The day began with Strummer, Louis, and me setting up the mist nets. After that, Louis and I headed to the beach for our usual morning observation. While we walked towards the "Pælerækken," a gentle southwest breeze (4m/s) accompanied us, along with a breathtaking sunrise that painted the sky in captivating shades of red. During our observation, we saw a total of 66 Oystercatchers (Strandskade), 153 Red Knots (Islandsk Ryle), 49 Redshanks (Rödben), 25 Turnstones (Stenvender), two Ruffs (Brushane), five Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove), one Kestrel (Tarnfalk), and one Osprey (Fiskeörn), all migrating southwards. The most exciting part was witnessing a Skua mobbing an Osprey which was trying to migrate – an incredible sight. You can find a comprehensive list of all observations here.

A Skua mobbing an Osprey - Photo: Louis Poulsen 

Bent and Strummer caught 25 birds today, which included two Common Whitethroats (Tornsanger), three Garden Warblers (Havesanger), one Chiffchaff (Gransanger), one Willow Warbler (Lövsanger), nine Tree Sparrows (Skovspurv), two Common Chaffinches (Bogfinke), and four Bullfinches (Dompap). Due to a heavy rain shower, we had to close the nets at 10:30 AM.

Just as we finished closing the nets, Louis, who was sitting north of the lighthouse in hopes of spotting a Dotterel, called to inform us that a Honey Buzzard was flying over the dunes. We rushed to Louis's location and were fortunate enough to see this stunning raptor in action – a lifer for both Strummer and me.

Returning to the station, we reviewed the photos from today's observation, entered the collected data, and took a well-deserved nap. Afterwards, I hopped on the bike to grab some pizzas for dinner. As the day wound down, we enjoyed the food and cold drinks, reflecting on the awe-inspiring encounters with nature and wildlife that Blaavand generously provides. We are so thankful for the chance to work and reside at the Fuglestation, and are curious to see what the day will bring tomorrow.

People at the station: Louis Poulsen, Strummer Edwards, Joseph Stephan

While today definitely didn't bring anything comparable to yesterday's Barred Warbler (Høgesanger), it was still a nice laid back day of ringing. 

Bent and I opened nets in time for the standard 6:15 net run (during my last few days its been crazy realizing how much later we can open nets now compared to opening at 4:45 earlier in the season) and enjoyed some nice breakfast before it was time to check nets. During one of our first runs, we caught a pair of Blackcap (Munk) which made for a nice comparison between both sexes.  

Although it isn't a suprising catch, seeing these really obvious moult limits in 1K male Redstarts (Rødstjert) are always super satisfying. 

The highlight of the morning was a recap Goldcrest (Fuglekonge) which was my second time having one in hand.  It's really crazy how tiny they are, it was only a little larger than the hummingbirds we catch in the states! 

The rest of my day was primarily devoted to entering data and packing.  Louis and Joseph returned rather early, the obs were very slow today.  They did have a Great Spotted Woodpecker (Stor Flagspætte) which was a nice suprise.  

Hopefully tomorrow will be a nice final send off for me, but it was nice having a slow day after such an insane one yesterday.  

People at the station: Bent Jakobsen, Strummer Edwards, Joseph Stephan, and Louis K. Poulsen

Even though we weren't catching too many birds, we were able to get a bird which we have been praying for the entire season! 

We unfortunately started the day off an hour late due to rain in the morning but we were still able to meet standard time.  The morning had us catching pretty limited numbers, the vast majority of which were Garden Warblers (Havesanger).  Eventually Svent dropped by for a quick visit and we were able to enjoy some delicious pastries he brought for us.  After a few 0 net runs, we went up to the lighthouse expecting nothing.  I extracted a large sylvid out of the net and quickly realized that it wasn't a Garden Warbler (Havesanger).  The pinkish bill, undertail coverts, and overall plumage made it very clear that this was a Barred Warbler (Høgesanger)! We had been hoping for one of these the entire season so everyone was overjoyed. 

Quick picture we took of the Barred right out of the net

We brought it down to the station to process (and let everyone take a quick look at it) and Bent was kind enough to let me ring it.  The undertail coverts, wing (and lack of a moult limit in the flight feathers), and iris all made it rather obvious that this was a 1k bird.  Once we were done ringing, we took it outside to get some documentation photos before releasing it.

 A really nice headshot showing off the bill and iris (Photo credit Louis K. Poulsen)

Unfortunately, Louis and Joseph had much less luck on the observations, but they were able to see the Barred and spend some time watching the jets.  

The next few days have promising conditions so hopefully we'll have some more highlights before I head home!

People at the station Louis K. Poulsen, Joseph Stephan, Strummer Edwards

We wrapped up the day by doing some data entry and cleaning bird bags for ringing tomorrow.  

I dag var der ringmærkning igen. Da Merit ikke længere er her, hjalp jeg og Joseph Strummer med at sætte net op, og Bent kom og var med til ringmærkningen resten af dagen.

Det blev en helt godkendt dag med 90 fangede fugle.

Højdepunktet/erne var 1 flot ung han Lille Korsnæb [Common Crossbill], og senere 3 Lille Korsnæb [Common Crossbill], som blev fanget sammen.

Foto: Strummer Edwards, Lille Korsnæb [Common Crossbill]

På obsen var der allerede fra ankomst kæmpe højt humør, da der fløj 4 Almindelige Kjover [Arctic Skua] frem og tilbage tæt på kysten, og indimellem helt ind over land!

Foto: Louis Poulsen, Almindelig Kjove [Arctic Skua]

Udover kjoverne skete der ikke det store, meget få vadefugle indtil ved 8 tiden hvor der begyndte at komme lidt. Ca. 100 Islandske Ryler [Knots], og tæt på 300 Strandskader [Oystercatcher]

Af andre bemærkelsesværdige fugle kan, Dværgmåge 1, 1K og 1, 1K Brushane nævnes.

Eftermiddagen brugte jeg blandt andet på at fikse stativer og gennem rense hovedet. De bliver nemlig godt slidt her ude af sand og salt.

Der fikses;)

Se alle observationer fra i dag her:

Folk på stationen: Louis Poulsen, Strummer Edwards, Bent Jakobsen og Joseph Stephan

Although we were unfortunately not able to do any ringing today, the morning observations had some nice finds! The highlights were definitely the multiple skuas flying incredibly close to shore (in this case all being Arctic Skua (Almindelig Kjove)) as they have in the past few days. We also had decent numbers of the expected shorebirds, including some Red Knots (Islandsk Ryle) and Oystercatchers (Strandskade). 

Somone also reported an Atlantic Puffin (Lunde), although we had no luck finding it.  Hopefully we'll have some luck with them later in the season, we were all really wanted to find that individual.  We may not have had anything as nice as that, we did have a few Razorbills (Alk) which was nice. 

I checked the bog hoping for some nice birds and even though there wasn't anything crazy, it was nice seeing decent numbers of migrants.  

The next few days look like they will have promising conditions for ringing so hopefully we'll have some great birds to share for the blog! 

To wrap up a wonderful day at the bird observatory, Louis cooked some incredible lasagna for us!

As usual Merit and Strummer opened the mist nets before the sunrise, while Louis and I headed to the beach to do the daily morning observation. 

The migration was quite slow today with only 119 Oystercatchers (Strandskade), 209 Common Scoters (Sortand), 21 Red Knots (Islandsk Ryle), four Sanderlings (Sandlöber), five Golden Plovers (Hjejle) and three Arctic Skuas (Almindelig Kjove), which definitely saved the day. We were very happy that the Skuas came so close to the beach, gracing us with close up views of their incredible behavior.

Arctic Skua - Foto: Louis Poulsen

Merit and Strummer did not have the luck they wished for today and caught only 16 birds including 5 Bullfinches (Dompap), 2 Chaffinches (Gransanger), 2 Common Whitethroats (Tornsager) and a Lesser Redpoll (Lille Grösisken). But the small number of birds left a lot of extra time to control the data so Merit and Strummer were able to complete this task for this autumn season so far, which made both of them very happy.

Male Chaffinch - Foto: Merit Lenk

To cap of this beautiful day at the Fuglstation Louis made a delicious Pasta Carbonara for dinner and all of us relished every bite.

People at the station: Louis Poulsen, Merit Lenk, Strummer Edwards and Joseph Stephan.

I dag var der meget roligt herude på hukket, både på stationen efter endnu en weekend med mange folk, men også over havet og i nettene. Observatørerne var meget afklarede med de få fugle, men fremhævede alligevel, at de trods alt fik set endnu en Almindelig Kjove (Arctic Skua, Stercorarius parasiticus) og havde en rastende Sortterne på stranden. Begge arter er jo altid en fornøjelse herude, så det er lige det rigtige til at holde humøret i gang på en ellers lidt kedelig obs. Alle dagens observationer fra hukket kan ses her. 

Splitterne med madpakke. Foto: Louis

Ringmærkningen var også rolig, med nogle enkelte undtagelser. Først fik vi fanget en fin Sortmejse (Coal Tit, Periparus ater), endnu en lifer for Strummer. Derefter fik vi fanget en flot ung Spurvehøg (Sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus), endnu en ny art for efteråret i nettene. Derudover var det roligt, en dag domineret af Dompapper (Bullfinches, Pyrrhula pyrrhula), og efter standard fik vi lukket og fokuseret energien på at dobbelttjekke data, så det hele er korrekt og ordnet til de næste ringmærkere, eftersom at jeg forlader stationen igen i morgen. 

Dagens fine spurvehøg. Foto: Merit

Det har, som altid, været en fornøjelse at være her, og jeg kommer til at savne den virkeligt gode stemning, de næsten daglige pandekager og de dejlige dejlige fugle herude. Hvis vi ikke får høgesangeren i morgen, så håber jeg, at de andre får den en af de næste dage.
Jeg ønsker jer alle en god efterårssæson fyldt med vilde trækdage krydret med et hit her og der! 

Folk på stationen: Louis Poulsen, Merit Lenk, Strummer Edwards, Joseph Stephan

Even though ringing was slow, we were still able to catch quite a few birds to practice the techniques we've gone over during the weekend.  As we were closing the lighthouse, we also caught a Crossbill (Lille Korsnæb) which Louis was very happy to ring (his first time getting one in hand!). Once we finished ringing for standard time, we headed back to the station to view some wing pictures before everyone left.  Merit and I kept the station nets upon for a bit longer hoping to get a lucky find to end the day.  We didn't much but incredibly, Merit flushed a Wryneck (Vendehals) into one of the nets! Lisa was absolutely overjoyed about this catch, after finally getting her first in hand yesterday we were definitely not expecting she would have a chance to ring one.  

The obs also had some great birds today.  We had quite a few people, with Henrik, David, and Alex helping Joseph and Louis.  Our best bird of the morning was a nice male Kentish Plover (Hvidbrystet Præstekrave) which is impressively our fourth bird of the season.  We also had multiple Little Gulls (Dværmåge) and a single Velvet Scoter (Fløjlsand) which where very nice. 

People at the station Louis K. Poulsen, Joseph Stephan, Merit Lenk, and Strummer Edwards

Obsen i dag var rigtig fin - ikke crazy, men god. De største highlights er 3,5 Fiskeørne (Osprey, Pandion haliaetus), 1 Mellemkjove (Pomarine Skua, Charadrius hiaticula), samt 317 Store Præstekraver (Ringed Plover, Charadrius hiaticula), hvilket åbenbart er rekord. So nicee! 
Alle dagens obs kan ses her. 

Dagens ringmærkning blev til i alt 54 nye fugle, primært Havesangere (Garden Warbler, Sylvia borin) med 24 inden for en tidsperiode bestående af standard +1,5 time. 1,5 time ekstra lyder måske ikke af meget MEN det var virkeligt det værd, for den sidste fugl, vi pillede ud af nettene, var en helt frisk og flot ung Vendehals (Wryneck, Jynx torquilla) - altid en fornøjelse i hånden, meget passende til weekendens fokus på lidt mere kompliceret aldersbestemmelse, og for Lisa en længe ventet og ønsket art at se i hånden. 

Dagens Vendehals (Wryneck, Jynx torquilla). Foto: Merit Lenk

Til eftermiddag har der været oplæg om alt fra etik ved ringmærkningen hen til aldersbestemmelse af småfugle på baggrund af kraniet (skull ossification/pneumatisation). Det har været enormt spændende, og nu er vi alle meget trætte efter en lang og lærerig dag. 

I morgen giver vi det så en sidste skalle til ringmærkningskurset med forsøg på at øve os i den nye metode så længe vi stadig har erfarne til at hjælpe med netop det. Observatørerne giver desuden deres typiske forudsigelser: Joseph, evig optimistisk pessimist, siger shitty day (for så er alt man ser en dejlig overraskelse), og Louis, realistisk optimist, siger det bliver ret fint (baseret på vejrudsigt med vejrskifte og stille vind). Vi håber på, at Louis får ret, og begge bliver glade :)

Folk på stationen: Louis Poulsen, Merit Lenk, Strummer Edwards, Joseph Stephan, Simon Christiansen, Lisa Vergin, Michael Hansen, Michael Bjerregaard, Børge Rasmussen, Børge Petersen, and Susanne Primdahl

After a tranquil and restful night, Merit, Strummer, Michael, and Susanne set up the mist nets, while Louis and I headed out to the sea for our daily morning observation.

On our way to the "Pælerækken," we enjoyed the morning ambiance, accompanied by a gentle eastward breeze (5m/s) and a cloudy sunrise that painted the sky in mesmerizing shades of orange. We began our observations at 6:00 AM and spotted a total of 351 Oystercatchers (Strandskade), 453 Barn Swallows (Landsvale), one Razorbill (Alk), and the highlight of our day, a Caspian Tern (Rovterne). You can find a comprehensive list of all observations here.

Caspian Tern migrating southward - Foto: Louis Poulsen

Simon and Lisa, who are leading the ringing course over the weekend, had a successful day together with the participants of the ringing course, where they caught 23 birds, and gained a lot of useful knowledge. They captured and ringed two Common Redstarts (Rodsjert), seven Garden Warblers (Havesanger), one Eurasian Blackcap (Munk), one Common Chiffchaff (Gransanger), three Willow Warblers (Lovsanger), one Spotted Flycatcher (Gra Fluesnapper), six European Pied Flycatchers (Broget Fluesnapper), one European Greenfinch (Gronirisk), and one Eurasian Bullfinch (Dompap).

After a delectable lunch shared by all of us, Simon and Lisa held an informative lecture on bird aging as part of the ringing course.

Lecture on bird aging by Simon and Lisa

To cap of this fantastic day at the Fuglstation, we indulged in delicious Fish & Chips and enjoyed cold beverages. The weather conditions are looking very promising for tomorrow; therefore we are looking forward to wake up early once again.

People at the station: Louis Poulsen, Merit Lenk, Strummer Edwards, Joseph Stephan, Simon Christiansen, Lisa Vergin, Michael Hansen, Michael Bjerregaard, Borge Rasmussen, Borge Petersen, and Susanne Primdahl.