Herdlevær 12 April 2022 - Mass Common Gull death

Calm and mild, light cloud cover.

In attempt to save time I aimed for a quick walk at Herdlevær. This went according to plan without any sightings of great interest, a newly arrived Wheatear steinskvett, increased numbers of Meadow Pipit heiplerke, a feeding Red-throated Diver smålom and my first local Wigeon brunnakke of the year.

One of a few White-tailed Eagles havørn seen at Herdlevær

Red-throated Diver smålom

A couple of hundred metres after I set off for home to get on with things I caught sight of a White-tailed Eagle havørn actually diving down to catch something - a relatively rare sight in itself despite seeing many every day. I stopped to see what was going on - it had caught a Common Gull fiskemåke. It is not often I see the eagles do anything other that scavenge or rob other creatures of their food. It was then I noticed several dead Common Gulls floating in the sea and more being eaten by Hooded Crows kråke and Raven ravn on the shore.

Fearing that Easter vistiors had shot the birds I went down to investigate. There was one badly injured bird still alive, several that had been dragged onto the shore and were well on the way to being eaten up and more floated, seemingly intact, close to shore. I managed to wade out and secure one which I put in my freezer for later investigation.

The cable which I suspect the unfortunate gulls flew into can just be seen crossing the sound here

at least the local scavengers are not going hungry anytime soon....

The dead birds floating in the sea seemed relatively unscathed

Whereas this poor individual surely had not much longer to live

The bird that got my attention to the whole thing - a Whitr-tailed Eagle havørn flying off with one of the gulls

Here several dead birds can be seen both on the shore and in the sea

Although very puzzling the only theory that makes any kind of sense is that a flock of migrating Common Gulls were spooked by something, a raptor or the sudden flaring of the Kollsnes gas flare and panicked - colliding en masse with a cable that crossed the sound. I have never experienced so many birds dying in this manner - normally it is just one of a flock that hits a cable. Very strange indeed.

Later in the afternoon a couple of newspapers contacted me (though goodness knows how they knew I had been there) and bang went the afternoon sorting out pictures and answering calls and emails.

A pod of Porpoises nise showed up off my terrace in the evening and later on a very quick trip out to investigate the earliest ever Greylag grågås chicks I have ever seen or heard about also produced roding Woodcock rugde and the usual evening birdsong.

Skogsøy 10 April 2018 - Another switch has been thrown

Calm and sunny during the morning, northerly breeze later.

Given the weather forecast combined with the dull and wet conditions of the last couple of days I somewhat predictably spent the first few hours of the day seawatching. Things went almost exactly as expected - a very decent passage of Common Gulls fiskemåke, the first Red-throated Diver smålom of the year and some Cormorant storskarv and Shag toppskarv migration. Over 3000 birds logged.

Migrating Common Gulls fiskemåke

Some gull flocks passed overhead - here with a lone Black-headed Gull hettemåke amongst them

Cormorants storskarv have started migrating now

Great Northern Diver islom on it's way north

Two of the three Linnets tornirisk seen during a drive-by at Herdlevær after the seawatching

Rock Pipit skjærpiplerke at the lookout point - obviously part of a pair that has settled in for the season

One of many southbound Shag toppskarv flocks today

Shelduck gravand pair. The white specks above and below them are instantly recognisable as distant Common Gulls fiskemåke

The Common Gulls fiskemåke passed at height and generally at long range, although some flocks passed overhead.

Other birds of note were a single Great Northern Diver islom and a couple of Shelduck gravand heading north.

Passerines were thin on the ground, though a few Skylark sanglerke passed overhead.

Woodcock rugde roding over my house again in the evening.

The totals for a little over three hours seawatching (07:00-10:10) were as follows:

Red throated Diver N	1
Great Northern Diver N	1
Northern Gannet S	5
Great Cormorant N	82
Great Cormorant S	2
Eurasian Shag N	4
Eurasian Shag S	190
Greylag Goose S	2
Shelduck N	2
Eider S	4
Common Scoter S	18
Merganser N	2
Merganser S	2
Oystercatcher N	8
Eurasian Curlew N	2
Black headed Gull N	4
Common Gull N	2790
Common Guillemot N	2
Auk N	1

The Shag toppskarv count was rather high for the time of year (normally this species passes in this kind of number earlier in the year). The very small numbers of Oystercatcher tjeld is perhaps surprising but there has been a lot of good migration weather of late and the peak is probably past. 

Skogsøy 19 April 2015 - More seawatching

Very light northerly winds at first, dropping off to nothing. Warm and sunny.

Another decent seawatch! Sat for just over five hours - and had company from 0700 until 0900 when yesterday's Crane's trane were refound at Tjeldstø, It would take more than that to get me to leave a good days migration so I sat it out.

 Oystercatcher tjeld numbers are dropping now

Part of a Red-throated Diver smålom flock

Some of the almost 1400 Common Gulls fiskemåke that headed north today

Migrating Shelduck gravand

Good numbers and a decent variety of stuff, nothing terribly special but a great morning all the same - almost 2000 birds on the move today!:

Red-throated Diver smålom: 249N
Gannet havsule: 5N, 1S
Cormorant storskarv: 125N, 5S
Shag toppskarv; 21N, 41S
Heron gråhegre: 1N
Shelduck gravand: 4N
Common Scoter svartand: 30N still alarmingly low numbers
Goldeneye kvinand: 3N, 1S
Merganser siland: 10N
Oystercatcher tjeld: 63N
Ringed Plover sandlo: 2N
Curlew storspove: 2N
Black-headed Gull hettemåke: 5N
Common Gull fiskemåke: 1375N
Razorbill alke: 4N

A couple of Rooks kornkråke flew over the "car park" on the way home.

Flocks of White-tailed Eagle havørn everywhere today.

Skogsøy 17 April 2015 - Diver migration picking up

Freash northerly wind again - but sitting sheltered from the wind in glorious sunshine it didn't feel cold

The first serious seawatch of the spring. Sat for getting on for five hours from 06:45 - and judging by the way the Common Gull fiskemåke passage I got there too late. I had more in the first 15 minutes than in the next hour - typical for this species.

Cormorant storskarv passage is reaching its peak

Above two: Common Gulls fiskemåke

 

Massively cropped record shot of three Shelduck gravand

Highlight was the first Black-throated Diver storlom of the year. A flock of Shelduck gravand were the first I've had in Øygarden this although they have been reported from both Skogsøy and Herdlevær earlier.

The only rarity was a Carrion Crow svartkråke seen flying out to sea.

Although still relatively early in the season there was a bit more variety today.


Some of the numbers:

Red-throated Diver smålom: 53N
Black-throated Diver storlom: 1N
Cormorant storskarv: 107N, 4S
Shag toppskarv: 6N, 77S
Shelduck gravand: 3N
Tufted Duck toppand: 2N first migrating birds of the year
Common Scoter svartand: 3N (normally into three figures at this time of year!)
Goldeneye kvinand: 8N
Merganser siland: 8N
Oystercatcher tjeld: 15N
Curlew storspove: 3N
Common Gull fiskemåke: 402N
Kittiwake krykkje: 1N
Guillemot lomvi: 1N
Razorbill alke: 1N
Puffin lomvi: 4N