Morning Observations:

Levi and I went up to the observation spot without any expectations of a fantastic migration day, but we did hope it would be better than the last two days, which had been really slow. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case today either. The migration of red-throated divers “Rødstrubet lom” was okay today, and they came quite close, so we got a really good look at them. But that was probably the only highlight of the day. With only four different species over a period of time, you can’t exactly say that much else was happening. But we had a good time, and after about half an hour, David came up and joined us for a chat. So, a nice morning—even without birds.

Today's observations can be seen here.

The ringing:

Not all nets could be opened due to the wind this morning. First round just gave one bird, I saw it flying in and ran after it, it was an adult male Sparrowhawk “Spurvehøg”. Most of the team came to see the small, charming Hawk.

Sparrowhawk ad. male/ Spurvehøg ad. han. Pictures: Emma Gray

As in most raptor species of Accipitriformes, Falconiformes and Strigiformes, there is a reversed sexual size dimorphism (RSD) in Sparrowhawks which means, that the male is smaller than the female. The size of the female is a factor for a successful recruitment into the breeding population: Larger females are favored while the body size of the male does not seem to have a significant impact. There are many hypotheses for the reasons of RSD in raptors (MacDonald et al. 2004, Schoenjahn et al. 2020).

The day did not bring many more birds, in the last hour, the wind dropped, and the closing round was the round with most birds.

The moths:

As the morning was a bit windy and I had already heard the wind when I woke up one time in the night, I was not expecting many moths. I had seven different species plus one slash-species Hada plebeja “Kurvbomst-ugle” was new for the season and also Notodonta ziczac “Zigzagspinder” was new for this spring at BLF. I found Chloroclyster siterata later on the wall, this one as well is new for this year, last autumn I had it already here.

Hada plebeja “Kurvbomst-ugle”. Picture: Hanelie Sidhu

Notodonta ziczac “Zigzagspinder”

At the station: Joseph Stephan, Marit Nillissen, Levi van den Os, Emma Gray, David Manstrup and Hanelie Sidhu

Morning observations:

Today Thomas and I went on the morning observations while Marit went ringing. Unfortunately this was probably the worst morning observation we've had this season, with extremely low variety and only the scoters "Sortand" in high numbers. It was very nice weather however and the sun was actually so warm I could take off my coat.

Today's observations can be seen here.

In the afternoon Emma, Marit and I went on a little adventure to the beach to collect some bags of shells for Joseph's little tern project. With high efficiency and a bunch of sand sifting, we managed to fill the bags in only an hour! Pulling the cart back to the station was quite the workout though. Below some pictures of the whole thing.

Little Tern Team getting ready to collect some shells. Picture: Marit Nillissen

Emma and Levi working hard. Picture: Marit Nillissen

The struggle and joy of collecting shells. Picture: Emma Gray

The ringing:

After coming back yesterday evening I was welcomed by quite a good number of birds in the morning, we had 48 new plus seven recaps.

The first Icterine Warblers “Gulbug” at BLF arrived today, four of them, both in the station as well as in the lighthouse garden.

Icterine Warblers/ Gulbug. Picture: Hanelie Sidhu

We also had a Starling "Stær" couple, male and female in the net, it looked like the female had some eggs in its belly.

Female and male Starling/ Hun og han stær. Picture: Hanelie Sidhu

A Sonechat "Sortstrubet Bynkefugl" in the net was another nice surprise, we often see them in the bog but rarely catch them.

Stonechat/ Sortstrubet Bynkefugl. Picture: Marit Nillissen

Kystfugle Project

Today was the first truly exciting day for our ROLA (Records of Location and Activity) here in Blåvand!

We observed 12 Little Terns (a.k.a. "dwarfs") and 3 pairs of Ringed Plovers mingling and preparing to nest within the fenced area. Even more promising: we may have our first Little Tern eggs inside the electric fence! One individual remained on its scrape for 2 hours and 30 minutes while being fed by its partner - a strong indicator that incubation may have begun.

We also managed to read two new colour rings on the Little Terns.

To celebrate Thomas and I hissed the Nationalpark Vadehavet flag!

the station at the moment; Photo: Joseph

In the afternoon, I headed to Rømø with Kim F. to check the fencing, create anti crow spikes, artificial nests, and set up trail cameras. Just like in Blåvand, we placed the nests along three gradients - from bare sand to dense vegetation - each located at least 350 meters outside the perimeter fence.

artificial nest with trail cam in the background; Photo; Joseph

Now we wait and see what predators show up...

Tomorrow, we tackle the sand drift - my worst enemy at the moment!

Stay tuned for more updates from the field!

The moths:

Although a little tired after the journey, I was setting up the moths traps again yesterday evening and was a bit excited if I would get many new ones now, that I was a while away. There were not so many in the morning, eight different species, plus one that needed to remain a slash species. I will show Clostera curlula “Lille Maneplet”, it is new for Blåvand this spring as well as Eupithecia nanata “Smalvinget lyngdværgmåler”, which is new for the place and new for me.

Clostera curlula “Lille Måneplet”. Picture: Hanelie Sidhu

Eupithecia nanata “Smalvinget lyngdværgmåler”. Picture: Hanelie Sidhu

At the station: Marit Nillissen, Thomas Kristensen, Levi van den Os, Joseph Stephan, David Manstrup, Emma Gray and Hanelie Sidhu

Morning observation

This morning, it was just Thomas and I as Levi wished to sleep in. We started the morning good with some nice species migrating, such as the Razorbill “Alk”, Common eider “Ederfugl” and Velvet scoters “Fløjlsand”. The other time intervals were okay, but it slowed down as the time continued. The weather was nice and sunny, but a bit windy. We were hoping that the wind would push the migration a bit more, so we could get higher number. But that didn’t happen.

After the obs, I joined the ringing to help Morten out.

Todays observations can be seen here.

Ringing

Today was the last day Morten took over the ringing, as he is headed back home again. Hanelie (or as Joseph likes to call her: "The G.O.A.T") will take over the ringing again as she is back from Gedser! It was a good day for the ringing with many Willow warblers “”Løvsanger”. Morten even got enough birds to take many bloodsamples; he got around 100 samples throughout the week! After standard time, the nets were open for one more hour, were we caught a female Black Redstart “Husrødstjert”.

Black Redstart. Picture: Morten Jenrich Hansen

At the station: Emma Gray, Joseph Stephan, Thomas Kristensen, Morten Jenrich Hansen, Levi van den Os, Marit Nillissen, Hanelie Sidhu

Morning Observation
Finally, a change from the usual northwesterly winds — this morning brought wind from the southeast instead. This gave Levi, Marit, and me high hopes for today’s observation session. During the morning, both David and Bent also joined us at the observation spot, so we weren’t the only ones expecting a great day.

From early on and throughout the session, the scoters “Sortand” were active, but aside from them, there wasn't a significant migration today. The only other species we saw in decent numbers were terns. However, what we lacked in numbers, we made up for in diversity. A good variety of species passed by us today — including tufted ducks “Troldand”, common eiders “Ederfugl”, greylag geese “Grågås”, and brent geese “Knortegås”. And of course, the absolute highlight of the day: an Egyptian Goose and around 100 Red Knots migrating past us. It was wonderful to see the large flock of knots slowly making their way north.

Today's observations can be seen here.

Blue sky over the observation spot. Picture: Marit Nillissen

Ringing
Morten and Emma ran the ringing today, and just like us at the observation post, they were also ready for a day with many birds in the nets. After a somewhat slow start to the morning – perhaps due to the slight fog hanging low over the ground – the birds also really started moving. After the observation, I joined the ringing and went along for the last two rounds of the standard time. After that, we closed Fyrhaven and Krathaven, and then Morten and, on several rounds also I, continued rounds in Stationshaven, where there were still birds.

When Morten closed the last net around 19:00, we had reached a total of 41 ringed birds and 5 recaptures. So that must be said to be a good day’s result. The vast majority of the birds today were long-distance migrants like willow warblers and redstarts, and this meant that Morten could take a lot of blood samples from these birds.

The highlight of the day came well after the standard rounds, when Morten and I did a quiet round with only two birds in the net – but one of them made Morten very happy. Morten quickly took it out of the net and everyone at the station was called into the lab, where Morten showed us the first wood warbler in our nets this year.

In addition to this highlight, we also had a willow warbler with a Swedish ring, which is always great – it’s exciting to see birds with rings from other stations.

Everyone is eagerly waiting to see what Morten has in the bag. Picture: Levi van den Os

Wood Warbler "Skovsanger". Picture: Thomas Kristensen

At the station: Emma Gray, Joseph Stephan and Frida Soeltoft, Thomas Kristensen, Morten Jenrich Hansen, Levi van den Os, Marit Nillissen, David Manstrup  

Morning observation

Today Thomas nor Marit were able to join me for the morning observation, which meant counting a lot of birds I'm normally not that familiar with. Emma however, came to the rescue, helping me with the counting this morning! This was just her second time joining the obs, but she picked the counting up very fast. While she was responsible for the divers "Rødstrubet lom", I did the other common migrators. Later however, we basically switched which species we were counting as Emma was having a blast counting the common scoters "Sortand". During the obs Emma noticed a black, tern like bird fly across her scope view. This was none other than a black tern "Sortterne"! Overall we had a good morning observation with a large amount of scoters.

Today's observations can be seen here.

Ringing

The ringing was in comparison quite slow. There were in total 18 birds ringed and 4 recaptures. Marit and Kyle checked the lighthouse garden, while Morten looked after the station garden. After the standard time the lighthouse garden was closed. But with the nets in the station garden still open, Morten caught the first spotted flycatcher "Grå fluesnapper" of the season!

Spotted flycatcher "Grå fluesnapper". Picture: David Manstrup

Blackbird "Solsort". Picture: Kyle Tittse

“Kystfugle” Project:

After some hard days of work, it’s finally time to celebrate!

We’ve made great progress with the fences in Blåvand and Rømø.

Even though the Little Terns seem to be arriving a bit late this season, we’re still hopeful that their numbers will increase in the coming days.

Over the last few days, the first Dwarfs (Little Terns) and Peckers (Ringed Plovers) have been pairing up on the beach - which means we can expect the first eggs within the next seven days!

Yesterday, Kim F. and Ulf B. visited the station to install the last missing pieces for the fence in Blåvand. 

The electricity is now running through the wires, the decoys are being offered fish, and the fence is ready to be elevated in case of a king tide.

Electric Energy System - Kim and Fritz; Photo: Joseph

The second fence along the first line of dunes is up, the poles are equipped with spikes to prevent perch hunting, the first sand drift measurement has been completed, and daily records of location and activity are ongoing.

Anti perch hunting spikes; Photo: Joseph

Sand Drift Measurement; Photo: Joseph

We’re also counting dogs - both on and off leashes. Fifteen artificial nests (made up of 30 quail and 15 wax eggs) were placed along a gradient from bare sand to dense vegetation, accompanied by three trail cameras to estimate predator density, identify which species are involved, and understand the environmental factors affecting predation rates.

Artificial Nests; Photo: Joseph

And last but not least: the concrete tubes are patiently waiting to be cut and decorated with sand.

Our bones and muscles are extremely sore - but our souls are soothed. We’re looking forward to tomorrow, hoping to see more Little Terns mingling inside the fence.

A huge thank you to everyone involved in making this project happen!

Special thanks to John F., Kim F., Ulf B., Thomas B., Christoph M., and Henrik B. for supervising with precision and patience.

We’re off to a great start, and I’m excited to keep you updated in the next blog posts and share the first maps and results!

At the station: Emma Gray, Joseph Stephan and Frida Soeltoft, Thomas Kristensen, Morten Jenrich Hansen, Levi van den Os, Marit Nillissen, David Manstrup

Morning observation

As usual Thomas, Levi and I went to the morning observation. Henrik also joined today. The migration was alright. It was better then the other days we had. We had a decent amount of Red-throated divers “Rødstrubet lom”. Our highlight of today was a Black tern “Sortterne”, which was migrating to the north. It was a nice morning!

Todays observations can be seen here.

Ringing

Emma helped Morten out today with the ringing. It was a quite slow day with only 19 birds in the nets. But we did catch two Wood pigeons “Ringdue”! Emma was really happy with the pigeon and took a selfie with one of them. She also got some company from a Moor frog in the Lighthouse garden. We caught some long distance migrating birds such as the Willow warbler “Løvsanger” as well, so Morten could take some bloodsamples again.

Emma with a pigeon. Picture: Emma Gray

Wood pigeon. Picture: Emma Gray

Moor frog at the Lighthouse garden. Picture: Emma Gray

News from the station

This evening, Henrik spoiled us with some delicious dinner. He made us loaded fries with some Danish toppings, such as sausage, bacon, curry sauce and homemade cheddar sauce. It was really tasty! Later this day, Frida arrived, she will stay at the station a couple of days.

At the station:  Emma Gray, Joseph Stephan and Frida, Thomas Kristensen, Morten Jenrich Hansen, Levi van den Os, Marit Nillissen and Kyle Tittse

Morning observation

Marit and I were at the observation spot at 5:30 AM, expecting a slow day with very little migration. However, the migration actually turned out to be quite decent today, with a good number of birds and several different species. Throughout the observation, we had quite a few resting birds. For example, we had a cuckoo “Gøg” that sang its beautiful song for us the entire time, and also a white-tailed eagle “Havørn” resting on the beach along with lots of gulls and several waders – mostly sanderlings “Sandløber”.

Today's observations can be seen here.

Ringing
Today, the wave of birds continues from yesterday. The lighthouse garden consistently had at least 1 bird each round today, with some species that excited our far-flung New Zealander. While Morten is here and collecting blood samples, the station nets stay open most of the day. Even the lighthouse garden stayed open for an extra hour after standard time today to ride the wave of bird luck. Closing round saw the addition of a female Yellowhammer “Gulspurv“ ringed as a juvenile in June 2022 (and she looked gorgeous). We also had 5 redstarts “Rødstjert” showing off their beautiful plumage. Female power was strong in the linnet’s “Tornirisk“ today as we had two delightful females.

Yellowhammer “Gulspurv“. Picture: Emma Gray

Redstart “Rødstjert”. Picture: Emma Gray

Wren “Gærdesmutte”. Picture: Levi van den Os

Linnet “Tornirisk“. Picture: Morten Jenrich Hansen

News at the station
Many people visited the station as two school groups joined us today. Bent was teaching the high school about nature and showed them a willow warbler “Løvsanger”, a wren “Gærdesmutte” and a redstart “Rødstjert” in hand. The other school group was on a biology field trip. Joseph stepped into an assistant teacher role and answered questions about the station, and showed the students the fence for the Little Terns (hopefully they start nesting within the next few days).

Bent showing the group the redstart. Picture: Levi van den Os

The day was quite warm, and the new phrase of sun’s out, shorts on was applied today (much to Marit’s dismay). You can take the kiwi out of New Zealand, but you can't take the New Zealander out of her.

At the station: Emma Gray, Joseph Stephan, Thomas Kristensen, Morten Jenrich Hansen, Levi van den Os, Marit Nillissen and Kyle Tittse

Morning observation
Lo and behold, it was finally a way better day! With the last couple of days being quite bad for the observation and the ringing, it was quite a surprise to suddenly have such a good day again. While Thomas and I didn't see any very surprising birds, except for a very close flying arctic skua "Almindelig kjove", we did have quite a large amount of birds compared to the previous days! Particularly the resting bird count was high with some 400 common gulls "Stormmåge" and 100 sanderlings "Sandløber".

Today's observations can be seen here.

After the observation I joined the ringing until closing, where I got to ring another willow warbler "Løvsanger" and practice with changing positions in the hand. Bent was also at the station this morning, which resulted in this nice photo that Emma took of the birders in their natural habitat! :)

Some serious birders out there (and a house martin)!  Picture: Emma Gray

Ringing
Today I joined the ringing instead of the obs. The weather forecast looked better than the other days, so we had good hopes. Kyle joined me until 09:00 in the morning of the ringing. After that, Emma and Levi joined me. We had some couple of good rounds, where we got 5 birds each round only in the Lighthouse garden. Eventually it started to slow down. We got some finches today, the Chaffinch “Bogfinke”, Greenfinch “Grønirisk” and a Goldfinch “Stillits”. Another nice bird we got in the nets was a Great tit “Musvit” who was not happy with me, as it was biting me all the time while I was trying to get it out of the net.

Finch #1, a chaffinch. Picture: Marit Nillissen

Finch #2, a goldfinch. Picture: Marit Nillissen

Finch #3, a greenfinch. Picture: Marit Nillissen

At the station: Emma Gray, Joseph Stephan, Thomas Kristensen, Morten Jenrich Hansen, Levi van den Os, Marit Nillissen and Kyle Tittse

Morning observation

The wind was a bit hard today with 10 m/s. We were hoping for a good migration day, but it was very slow. It was just Thomas, Henrik and me today, as Levi wished to sleep in. We didn’t see many species, we mostly saw the birds we usually see at the obs such as the Common scoter “Sortand” and Northern gannets “Sule”.

Todays observations can be seen here.

After the morning observation, Kyle (my boyfriend who arrived Sunday) and I went for a walk around the area. I showed him the Lighthouse garden and the bunkers. We even saw a Sand Lizard “Markfirben” very closely!

Sand lizard. Picture: Marit Nillissen

Ringing

The ringing was also quite slow today. In total there were 10 birds in the nets. We caught a Great tit “Musvit” who was ringed here at the station in 2021! We also caught a Lesser whitethroat “Gærdesanger” who was ringed on the Isle in Fanø last spring in April 2024! Other than that, we had a nice Siskin “Grønsisken” which we don’t catch that often.

Siskin. Picture: Morten Jenrich Hansen

The old Great tit. Picture: Morten Jenrich Hansen

At the station: Levi van den Os, Emma Gray, Joseph Stephan, Thomas Kristensen, Morten Jenrich Hansen, Marit Nillissen and Kyle Tittse

Morning Observation
Levi and I started the observation at 5:30 AM in about 4°C and with a wind direction that didn’t exactly point towards an exciting day. But we hoped for the best. Unfortunately, there was almost no migration at all, and most of the observation was spent staring out over a completely empty sea. The day’s highlights weren’t great, but a couple of shelducks “Gravand” flying directly overhead and four common eiders “Ederfugl” migrating over the sea will have to do for today.

Today's observations can be seen here.

Morning at the obs. Picture: Levi van den Os

Ringing
With the wind starting from the northeast, we had expected a decent day for ringing, but the wind direction shifted slightly westward again, making it yet another quiet day in the nets. Even though Morten, as on most days, kept the nets open in the station garden after the five hours of standard time, not many birds were caught. Only 11 birds were ringed, and there were 7 recaptures. However, two small but lovely stories came out of it.

The first was that we caught a regular visitor in the nets – a great tit “Musvit” that was first ringed at the station in the summer of 2023 and has since been caught in the nets nearly 30 times. This clearly shows that it's a frequent guest in the garden and doesn't seem to be bothered by being caught once in a while.

The second story is about a chiffchaff “Gransanger” we’ve caught three times in a short span – on May 1st, 2nd, and 5th. What’s remarkable about this chiffchaff is how much fat it has gained. It went from being rated a 2 on the fat scale the first time, to a 3 already the next day, and today it’s at a 5. That corresponds to a weight gain from 6.8g to 8.4g – which is quite significant for such a small bird.

Redpoll Picture: Morten Jenrich Hansen

At the station: Joseph Stephan, Emma Gray, Thomas Kristensen, Morten Jenrich Hansen, Marit Nillissen, Levi van den Os