as Anne has a car here for a few days and we needed to take advantage of that. We saw Ruffs “Brushane”, Sedge Warblers “Sivsanger”, Reed Buntings “Rørspurv” and Garganeys “Atlingant” and the weather was way better than out here at Blåvandshuk.

Reed Bunting "Rørspurv". Picture: Antonia Greil

News of the station:

In the late afternoon, Emma arrived at the station after a long trip from New Zeeland to Blåvand. Emma will stay with us until the end of June.

At the station: Thomas Kristensen, Anne Hjortlund Hansen, Marit Nillissen, Levi van den Os, Antonia Greil, Hanelie Sidhu, Emma Gray, Joseph Stephan and Frida and two guests

Morning observations:

This morning, Levi joined Marit and me for observation for the first time. We used the quiet morning migration to introduce him to how the morning observations work, which species we usually see, and how to tell them apart. As mentioned, the morning was very calm, with only a decent number of scoters “Sortand” and a good number of resting gannets “Sule” that were fishing. During the observation, we also saw quite a few passerines migrating overhead.

Todays observations can be seen here.

Levi on morning observation. Picture: Marit Nillissen

The ringing:

The weather was okay today, so nets were open at standard opening time at 06:00. It was a bit overcasted and a little windier and we did not have as many birds as yesterday, 19 new. Our highlight was another Linnet “Tornirisk”, that got a new ring, a beautiful female.

Between the rounds, we had enough time to make some bird portraits as of this beautiful Songthrush "Sangdrossel". Picture: Anne Hjortlund Hansen

Closeup of a Robin "Rødhals". Picture: Anne Hjortlund Hansen

Our pretty female Linnet/ Tornirisk hun. Pictuere: Antonia Greil

The moths:

Six different species of moths were in the traps today, I will show Orthosia incerta “Broget forårsugle” today, as it is a while ago, since I had it last.

Orthosia incerta “Broget forårsugle”. Picture: Hanelie Sidhu

People: Antonia Greil, Marit Nillissen, Levi van den Os, Thomas Kristensen, Hanelie Sidhu, Anne Hjortlund Hansen and Dimitri, Joseph Stephan and Frida and two guests

Morning observations:

Already on our way up to the observation site, Marit and I had a feeling that rain was on the way. After about an hour of light drizzle, the rain really started to come down. We decided it was too much to continue with a standard count, so after 1.5 hours of observation, we packed up and headed back to the station—soaked through.

The birds didn’t seem too keen on migrating in the rain either, so we only spotted a few of the most common species.

After warming up and drying off a bit back at the station, the rain stopped and the sun slowly began to break through. I decided to go for a walk to see if I could maybe find a Wryneck “Vendehals”, while Marit joined the ringing team as they decided to open the nets.

I didn’t find a Wryneck “Vendehals”, but to my great surprise, a white bird suddenly landed right next to me. It was a beautiful male Pied Flycatcher “Broget Fluesnapper”! I was thrilled and spent a good while admiring him—until I got a message that a Wryneck “Vendehals” had flown into one of the nets.

I said goodbye to the flycatcher and rushed back to the station. After enjoying the Wryneck “Vendehals” and making a quick stop by the Pied Flycatcher “Broget Fluesnapper” again, I decided to head home.

So, a rainy morning with barely any birds suddenly turned into a lovely, sunny day with some fantastic species.

Todays observations can be seen here.

Morning obs under the umbrella. Picture: Marit Nillissen

The ringing:

This morning did not look so promising. Yesterday, DMI forecasted that the rain would hit us just at six o´clock. I woke up at opening time to check if it maybe changed. It did, now the rain was supposed to hid Blåvand probably at seven, so I decided not to open and wait a bit until the radar would show the rain front. For a while it looked like we might just be at the edge and it would not be so bad here but at seven, the rain actually hit so there was no ringing in the early morning hours, but Anne made us a nice breakfast with eggs and backed beans while it was raining outside.

But at 9:30, the rain had stopped, and we went out opening the nets. The first round brought the most birds and, to our big amazement a Wryneck “Vendehals”!

Wryneck “Vendehals”. Picture: Anne Hjortlund Hansen

We also had the second Willow Warbler “Løvsanger” of the season and quite some Robins “Rødhals”.

Willow Warbler "Løvsanger". Picture: Marit Nillissen

We kept the nets open for nearly five hours, the sky was bright and blue, the sun was shining, and in the following rounds, we also always had a few birds.

Not just the birds were active, but also some reptiles came out to enjoy the sun. We had a Slow Worm “Stålorm”.

Slow Worm “Stålorm”. Picture: Hanelie Sidhu

As well as a juvenile Common Toad “Skrubtudse”. First, we were a bit puzzled about that one, as it had quite some red on its back, which we did not see on these before, later Marit read it up and it is because it is a young one.

Juvenile Common Toad “Skrubtudse”. Picture: Marit Nillissen

The moths:

The moths did not like that night at Blåvand so much, I just had four different species and no new ones for me. I will show Xylocampa areola "Gedebladugle”, it is still the one I catch most.

Xylocampa areola "Gedebladugle”. Picture: Hanelie Sidhu

News of the station:

Yesterday, later than Antonia and Frida, also Annes boyfriend Dimitri arrived at the station. While we were occupied with birds, he went fishing today.

Levi, who will stay at the station with us for a bit more than two months, arrived this evening, so we are a lot of people at the station now!

At the station: Marit Nillissen, Antonia Greil, Levi van den Os, Thomas Kristensen, Hanelie Sidhu, Anne Hjortlund Hansen and Dimitri, Joseph Stephan and Frida