Guiding 17-23.05.2026 - Road trips

Norway's national day was spent at Herdla once the local parade had been watched. The target species here were Velvet Scoter sjøorre and Golden Plover heilo both of which performed well. A couple of late Long-tailed Duck havelle were still present too along with a few Barnacle Geese hvitkinngås and a Pinkfoot kortnebbgås. For me a lone Ruddy Turnstone steinvender was probably the best bird here. The Lapwings vipe had lots of young running around and the other local breeding waders showed well too.

After this we managed great views of a few Nutcracker nøttekråke.

Nutcracker nøttekåke. Photo by Mel Hafting

We did Øygarden on 18th May where Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett played hard to get but eventually gave nice views in the afternoon. A very brief Rosefinch rsenfink was bird of the day for me. White-tailed Eagle havørn did not perform as well as they have been doing with just a distant 3cy flying and an adult or near adult sitting at slightly better range.

At Hellesøy a couple of Great Northern Diver islom on the sea along with a couple of Black Guillemot teist and a few Shag toppskarv (also a target species this time around). Cuckoo gjøk, Snipe enkeltbekkasin, lots of Wheatear steinskvett and most of the usual suspects turned up.

Woodcock rugde were seen roding from the terrace each evening.

The morning of 19th was spent at Hordamuseet in Bergen where at least three Hawfinch kjernebiter showed well and a good variety of woodland species showed with Blackcaps munk, Pied Flycatcher svarthvit fluesnapper and many more present.

A rather poor photo of one of at least three Hawfinch kjernebiter present

A visit to Radøy on 20th gave great views of a pair of Green Woodpecker grønnspett visiting a hole. Another target species present here was a pair of Marsh Tit løvmeis - a rarity out in Øygarden but a lot commoner just inland:) A Swift tårnseiler flying over here was the first I've seen this year.

Frustratingly a calling woodpecker sounded very much like White-backed (softer than the GSW we heard and saw) but did not give views good enough to confirm ID

Green Woodpecker grønnspett at Kjenes

We popped back to Hordamuseet on the way home and found two Tawny Owls kattugle roosting, one "normal" rusty bird and another rather greyer.

Tawny Owls kattugle, Bergen

White-tailed Eagle havørn with mackerell flying past my terrace

On the way home a 2cy Rook kornkråke had us head scratching for a bit at Breivik but scope views and photos clinched things in the end.

On 21st we headed up to the Hardangervidda. A stop at Garen produced lots of birds but none of the target species. A couple of Crane trane, several Wood Sandpiper grønnstilk were the best birds alongside Yellow Wagtails gulerle, Red-throated Diver smålom, Meadow Pipits heipiplerke, Common Sandpiper strandsnipe, Redshank rødstilk and Wheatears steinskvett.

Dyranut gave a couple of Shorelark fjellerke and a flyover male Hen Harrier myrhauk as best birds. A distant Ring Ousel ringtrost sang from the cliffs here. A couple more Shorelark fjellerke were at Tråstølen and the commoner waders showed up at various places (Dunlin myrsnipe, Golden Plover heilo, Ringed Plover sandlo and Redshank rødstilk)

Halne produced at least Great Snipe dobbeltbekkasin as well as Bluethroats blåstrupe, Ring Ousel ringtrost, a Common Snipe enkeltbekkasin and the usual.

Great Snipe dobbeltbekkasin showing the distinct white tips to the wing coverts (other features were seen but not photographed)

The next morning it was more of the same with at least one Great Snipe dobbeltbekkassin, several Bluethroat blåstrupe, Willow Grouse lirype, various waders and more. Most of 22.05 went to driving to Engerdal but some roadside birds were seen including a Siberian Jay lavskrike on Golsfjellet.

Singing Bluethroat blåstrupe at Halne

The 23rd was dedicated to Engerdal where Siberian Jay lavskrike showed well at one of the usual spots. Driving the roads during a period of rain was not very productive but a pair of Black Grouse orrfugl showed well as did Tree Pipit trepiplerke and some other species. After the rain a walk in the woods gave a nice female Capercaille storfugl and a couple of singing Mistle Thrushes duetrost.

Pied Flycatcher svarthvit fluesnapper, Common Redstart rødstjert, Brambling bjørkefink and Yellow Wagtails gulerle were seen at a number of localities.

A brief stop at Galtsjøen produced three Velvet Scoter sjøorre, five Common Scoter svartand and a pair of Great Scaup bergand.

My morning drive also gave a roadside Black Woodpecker svartspett, Sibe Jay lavskrike, Moose and more.

Øygarden 08-16 May 2026 - Family first

My better half made it over for the best part of a week and my oldest daughter suddenly made it over too💗 So birding continued but not at quite the same pace.

On 8th May I covered several localities without anything surprising. Migrants obviously continue to arrive and Common Sandpiper strandsnipe were suddenly "everywhere" even though some have been present for weeks. Cuckoo gjøk also turning up at more and more places.

Male Teal krikkand on Husvatnet

The next day the birding gods deemed it fit to present the Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett in exactly the spot I failed to see it during the previous guiding trips. I had started to think they had moved on.....

The male Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett showed well again on 10th May too and even drummed on a streetlight (although street is way too big a word in this context). The first Lesser Whitethroat møller of the year turned up nearby (a very late first arrival around here - they are normally present before the end of April)). A Greenshank gluttsnipe at Sæle was a surprise find - not often they show up at this locality in the spring. More Common Whitethroat tornsanger were singing and my first local singing Blackcap munk (!!) too. Small numbers of Common Crossbill grankorsnebb around too - must be breeding.

Male Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett

..and striking a Wryneck pose

Greenshank gluttsnipe at Sæle

Lesser Whitethroat møller at Hjelme

On 11th May it was time for another trip to Skogsøy. This resulted in one of the poorest spring seawatches in history with just two White-billed Divers gulnebblom and a male Scaup bergand saving the day - the latter species is no longer even annual on direct migration like this. A second year Great Northern Diver islom fed on the sea moving rapidly south with each dive

Arctic Terns rødnebbterne

Juvenile Gannets havsule starting to be more numerous now

Just about record shot of the male Scaup bergand

Obligatory White-billed Diver gulnebblom image

After this a female Pied Flycatcher svarthvit fluesnapper at Hjelme was the first I've seen in Øygarden this year. Still plenty of White-tailed Eagles havørn to see.

On13th May the best sightings were a Whinchat buskskvett at Nautnes where I also had Twite bergirisk, Whimbrel småspove and a good selection of finches which are now going through around 3kg of sunflower seed per day. Stonechat svartstrupe were seen at two breeding localities:)

A lone Barnacle Goose hvitkinngås turned up on Husvatnet on 14th May.

Woodcock rugde still roding over the woods near my house on calm evenings.

Hernar 07 May 2026 - Last minute save

Hopes were not high to start with given the weather over the previous couple of days. But the island failed to deliver even on this. There were virtually no migrants present at all. Several Willow Warbler løvsanger and a few Chiff-chaff gransanger were the only warblers seen during the morning.

Several new species for the Hernar 2026 list turned up with a displaying Common Sandpiper strandsnipe, a migrating Whimbrel småspove, flyover Siskin grønnsisik, a distant flock of Barnacle Geese hvitkinngås and a Common Tern makrellterne fishing in the harbour.

Overall there was less activity than my first visit back in late April.

Having given up and headed back to catch the boat home some Ravens ravn suddenly flew up alarming and unexpectedly a relatively young Golden Eagle kongeørn turned up rather than the expected White-tailed Eagle havørn. A new species for the island according to the national database and always a good bird to see in Øygarden anyway. Result! The morning was saved at the last minute:)

Back on the "mainland" migrants were in fact around - a nice male Whinchat buskskvett was more or less the first bird seen as we got off the boat.

Common Terns makrellterne are suddenly back with several at Dåvøy, a couple at Nautnes and three at Hellesøy. 

Nautnes produced Greenshank gluttsnipe, displaying Snipe enkeltbekkasin, roding Woodcock rugde and the usual.

A nice flock of hirundines at Husvatnet consisted largely of Swallows låvesvale but there were at least four Sand Martins sandsvale and a House Martin taksvale present too. The two Whoopers sangsvane remained on Rotevatnet.

Common Terns makrellterne at Dåvøy

Common Tern makrellterne at Hellesøy

Whinchat buskskvett at Hellesøy

Early morning Red Deer hjort

Skogsøy 06 May 2026 - Flying high

I heard my first Sedge Warbler sivsanger of the year on the way to Skogsøy. Cuckoo gjøk now being heard at more places.

Lighter winds than of late but feeling rather chilly and anything other than spring-like.

Passage seemed a bit slow, at least to start with and with quite a lot of stuff flying high and further out - typical for non-northerly wind situations. Red-throated Diver migration typcially picked up somewhat during the last couple of hours Highlights were a pale phase Pomarine Skua polarjo - also high up but thankfully not too far out and the first Great Skua storjo of the season.

A Greenshank gluttsnipe flew in off the sea

Red throated Diver smålom N 107

White Billed Diver gulnebblom N 7 (all adults as usual)

WB / GN Diver 2 (light and distance making things difficult)

Northern Gannet havsule N 14, S 18

Great Cormorant storskarv N 6

Eurasian Shag toppskarv  N 62, S 1

Barnacle Goose hvitkinngås N 135

Long tailed duck havelle N 28

Common Scoter svartand N 5

Merganser siland N 2, S 2

Oystercatcher tjeld N 19

Whimbrel småspove N 1

Eurasian Curlew storspove S 1

Pomarine Skua polarjo N 1 light phase adult

Great Skua storjo N 1 

Common Gull fiskemåke N 26

Black-legged Kittiwake krykkje N 1

Common Guillemot lomvi N 8, S 1

Razorbill alke N 2

Most, if not all, of the Cormorants storskarv being seen now are younger birds not in breeding plumage

Other sightings of interest on the way home were a pair of Wigeon brunnakke feeding at Husvatnet, Tjeldstø, two late Whoopers sangsvane on Rotevatnet and a Greenshank gluttsnipe feeding at Nautnes. White-tailed Eagles havørn still very obvious with several seen during the course of the day.

Skogsøy 04 May 2026 - Blistering Barnacles

Another morning spent staring out to sea:)

Today there was  a decent movement of Barnacle Geese hvitkinngås on their way back up to Svalbard. A leucistic bird was in the first flock that past after I arrived which may be the same as the one I photographed on Svalbard last year. I probably missed some flocks which passed behind me - I had flocks over land on my way out and on the way home again.

Otherwise it was more of the same as the previous visit really - but with the addition of a nice pod of Orcas spekkhogger working their way north.

Orcas spekkhogger heading north

Red throated Diver smålom N 119

White Billed Diver gulnebblom N 15

Northern Gannet havsule N 54

Eurasian Shag toppskarv N 18, S 36

Barnacle Goose hvitkinngås N 1072

Long tailed duck havelle N 131

Common Scoter svartand N 43, S 5

Merganser siland N 1, S 1

Oystercatcher tjeld N 18

Whimbrel småspove N 7

Common Gull fiskemåke N 16

Lesser black backed Gull sildemåke N 1

Black-legged Kittiwake krykkje N 3

Common Guillemot lomvi N 4

Razorbill alke N 18

Atlantic Puffin lunde N 1

Auk N 7

Leucistic Barnacle Goose hvitkinngås

Migrating Barnacle Geese hvitkinngås

Common Scoter svartand

Gannet havsule

Guillemot lomvi

Long-tailed Ducks havelle

Shags toppskarv

White-billed Diver gulnebblom - just what this time of year is all about:)

On the way home the only sightings of note were a flock of 65 Golden Plover heilo at Breivik and a male Reed Bunting sivspurv at Tjeldstø.

Golden Plover heilo at Breivik

Skogsøy 03 May 2026 - Seawatching as it should be:)

I spent several hours seawatching having got out of bed at stupid o' clock. In the best company possible I enjoyed things as they should be at this time of year here in the west of Norway.

Highlights were the first Pomarine Skua polarjo and Arctic Skua tyvjo of the year. A respectable number of White-billed Diver gulnebblom headed north and there was a good selection of other species passing despite it not being a record day of any kind, other than perhaps for laughing:) 

We sat from 0620 until 1300, not because we didn't want to leave - we physically couldn't until it was possible to move our legs again.

Red throated Diver smålom  N 102

Great Northern Diver islom N 1 2cy

White Billed Diver gulennblom N 12 (all adult)

Northern Fulmar havhest S 1

Northern Gannet havsule N 34, S 1

Great Cormorant storskarv N 3

Eurasian Shag toppskarv N 10, S 104

Barnacle Goose hvitkinngås N 35

Eider ærfugl N 1, S 1

Long tailed duck havelle N 4, S 1

Common Scoter svartand N 24, S 4

Velvet Scoter sjøorre N 1

Merganser siland N 2, S 1

Oystercatcher tjeld N 41

Ringed Plover sandlo 1

Whimbrel småspove N 9

Eurasian Curlew storspove N 1

Pomarine Skua polarjo N 1

Arctic Skua tyvjo N 1, S 1

Black headed Gull hettemåke N 7

Common Gull fiskemåke  N 9

Black-legged Kittiwake krykkje N 3

Common Guillemot lomvi N 1

Razorbill alke N 10

Atlantic Puffin lunde N 2

Auk N 21

Black-headed Gulls hettemåke

Common Scoter svartand

Gannets havsule

Note the bird in the lower picture has a black iris - something which indicates it is a bird flu survivor:)

2cy Great Northern Diver islom

Guillemot lomvi

Pomarine Skua polarjo

White-billed Diver gulnebblom

Whimbrel småspove

Herdlevær 02 May 2026 - Twite right

An easy day.

Husvatnet held a couple each of Barnacle Goose hvitkinngås and Sand Martin sandsvale and there was a Golden Plover heilo out in the reserve where a Cuckoo gjøk was also heard.

I did my usual Herdlevær round picking up a few patch ticks at this locality including Common Sandpiper strandsnipe and Redshank rødstilk. The only new species for the year was a Common Whitethroat tornsanger which had me going for a while as the first burst of song was not the usual version....

On the way home a flock of Twite bergirisk gave some nice views at Breivik.

Woodcock rugde roding again from the terrace in the evening:)