Ivory Gull and Snowy Owl visiting Hanstholm, North Jutland

See new photos 2013-2014 of the Ivory Gull at Hanstholm, North Jutland

Ivory Gull, Pagophila eburnea, (wikipedia)

It is possible to see some rare Arctic birds at Hanstholm in North Jutland in these days, among those a young Ivory Gull which usually breeds in northeast Greenland , northernmost North America and Eurasia. This High Arctic gull  prefers usually to stay in the high North during winter where it forages on small fish and seal carrions, which it locates by following the polar bear. Even the northern part of Norway and Iceland is a southern section for the Ivory Gull, and the bird is not seen there on a yearly basis, neither during winter.

Snowy Owl, (wikipedia).

At Hanstholm is another rare bird right now, a young snowy owl, which probably comes from the Sibirian tundra. The snowy owl is a nomad, and it is roaming around in the hunt for food. In winter and early spring it happens to be straying into Denmark, but there are years between.  

Ivory Gull (wikipedia)

It is the eighth time the Ivory Gull is seen in Denmark, and it is a rare event. Once in 2006 it was seen at Langø havn at Lolland on 29 December, and this event brought hundreds of tourist to the small town. This is also happening now at Hanstholm in North Jutland in December and January 2013-2014. Birdwatchers come from all over the country. Today it is easy for them to communicate with their mobile phones: "Where is it now?" and then they are all gathering in a group with cameras and binoculars to watch this little white bird, which don't understand a word of all this attention!

Ivory Gull wintering in Bering Sea, (wikipedia).

 Ivory Gull/ Pagophila eburnea ( Danish name : Ismåge)

The scientific names eburnea and Pagophila mean ivory-coloured and "lover of sea ice" from the Latin ebur for ivory and the Greek pagos for sea-ice respectively. The ivory gull has no sub-species, and no fossil members of this genus are known.

This species is easy to identify. At 43 centimetres (17 in), it has a different, more pigeon-like shape than the Larus gulls, but the adult has completely white plumage, lacking the grey back of other gulls. The thick bill is blue with a yellow tip, and the legs are black. Its cry is a harsh eeeer. Young birds have a dusky face and variable amounts of black flecking in the wings and tail. The juveniles take two years to attain full adult plumage. There are no differences in appearance across the species’ geographic range.


During the winter, Ivory Gulls live near polynyas, or a large area of open water surrounded by sea ice. North American birds, along with some from Greenland and Europe, winter along the 2000 km of ice edge stretching between 50° and 64° N from the Labrador Sea to Davis Strait that is bordered by Labrador and  southwestern Greenland. Wintering gulls are often seen on the eastern coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador and occasionally appear on the north shore of the Gulf of st Lawrence and the interior of Labrador. It also winters from October through June in the Bering Sea and Chukchi Seas. It is most widespread throughout the polynyas and pack ice of the Bering Sea. It is also vagrant throughout coastal Canada and the northeastern United States, though records of individuals as far south as California and Georgia have been reported, as well as The Brisith Isles, with most records from late November through early March. Juveniles tend to wander further from the Arctic than adults^.

Pack Ice, see bird in right corner (wikipedia)

 

It migrates only short distances south in autumn, most of the population wintering in northern latitudes at the edge of the pack ice, although some birds reach more temperate areas.
It takes fish and crustaceans, rodents, eggs and small chicks but is also an opportunist scavenger, often found on seal or porpoise corpses. It has been known to follow polar bears and other predators to feed on the remains of their kills.
Ivory Gull breeds on Arctic coasts and cliffs, laying one to three olive eggs in a ground nest lined with  moss, lichens, or seaweed.

Skagen, Vendsyssel, North Jutland

The top of Denmark, Grenen, where two seas meet, Skagerak coming from the North Sea and Kattegat from the Baltic Sea.


Brøndum's Hotel

Skagen is one of the sunniest places in Denmark, a favorite place for a summer holiday, the town is pretty with the yellow houses, red roofs and cosy gardens with white-painted fences. It is a lovely mix of a fishing and tourist-town, and it is marked by the group of painters, who lived here around 1900. Skagen was "discovered" in the 1870s by poets and painters like Holger Drachmann, Michael Ancher and P.S.Krøyer, who appreciated the good light and climate. The town has developed into one of the most popular holiday places in Denmark, especially for rich people in the late 1800s and in the beginning of the 1900s, but the life of a fishing-town has continued as always, and Skagen is still an important fishing harbour. A great attraction for the tourists is the life in the harbour with the picturesque old fishing -houses. Skagen Festival: Music/Jazz/Folksong in summer. Many exciting boutiques and gift-shops in the city street.



Skagen town has narrow streets and pretty houses. Skagen Museum has an excuisite collection of the Skagen painters and close to the museum is the famous Brøndums hotel and the romantic and red-painted Michael & Anna Ancher's house with memorial rooms and Ancher-paintings and drawings. Holger Drachmann's house is in the other part of Skagen town with memorial rooms. Close to his house is a small open air museum with old fishing houses, a windmill and a memorial hall . Another pretty building is the town hall and on the same road Krøyer's House, which is a halftimbered building , a fine example of the old building customs in Skagen. (private owner)


Fishing shops and restaurants.


The northernmost restaurant in Denmark, named "De 2 Have" (The two Seas)

Skagen is the northernmost city in Denmark - and when to go 5 km northeast is Grenen, Denmark's northernmost point. Along the road, which runs on the east side to Grenen you can see a reconstruction of an old vippefyr from 1561 and Skagen Fyr ("Lange Maren"), which is the highest lighthouse in Denmark. It takes 210 steps to get up in the top and look across the beautiful landscape towards Skagens Odde (Grenen), where two seas meet, Skagerak from the west and Kattegat from the east. Grenen grows with about 8 m each year, caused by the addition of material from the stream, but the point itself changes form all the time. The tour out to Grenen is a lovely ride with the blue and red tractor-train "Sandormen".


The German bunker from WWII is still there


The most wonderful blue sea, do you recognize Krøyer's blue sea?

P.S.Krøyer: Sommeraften ved Skagens Strand. Krøyer and his wife Marie
Peter Severin Krøyer, born 23 July 1851 in Stavanger , died 20 November 1909 in Skagen, was a Danish painter and one of the Danish Skagen-painters He was born in Norway but grew up by his aunt in Copenhagen. He early showed his talent as a drawer, and in the year 1864-70 he studied at Det kongelige Danske Kunstakademi and achieved in 1873 a gold medal and a scholarship. He went to Germany and France, where he worked and studied for several years. In 1878 he went to Spain and Italy where he visited Firenze, Siena and Rome. He met Michael and Anna Ancher in Paris. They lived in Skagen and this caused Krøyer to go to Skagen for the first time in 1882. He went there each summer and the concept of the Skagen-painters was created with P.S. Krøyer as the centre. As one of few Danish painters he had a selfportrait taken in at the Uffizi-museum in Firenze.
In 1889 he was married to the love of his life, the beautiful Marie, in Germany. In 1894 the married couple took over a house in Skagen plantage, named Krøyer's house. Some of his most exciting paintings were painted here, like various motives of summer evenings at the beach of Skagen. He also painted a flood of portraits, which made him a wealthy artist. Marie Krøyer left her husband and daughter in the beginning of the 1900s , and Krøyer was hospitalized several times as mentally disordered. Anyway he finished a magnificent painting "Skt.Hansblus på Skagens strand" in 1906. (Midsommernight fire). His illness grew worse and he died in 1909 at Skagen and was buried in Skagen cemetery.


The two seas which surround the land creates golden and blue shades in the dunes. The special light and a magnificent nature on all sides. The surroundings can be tough or gentle, but they are always fantastic and impressive. A high sky, lots of light, water and fresh air.


Gammel Skagen, holiday houses in the dunes


Jeckel's Hotel

Skagen is actually two towns , the little Gammel Skagen (Old Skagen) to the west by the Skagerak-coast and Skagen itself to the east by Kattegat - and from Skagen north along the coast to the northernmost point of Denmark, named Grenen, and from Grenen down south to Gammel Skagen on the western side is an about 50 km fine bathing beach. Gammel Skagen is also characteristic with the yellow houses and red roofs, but most of the old bathing hotels have been changed into time-share apartments, like the famous Jeckels Hotel .


South of Skagen is the listed migrating dune, Råbjerg Mile, a desert landscape - eternal changing and large enough to lose one's way in there, "Jutland's Sahara". During ab. 300 years it has been moving about 5 km - and deep under the giant duvet of sand are forests and villages buried; they will emerge gradually when the sand masses have moved enough eastwards. This happens with a speed of 20-30 meter a year.


Skagen, Flagbakken, bird-watchers in May 2008

A beautiful red kite.

Skagen is also a paradise for ornitologists/bird-watchers. there is a great bird-migrating in , especially in the month of May. Here are some birdwatcher upon the hill "Flagbakken" , south of Skagen. Various birds of prey arrived all day, hovering in the wind-current above the hill.


And at last we saw a small viper down the hill. I thought it was so cute, but was told that it bites just as bad as a grown-up viper. Can you see it? The little triangular head is raised at the left! (evt. click to enlarge)


photo Skagen 2003/2005/2008: grethe bachmann