Herdla and Bergen 19-24 August - Great Guiding

In this period there were some seriously fun days out with some visiting birders. 

On 19th August I visited Herdla and despite the wind picked up a nice selection of species with the highlight from my point of view being a Common Buzzard musvåk which I think is a new species for me at this locality. A nice variety of waders included Turnstone steinvender and Bar-tailed Godwits lappspove. 

The drive out there gave Nutcracker nottekråke as a bonus species:)

Dunlin myrsnipe

After a couple of days with no birding I was back at Herdla on 22nd August, once again plenty of waders including a Greenshank gluttsnipe, a couple of Knot polarsnipe and at least six Bar-tailed Godwits lappspove. Passerines included Yellow Wagtail gulerle, Crested Tits toppmeis, Common Crossbill grankorsnebb and several Rock Pipit skjærpiplerke.

Crested Tit toppmeis at Herdla

After this it was into my old patch east of Bergen which was very productive with Golden Eagle kongeørn, Dipper fossekall, Kestrel tårnfalk, Whinchat buskskvett and even a Stonechat svartstrupe (rare away from the coast!) Still all the hirundines and Swift tårnseiler around too:)

Dipper fossekall at Gullfjell.

This can be a hard species to see in August when they moult so this was a nice bonus:)

On 24th I was guiding again and had a wonderful day out. Same as last time it was Herdla followed by my old areas east of Bergen. A great variety of species were seen again with waders once again in the forefront at Herdla - with Little Stint dvergsnipe, Turnstone steinvender and plenty more besides. White-tailed Eagle havørn showed well and there was a nice selection of passerines including the ever popular Wheatears steinskvett.

East of Bergen Common Buzzard musvåk, Swifts tårnseiler, Willow Tit granmeis and Yellowhammer gulspurv were among the species seen.

Knot polarsnipe

Ringed Plover sandlo

Dunlin myrsnipe, Ringed Plover sandlo and Knot polarsnipe

Ruff brushane

White-tailed Eagle havørn

Øygarden 09-17 August 2025

On 9th August I spent an hour or so in the lower levels of Gullfjell. Fairly quiet but a couple of Kestrel tårnfalk put on a show and the usual Ravens ravn, Willow Tit granmeis and so on showed too,

Plenty of Kestrel tårnfalk about inland

Having picked up some birders I headed back out to Øygarden. Short stops at various sites in Øygarden on the way home produced, among other things, White-tailed Eagles havørn, Common Crossbill grankorsnebb, Wheatear steinskvett, House Martin taksvale, Sand Martin sandvale and flocks of Meadow Pipits heipiplerke, White Wagtails linerle and Linnets tornirisk

The next day we started at Hjelme where Jay nøtteskrike, a flock of 12 Common Crossbill grankorsnebb, Goldcrests fuglekonge, Crested Tits toppmeis, Dunnock jernspurv and plenty more showed. Nearby Sæle gave Spotted Flycatcher gråfluesnapper, Lesser Whitethroat møller, lots of Goldfinch stillits and more.

Tjeldstø felt rather quiet but  a couple of White-tailed Eagles havøn, Wheatears steinskvett, a Common Tern makrellterne, several Stonechat svartstrupe, Sand Martin sandsvale were seen here. 

Solberg was next up where an Otter fishing was the highlight. Otters are starting to show more regularly during daylight hours again.

Otter at Solberg

More Stonechats svartstrupe were seen at various localities including the Kollsnes pair feeding very recently fledged young from their second brood. Fanastic to these these birds doing so well:)

On 11th August my terrace did quite well whilst preparing breakfast with Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett performing well in the scope, a group of three White-tailed Eagle havørn and huge numbers of birds at the feeders.

Having dropped off in town I headed back for an afternoon of seawatching - an experience in itself. Three birds in the first hour followed by a heavy downpour was not the best start but after the rain things picked up considerably with a Manx Shearwater havlire the best sighting, a flock of eight Bar-tailed Godwit lappspove, small numbers of other waders, a flock of Common Scoter svartand and a steady passage of Oystercatcher tjeld heading south. 

On land a Whimbrel småspove, a Snipe enkeltbekkasin and lovely views of a Twite bergirisk family.

Twite bergirisk at Skogsøy

Twite bergrisik

This was followed by a few days of not birding at all. A few hours at Herdla on 14 August gave a nice selection of waders including Little Stint dvergsnipe, Wood Sandpiper grønnstilk and Ruff brushane. Greylag grågås migration was in full swing too. Passerines included Whinchat buskskvett and Wheatear steinskvett.

On 16th August Skogsøy was very disappointing from a seawatching point of view but a Merlin dvergfalk, a Peregrine vandrefalk, White-tailed Eagles havørn and more made up for this.

The next day I did Herdlevær where I had small numbers of waders but plenty of thrushes feeding on the various berries ripening along with Sparrowhawk spurvehauk and the usual suspects.

Øygarden 01-08 August 2025 - Waders start to move

A walk at Tjeldstø on 3rd August produced some of the first waders of the autumn here with a Green Sandpiper skogsnipe and a Ruff brushane alongside a lone Lapwing vipe, Redshank rødstilk and several snipe. Another Green sand was at Hatten the same day.

The single Whooper sangsvane that has been hanging around all some put in sporadic appearances on Rotevatnet and Husvatnet.

Flocks of Meadow Pipits heipiplerke and White Wagtails linerle indicate that these species are also on the move.

As usual I didn't manage to get out much but on 6th August I managed a cheeky couple of hours at Skogsøy before work. Onshore winds looked promising and there was quite a movement of Fulmar havhest, Kittiwake krykkje, Guillemots lomvi along with singles of Turnstone steinvender and Arctic Tern rødnebterne.

Fulmar havhest

Gannet havsule

Kittiwake krykkje

A few minutes at Husvatnet on 8th August gave a flyover Spotted Redshank sotsnipe, Sand Martin sandsvale, a House Martin taksvale and a male Stonechat svartstrupe.

Øygarden 26-29 July 2025 - At last some birding

A couple of hours out and about on the morning of 26th gave a few birds.

At Hellesøy an adult Common Tern makrellterne was feeding two young - good to see proof that at least some terns have had success.

A flyover Green Sandpiper skogsnipe at Breivik was only spotted as I stopped to take pictures of a couple of Red Deer.

Otherwise most of the usual suspects, nice views of one of this year's Stonechats svartstrupe at Tjeldstø and a couple of adult White-tailed Eagles havørn here and there.

On 27th I started a day of guiding on Herdla which gave a selection of waders, a Swift tårnseiler, a Whinchat buskskvett, Mute Swans knoppsvane with two small young, several Wheatear steinskvett and a couple of White-tailed Eagle havørn.

Stops at various places in Øygarden added a lot more species to the day without anything spectacular.

The next day started at Hjelme which was just alive with birds including Spotted Flycatchers gråfluesnapper, Crested Tits toppmeis, Great Spotted Woodpecker flaggspett, Jay nøtteskrike, a Cuckoo gjøk and much more.

Goldcrest fuglekonge at Hjelme

Song Thrush måltrost with plenty of food for its going

Next stop was Sæle where three Lesser Whitethroat møller, a couple of Blackcap munk, Goldinches stillits and more showed quite well.

Alvheim was quite productive with great views of an Otter close in, a Perergrine vandrefalk hunting Oystercatchers tjeld and a couple of White-tailed Eagles havørn among the sightings.

A family of Stonechat svartstrupe showed well at Husvatnet.

We even spent an hour on Hernar, way too short a time to cover even this small island properly, best birds here were a Garden Warbler hagesanger and a couple of Stonechat svartstrupe.

On 29th it was time to head to the airport but we added a number of species along the way with Snipe enkeltbekkasin and Sparrowhawk spurvehauk at Tjeldstø and a family of Rock Pipits skjærpiplerke at Turøy. Great views of at least two White-tailed Eagles havørn, a pair of Common Tern makrellterne which looked like they may have had young.

Some inland sites gave various hirundines, Swifts tårnseiler, several Kestrels tårnfalk and yet more White-tailed Eagles havørn

Northumberland (and Teesside) 17-24 July 2025 - Birding the North East is just too easy

A family visit to NE England showed just how easy it is to see a lot of birds in the north-east of England.

A five minute stop at Budle Bay on 18 July showed that autumn migration was in full swing with a flock of 120 Redshank rødstilk, a few Whimbrel småspove and a Black-tailed Godwit svarthalespove along with the now usual Little Egrets silkehegre, 90+ Shelduck gravand and so on.

Stag Rocks was almost equally productive with plenty of seabirds passing, Sandwich Tern splitterne being one of the commoner species.

A short stop at Monkshouse pools gave two Avocet avosett, a Black-tailed Godwit svarthalespove and a Wood Sandpiper grønnstilk in addition to the usual good numbers of Lapwing vipe and other species.

Avocet, Monkshouse Pools

Wood Sandpiper grønnstilk, Black-tailed Godwit svarthalespove and Redshanks rødstilk at Monkshouse,

A morning out at Salthome pools on 19 July showed just how industry and nature can in fact work. Somewhere in excess of 25 Little Egret silkehegre, 16 Avocets avosett, 50+ Black-tailed Godwit svarthalespove, singing Grasshopper Warblers gresshoppersanger, newly fledged Reed Warblers rørsanger and too many species I don't often see back in Norway to list (Great-crested Grebe toppdykker, Little Grebe dvergdykker and Pochard taffeland to name a few).

If I don't look at you then you can't see me...

Juvenile Reed Warbler rørsanger, Salthome

The rest of the UK stay was spent north of Newcastle, even though there was no further birding it was impossible not to notice 10s of Meditteranean Gulls svartehavmåke, flocks of newly returning adult Red Knot polarsnipe and a lot more besides.

One of a few Little Egrets silkehegre on the Wansbeck, Ashington

Just too damn easy for my liking:)

Øygarden 09-12 July 2025 - Am I even a birder?

OK, a week off which included a trip to Trondheim for the Guns n Roses concert with brother and a couple of daughters during the off-peak season is probably within limits to still come under the term "Birder". However, following this work bit back hard and there was a further hiatus in the world of birding.

During this period I bought a new car, an all electric one rather than the hybrid I was considering. The changeover happened at Geilo with a view to combining this with some birding on the 'vidda. A 10 minute coffee break at Dyranut was what actually happened birding wise. So a Shorelark fjelllerke, some of the usual waders and, unusually, a flyover Woodpigeon ringdue was all that I managed to see. To be fair whilst charging the battery of the new car in Geilo I stumbled across five young Slavonian Grebes horndykker but did not have my camera with me. 

For what must be, in relative terms, a well-watched spot it was strange to see that a colour ringed Ringed Plover sandlo that was ringed as an adult female breeding in the area in 2024 had not been reported until I sent a record in from 09 July 2025. I had not downloaded my camera for around a month and thus had no space left to take pictures of other birds in the area.

Colour ringed Ringed Plover sandlo, Dyranut, 09 July

Back in Øygarden things went back to normal with no real birding opportunities, Common Gull fiskmåke young started to fly away from the breeding areas in this period.

Young Common Gull fiskemåke at Tjeldstø

Crested Tit toppmeis, Common Crossbill grankorsnebb and Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett were seen from my terrace in addition to the usual species. A trip to the shops on 11 July produced a Carrion Crow svartkråke.

Carrion Crow svartkråke, Tjeldstø, 11 July

Following this there was a week at work in the Oslo area with nothing of note to write about.

Øygarden 23-30 June 2025 - Calm before the storm

Calm before the storm is not related to the birding birding but to the fact there was a family get together in conjunction with a Guns n Roses concert in Trondheim in early July. Just amazing!

Apart from a couple of guiding trips to Herdla I did not get out birding in any meaningful way. 

So just the usual stuff from the garden including Goldfinches stillits, Lesser Whitethroat møller, Common Whitethroat tornsanger, Common Sandpiper strandsnipe, Common Tern makrellterne and so on. White-tailed Eagle havørn typically became infrequent but I did see them flying over the house a couple of times

Stonechat svartstrupe in the usual area around Kollsnes looked like they were going for a second brood.

Arctic Terns rødnebbterne at Dåvøy

Common Terns makrellterne with young at Dåvøy

Lapwing vipe at Kollsnes

Stonechat svartstrupe at Kollsnes

Trips to Herdla on 28th and 30th June produced all the usual breeding waders, Yellow Wagtail gulerle, Twite bergirisk, small numbers of Velvet Scoter sjøorre and Common Scoter svartand, displaying Dunlin myrsnipe (will they breed here soon?) and the first signs of the autumn wader migration with for example two Bar-tailed Godwit lappspove present on 28.06.

Yellow Wagtail gulerle at Herdla

I managed to misidentify this bird as a Wood Sandpier grønnstilk in the field. No excuses really but when looking at the picture it turned out to be a Redshank rødstilk

Oslo 19-21 June 2025 - Urban guiding

Back in the capital:)

On 19th June a day of guiding saw me covering the island of Gressholmen before covering Østensjøvannet.

A lot of species seen without any big surprises. Wheatear steinskvett with recently fledged young on Gressholmen were one of the favourite experiences, lots of other species with young too but a larger flock of adult Oystercatcher tjeld may indicate that a number of them have failed to raise young.

Østensjøvannet held around 450 Greylag grågås along with a variety of other geese. Great Crested Grebes toppdykker, Moorehen sivhøne, Coot sothøne and others were nice to see from a western Norwegian viewpoint.

On 21st June I did a walk at Maridal with my better half. It was therefore late in the day but we saw a few Nutcracker nøttekråke, Ospreys fiskørn, Icterine Warbler gulsanger and more:)

I didn't bother taking any photographs.

Engerdal 11-18 June 2025 - Engerdal calling

A visit to Engerdal in June is part of the annual routine and this year was no exception. Always too long since the last visit and as ever I was keen to see what was about.

We headed up on 11th June with a stop in Hamar on the way up, just as normal. An hour or two Åkersvika gave some good species with singing Rosefinch rosenfink, Little Ringed Plover dverglo, two Osprey fiskeørn, a variety of other wader species and a Goosander laksand with 10 young.

At Heggeriset in the evening a few minutes birding gave a couple of Kestrel tårnfalk, Swifts tårnseiler and the usual hirundines.

I was up bright and early the next day doing my usual first day round. Highlights were many including a Hawk Owl haukugle, Ospreys fiskeørn (inlcluding birds on a nest) and Black Woodpecker svartspett (in the garden!) Also eight Velvet Scoter sjøorre on Galtsøen which I considered a bit strange so late in June - still waiting for somewhere to thaw or given up and moving on? Plenty of birds about in general but few waders compared to previous years.

Golden Plover heilo in the churchyard in Engerdal

Roadside Hauk Owl haukugle

I had to work all day on 13.06 but a few minutes out produced singing Icterine Warbler gulsanger at Heggeriset. A Swallowtail butterfly in the garden was a nice surprise.

A few hours walking around the Hyllsjøen / Hundsjøen area on 14th June gave some good surprises with another Hawk Owl haukugle and a male Red-backed Shrike tornskate. These in addition to the usual suspects which included a few Siberian Jays lavskrike, at least five male Black Grouse orrfugl, singing Redsarts rødstjert and more. Once again, rather fewer waders than what I used to consider normal.

Red-backed Shrike tornskate

Siberian Jay lavskrike - uncropped!!

On 15.06 I was again not really out but a Mistle Thrush duetrost at Kvilten was nice to see. Lots of Goldeneye kvinand with young on the river at Heggeriset too.

Hare at Drevsjø

Mistle Thrush duetrost at Kvilten

Pied Flycatcher svarthvit fluesnapper at Drevsjø

On 16.06 I managed a pre work foray into the hills - Svarthammaren. Here singing Tree Pipits trepiplerke as I got out of the car, Ring Ousel ringtrost playing hard to get, a surprise Green Sandpiper skogsnipe (don't often see them so high up), several of the more expected Wood Sandpipers grønnstilk, singing Yellow Wagtails gulerle, Black-throated Diver storlom on the nest, Whimbrel småspove, Golden Plover heilo and more. 

Much more surprising was a Beaver, well above the treeline. Not sure what was going on there!

Beaver above the treeline

Black-throated Diver storlom trying to hide

Pictures heavily cropped - no way was I going closer to this bird that obviously had something important going on

Wood Sandpiper grønnstilk

A very smart Yellow Wagtail gulerle

The way home produced Garden Warbler hagesanger and a nice Golden Eagle kongeørn:)

The 17th June was the last full day in this wonderful area and I spent the morning doing my usual round of Galtsjøen, Isterfossen and Drevsjø along with a little side trip to Sorken.

37 Black-headed Gull hettemåke on Galtsjøen was quite a high number - but again a bit concerning as these birds should have been breeding somewhere at this time.

Isterfossen punched above its usual weight with a Herring Gull gråmåke (strange time to see an adult bird in Engerdal), Grey Wagtail vinterle, Icterine Warbler gulsanger and more.

Other birds seen during the morning included Slavonian Grebe horndykker, Red-throated Diver smålom and several Black-throated Diver storlom.

Herring Gull gråmåke at Isterfossen

Slavonian Grebe horndykker

A pre-breakfast walk on the last morning saw me on the edge of Kvisleflået. Just a couple of female Black Grouse orrfugl and a couple of singing Mistle Thrush duetrost of note.

xxx