Monday, October 14, 2024

Oslo 19.09-23.0.2024 - Urban/Eastern Birding

After being stuck inside for a couple of weeks even Oslo delivered:)

A walk close to the city centre on 19 September gave a few nice species including Nutcracker nøttekråke, several Hawfinch kjernebiter, a Grey Wagtail vintererle, Blackcap munk and Treecreeper trekryper.


Grey Wagtail vintererle in downtown Oslo

On 21 September I made it out to Gressholmen where the best bird was a Lapland Bunting lappsurv. A decent  variety of other species were seen either on the island or migrating over. Frustratingly a White-tailed Eagle havørn headed south over Nesodden and did not pass over the islands:)

A late-ish Greenshank gluttsnipe and a Goosander laksand at Lindøya were among the other sightings.

The next day a walk from Snippen and into Maridalen was typically rather dead but a huge flock of finches near Sander Gård contained several species - impossible to count but there were in total at least several hundred birds. A Black-throated Diver storlom on the lake and a Black Woodpecker svartspett at Hammaren were the two birds that saved the day. Interestingly I had six Common Crossbill grankorsebb feeding on pine cones in a lone tree in the city centre early in the day.

On 23 September migrants over downtown Oslo included a flock of 150 Pinkfeet kortnebbgås and a few Meadow Pipits heipiplerke.

Tuesday, October 08, 2024

Norwegian Sector 04-18 September 2024 - North Sea Medley

A couple of weeks offshore in the southern Norwegian sector.

Didn't even get outside for the first few days and very little time spent on deck in general. 

I first made it outside on 07 September not far from Knarr, a Wheatear steinskvett, a Common Redstart rødstjert and a Kestrel tårnfalk all showed up. This proved to be the best day for migrants onboard for the entire trip.

Kestrel tårnfalk

Redstart rødstjert

Wheatear steinskvett

The next day near Snorre A several Wheatear steinskvett, a White Wagtail linerle and another passerine that evaded identification were onboard.

Gullfaks C

Snorre A

Wheatear steinskvett

The next several days were spent close to various Gullfaks platforms - no migrants but at times good numbers of seabirds. On 12 September a pod of Pilot Whales grindhval gave some good views.

Gullfaks A


Fulmar havhest

Great Black-backed Gulls svartbak

Gullfaks B





Fulmar havhest





GBBG svartbak



Pilot Whales grindhval



Towards the end of the trip Minke Whales vågehval were seen a few times and a Convolvulus Hawk Moth rested on the helideck for most of the day on 16 September.

Minke Whale "blow" next to a fishing vessel

The two big industries in the North Sea side by side....

Common Gull fiskemåke

Convolvulus Hawk Moth vindelsvermer

Sunday, October 06, 2024

Øygarden 31.08-03.09.2024 - Back to normal

On my return from Falsterbo it was straight into a couple of days of guiding.

An afternoon on Herdla on 31 August gave most of the usual suspects. Highlights were a couple of Black-tailed Godwit svarthalespove and at least two Curlew Sandpiper tundrasnipe. Surprise bird was a Whooper Swan sangsvane - no doubt the same bird that has frequented Tjeldstø recently.

Good numbers and a nice variety of other waders were seen including a couple each of Knot polarsnipe and Turnstone steinvender


Dunlin myrsnipe

Two Knot polarsnipe and a Dunlin myrsnipe

Mixed flock of waders including two Curlew Sandpipers tundrasnipe, two Knot polarsnipe, Ruff brushane and Dunlin myrsnipe

The next day was a full day out in Øygarden and we kicked off from my terrace with Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett calling. A walk at Herdlevær produced significantly more species than at Herdla the previous day with the best bird being a Merlin dvergfalk. During the day a noticeable passage of Greylags grågås heading south. Passerines of note included a Stonechat svartstrupe, Whinchat buskskvett and Common Crossbills grankorsnebb. Best bird of the day in a local context was a Black-throated Diver storlom on the sea at Tjeldstø. A few White-tailed Eagle havørn  and a good variety of early autumn migrants were also seen.

On 02 September the Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett once again made its presence known from the terrace and an early Grey Wagtail vinterle fed on the shore in front of my house. Also from my terrace an Otter put in an appearance. 

Sunset from the terrace

Early morning view from the terrace

A large spider living on my terrace

The next day was spent preparing for an offshore trip with little time in the field. Best birds were a Kestrel tårnfalk at Husvatnet and a few Wigeon brunnakke at Kollsnes.

Kestrel tårnfalk at Husvatnet 03 September


Saturday, October 05, 2024

Falsterbo 25-28 August 2024 - Back to my roots / where it all went wrong

A few days at Falsterbo were just brilliant! This was a timely reminder of just how good this place is for birding.

It was here, some decades ago that my interest in birding really kicked off. Staying at the observatory and being invited to join the ringers at Flommen and joining the counters at Nabben were one of three pivotal happenings in my birding career. This time around I met up with some of the key players who enabled this and also met up with the new counters who are probably the best birders in Europe.

The thing with Falsterbo and especially Nabben is that you are exposed to a huge variety of species. As a teenager I wanted to be those people who seemed to be able to pick up absolutely everything. Nothing much has changed there and Falsterbo is still the place to be during the autumn migration. 

The social side of birding, at least at the heath was also great - meeting birders from Denmark, Germany, Netherlands and other places was just part of the Falsterbo charm. I've never understood why British birders seem to be so under represented here. It is really an advantage to know bird names in multiple advantages here!

We arrived on the morning of 25.08 with fresh southerlies and showers. Mostly a social day but the walk down the coast towards the lighthouse brought back many happy memories with flocks of Tree Pipits trepiplerke and Yellow Wagtails gulerle passing over continuously. A few Green Sandpiper skogsnipe on the pools along the golf course / Flommen were an added bonus along with Avocets avosett and many other species of wader. Wheatears steinskvett and White Wagtails linerle fed along the shore and a small number of raptors including a few Honey Buzzard  vespevåk passed overhead.

A brief session on the heath produced Hen Harrier myrhauk, Marsh Harrier sivhauk, White-tailed Eagle havørn, Ospreys fiskeørn and more.

The next day was another "warm up" day with a lazy morning followed by a period on the heath. A male Montagu's Harrier enghauk, over 40 Honey Buzzards vespevåk, a dozen or so Marsh Harrier sivhauk, Great White Egret egretthegre, several Osprey fiskeørn, Peregrine vandrefalk, good numbers of Sparrowhawk spurvehauk and Kestrel tårnfalk and more.

Marsh Harrier sivhauk

Hornet and Red Admiral at the heath

A brief look at the pools to the north produced Spotted Redshank sotsnipe, Avocets avosett, Little Grebe dvergdykker and the usual selection of wildfowl including Shoveler skjeand and Pintail stjertand. All good birds back on the home turf:)


On 27 August I was up bright at early and headed to Nabben before dawn. Just incredible for a birder based in western Norway:) The variety of feeding waders and wildfowl was worth it before anything else happened (75 Avocet avosett, Temminck's Stint temminkssnipe, Curlew Sandpiper tundrasnipe etc etc). Highlights included Caspian Terns rovterne, Caspian Gull kaspimåke, Arctic Skua tyvjo, Ortulan Bunting hortulan, , a couple of Pallid Harrier steppehauk (including a nice male), Red Kites glente, Black Woodpecker svartspett, Honey Buzzards vespevåk, Merlin dvergfalk and much, much more. Thousands of Tree Pipit trepiplerke and Yellow Wagtail gulerle passed over along with good numbers of hirundines and even a Black Woodpecker svartspett put in an appearance.

After Nabben I headed to the heath where among other things I had several White-tailed Eagle havørn, 20+ Red Kite glente, a couple of Black Kite svartglente, 30+ Osprey fiskemåke, a few Common Buzzard musvåk, three Hobby lerkefalk, a male Montagu's Harrier enghauk, Stonechat svartstrupe and tons more. Just fantastic!!

Numbers from the Falsterbo observatory website here although this does not include resting birds.

Avocet avosett

Black Woodpecker svartspett on the move

Carrion Crow svartkråke

Caspian Tern rovterne

Hobby lerkefalk

Honey Buzzard vespevåk

The lighthouse at dawn

Sunrise at Nabben

Osprey fiskeørn

Red Kite glente


Shoveler skjeand



Sparrowhawk spurvehauk

The next day I was predictably back at Nabben before the sun came up. Another excellent morning with Caspian Tern rovterne, hundreds of Sparrowhawk spurvehauk, a breif glimpse of a Tawny Pipit markpiplerke picked up by the counters. Once again a good variety of waders, wildfowl, raptors and passerines. It was hard to leave....

I didn't really make an effort to count, just enjoyed the spectacle:

From the Falsterbo Observatory website for 28 August:


Honey Buzzard vespevåk

An unusual species at Nabben - a couple of House Sparrow gråspurv suddenly turned up

Sparrowhawk spurvehauk

Several flocks of Tree Sparrow pilfink seemed to be trying to migrate but often came back north again after a short time