The 22nd May was always going to be about visibility. The forecast was for sea fog early on clearing by 0900. Pretty much the opposite happened:)
Before I left the house a Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett sang a couple of times - a good start to the morning:)
No massive numbers passing but steady and with some quality (pale-bellied Brent Geese ringgjess, White-billed Diver gulnebblom, a Black-throated Diver storlom, Merlin dvergfalk and more).
We sat for a couple of hours after the fog rolled in as it seemed like it would clear at any moment. Fog is the #1 seawatch nightmare in the spring and unfortunately resulted in an update to my seawatch junky page:)
When it was finally deemed safe to leave we checked out a couple of places including Tjeldstø - in glorious sunshine - typically the fog affected only the sea and a couple of hundred metres inland. Best birds were a couple of Wood Sandpipers grønnstilk and the first Sand Martin sandsvale of the year for me at least. At least five Lesser Whitethroat møller were heard singing at various places:)
The following day the forecast was better with a fresh northerly breeze and sunshine on the cards. Normally a recipe for a good day at this time of year but passage was slow and the hopes of unprecedented numbers of skuas were dashed. Not a complete waste of time though with good views of Brent Geese ringgjess, White-billed Diver gulnebblom and Black-throated Diver storlom as the best sightings. Two Ringed Plover sandlo migrating north were the first I've seen locally this year - two of the usual breeding sites have remained unoccupied so far this year.....
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