En rigtig stære dag blev det i dag, faktisk gik vi ud en halv time tidligere i dag, fordi jeg tænkte at der måske ville komme nogle store flokke tidligt ..det gjorde der så ikke, men jeg skal love for at de kom senere.., til gengæld fik vi lidt Rørspurve..

Over havet var der ret stille udover et par Pibeande flokke, noget flere end vi har set de seneste par dage faktisk.

Men det var over land at det meste skete i dag, og specielt hos stærene, der var en lind strøm af Stære som væltede ud, og vi havde flere flokke med over 2000 individer i, så det var også en morgen som virkede meget kort da man var igang hele tiden. Stære totalen i dag lyder på hele 18950! ..klart den bedste stære dag jeg har haft med trækkene stære, sammenligner man det med de gode steder til sort sol er det jo ikke helt vildt, men at se dem på træk er noget helt andet, og når de kommer susende over klitterne med op til 80 km/t skal man være hurtig til at nå at tælle dem før de er væk bag klitterne igen.

En af mange flokke Stære i dag / Foto: Lærke

Det var ikke kun stære som kom, der kom også ret overraskende mange Engpibere, også i en lind strøm som væltede ud mellem klitterne, over 1000 blev det til, krydret med nogle Skærpibere, og til sidst på morgenen, nærmere bestemt kl 1106 kom endnu en piber i bogen, Tajgapiber! ..en nær slægtning til  Skovpiberen, og kaldet kan også minde meget om hinanden, men generelt lidt kortere og “finere”, men hvis ikke man ser fuglen, som man ofte ikke gør, eller ihvertfald ofte dårligt på et træksted, kan det være svært at bestemme dem i felten. Derfor har jeg også en optager siddende på mit teleskop som konstant optager op i himlen, for bla. at kunne bestemme arter som Skov. og Tajgapiber efterfølgende på sonogram.

Bjergvipstjerter kom der også dryssende en god sjat af i løbet af morgenen, 18 i alt, samt en sen Hvid Vipstjert.

Det skrider også hurtigt frem med byggeriet i klitterne, og det bliver spændende at se om de nye vinkler kan fungere bedre som læ til havobs i fremtiden / Foto: Louis :)

The ringing:

When we were opening the nets today, there was more activity than the days before. I headed Robins “Rødhals”, Wrens “Gærdesmutte”, Thrushes flying over and even a Lark not far. First round was quite good, with mainly Robins “Rødhals”, Wrens “Gærdesmutte” and a few Blackbirds “Solsort”, but after it slowed down a lot. I found a new activity to keep me warm and busy between slow rounds: Chopping Firewood. Now we have enough for another cozy evening with chimney fire!

Menno kept the nets open until dusk and was lucky in the last rounds.

Chaffinch, female / Bogfinke, hun

The bog was open again today and there was way more activity than the last days: Many Wrens “Gærdesmutte”, also quite some Chiffchaffs “Gransanger”, little flocks of Starlings “Stær”, Meadow Pipits “Engpiber”, a Skylark “Sanglærke”, a Stonechat “Sortstrubbet Bynkefugl” and I saw two Common Snipes “Dobbeltbekkasin”. So nothing special, but it was fun again to take a long walk, whereas it was pretty dead the last afternoons that I checked.

So let´s hope for some more birds in the nets tomorrow!

The moths:

Checking the traps was a bit disappointing this morning, I just found one moth: Agrotis ipsilon “Ypsilonugle”. This night the wind should be very low, actually good conditions for moths flying.

Agrotis ipsilon “Ypsilonugle”

At the station: Louis, Hanelie, Chung-Chi, Lærke, Menno and our first guest for the bird observatory meeting, Søren Mygind.

Observations:

Vinden var gået i S.-SSØ. ..hvilket ikke er optimalt.. men heller ikke helt skidt, og det endte da også med at blive en helt godkendt dag til slut selvom det i perioder virkede meget stille..

Over havet kom der fra helt tidligt af et par flokke Dværgmåger i mørket og senere nogle småflokke, i alt 35 blev det til, forhåbentlig starten på endnu en god sæson for denne art…

I luften var der lidt stille, men efter en times tid kom en lille “tikkende” fugl over obsen, Dværgværling! Den gik ned kortvarigt i de yderste klitter, hvorefter den fløj op igen og formentlig fortsatte sin fær mod syd..

Lidt senere kom endnu en god værlinge art i bogen, lige over hovedet på os.. en mega fed Lapværling! ..klart den bedste jeg har haft på træk.

Ellers kom der lidt stærre, specielt en god flok på 1600 i minuttet hvor standardtiden startede hjalp godt på totalen som endte på lige over 2900.

Det er heller ikke kun fugle ting der sker på hukket i øjeblikket, militæret er bla. ved at opføre et nyt “skuret” i de yderste klitter, nu af træ imodsætning til den tidligere container der har stået der..

The ringing:

The weather was pretty much the same as yesterday and so the number of birds. The Highlight of the ringing was a Grey Wagtail “Bjergvipstjert” in the stations garden. One of the Tree Sparrows “Skovspuv” went in the nets, a nice bird in hand.

Grey Wagtail "Bjergvipstjert"

Tree Sparrow "Skovspurv"

The moths:

Just one moth when I checked yesterday evening: Chloroclysta siterata “Brungrøm Bladmåler”.

Chloroclysta siterata “Brungrøm Bladmåler”

And still one Dytiscus semisulcatus “Sortbuget vandkalv” around.

At the station: Louis, Hanelie, Chung-Chi, Lærke, Menno, Henrik Böhmer and our guest Henrik Knudsen

The ringing:

Again, a day with very few birds. Chung-Chi was happy about a pretty Yellowhammer “Gulspurv” because in Taiwan, they have way more Buntings, but not that one.

Yellowhammer "Gulspurv"

We would definitely need a weather change to get some birds, but it does not look like it the next days.

In the afternoon, we exchanged two nets in the station garden and washed the bird bags.

The moths:

Also very few moth today, just three species in/ around the traps and one of yesterdays Dytiscus semisulcatus “Sortbruget vandkalv” came again to the light. As I found a caterpillar of Phragmatobia fuliginosa “Kanelbjørn” again, I checked my pictures from spring to show you caterpillar and moth.

Observations:

Vejrmæssigt, en dag som lignede meget i går.. I dag var der generelt lidt flere fugle, specielt småfugle, men færre arter og specielt færre “sjove” arter..

Vi fik i dag også selskab af, først Bent og senere Svend og Svend ude på obsen.

Som sagt skete der lidt mere hos småfuglene i dag, men det var ikke ligefrem overvældende, 200 siskner og 400 finker, krydret med 3 Bjergvipstjerter og 3 Hedelærker var hvad det kunne blive til..

Vi fik også sæsonens måske sidste Rørhøg i dag, da det er ved at være ret sent for dem.. ..og en Fjeldvåge rastede gennem morgenen i baglandet..

Folk på stationen: Louis, Hanelie, Lærke, Chung-Chi, David, Menno

Observations:

En lidt stille dag på hukket, ihvertfald antalsmæssigt.. men som morgenen skred frem kom den ene gode art efter den anden i bogen, og det endte med at blive en helt hæderlig morgen alligevel.

Der gik ikke længe før vi fik dagens første Almindelige Kjove, et længe ventet syn i et efterår der ser ud til at blive rigtig dårligt for denne art, denne var en flot lys en, og lidt senere fik vi så også en mørk en, som altså også er flot..:)

Dagens nok sjældneste art blev en fed Islom som kom på rigtig fornuftig afstand, ..ihvertfald iforhold til de andre lommer..

“Doku” af - Islom / Foto: David Manstrup

I luften var der virkelig ikke gang i den.. men der kom da både et par Bjerg.- og Hedelærker forbi som er gode arter til at holde humøret oppe med hver deres begge meget ikoniske og meget "glade" kald når de flyver over en.

Der kom også i slutningen af obsen en Ringdrossel som kortvarigt sat sig til rast i toppen af en busk tæt på obsen.

Her er det den fine lille Hedelærke, som bla. kan kendes på den meget korte hale / Foto: Louis Poulsen

Ringing:

It was a very slow morning, we just had four new birds and five recaptures. Today a picture of a nice Wren “Gærdesmutte”.

Wren "Gærdesmutte"

After standard, Menno kept the nets in the station garden open until sunrise but just had two more birds, one a Black Redstart “Husrødstjert”.

Black Redstart "Husrødstjert"

The moths:

The night was okay for moths, it was not so windy. I had eight different species, one new for me, Colotois pennaria “Løvfaldsmåler”.

Colotois pennaria “Løvfaldsmåler”

I also got a new beetle species, four Dytiscus semisulcatus “Sortbuget vandkalv” came to my trap at the lighthouse garden.

Dytiscus semisulcatus “Sortbuget vandkalv”

In the afternoon, I went for a walk in the bog when the military had opened. Very few birds but I found two caterpillars on the ground. It was a caterpillar of Phragmatobia fuliginosa which has both a nice Danish name “Kanelbjørn” as well as a nice English name “Ruby tiger”. I caught that moth in July in Gedser and was happy to think that the moth would fly again next summer. Finally, I saw one bird, a Northern Wheatear “Stenpikker”, which had a rather short and plumb insect in its bill. Maybe, it tried to eat the third caterpillar of Kanelbjørn, that I saw today.

Folk på stationen: Louis, Hanelie, Lærke, Chung-Chi, David, Menno

The ringing:

A windy morning 10 to 12 meters per second from south west and I was droughting, that we could open, but I am always checking by going through the garden, if there is any shelter so that ringing is possible without harming the birds. It was possible, in the southwesterly winds some nets  were sheltered so Chung-Chi and I stayed around the house. Actually, with our 71 net-meters, that we had toady, we were more effective than yesterday with 242, yesterday 9 new birds, today seven with way less nets.

Blackcap "Munk", male

We decided to make it a bit cozier inside the station that windy morning by making a fire in the chimney, thanks to Torbens firewood.

Nevertheless, there were not so many birds in the area today, the military area was open, so I checked the bog in the afternoon, but it was very quiet, although the wind had slowed down later in the day.

Red Deer "Krondyr" in the bog

Nice news, we had a foreign Danish recapture of a Blackbird “Solsort” yesterday which we reported in fuglering. Today we got a recapture letter, the bird was ringed end October 2022 in Nordjylland by a ringer of the Nordvestjysk Ringmærkergruppe.

I did not find any moth in the traps today, maybe this night, as it will be less windy.

Observations:

During the morning there was not that many going on. We all hoped for some species that are associated with strong winds like shearwaters, skuas or fulmar. We didn't got any of that. There were some highlights though, we had four Red necked grebe. Besides the grebes we had a ten Caspian gulls, a species that is quickly expanding nord(west)wards. Half way during the observation period we aslo had a ringed gull from central Germany. In the late afternoon David and I decided to go for another hour of seawatching and saw a Scooty schearwater. So some of our prediction became reality!

At the station: David, Louis, Menno, Lærke, Chung-Chi, Hanelie.

The ringing:

Today no wind and rain, so nets stayed open the 5 standard hours, but we were not very successful, we ringed 9 new birds. In the last rounds, we were joined by Menno, who had just arrived at the station and will stay with us for two weeks. Bent told me, there were many Blackbirds “Solsort” in Oksbøl, but we did not get them in the nets here, just three recaptures. Maybe one of the next days.

Chiffchaff "Gransanger"

All our guests who stayed here for week 42 left today, therefore, another volunteer, who we know already, arrived today, Lærke, who was already here in September. She too will stay here for two weeks.

The moths:

This night was rainy and windier again. I did not expect so much, nevertheless, I checked in the evening and found two moths, Alucita hexadactyla “Kaprifoliefjermøl” and Emmelina monodactyla “Snerlefjermøl”. In the morning, I found one more, Phlogophora meticulosa “Agatugle”. That was it, not much. This night will be windy again, but less wind the night after…

Emmelina monodactyla “Snerlefjermøl”

Observations:

En ret diset morgen på hukket, som også endte ud med lidt dryp fra oven.. ..og selvom målingerne sagde over 12 grader, virkede det ualmindeligt koldt pga. den tiltagende vind og fugtige vejr..

Som vanligt kom en hel del Sortænder, over 3500 blev det faktisk til.. men ellers var det godt nok til den stille side, specielt da småfuglenene var tæt på ikke eksisterende..

Det var tilgengæld en af de første dage hvor man fik fornemmelse af rigtigt træk af Dværgmåger, 30 blev det til, hvilket personligt reddede dagen fuldstændigt!

Der kom også et par Rider forbi, 6 stks.

At the station: Lærke, Louis, Menno, David, Chung-Chi, Hanelie and 5 guests

The ringing:

A good first round with Blackbirds “Solsort” and Wrens “Gærdesmutte” but we needed to close before the end of standard time because of a big rainfront, that brought us rain for the rest of the day.

In the evening, we had a cozy dinner together with all our guests.

The moth:

It was a good night for moth and I got a new species, that I was waiting for long: Alucita hexadactyla “Kaprifoliefjermøl”. It is a beautiful small moth, that flies the whole year, but most observations are reported on Arter in May and August. I was not expecting it that late in the year, so it was a very welcome surprise.

Alucita hexadactyla “Kaprifoliefjermøl”

At the station: Chung-Chi, Louis, Hanelie and 5 guests.

The ringing:

Blåvand went to sleep in fog yesterday evening and woke up in fog this morning. The good thing was, that the wind yesterday night and today was very low, and the wind can sometimes be a big enemy for ringing, of course, we need it to get birds, but often in the last days, it was a bit strong. So today very low wind that was not a problem at all for the nets. We had quite some Blackbirds “Solsort”. Tomorrow a little more wind, but pretty much the same, but later this night, it will clear up, let´s see if that will bring something.

Blackbird "Solsort"

The moth:

Finally, a night with very low to no wind, and some moisture in the air, that can be quite good for getting moth. Hopefully, I went two times in the evening to check both traps, there were moth, rather common ones though, but I got more species than the last nights, so it is finally worth again to make a list. The most abundant species was Phlogophora meticulosa “Agatugle”. In the morning, I found another water beetle in my trap in the lighthouse garden. It was Rhantus suturalis “Marmorvandkalv”.

Rhantus suturalis “Marmorvandkalv”

Observations:

En morgen med ret dårlig sigt, generelt meget fugtigt vejr, og ret få fugle..

De trofaste Sortænder gjorde at man ikke faldt i søvn.. og den første time kom der faktisk også en del Rødstrubede lommer..

Der var lige en en halv time hvor der kom over 200 Grønsiskener, men det gik i stå lige så hurtigt igen..

Ellers kom 2 Gråstrubede Lappedykkere, og en flok på 7 Bjergænder..

Eller var det meget stille den sidste time, og der kom meget tæt på ingen fugle..

Om aftenen var der gættefugle quiz på blåvandgård med DOFUng, da det var sidste aften de er i området..

At the station: Louis, Chung-Chi, Hanelie and 6 guests.

Observations:

En dag som på mange måder lignede igår.. vinden var stadig i sø og omkring 10 m/s.

..bare lidt færre overraskelser ..men en fin dag alligevel…

Det blev en fin morgen for bla. Sortand, med over 4700.

Igen kom der en fin portion Grønsiskener i første del af morgenen, men igen gik det lidt død senere på morgenen.

Om aftenen var jeg efter et meget langt twitch af en Fuglekongesanger som blev fundet inde i byen, blandt andet til felttræf oplæg af Mads og Tina Elley om fuglekigning i Senegal, på Blåvandgård hvor DOFUng holder til.

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No ringing today (and no moths).  We checked nets in both gardens, but the nets were too exposed. Instead, Chung-Chi used the time to explore the area, and I went for morning observations. Later, Karen and I went on a birding trip to Nyeng. We did not see the Olive-backed Pipit “Taiga-Piper” but Brent Geese “Knortegås”, many Golden Plovers “Hjeile”, Curlews “Storspove” Dunlins “Almindelig Ryle”, Oystercatchers “Strandskade” and Pintails “Spidsand” and Lapwings “Vibe” as well as some Red-breasted Mergensers “ Toppet Skalleslugger”.

In the late evening, a Pallas´s Leaf Warbler “Fuglekongesanger” was seen in Blåvand.

This night looks a little better for moth and tomorrow better for birds because of the low winds, so let´s hope for something good.

A Slow Worm "Stålorm", that Chung-Chi found today.

At the station: Louis, Chung-Chi, Hanelie and 5 guests.

The ringing:

This morning was quite windy. It was too much to open nets in the lighthouse garden, but the station garden was more sheltered, so we could open most nets down at the house. Torben joined us again from the first round on. We did not get many birds, but in the 9.30 round, Chung-Chi took a Firecrest “Rødtoppet Fuglekonge” out of the net. I announced the bird on zello and a lot of birders came to see it. We needed to close at 11 though, as the wind had picked up.

Firecrest "Rødtoppet Fuglekonge"

The moths:

Yesterday evening, I checked the trap down at the house and found two moths: Chesias legatella “Stor gyvelmåler” and Thera britannica/ variata. Nothing in the morning.'

Observations:

En relativt kraftig vind blæste fra sø denne morgen, tiltagende i løbet af morgenen og endte på over 12 m/s i slutningen af standardtiden, SØ vind plejer at være fint til specielt småfugle, hvilket det også mest blev til i dag, blandet med lidt gæs. Men 12 m/s er måske lige i overkanten, men det gik alligevel hen og blev en godkendt dag på hukket..

Sølvhejre / Foto: kommer…

Specielt på grund af én flok af Sølvhejre Og ikke bare 2 som vi faktisk også havde tidligere på morgenen, men én flok på hele 27, som kom flyvende sammen langsomt mod syd. Normalt er Sølvhejre lokalt semi sjælden på hukket, så en flok på 27 og dagstotal på 29 er vildt på hukket! Det er altid vildt fedt at se “store” flokke af Sølvhejre (hejre generelt hvis man spørger mig) på træk, og noget af en overaskelse her på hukket..

Udover hejre, kom der lidt gæs, flest Grågæs, derefter Bramgæs, men også bla. en Tundrasædgås, som er ret usædvanlig på hukket.

Småfuglene var der lidt gang i ..i perioder, specielt Grønsisken toppede lige midt på morgenen men faldt hurtigt i antal igen, to gode håndfulde Bjergvipstjerter og en Snespurv.

Det eneste der toppede sølvhejrene (for mig ihvertflad, og nok ingen andre) var 17 Dværgmåger, som bare er så vanvittig fede….

At the station: Louis, Chung-Chi, Torben, Hanelie and 4 guests.