Alvheim 25 February 2008

2cy Glaucous Gull polarmåke (above and below)


2cy Iceland Gull grønlandsmåke (ISO 800)
Immature White-tailed Eagle havørn

A superb day, despite several heavy showers. A concentration of gulls around a herring holding pen provided most of the interest with a second year Iceland Gull grønlandsmåke and a second year Glaucous Gull polarmåke present. A few dead gulls in the area proved that the three immature White-tailed Eagles havørn have also been making the most of this gull flock.

Another bird of note was a female Black Grouse orrfugl.

Tjeldstø 24 February 2008

Not out birding at all but a flock of 18 Starling stær on the telephone wires outside my house were new arrivals.

Alvheim 23 February 2008 - Seal

Little about birdwise other than a few distant White-tailed Eagles havørn. A Grey Seal, not an everyday sight in Øygarden, struggling with a Cod attracted the attentions of the local gulls.

A couple of Starling stær at Tjeldstø were new arrivals - landing on my roof and immediately bursting into song. A lone Greylag grågås on Husvatnet was another sign of spring.

Øygarden 22 February 2008

Red breasted Merganser siland fishing at Tjeldstø

Willow Tit granmeis at Hjelme

Bird of the day was a Merlin dvergfalk seen flying over the road at Nautnes. Otherwise good numbers of seaduck at Solberg having been forced inshore due to the mountainous seas. A few Velvet Scoter sjøorre were among the Eiders ærfugl and Long-tailed Ducks havelle here.

A Sparrowhawk spurvhauk at Tjeldstø was the first there for some time. A few flocks of Crossbill sp korsnebb still in the area too.

Some Willow Tits granmeis from last autumn's invasion still remain - a small flock fed beside the road at Hjelme.

Tjeldstø 20 February 2008 - Iceland Gull

Iceland Gull grønlandsmåke (2cy) at Tjeldstø

Fishing rather than birding today but the best catch was without doubt a 2cy Iceland Gull grønlandsmåke - this bird has been seen in the same place earlier in the month and may even be the bird first seen at the end of December. It looks as if this could be a repeat performance of last winter when a 2cy bird overwintered until April....

Click above picture for larger image

Hjelme Vest 19 February 2008

A very brief visit produced a Great Northern Diver islom on the sea, a Black guillemot teist , 10+ Purple Sandipiper fjæreplytt.and at least two White-tailed Eagle havørn. An adult Gannet havsule also passed by very close.

Tjeldstø 18 February 2008

Record shot of a female Bullfinch dompap taken one-handed through the sitting room window whilst talking on the phone

Best birds in a Tjeldstø / Øygarden context on this dull, wet but calm and mild day were a couple of Bullfinch dompap in my garden. A flock of 30+ Purple Sandpiper fjæreplytt and a couple of Rock Pipit skjærpiplerke also seen at Tjeldstø.

A brief look at Solberg produced little other than five Velvet Scoter sjøorre on the sea together with the usual seaduck. Obvious northbound movement of large gulls with flocks passing more or less continuously.

Skogsøy 16 February 2008

Common Scoters svartand at Skogsøy today
Lapwing vipe at Dåvøy

An uncharacteristically quiet day at Skogsøy with little of interest, just a Little Auk alkekonge and a White-tailed Eagle havørn or two.

At Dåvøy the first Lapwing vipe of the spring flew in from the west.....

Tjeldstø 14 February 2008

Two Goldfinch stillits at Tjeldstø

Mink at Dåvøy

Highlights on a bright but rather cold and windy day were three-four Goldfinch stillits at Tjeldstø where there were also at least six Starling stær.

No sign of the male Scaup bergand that has been reported recently at Dåvøy. Plenty of Merganser siland and Goldeneye kvinand there - some of them had a mild panic attack when a mink swam past them.

The flock of 36 Greylag grågås remains at Breivik.

Tjeldstø 30 January 2008

A rather pale Rock Pipit skjærpiplerke

Whooper Swan sangsvane
Purple Sandpiper fjæreplytt

In rapidly fading light I went out to try and find an interesting pipit that has been frequenting the area. It has been extremely hard to see and is very shy and does not use the shore at all, preferring some boggy areas and manure heaps. However, I failed to find it with certainty today - although it just might have been a rather pale Rock Pipit skjærpiplerke which looks rather different to the other wintering birds. At least one "normal" Rock Pipit was present in addition to the one pictured above.

Didn't really have time to check much else but also had a couple of Little Auk alkekonge, a Great Spotted Woodpecker flaggspett and a Purple Sandpiper fjæreplytt.

Amazingly I received a fairly detailed report of a Hoopoe hærfugl seen at Tjeldstø in early December!!

Tjeldstø 23 January 2008

Female Parrot Crossbill furukorsnebb

Its springtime!

Very much the same as of late, a WHite-tailed Eagle havørn, a Little Auk alkekonge, an overwintering Common Snipe enkeltbekkasin, a Rock Pipit skjærpiplerke and a small flock of Parrot Crossbills furukorsnebb.

A herd of 16 Whoopers sangsvane was the biggest thus far this winter and the first snowdrops of the year meant that is now springtime!

Øygarden 22 January 2008

Brambling bjørkefink
Tree Sparrow pilfink
2cy Whooper Swan sangsvane

Lovely weather but uncharacteristically quiet birdwise. At Hjelme Vest several White-tailed Eagles havørn, a Black Guillemot teist and yet again almost no Eider ærfugl at all. This may be due to the Server oilspill which happened just over a year ago.

In the garden 10 Tree Sparrow pilfink and a couple of Brambling bjørkefink.

Skogsøy 20 January 2008

Conditions far from pleasant with strong onshore winds and several heavy showers. Consequently birds were few and far between. The only things of note were a Gannet havsule, 10 Kittiwake krykkje and a few Little Auk alkekonge. A Curlew storpove fed in grassland near the "carpark".

At Breivik the flock of 36 Greylags grågås were still present and two Starling stær nearby were the first I've seen in Øygarden this year-

Hjelme Vest 18 January 2008

A Cormorant storskarv turned up whilst I was watching the otters
The Hooded Crow kråke actually managed to steal part of this fish! It pestered the otter constantly forcing it to move and expose the fish to the crow who used the opportunity to steal a beakful of fish.

A trip to Hjelme Vest was a wonderful experience, although nothing remarkable bird-wise. A Great Northern Diver islom, a Little Auk alkekonge and a Curlew storpsove were the best birds. Only 45 Long-tailed Duck havelle, a Velvet Scoter sjøorre and four Common Scoter svartand on the sea, along with at least four White-tailed Eagle havørn.

The highlight was a party of three otters fishing. A very bold crow seemed wary but not scared of the otters, in fact the otters tried to get away from the antagonistic bird. Things got worse when some gulls got in on the act, a Herring gull gråmåke also managed to steal a small fish from one of them and when a Great Black-backed Gull svartbak turned up I didn't see the otters again....

A small pod of pilot whales numbering three or four animals were seen in the same place.

Elsewhere I managed a surprise flock of five Bullfinch dompap - usually not easy to see this species in Øygarden.

Øygarden 17 January 2008

Terrible pictures of the Little Grebes dvergdykker at Rong

Checked up on a few sites today. The best sighting was two Little Grebes dvergdykker at Rong, at least one of these birds has been present since the New Year bird race and two were sighted there some days ago.

The Greylag grågås flock at Breivik remains in the same fields but only 23 counted today - although it is probable that a some of them were hidden from view.

Other stuff worth noting included a couple of Common Snipe enkeltbekkasin, 15+ Purple sandpipers fjæreplytt, a Red-throated Diver smålom and a Little Auk alkekonge at Tjeldstø. A flock of at least 45 Purple Sanpipers fjæreplytt was at Solberg.

Six Tree Sparrow pilfink in my garden is somewhat lower than in normal winters, hope they are not disappearing from Tjeldstø too.....

Tjeldstø 04 January 2008

A brief foray out of the house in the afternoon produced a flock of six Goldfinch stillits and a Common Snipe enkeltbekkasin on one of the few unfrozen areas of marsh.

Øygarden 03 January 2008

Male Long-tailed Duck havelle

One of around 15 White-tailed Eagles havørn seen during the day

One of the Otters oter seen today

Long-tailed Ducks havelle

"Flock" of Curlew storspove at Lyngøy

Spent the day out in a boat checking gull flocks; unsurprisingly no new oiled birds were seen. The majority of the victims will of course be dead by now.

It was a fantastic experience with plenty to be seen including several each of Velvet Scoter sjøorre and Black Guillemot teist. Only a few Little Auk alkekonge and no other auks at all.

Highlight was a Glaucous Gull polarmåke at Tjeldstø, quite possibly the same bird seen on the other side of the fjord at Herdla a few days ago.

Tjeldstø 02 January

Red-throated Diver smålom

Decent Cod torsk - worth not getting good pictures of the diver?

Common Gull fiskemåke

Went fishing instead of birding and ended up in a real dilemma - take decent pictures of a Red-throated Diver smålom OR land a big fish. A diver swam past at reasonable range whilst I was struggling with a fair sized Cod but I was faced with the choice of running for the camera or losing the fish.

The diver looked very different at different angles, other photos show a much steeper forhead and a more prominent white flank patch (or none at all!) - shows how much variation there is with these sometimes difficult species

I went for the fish and had to settle for record shots of the diver at long range. A Common Gull fiskemåke, a Herring Gull gråmåke with a deformed bill and an unidentified small raptor were among other birds seen. No binoculars didn't help......

Øygarden 01 Jaunuary 2008

Whooper Swan sangsvane near Alvheim
Black Redstart svartrødstjert at Sture
Purple Sandpipers fjæreplytt at Solberg

Kicked the year off very slowly, little more than a few "drive-bys", the Black Redstart svartrødstjert was still there but just a flighty and shy as previously.

A flock of 60 Purple Sandpipers fjæreplytt at Solberg was the biggest thus far this winter and there was a light passage of Little Auks alkekonge down Hjeltefjord (15 in about half an hour). The 34 Greylags grågås at Breivik are still there and have still not tempted anything "better" to join them....

Otherwise just the usual Tree Sparrow pilfink etc in the garden.