Today, the day started cold again. There was dew everywhere and even the nets were a bit white. Luckily, they were not frozen so they could be opened. Because of this cold, the ropes which keep the poles up were a bit slippery, and one pole fell. I could not fix it on my, so after the first round with Bent we quickly fixed it. The numbers were a bit low, but that may be because of the nice weather. The two highlight of the day consist of a second year Brambling and two immatures white tailed eagles flying low over the village of Blåvand. Since I am not that much observing at sea, I see them a lot less.
The numbers over sea were very low. But the observers (Bello was joined by Henrik and David) had two hawfinches, we would really like them into our nets. But in spring they are quite rare in the area of Blåvand.

In the evening Bello and I went out to try to see the tengmalm's owl. We have tried it once before the season started, but then we were too late on the place where it is around. Now we brought some dinner with us to make sure we were on time this time. After an hour of waiting, we heard a series of calls. Then half a hour later, we heard some more calls and we even managed to record them. I was really glad, because this was a new species for me. I will include the edited recording on the blog tomorrow. The recording has to be edited a bit, so it is nicer to listen to. To record the calls, we brought the parabola (which is intended for the nocmig) but it is also very nice to record some calls far away. Bello took a picture of me trying to record it.

Photo of me trying to get a recording of the Tengmalm's owl - Photo by Bello

Ringing list (new/recapture):
Wren (0/1)
Dunnock (4/1)
Robin (1/0)
Blackbird (3/0)
Song thrush (2/0)
Chiffchaff (1/0)
Goldcrest (1/1)
Great tit (2/0)
Chaffinch (2/0)
Brambling (1/0)
Tree sparrow (1/0)
Lesser redpoll (1/0)
19 new birds over 12 birds.

DOF list:
https://dofbasen.dk/search/result.php?design=table&soeg=soeg&periode=dato&dato=18-03-2022&omraade=stor&stor=607&obstype=observationer&species=alle&sortering=dato

People at the station: Henrik, David, Bent, Bello and Menno

Today, after two days of foggy days, the bird have been keen to migrate further north.
It has mainly been southgoing birds at sea, but seems like they are turning around now.
Normally, birds (mainly passerines) do not like to migrate in cloudy weather. The reason for this could be that birds cannot see where they can go down. So, after two days that the birds were stopped, they could finally migrate again. In the nets was a nice mix of birds, with some good numbers. It was enjoyable, although it was quite busy at some times. Most of the birds were blackbirds, not the numbers Gedser had (they had 77 on the 15^th) but still some nice numbers. It was also nice to catch a siskin again.

But the highlight of the day were the two cranes which were calling loudly. Bello even managed to take some pictures. They arrived quite low, but they got some height at the lighthouse and continued their migration to the north. They may have slept in the lagoon south of Blåvand.  

Cranes – Photo by Bello
(Bello has been using Timmys 400mm lens but since Timmy left he has been back at 135mm. So less exciting photos for now)

Wren (2/2)

Dunnock (6/0)

Robin (1/0)

Blackbird (16/0)

Song thrush (1/0)

Redwing (1/0)

Chiffchaff (1/0)

Goldcrest (3/2)

Blue tit (2/0)

Great tit (1/0)

Siskin (4/0)

Lesser Redpoll (5/0)

Chaffinch (0/1)

Total = 44 birds

DOF list:

https://dofbasen.dk/search/result.php?design=table&soeg=soeg&periode=dato&dato=18-03-2022&omraade=stor&stor=607&obstype=observationer&species=alle&sortering=dato

People at the station: Xenia, Bello, Bent and Menno  

Idag blev der ikke ringmærket da Bent ikke var her, i morgen vil Xenia stå for det.
Menno og jeg tog på stranden for at tælle i morges, vi startet kl 630 nu, men efter en time i stærk vind begyndte det også at regne meget, så vi gik ind igen. Der havde alligeve ikke været nogle fugle udover 20 Ederfugle den time. Hen på eftermiddagen klarede det op, Menno gik en rundte og så til nettene. Jeg tegnede en Vibe og så noget Game Of Thrones efter min træning

Foto/tegning - Bello

Jeg har også udsmykket fuglestationen med en af mine gamle tegninger fra 2012 af en biæder. 


Folk på stationen; Menno, Mikkel Bello

Wednesday 16th of March

Today was another foggy day, but the vision was enough for a sea watch. By the limited vision Mikkel did not saw many migrating non-passerines. But he observed a serin flying towards the house, unfortunately Bent and me were ringing birds at the lighthouse so we were not able to pick it up.

The main highlight of the ringing today was a female bullfinch, because of the many birds that round (and a bit of bad timing, but a forgot in which bag it was) we took a quick picture in the ringing lab. Next to the bullfinch an old yellowhammer ringed at Blåvand was also nice! 

Photo of the female bullfinch - Photo by Menno

For tonight and tomorrow strong southern winds are predicted. Hopefully this will bring in some nice and good amount of birds migrating at sea.  

Ringing list (new/recapture):

2/1 Blackbird

1/1 Wren

8/1 Dunnock

0/1 Yellowhammer

2/0 Robin

1/0 Goldcrest

3/0 Blue tit

1/0 Great tit

4/0 Common Chaffinch

6/0 Redpoll

1/0 Bullfinch

29 new birds over 10 species.

As promised, we would come back to the recaptured robin with a Dutch ring, the one we caught the 14th. It was ringed in the surroundings of Schagen, just north of Amsterdam. It’s amazing such little birds can cover these distances.

DOF list:

https://dofbasen.dk/search/result.php?design=table&soeg=soeg&periode=dato&dato=16-03-2022&omraade=stor&stor=607&obstype=observationer&species=alle&sortering=dato

People at the station: Bent, Bello and Menno

Unfortunately, both Timmy and Leona had to leave yesterday so it felt a bit empty today. Hopefully they will come back later this season, when there will be more birds in the nets. Luckily, Bent comes over to ring, so the data of the ringing is still collected.

The migration over sea was rather slow, but I saw seven white tailed eagles on the beach and one in the dunes 8 in total. Because of the slow migration I had better time for some fresh arrival of passerines and was tested a bit in my rusty skills of flight calls. I had to record one of the migrating passerines to identify it at the station, it was a Dunnock(Jernspurv) they have a very nice silverbell like sound.

Havørn rastende på Hukket. Foto - Bello

Vindrossel. Foto - Bello

The arrival was noticeable in the ringing, resulting in the highest ringing total this season, but the best time for ringing is still there to come. Besides the numbers, the first foreign control (a Dutch robin) deserves a mentioning. This bird has probably arrived last night and was despite the long journey in good shape. When we get a response from the Dutch ringing central, we will include this in the blog. Just as my 3 hours of observation ended Menno called, we had our first Firecrest(Rødtoppet Fuglekonge). So I cheered up a bit after a, slow and according to Henrik more, Marts like morning.

Rødtoppet Fuglekonge. Foto - Bello

Ringing list (new/ recapture):

10/0 Goldcrest

13/0 Redpoll

1/0 Firecrest

12/1 Dunnock

5/0 Siskin

2/2 Robin

2/0 Blue tit

1/0 Yellowhammer

1/0 Tree sparrow

1/0 Chaffinch

1/0 Redwing

9/0 Blackbird

3/0 Wren

1/0 Song thrush

=62 new birds of 14 species

DOFbasen list:

https://dofbasen.dk/search/result.php?design=table&soeg=soeg&periode=dato&dato=14-03-2022&omraade=stor&stor=607&obstype=observationer&species=alle&sortering=dato

Folk på stationen: Bello, Menno and Bent

Today there was a quite powerful eastern wind, because of this not all nets could be opened again. Despite the limited meters of net, we managed to catch 9 new bird and recaught one. Just like two days ago, the easterlies provided good migration of some waders and ducks. 1313 Krikænder, 612 Lille Kobbersneppe, 351 Islandsk Ryle og 505 Almindelig Ryle. The record we said two days ago was broken. Today we did not have a black guillemot again, but we had a normal guillemot this time. Ringmærkningsliste (Nye/ Genfanget): 7/1 Dunnock 2/0 Song Thrush = 9 new birds of 2 species DOFbasen list: https://dofbasen.dk/search/result.php?design=table&soeg=soeg&periode=dato&dato=13-03-2022&omraade=stor&stor=607&obstype=observationer&species=alle&sortering=dato Der blev gået til den i dag på Blåvand Fuglestation. Vi havde arbejdsdag og der kom noget fra hånden. Rusen blev repareret og fik nyt bassinfolie, oprensning af dammen i haven, klippet langs netbaner, vaskemaskinen ned ad trapperne, snore af hegnspælene fra dværgterne udhegningen, samlet affald i vores haver, smøring af døre og vinduer, reparation af nedløbsrør, sammenrivning af kogler ved nettene med meget mere. Og mens alt dette stod på kunne der nydes overflyvende ravn, indtrækkende Skovsneppe og meget mere. Og så var der hyggelig frokost efterfølgende. En stor tak skal til alle som deltog, John Frikke, Bjørn Frikke, Svend Aage Clausen, Henrik Brandt, Bo Christiansen, Henrik Callesen, Ina og Torben, Timmy MiCallef og Milla, Leona Gottschalkson, Menno Den Uijl, Mikkel Bello og Bent Jakobsen Folk på stationen: Bello, Menno, Leona, Timmy, Milla, Bent, Svend, John and many more!

Today the SE winds disrupted the standardised ringing for another morning. However, we opened a select few (well-sheltered) nets at the station garden. We ringed a couple of new birds, among them a Song Thrush – the first for the season. It was followed by a Siskin, Dunnock and Goldcrest. We also recaptured a Robin ringed last week, which increased in weight from 16 to 17g. This healthy bird could have been the ringed Robin I observed having a bath by the station yesterday afternoon. Leona also observed a Firecrest close by the nets during one of the net rounds!

This morning the counters had less birds moving than yesterday. They did manage to spot the White-tailed Eagles, with one sitting on the beach and others on nearby sand dunes. During the count they also saw a Red deer flock (c.60) in the swamp area within the military area.

The wind decreased sufficiently by mid-afternoon and should remain moderate at around 8 m/s until tomorrow morning, when we hope to continue with more bird ringing. Unfortunately it will my last day here in Blåvand, until my next visit this season!

Song Thrush, by Leona

Ringmærkningsliste (Nye/ Genfanget):

1/0 Dunnock

0/1 Robin

1/0 Song Thrush

1/0 Goldcrest

1/0 Siskin

= 4 new birds of 4 species

DOFbasen list:

https://dofbasen.dk/search/result.php?design=table&soeg=soeg&periode=dato&dato=12-03-2022&omraade=stor&stor=607&obstype=observationer&species=alle&sortering=dato

Folk på stationen: Bello, Menno, Leona, Timmy, Milla and Bent

Because of the rather strong eastern winds today, only two nets could be opened. Despite this, we managed to catch 10 birds of 6 species. One of the catches was a lovely adult male Brambling. We also caught the first Chiffchaff this season.

Brambling, by Menno

Because of the easterlies, the observers had a rather busy day. The wind had blown some waders too far to the west for their migration route to their breeding grounds in Siberia. Because this disorientation, they flew south to their wintering area, the Wadden sea, to fatten up for another try. This resulted in an autumn alike day with much wader migration. But not only the wader migration kept the counters busy, also the ducks flew back to the south. Mainly wigeon, pintail and teal were seen. Next to all this, Henrik was able to pick up a black guillemot and gave good whereabouts, so all the observers saw it eventually.

After the sea watch, Henrik found another rarity, two males pied wagtail. This bird is a breeding bird in Britain, but every spring and autumn multiple turn up in the countries around the North Sea. Leona and Mikkel tried to see them and found another one. They were even managing to make some nice pictures.

Pied Wagtail, by Bello

Ringmærkningsliste (Nye/ Genfanget):

4/0 Blackbird

1/0 Chiffchaff

1/0 Great Tit

1/0 Brambling

1/0 Siskin

1/1 Redpoll

= 9 new birds of 6 species

DOFbasen list:

https://dofbasen.dk/search/result.php?page=2&design=table&soeg=soeg&periode=dato&dato=11-03-2022&omraade=stor&stor=607&obstype=observationer&species=alle&sortering=dato

Folk på stationen: Bello, Menno, Leona, Timmy and Henrik

Due to the wind that was over 9 m/s we only opened half of the nets. Still, we were able to put a nice ring on 8 new birds of 5 different species. Surprisingly we did not have any recaptures in our nets today. The fat highscore has been beaten today again by a Dunnock which had 5/9 fat-score.

Unfortunately we didn’t capture the many Starlings and Siskins that were seen by Menno and Bello. They saw a Little Gull and with 1160 Black-Headed Gulls and the first Lesser-Black-Backed Gulls of this spring the gull migration of is slowly starting.

While Bello did his daily Training, he was distracted by a strange sighting. An exotic cat had entered our garden. A Serval! He called the zookeepers of Blåvands Zoo which were right around the corner looking for their escapee. They arrived within 2 minutes and went into our garden. First they tried to capture it with a hand catcher but the bushes were too dense. Suddenly we heard a loud bang and asked ourselves if it was tranquilizer munition. We asked them but they said it had to be killed. Later we read a twitter post by the Jutland Police which said that the serval was caught and back with its owners in the Zoo.

Female Blackbird. Photo by Leona.

Serval by the nets in our station garden. Photo by Bello.

Ringmærkningsliste (Nye/ Genfanget):

2/0 Dunnock

2/0 Blackbird

1/0 Blue Tit

2/0 Chaffinch

1/0 Redpoll

= 8 new birds of 5 species

DOFbasen list:

https://dofbasen.dk/search/result.php?design=table&soeg=soeg&periode=dato&species=every&egneobs=on&sortering=dato&obstype=observationer&dato=10-03-2022&searchmyobs=Vis+dato

Folk på stationen: Bello, Menno, Leona, Timmy