As usual, my alarm was set for opening time. After I had turned it off I listened in the silent house. Big raindrops drummed against my window. I checked the DMI radar on my phone, it looked like that. So I snuggled back into my pillow and went back to sleep. Later in the day the rain stopped, but we all had some office work to do so we stayed inside. In the afternoon, we did a thorough cleaning of the station.

After, Rose and I went to the beach. We would have liked to walk to the sabine bunker and back through the dunes, but the military area was closed. So we stood at the border to the military area with the telescope and watched the Terns: Now there are Sandwich Terns “Splitterne”, Common Terns “Fjordterne” and Little Terns “Dværgterne” resting on the beach.

Little Tern "Dværgterne". Picture by Rose.

Although there was rain in the night, I had the light in my small trap on. And I had two new species today: Orthosia cruda “Lille forårsugle” and Orthosia cerasi “Rødgul forårsugle”.

Orthosia cruda “Lille forårsugle”, picture by Hanelie

Orthosia cerasi “Rødgul forårsugle”. Picture by Hanelie

Office day at the bird observatory. Picture by Rose.

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

Observations : 

That was quite a foggy day!
We had to stop our observations short because we could no longer see the reef clearly.
Still, when conditions allowed, we spotted around 90 common terns [fjordterne] feeding near the reef, a group of 120 great cormorants [skarv]  resting in the waves, and a white-tailed eagle [havørn] flying over the shore!

Todays observations can be seen here. 


Making some sketches of resting birds on the beach - here great black-backed gulls [svartbag] - , by Clara

Ringing : 

This morning turned out to be less foggy as forecasted and it seemed like the clear and calm night made some birds migrate.

The first round was already quite exciting: From far a saw a rather big passerine with a orange tail in the net. It was quite a surprise to find a Common Nightingale “Sydlig Nattergal” in the net!! Especially as so few other Long-distance migrants had arrived in the nets so far.

A very early Common Nightingale "Sydlig Nattergal". Picture by Rose.

Apart from their difference in plumage colour, the Common Nightingale "Sydlig Nattergal" and the Thrush Nightingale "Nattergal" differ in the lenth of  P1. The Nightingale has a very long P1 in the lenth of the primary couverts or a little longer, while the Thrush Nightingale has a very short P1, see in the next picture.

After showing the bird to Clara and Jorn, it was released. A very early Nightingale, but that will just be beneficial for it. Usually in passerines, it is the males, that are migrating earlier than the females. We cannot sex Nightingales but considering that it had a long wing measurement in its range it is more likely, that it is a male. The males arriving early at their breeding sites will occupy the best territories. Therefore, it is very likely that they will be chosen by a female – it is the female´s choice, which mating partner they take – and they hopefully they will have good breeding success. I wonder what the destination of that Nightingale is. We can just wish it a safe flight!

The day also brought Willow Warbler “Løvsanger” no. 2 and 3 for the season.

Willow Warbler "Løvsanger". Picture by Rose.

I kept the nets in the station garden open for a little longer after standard and caught another Blackcap “Munk” and some more Chiffchaffs “Gransanger”. We had over 19 today!

Blackcap "Munk". Picture by Hanelie.

We also washed all bird bags today and I did some more data checking.

I also observed a Great Tit snacking one of my moths today. I was not so delighted by that. I might move the trap. I caught many moths today but only four well known species from the last Days. Mainly Xylocampa areola “Gedeblad-ugle”.

Tomorrow we might not be able to ring in the morning, the forecast shows rain. But let´s see. My alarm is always ringing at the usual opening time.

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

Observations :

What a wonderful variety of sightings today! And to top it all off, we were blessed with glorious sunshine and surrounded by lovely people. Without further ado, here are the highlights and photos from the day!

Highlights of the day : 
sandwich terns [splitterne] - 20 (migration) + 15 (roosting)
common terns [fjordterne] - 10 (migration)
little terns [dværgterne] - 9 (migration) + 10 (roosting)
barnacle goose [bramgås] - 150
bar-tailed godwit [lille Kobbersneppe] - 28 
egyptian goose [nilgås] - 2
avocet [klyde] - 1
white-tailed eagle [havørn] - 1
marsh harrier [rørhøg] - 1
barn swallow [landsvale] - 2
porpoise whale [marsvin] - 1

Todays observations can be seen here. 



Black-legged kittiwake adult by David Manstrup


Black-legged kittiwake flying by David Manstrup


Ringing :

Today Lise and Mathilde followed us on some rounds. It was a rather slow morning, but they chose the early rounds, which had some birds. Because later in the morning it became very slow.

Moths:

Although it was very calm in the morning, it was quite windy during the night. Nevertheless, I had the light on in both moths traps. There was not much but it was worth it, as I caught the first Emperor Moth/ Lille natpåfugleøje – Saturnia pavonia of the season!

Emperor Moth/ Lille natpåfugleøje – Saturnia pavonia

While Lise and Mathilde stayed at Blåvands Huk until they needed to leave back to Aarhus, Morten went on a walk to Tipmosen and saw a beautiful White-tailed Eagle “Havørn” on the top of a tree.



White-tailed Eagle/ Havørn, picture by David Manstrup

White-tailed Eagle/ Havørn, picture by Morten Mastrup

Mathilde, Morten and Lise left during the morning and the whole team would like to say thanks for the pizzas that they treated us yesterday evening.

Later in the morning, David and Thomas found the first Bluethroat “Blåhals” of the season out here in the bog.

Bluethroat "Blåhals". Picture by David Manstrup.

Clara and I were out too later, but unfortunately we did not hear or see it. But I saw my first Little Terns “Dværgterne” of the season on the beach and also my first Wheatear “Stenpikker” of the season at Blåvands Huk in the bog.


Medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis, in Hanelie's hands, picture by Clara

Hanelie thought she was picking up some sort of snake near the pond, but it turned out to be a leech !

At the station: Clara Delahaye, Rosemary Frikke, Thomas Kristiansen, David Manstrup, Hanelie Sidhu, Mathilde Lundt Larsen, Lise Mastrup, Morten Mastrup

Observations:

What a lovely day!
Lots of common scoters [sortand] were migrating north – over 2,500 of them – plus more than 50 migrating sandwich terns [splitterne] and the first little terns [dværgterne] arrived!

Jorn and I were lucky enough to observe the courtship displays of two little terns for quite some time and at very close distance.
One of them (presumably the female) stood on the beach while the male fished out at sea. He then brought her a fish whilst displaying, and they stayed on the beach for a while before flying off. This exchange of fish is part of the courtship display, it can demonstrate to the female that the male is capable of bringing back fish and subsequently feeding their offspring. Soon, various pairs of little terns will come to nest at Blavand !

Later that afternoon, I went for my usual walk towards Sabine’s bunker and then into the inland. There I saw a common toad up close. It pretended to be dead, lying completely still, no doubt to avoid attracting the attention of a predator whilst it was in the middle of the road.

Then I found a nest full of caterpillars; when I showed Hanelie the photos, she managed to identify the species: Melitaea cinxia.

Finally, below is a drawing of two species of thrush. I am learning the differences between the four most common species and thought that some scientific drawings might help me memorise them.

Todays observations can be seen here.

A little tern [dværgterne] resting on the beach, by Clara



Scientific drawings to recognize the fieldfare [sjagger] from the redwing [vindrossel], by Clara

  

A common toad, Bufo bufo, in my way, by Clara




Lots of caterpillars out of their nests from the butterfly specie Melitaea cinxia, by Clara


Ringing:

Treesparrow "Skovspurv". Picture by Rose.

This morning was very clam and Rose and I could open the nets as usual. We had a good first round, but as the day was very sunny and clear, it slowed down soon. We had many Chiffchaffs “Gransanger “ in the nets, I am everyday hoping for more Long-distance migrants to arrive, but today was not the day. Rose was happy to ring a Tree Sparrow “Skovspurv”. We see them the bushes in front of our window every day, but they rarely go into the nets. I like Sparrows in hand too, they are so round!

The moths

I had seven different species of moths today, three were new for the season. It is getting worth to make a list again. Besides that, I am entering all the moth, that I am catching here on three different observation databases: Arter, Obsidentify and Inaturalist.

Chesias rufata "Rustrød gyvelmåler". Picture by Hanelie

Earophila badiata "Brungul bladmåler". Picture by Hanelie.

This evenig  Mathilde, Lise and her dad will visit and stay for one night, and we are looking forward to welcome them every minute!

At the station: Clara Delahaye, Rosemary Fricke, Hanelie Sidhu, Jorn de Jong, David Manstrup, Mathilde Lundt Larsen & Lise Mastrup and her dad

It was too rainy and to windy this morning to carry out the observation and ringing sessions! At least, it gave us a chance to rest a bit ! It was actually nice for everyone to get a few extra hours of well-deserved sleep and to be able to take our time in the morning! Rosemary made some tasty pancakes for the team and we shared chocolate, jam and maple syrup to put on top ! Yumi !

Observation :

When the sun came out again in the late afternoon, I went to count the birds on the beach and inland. I was lucky enough to spot a sparrowhawk [spurvehøg] and some woodcocks [skovsneppe]!
On my way back along the path, I stopped by a pond to sketch some of the frogs, which are currently in their mating season. It was a really nice time to try to sketch them with the evening light.

Todays observations can be seen here.


Drawings of some frogs in a pond near Sabine's bunker, by Clara


Ringing :

Due to heavy rain in the early morning and strong wind afterwards, we could enjoy some more time in bed this morning. But later in the afternoon, the wind died down and the rain stopped. We opened some nets for a few hours and welcomed Ms Munk, the first female Blackcap ringed this year!

Ms Munk. Picture by Rose.

At the station: Clara Delahaye, Rosemary Fricke, Jorn De Jong & Hanelie Sidhu.

Observation : 

The ducks have finally decided it’s the right time to migrate!
It was the first day with real movements and gatherings of migrating ducks (apart from the common scoters [sortand]).
Thomas joined us this morning and his help was precious in continuing to learn the details needed to identify each species, in different conditions and under different lighting. The three of us were just the right number to spot as many birds as possible. There were indeed large flocks of teals and barnacle geese which was really lovely to watch!

Highlights of the day : 
Eurasian teals [Krikand] - 363
Wigeons [Pibeand] - 95
Barnacle goose [Bramgås] - 245
Red-breasted merganser [Toppet Skallesluger] - 52 

Todays observations can be seen here.

Ringing :

Today was windier than expected and Rose and only opened some nets in the station garden. We had a rather quiet morning with few birds in the nets but for that a rather high species diversity. So we took some time to take pictures for you reading the Blog :-)

Lesser Redpoll "Lille Gråsisken", hun. Picture by Rose.

Chaffinch "Bogfinke", han. Picture by Rose.

Gråsisken "Siskin" , han. Picture by Rose.

And although it was a slow morning, already the first round brought us a little highlight which just arrived here from Africa: The first Willow Warbler “Løvsanger” of the season arrived in our nets! What I really like about spring is the arrival of migrants, that we did not see in winter and finding the first species of Africa migrants eighter in the field or catching them in the nets is always special.

The first Willow Warbler "Løvsanger" of the season! Picture by Rose.

Later in the morning, Bent came by at the station to go on his walk and join the observers for a bit. He said, it was a rather early one for the station, so I checked in the database when the first Willow Warblers “Løvsanger” arrived over the last ten years. Last year, I ringed the first here at the station on the 12^th of April. But the year before in 2024, Morten had the first the same day, also on the 9^th. These two were the earliest within the last ten years. In 2021 they arrived at the latest in that period, the first was ringed the 25^th of April!

Bent also found the first Wheatears “Stenpikker” in the dunes at Blåvandshuk, tomorrow I am planning a nice long walk in the bog and am hoping to see some as well! Hopefully, the military area will be open.

The moths:

Catching moths this year at Blåvand was a bit of a test of patience. It was so cold in March and often the weather was not good, so I had very few species and individuals so far. But slowly it is picking up. Today I had six species. One was new for the season and also new for me, the March Moth “Alsophila aescularia”.

March Moth “Alsophila aescularia”. Picture by Hanelie.

In the early evening, Lou arrived, she is an intern at Aarhus university and will check our bat detector. She will be with us for one night and continue checking more bat detectors in Denmark tomorrow.

At the station: Clara Delahaye, Rosemary Fricke, Jorn De Jong, Thomas Kristiansen, Hanelie Sidhu and Lou

Observation : 

Jorn joined me for his second day of birdwatching. It was a lovely sunny morning and it was (almost) too hot in our suits, which made us look like astronauts.
We saw a large number of red-breasted mergansers, more than 36 heading south, and quite a few sandwich terns as well, 24 in total, although that seems fewer than yesterday!
Jorn is gradually getting to know the various most common species and seems delighted by so many new discoveries!

Todays observations can be seen here.


Ringing :

The wind was very calm this morning, so it was good conditions for ringing, maybe only a bit too sunny. Nevertheless, we enjoyed having some birds, more in the first rounds, later in the morning, it slowed down. The first round brought a surprise: I found a Dunnock “Jernspurv” with a Helgoland ring in a net in the lighthouse garden!

Jernspurv "Dunnock" with ring from Helgoland, Germania! Picture by Rose.

We also got a pretty adult Redwing “Vindrossel” and were happy about ten new Robins “Rødhals”. Other than that, there was nothing special in the nets.

In the moths trap, I got a new species for the season, Orthosia incerta “Broget forårsugle”.

Orthosia incerta “Broget forårsugle”. Picture by Hanelie.

At the station: Clara Delahaye, Rosemary Fricke, Jorn De Jong & Hanelie Sidhu 

A wonderful sunrise at Blåvand ! By Clara

Observation : 

This morning was Jorn’s first day of fieldwork – he’s just arrived yesterday from the Netherlands!
He’ll be staying at the station for two months to help with the little tern [dværgterne] breeding monitoring project. 

As well as discovering the most common species found here – common scoters [sortand], red-throated loons [rødstrubet Lom], and so on – he was lucky enough to see the largest migration of sandwich terns [splitterne] of the season for now. We counted 97 of them in three hours, and nine more resting on the beach. It was so cool to see so many terns, especially on Jorn’s first day!


Clara spotting some nice birds, picture by Jorn

Todays observations can be seen here. 

Ringing :

After three windy days without ringing, due to heavy wind, Rose and I could finally open the nets again today! It seems like some birds have arrived and some of the old acquaintances might have left, as we got some more new birds and less recaptures, which we appreciate very much! More than half ot the birds we ringed today were Chiffchaffs “Gransanger”, we ringed 17 today! We also got to admire a Brambling “Kvækerfinke”, it was a pretty 2K male.

Brambling, male /Kvækerfinke han. Picture by Rose

Hopefully this means, that spring has finally reached the westernmost point of Denmark and more migrants will arrive soon in our nets.

The moths:

After it was very slow with the moths so far this season, I was happy to also catch two new species for the season, the Orthosia gothica “Gotisk forårsugle” and the Cherastis rubicosa “Okkerrød Aprilugle”!

Orthosia gothica “Gotisk forårsugle”. Picture by Hanelie.

Cherastis rubicosa “Okkerrød Aprilugle”. Picture by Hanelie.

I also hope that the moths catching will pic up a bit from now on, with rising temperatures and hopefully less wind.

After a nice week with visit from home, my mother left the station today to go back to Germany.

At the station: Clara Delahaye, Rosemary Fricke, Jorn De Jong, Hanelie Sidhu and Karin

Morning observations:

Morning Obs on a windy Easter Monday. Picture by Hanelie.

It was still a windy morning so we could not open the nets. Instead, we all went to do morning observations. Clara, Rose and I went to the spring spot and after some time, we were joined by Thomas. We did not get huge numbers of birds, but I especially enjoyed the 17 Sandwich Terns “Splitterne”, all going North. It is not many yet and as I am usually out in the ringing gardens, I did not get to see them yet. We also enjoyed some Velvet Scoters “Fløjsand”, many of them resting, but also a few migrating. Two Brent Geese “Knortegås”, that came quite close, were nice too. Unfortunately, the Arctic Scua “Almindelig Kjove”, was missing this morning, next time…

Todays observations can be seen here.

In the afternoon, we finished our Wingspan game, which Clara won.

Later, Jorn arrived at the station, he is a student from the Netherlands and will be here at the station the next two month. He will mainly help with the Little Tern “Dværgterne” project and enter some old ringing data.


Some lapwings [vannhuppe] enjoying the life in Denmark, by Clara  

At the station: Clara Delahaye, Rosemary Frikke, Thomas Kristiansen, Jorn De Jong, Hanelie Sidhu and Karin

Observation : 


Watching birds with Morgan and some birdwatchers from Sabina's Bunker, picture by Clara 

Todays observations can be seen here.

Ringing :  no ringing due to strong wind.

Happy easter!

The heavy wind did not make outdoor activities very tempting, but we were occupied inside by a cosy fire with blowing anf drowing easter eggs!


Hanelie while making some easter's eggs, picture by Clara  

The whole team proud of their easter eggs! Picture by Rose.



A spoonbill [skestork]  egg for easter made by Hanelie, picture by Clara

In the late afternoon, it was time for Morgan to take his train back to Sjælland. It was a nice one and a half week and we are happy that he also enjoyed the time at the station with us. Maybe he will be back in Blåvand in autumn.

In the evening, it was time for me to make the big easter omlett out of 12 eggs which the four of us really enjoyed. After, some nice easter cake, made by Clara and then - Wingspan! My mother had brought mine from home - it is such a nice game to play, especially at a bird observatory.

And now a big wish to the board or some friends of the station, that would be willing to donate that: It would be so nice if the station had the Wingspan game here! It is quite big wich makes it not the best game to transport in a luggage.

Wingspan evening. Picture by Hanelie

At the station: Clara Delahaye, Morgan Barmer, Rosemary Fricke, Hanelie Sidhu and Karin