Øygarden 04-05 February 2021 - A killer winter

 This cold and sunny weather should f*** off back to the east of Norway where it belongs. The longest spell of cold weather for years is now taking a heavy toll on the species that normally manage to survive our usual winters. The Snipe enkeltbekkasin and Woodcock rugde seemed to manage quite well for a few weeks but now they are succumbing to the relentless frozen conditions.

On 04 February I didn't do much other than a very quick look at a part of Tjeldstø where I had a Woodcock rugde, a Sparrowhawk spurvehauk and a couple of White-tailed Eagle havørn.

A roadside Dipper fossekall found plenty of food, catching new prey after only a few seconds underwater. Quite possibly because this species is not normally present so there is plenty to eat for the few birds that do turn up. No worries dealing with the cold for this bird:)

Dipper fossekall with prey

Back home at Nautnes a Greylag grågås headed south, no doubt fleeing the frozen and snow covered fields in search of somewhere milder. Another Woodcock rugde here too - I hoped that it would follow the lead of the Blackbirds svarttrost and try to find food along the shore but this proved not to be the case.

Female Goldeneye kvinand on the sea in front of my house

On 05 February I did Herdlevær before heading home to work. One dead Woodcock rugde and one flying over, a Snipe enkeltbekkasin that had died very shortly before I found it (although it has frozen into the ice it was not yet frozen itself). Although I am staying away from the best areas that are most likely to be able to support such species this one was in a tiny and unexpected area of unfrozen ground.

A Snipe enkeltbekkasin that had died of cold and starvation only a short time before I found it - still trying to find something to eat to the very last....

Birds that were still alive included a Black Guillemot teist, a Red-throated Diver smålom, a flock of 13 Goldeneye kvinand, a few White-tailed Eagle havørn and a flock of 60-70 Eider ærfugl feeding offshore.

More Woodcock rugde both dead and alive were seen on the way home - one of the dead ones included the bird I saw yesterday at Nautnes.

Woodcock rugde hoping that the ground might thaw in this sunny spot

One of a few dead Woodcock rugde seen today. I did not go nearer in case there were others hiding nearby

It was not all doom, gloom and death - at Hatten the White-backed Woodpecker hvitryggspett put on a nice show together with a couple of Great-spotted Woodpeckers flaggspett.

Nuthatch spettmeis

White-backed Woodpecker hvitryggspett