Friday, November 07, 2014

Øygarden 07 November 2014 - Going to the office produces Øygarden mega!

Stronger SE winds today with high cloud.

A trip to the office would normally mean that the day was a write-off. Not so today - returning home I stopped to check out two swans on Stegeviksvatnet, Toft. Initially I had driven past thinking these were just the first Whoopers sangsvane of the autumn but something made me turn around and go back....


A real mega for Øygarden - the second ever record of Mute Swan knoppsvane for the islands




This was a stroke of luck (or my gut feeling was good) as the two swans turned out to be Øygarden's second ever Mute Swans knoppsvane - a real mega! As I had gone to the office I didn't have my "proper" camera with me but I had my compact super-zoom in the car with which to document this exciting find. The swans must have moved on pretty quickly as they had already disappeared an hour or two later.

The only previous record of this species was from Hernar in conjuction with the Crag Martin twitch back in May 2011.

To anyone not living on some of the remoter islands this species is probably one of the least exciting imaginable. Not so in Øygarden!

Chiff-chaff gransanger at Sæle


A quick look at Sæle produced at least two each of Chiff-chaff gransanger and Blackcap munk along with a Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett, a couple of Sparrowhawk spurvehauk and Brambling bjørkefink.

Brambling bjørkefink at Nautnes

Whilst I was taking pictures of the swans with a point and pray camera my daughter was taking pictures of a Brambling bjørkefink from the terrace back home with a "proper" camera....

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