Herdlevær / Tjeldstø / Nautnes 03 October 2021 - Gales

 Southerly gale.

On my way south a dead Woodcock rugde lay in the road at Skjold, I stopped and checked in for rings as usual.

My usual walk at Herdlevær gave Merlin dvergfalk and the first Long-tailed Duck havelle of the autumn as the best birds. However, my usual lunch break was cut short - the wind was too strong and meant that coffee did not make it from the thermos into the cup. More importantly my scope kept almost blowing over. 

A Peregrine vandrefalk was the only other bird of note here, though still lots of Brambling bjørkefink and a small flock of Golden Plover heilo about.

I thought I would see what was going on down the fjord on the eastern side of Øygarden. Not much, although small numbers of Red-throated Diver smålom headed south here too. Crested Tits toppmeis, yet more Brambling bjørkefink and a couple of Jays nøtteskrike were among the species seen here.

One of the many Brambling bjørkefink at Tjeldstø today

A Common Scoter svartand on Husvatnet was a relatively rare freshwater occurrence.

I thought seawatching conditions would be better back home - and they were:) An hour from the terrace gave 26 Red-throated Diver smålom heading south, a few Razorbill alke and Guillemot lomvi passing, Dunlin myrsnipe, lots of Gannets havsule, two White-tailed Eagles havørn feeding on something big that was hidden from view, Sparrowhawk spurvehauk and more. One Guillemot lomvi even swam past the house in the shelter of the bay.

Guillemot lomvi swimming past my terrace.

This bird dived repeatedly and seemed therefore to be behaving normally - though dead auks have been found in both the UK and further south in Norway recently.