Tjeldstø and Herdlevær 03-04 May - Back to reality

 Light winds, dry and sunny.

After the unprecedented social and birding activity over the weekend it was back to reality. Being early May all I wanted to do was hang out at Skogsøy but this was not possible.

However, some good birds to be seen. On 03 May breakfast at Tjeldstø produced a nice Tundra Beam Goose tundrasædgås. It has been a while since I saw this species in Øygarden and was not on the radar at all in early May - this species is normally a winter visitor here. It was seen alongside the long-staying Pinkfoot kortnebbgås which gave good comparison views albeit at long range.

I moved to my usual breakfast stop location and the goose came right past giving better photo opportunites.

Goldfinches stillits turned also up at Tjeldstø and a few migrating Golden Plover heilo joined the five of the usual breeding species of wader there.

Teal krikkand at Tjeldstø

Intial view of the Tundra Bean Goose tundrasædgås

It then joined the long-staying Pinkfoot kortnebbgås

And later on did a nice fly-by causing coffee and sandwiches to be thrown to one side....

Once home it was back to the computer but a few short random scans from the terrace gave a total of 950 Barnacle Geese hvitkinngås heading north and a couple of flocks of Red-throated Diver smålom totalling 17. It looked like it would have been another good day at Skogsøy....

On 04 May I took breakfast at Herdlevær before work. Here a half hour seawatch gave an adult White-billed Diver gulnebblom and 45 Red-throated Diver smålom. Another good Skogsøy day I will never have again....

One of a couple of White-tailed Eagles havørn at Herdlevær

House Sparrow gråspurv also at Herdlevær. Not exactly a species I take many photographs of despite their obvious charm.

Skylark sanglerke at Breivik

On the way home a Wryneck vendehals sang enthusiastically but I couldn't really stop to enjoy the experience very long.