By Michaëla Berdougo
On Sunday the 2nd of May 2021, at the time when I was volunteering at Skagen Fuglestation, I went for a casual walk in the afternoon where I observed a kettle of raptors above western Ellekrattet with buzzards (våger), kites (glenter) and a young Hen Harrier (Blå Kærhøg). As I was still yet to identify a Black Kite (Sort Glente) by myself, I took many pictures of what I was pretty sure was a Black Kite so I could get my identification confirmed back at the station.
Gulnæbbet Glente, Skagen, 3. maj 2021. Foto: Jørgen Kabel
The raptors went northeast, and I continued my walk. I stopped on a hill near ‘Kap Gadagung’ and observed deer foraging for a while. Half an hour later, a kite flew back from the sea and soared above me, this time heading south. I was pretty sure it was the same Black Kite I had seen before but just to make sure I took more pictures. After dinner, I showed my pictures to Jonas Pedersen, another volunteer, who became quite quiet when seeing the pictures of the kite. The silence that was supposed to be a joke at first, turned into screams of excitement.
Gulnæbbet Glente, Skagen, 3. maj 2021. Foto: Jørgen Kabel
A Yellow-billed Kite was found a month earlier in the Netherlands, more precisely in Groningen, on April 11th. Pictures were taken and word had spread. Yellow-billed Kites are commonly found in the Sub-Saharan region and Northeast Africa. But in Europe? This first record was a huge deal! The individual was seen again on April 15th on Wangerooge, a German island in the Wadden Sea. Three weeks later in Skagen, Jonas and I compared the pictures I took to the picture taken in the Netherlands and with the help of Frederik Johansen who pointed out a broken primary, we came to the conclusion that the “black kite” I saw was actually the same Yellow-billed Kite seen in the Netherlands in April! Not only had I taken pictures on its way out but also on its way back half an hour later. As raptors were flying pretty high that day, other people mistook it for a Black Kite as well. Luckily, the kite stayed in the area overnight and many keen birders got to see it the following morning. The bird was followed migrating out from Grenen for about five km, after which it disappeared in the distance.
It was later identified as belonging to the Milvus aegyptius parasitus subspecies, distributed across Africa south of the Sahara, on the Comoros and in Madagascar. Interestingly, the other subspecies M. a. aegyptius is found closer to Denmark, breeding in Egypt, Northeast Africa and Southwestern Arabia.
DANSK RESUME
Den 2. maj fotograferede Michaëla Berdougo en Sort Glente ved Skagen. Studier af billederne viste imidlertid, at det drejede sig om en Gulnæbbet Glente – en afrikansk art, der ikke tidligere er iagttaget i Danmark. Fuglen gjorde trækforsøg, hvilket betød, at den overnattede i området. Mange ornitologer havde derfor muligheden for at se den dagen efter, da den valgte at forlade Grenen i retning af Sverige. Sammenligninger af fotos viser, at det er samme fugl, der den 11. april var set ved Groningen i Holland og fire dage senere på den tyske vadehavsø Wangerooge. Fundet er ved deadline under behandling af SU.
Gulnæbbet Glente, Skagen, 3. maj 2021. Foto: Jørgen Kabel