Skogsøy 21 March 2015 - Migration warming up nicely!

Light NE winds and sunny.

It just had to be a good day today - with rain yesterday stopping things there should have been a surge of stuff today - and there was - with almost 1300 birds passing in a little over three hours.

The mainstay was predictably Oystercatcher tjeld but also Common Gulls fiskemåke are starting to move. Highlight was a near adult Iceland Gull grønlandsmåke, Other birds of note were the first migrating Red-throated Diver smålom, Curlew storspove and Black-headed Gull hettemåke of the year. Auks put on the best show of the year thus far - still pathetic when compared to previous years.

It is a well-known fact that Cormorants storskarv "stall" or "tower" - but I don't remember seeing Shags toppskarv doing this before - here a mixed bunch "stalling".

Curlew storspove overhead

Greylags grågås

Iceland Gull grønlandsmåke - it looked better in the scope - honest!

One of the many Oystercatcher tjeld flocks today

Rook kornkråke

One of several White-tailed Eagles havørn of various ages seen at Skogsøy today. This bird appears to be in its fourth calender year.

Some numbers:
Red-throated Diver smålom N 2
Gannet havsule N 12
Cormorant storskarv N 64
Shag toppskarv N 41, S 109
Greylag grågås N 41
Oystercatcher tjeld N 608
Curlew storspove N 3 (and another couple seemingly getting territorial)
Black-headed Gull hettemåke N 2
Common Gull fiskemåke N 275
Guillemot lomvi N 1 - very sadly this was the first of the year actually identified
Razorbill alke N 8
Little Auk alkekonge N 8
Puffin lunde N 2

The only passerines of note were two Snow Bunting snøspurv heading north and a Rook kornkråke by the "car park".

Second year Glaucous Gull polarmåke at Tjeldstø

I had to fill petrol and stop by the shops at Tjeldstø - this produced a Glaucous Gull polarmåke - perhaps the same bird reported a few days ago?

Back home a Golden Eagle kongeørn from the terrace was the best of the bunch.

Nautnes 12 March 2015 - Incidental birding

Woke up to glorious sunny and calm weather.

With a mildly-put hectic morning any birding was at best incidental. But this being Øygarden means that all was not lost.

My morning coffee on the terrace produced a singing Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett and a fly-over Woodpigeon ringdue.

Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett

Amazingly, after not seeing any local GH Woodpecker for a few months  I got out of the car at Bakken to pick up one of my daughters at school and had another singing bird on a telegraph pole. A Great-spotted Woodpecker flaggspett sat on a nearby pole.

Elsewhere a couple of Mistle Thrush duetrost were reported from Skjold.

Skogsøy 11 March 2015 - First migration seawatch of the year

Light south-easterly winds and sunny with it.

Cormorants storskarv heading north

One of the Oystercatcher tjeld flocks that passed

White-tailed Eagle havørn are something we almost take for granted here but this cracker came right past....

Lovely weather meant that a trip to Skogsøy was a must do. It is still slightly early for big numbers of stuff but chances to get to Skogsøy early on must be taken....

A few hours seawatching from 0800-1100 produced some movement of the usual early spring migrants:

Snow Bunting snøspurv N 4+
Oystercatcher tjeld N 126
Shag toppskarv N 17 , S 124
Cormorant storskarv N 14
Eider ærfugl N 4, S 24
Greylag grågås N 2, S 2
Merganser siland S 5

In addition there were quite a lot of Gannet havsule milling around and a few Kittiwake krykkje koncking about. Several auks (Guillemot/Razorbill) flew north but were very distant.

Another very important reason that it was Skogsøy today was that I met some people who are keen to build a seawatching hide and are planning the details. There has been talk about this on and off for many years and hopes have been raised before. However, this time seems different and we can but cross our fingers and hope that something will come of it this time.

Tjeldstø 10 March 2015 - Short but sweet

Gale force onshore winds with occasional short showers.

Rook kornkråke at Harkestad

No time to be out and about once again so it was the trip to the shops that saved the day - a Rook kornkråke was the bird of the day at Harkestad where there was also a flock of around 60 Starling stær. The Rook was the first I've seen in Øygarden this year and although this species is pretty much annual here and the majority of records are spring sightings this bird was rather early.

A brief walk at Tjeldstø produced a Gannet havsule over Hjeltefjord and a further increase in Greylag grågås numbers - now at least 45 present.

View at Solberg today

A quick stop at Solberg produced nothing much out of the ordinary but 50 Eider ærfugl had been forced into this (relatively!) sheltered bay, there was a flock of approximately 40 Long-tailed Duck havelle and 12 Fieldfare gråtrost here too.

A ridiculous crop of 440 pixels from DSLR + 400mm telephoto lens

440 pixels from the centre of a shot taken with a compact superzoom.

Although the contrast may not be as good as the DSLR the image is pretty impressive.

With my DSLR probably on its last legs this may soon be my main camera - and it certainly does the job regarding stuff that is not moving too quickly....

This image is itself heavily cropped from a landscape image taken with the compact superzoom. I cropped it because otherwise the circle around the bird would have been meaningless - these were very distant shots indeed!

I stopped at the most regular and accessible breeding site for Ringed Plover sandlo on the way home and found one bird present - another first for the year. 

Hjelme Vest 09 March 2015 - Oystercatcher influx

Southerly winds and decent enough weather.

No time to be out in any meaningful way today - just a quick walk with the dog at Hjelme Vest. Once again rather quiet with the only new stuff being an increase in Oystercatcher tjeld numbers - 22 were resting on the islands here. Otherwise just a flock of approximately 60 Long-tailed Duck havelle, a White-tailed Eagle havørn and the usual suspects.

More Greylags grågås obviously arriving daily with numbers up again on Husvatnet, Tjeldstø and turning up at other places including Nautnes where the first Chaffinch bokfink since early January turned up in the garden.

Herdlevær 08 March 2015 - Also on the right side of the country

Light westerlies becoming progressively sunnier throughout the day.

'

Record shot of the Moorehen - cropped from the already cropped version below where the bird just about be seen in the left-hand side of the picture.

First stop was Blomvatnet where the long-staying Moorehen sivhøne gave itself up. This bird may well have chosen to move to Øygarden from Oslo (or somewhere else in the east of the country). Fascinating stuff that a colour ringed bird in Bergen has been seen in Oslo in the breeding season. More info on this here.

At Herdlevær the only new birds seen on the usual walk were a small flock of Meadow Pipits heipiplerke flying over.

A brief look at Tjeldstø showed increases in the number of Lapwing vipe and Greylags grågås in as well as a small flock of Oystercatcher tjeld and a fly-over Skylark sanglerke. Other stuff here inlcuded a flock of around 40 Fieldfare gråtrost.

At least 70 Starling stær at Breivik and a Woodpigeon ringdue at Oen was further evidence that stuff is arriving.

Tjeldstø 07 March 2015 - Finally on the right side of the country?

Overcast with strong southerly winds.

Second cy Glaucous Gull polarmåke

A trip to the shops produced the bird of the day - a second year Glaucous Gull polarmåke. As I have been in the east of Norway (and the UK for that matter) it seems white-winged gulls are being seen "everywhere" that I am not. Good to be back where these things are possible....

Having said that the east of Norway produced some stuff I will never see here in Øygarden - including Siberian Jay lavskrike and Hazel Grouse jerpe.

Two of the Greylags grågås at Tjeldstø today

Two of four adult Whoopers sangsvane

Second year Whooper sangsvane - typically for the time of year this bird was no longer with the adults

A walk at Tjeldstø produced little new but there was a flock of 10 Lapwing vipe, 11 Greylag grågås and several Whoopers sangsvane present.

Larger flocks of Starling stær were seen at a few places today.

I used the Glaucous Gull polarmåke to do something of a comparison between my latest compact superzoom and my usual DSLR + 400mm lens setup. A new page is under construction for this - in the meantime the comparison between my previous superzoom can be viewed here.

All the following pictures have just been resized for web viewing unless otherwise stated:

Superzoom pics:

Lanscape mode

Slightly zoomed in to see the gull flock

A bit more zoom...Glaucous Gull now visible in centre...

Fully zoomed in.

....and with some cropping - good result

And now the DSLR + 400mm telephoto lens:

Cropped image

Uncropped version from which the above image was taken.

Øygarden 23 February 2015 - More new in

Southerly winds, largely sunny after 10:00.

Two male Tufted Duck toppand

A errand to the southern end of Øygarden resulted in two male Tufted Duck toppand on Nordlavatnet - this locality is probably the best place to catch up with this species during the winter months in Øygarden.

Also stopped at Blomvatnet where a Moorehen sivhøne was seen yesterday but there was no sign of it.

Elswhere a lone Greylag grågås at Blomvåg and a pair beside Husvatnet, Tjeldstø were obviously new arrivals.

At another locality a number of White-tailed Eagle havørn pellets showed them to be eating large gulls - several pellets were found which all largely consisted of gull feathers. Perhaps they are collected gulls caught in netting around one of the local fish farms?

Skogsøy 22 February 2015 - First Puffin of the year

Bright and sunny with light onshore winds.

The local Ravens ravn are getting territorial

Spent an hour seawatching with the highlight being the first Puffin lunde of the year heading north. A single Little Auk alkekonge flew south and a few more unidentified auks passed in the distance. Migration was limited to several flocks of southbound Shags toppskarv. At least 20 Gannet havsule fed offshore.

Best bird was at least one, probably two Little Grebes dvergdykker on the lagoons to the south.

Ono 21 February 2015 - Another new in + Northern Lights

Southerly with wintery showers, but largely bright and more or less sunny.

The Northern Lights put on quite a show again last night - I'm going to have to get a landscape lens as well as make some changes to my technique...

Started off the day quite nicely with a Great Northern Diver islom flying past the house whilst making breakfast. Species #35 from the garden so far this year....

Today's walk was a Ono where the highlights were two Meadow Pipits heipiplerke - probably overwintering birds rather than migrants although it is far from each winter I see them here. A decent roost of 30+ Herons gråhegre and at least four White-tailed Eagles havørn also here.

Nine Lapwing vipe at Tjeldstø may have been the same flock seen a couple of days back.

Herdlevær 20 February 2015 - Patch ticks

Largely reasonable weather but strong southerlies and heavy showers at times.

No new Øygarden species for the year today but plenty of "patch ticks" here and there along with some decent sightings.

Above: perfect spot for a lunch break if it hadn't been for the rain.

A couple of the Whoopers sangsvane present at Herdlevær today

Above: Further signs of spring - crocuses are now in flower and the snowdrops have been out for about a month now.

Managed a couple of hours at Herdlevær where the weather dealt me a bad card just at what I had hoped would be the most interesting bit. However, a female Velvet Scoter sjøorre, a few Whooper Swans sangsvane, an Oystercatcher tjeld which behaved as if it was new in and an increase in the numbers of Starling stær were of interest. A Purple Sandpiper fjæreplytt fed well "inland" - in habitat more suited to plovers - it takes a lot to rock these hardy waders

A flock of Lapwing vipe and more Starling stær were seen near the parking area for Skogsøy.

Back home at Nautnes I had four new for the year's house list  all during enforced breaks during some software updates - it helps to look out of the window or take a coffee outside once in a while. Highlight of the day was a Merlin dvergfalk that had a go at some Greenfinch grønnfink in the garden. Other patch (read "house") year ticks included as couple of migrating Oystercatcher tjeld and a few Gannet havsule.

Tjeldstø 19 February 2015 - It's spring!

Southerly winds, overcast and mild.

The first Lapwings vipe of the year

Not out in any meaningful way at all but a trip to the shops produced a few bits and bobs including one of the first official signs of sping - a flock of 10 Lapwing vipe.

There were other indications of spring movement with small flocks of Starling stær at Tjeldstø, Harkestad and Nautnes. At the latter location an Oystercatcher tjeld may also have been a new arrival - the timing is spot on for the first migrants but it could conceivably have been an overwintering bird.

Another sign of spring was that the crocuses in my garden have started to flower.

Øygarden 04 February 2015 - Freezing conditions = Water Rail

Very calm and sunny.

The cold weather continues with temperatures dropping below freezing at night. Although it was wonderful to be out and about in the fantastic weather there was nothing out of the ordinary at Herdlevær today - just the usual selection of duck on the sea and a single Black Guillemot teist.

Bird of the day was a roadside Water Rail vannrikse at Alvheim during an evening trip to the shops. The bird was very vocal which made it easy to locate.

Hjelme Vest 02 February 2015 - Finally something on the sea!

Calm and sunny!

There was much more on the sea today than on my previous visit with the highlight being a Red-throated Diver smålom, there was also a Great Northern Diver islom, several Black Guillemot teist and approximately 80 Long-tailed Duck havelle. Small numbers of Purple Sandpiper fjæreplytt but no other waders present today.

In the woods a Great-spotted Woodpecker flaggspett, a few Crested Tit toppmeis and a difficult crossbill which I put down as a large-billed Common Crossbill grankorsnebb.

A drive-by at Dåvøy 42 Heron gråhegre at the regular roost.

Ono, Rong 01 February 2015 - Snow Bunting and Northern Lights

Clear and sunny with a northerly breeze

Ono was generally fairly quiet with just the small numbers of the usual species of duck and a few White-tailed Eagles havørn. However, a nice male Snow Bunting snøspurv was a nice surprise and gave cracking views.

Above and below - male Snow Bunting snøspurv

I'd left my proper camera in the car (!) and only had my latest "point and pray" to hand - the results were surprisingly good....

Northern Lights nordlyset as seen from my living room last night

Last night the same camera was used to take a few pictures from my terrace at Nautnes - with the slowest possible shutter speed I could manage (8"). I've yet to find out about all the functions - better luck next time perhaps?