Better late than never! The first trip to Hernar, again because I could, rather than the conditions.
Visiting after two days of northerlies was not the best decision but there was plenty to see even though there was nothing special to be seen. Over 40 species seen inlcuding my first local Twite bergirisk of the year. It was very much the usual suspects with several White-tailed Eagle havørn, at least five Chiff-chaff gransanger, a couple of Skylark sanglerke and a decent movement of Common Gulls fiskemåke up the fjord.
A northerly gale on 25th wasn't the best forecast but I spent a few "late" hours at Skogsøy just because I could. The winds were just too strong and not surprisingly there was not a lot passing.
Perhaps surprisingly several Hooded Crows kråke headed north west out to sea - why on earth they would choose to set out over the sea under such conditions is anybody's guess. Similarly it was surprising to see a White-tailed Eagle havørn heading north a long way out and low down over the waves.
Red throated Diver smålom N19
Northern Gannet havsule N14, S 3
Great Cormorant storskarv N1
Eurasian Shag toppskarv N8, S 5
Long tailed duck havelle N5
Common Scoter svartand N3
Merganser siland N2
Common Gull fiskemåke N5
Black-legged Kittiwake krykkje N1
Common Guillemot lomvi N5
Razorbill alke N2
Gannets havsule battling into the gale force winds
Red-throated Divers smålom migrating in strong winds
I was back the following day under better conditions and there was somewhat more to see.
The morning started well in a frustrating way - the first birds I saw were a 2cy White-billed Diver gulnebblom side by side with a 2cy Great Northern Diver islom in decent photo range - nothing short of a dream photo. However, my up to this point trusty point and pray refused to start. After over half and hour of fiddling with it I finally managed to get it going but there is obviously something very wrong with it....
In an Øygarden context the best bird was a Short-eared Owl jordugle seen coming in off the sea from at least a couple of km out.
Red throated Diver smålom N82
Great Northern Diver islom N1 (2cy)
White Billed Diver gulnebblom N2 (1ad, 1 2cy)
Northern Gannet havsule N25, S 2
Great Cormorant storskarv N17, S 1
Eurasian Shag toppskarv N62, S 36
Barnacle Goose hvitkinngås N41
Eider aærfugl N2
Long tailed duck havelle N7
Common Scoter svartand N3
Merganser siland N8
Oystercatcher tjeld N36, S 4
Whimbrel småspove N4
Black headed Gull hettemåke N1
Common Gull fiskemåke N80
Razorbill alke N12
Black Guillemot teist N2
Atlantic Puffin lunde N1
Auk N16
Gannet havsule
Not a bad result from the point and pray:)
Oystercatcher tjeld
Red-throated Diver smålom
Shag toppskarv
In the evening a roding Woodcock rugde from my terrace was nice to see.
The week was spent counting down the days until the start of what will be the longest period of time off since I stopped working offshore full time. May should be a month to remember for a long time to come!
Although I was glued to my computer all week I did manage short trips out before and after work most days and there was plenty to see including a good dose of new arrivals.
An early morning round on 21st produced the first Willow Warbler løvsanger, Sand Martin sandsvale and Golden Plover heilo of the year along with the first local Swallows låvesvale, Brambling bjørkefink and Wheatear steinskvett.
Picking up a package at the local shop after work (repaired binoculars returning home) produced four Canada Geese kanadagås on Husvatnet - a species that is considerably rarer here in northern Øygarden than Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett.
Crazy but in an Øygarden context these invasive Canada Geese kanadagåswere a much rarer sighting than the woodpecker below:)
Female Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett in the early morning sun
In this very short video I managed to capture the call of GHW
A bonus sighting was a pod of around 20 Porpoise nise, a common species in Øygarden but normally seen in much smaller groups.
On 22nd April I checked Tjeldstø before work. Some Curlews storspove holding territory but only a couple of pairs at most, luckily they are still widespread in Øygarden and will hopefully remain so. I'm hoping it is still a little early and that more will arrive at what was once a stronghold for this struggling species. Lapwings vipe are liking the area where the sikta spruce have been removed. Fingers crossed that they increase in numbers following this improvement. Snipe enkeltbekassin are back too and displaying "everywhere". Redshank rødstlk numbers seem low, again I hope more will arrive and take up territories.
Norway in a nutshell - an FPSO out in the fjord and Hurtigruten heading south...
The next day I spent slightly longer out of the house as I had to get my wheels changed over to summer tyres. A short walk at Tjeldstø whilst I was waiting for this to be finished resulted in a nice Peregrine vandrefalk flying over. A Green Sandpiper skogsnipe was a bonus on the way to the garage - a regular enough species here during the autumn migration but much fewer turn up in the spring.
Male Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett sticking its tongue out at me:)
Green Sandpiper skogsnipe
"My" Herring Gulls gråmåke spend a large part of their day waiting for me to give them some food.
Wheatear steinskvett at Tjeldstø
White-tailed Eagle havørn over my terrace. Pity the photo is not in focus:(
Otters are still pretty much a daily sight. Soon they'll become more nocturnal and harder to see. Filmed from my terrace in between meetings.
On 24th I did a quick trip out after work to buy some beers to celebrate the start of my holiday. This resulted in a male Wigeon brunnakke at Tjeldstø and a Carrion Crow svartkråke at Breivik where there was also a nice flock of 30 Linnet tornirisk - biggest flock so far this spring:)
Carrion Crow svartkråke
Fieldfare gråtrost - some are holding territories while there are still some flocks moving through to other places.
Redwing rødvingetrost
Much the same status as Fieldfare - many are singing but there also flocks obviously just passing through
Bring on the next several weeks😊 Work won't be the problem from here on in!!
After another period of work I finally had the weekend off, this time in Oslo.
An early morning trip to Gressholm proved very successful - and I even met some other birders which made the morning even better:)
A whole bunch of new species for the year were amassed with Common Crane trane probably the best from my western Norwegian perspective. A couple of Wheater steinskvett, a Twite bergirisk, a fly over Black-throated Diver storlom, a Green Sandpiper skogsnipe and a Brambling bjørkefink were all the first I've seen this year.
Seven Ringed Plover sandlo were present including one female sitting on four eggs. A few Linnet tornirisk, several Reed Buntings sivspurv, a singing Chiff-chaff gransanger, Stock Doves skogdue and more were seen here too.
The next morning a rainy walk in the Botanic Gardens gave a singing Blackcap munk, Hawfinches kjernebiter gathering nest material and a generally high level of bird activity which led me to try Østensjøvannet.
This proved a good choice with the first Swallows låvesvale and House Martins taksvale of the year as well as an early Common Sandpiper strandsnipe. For a western Norwegian birder the numbers of Great Crested Grebes toppdykker, Moorehen sivhøne and other species were a welcome sight. There had been an obvious arrival of birds with five singing Chiff-chaff gransanger, over 30 White Wagtails linerle (including a single flock of 20+), a flock of Meadow Pipits heipiplerke, Siskins grønnsisik and more. Two Hawfinch kjernebiter here too:) Goosander laksand numbers had increased a lot since my previous visit a few weeks ago with around 30 present.
A week back home which included a few days off around Easter was quite productive even though I took things pretty easy - normally I would have done more at Skogsøy but time just did not permit.
On 2nd April the female aythya that has been here and there in northern Øygarden since early February allowed for some better views and finally swung me over to Scaup bergand despite seeming to have rather a lot of black on the beak.
2cy female Scaup bergand
The usual round at Herdlevær gave White Wagtail linerle, Red-throated Diver smålom, White-tailed Eagles havørn, a Meadow Pipit heipiplerke and a variety of other migrants. Tjeldstø produced another Red-throated Diver smålom, some Gannets havsule feeding in the fjord and the usual. My first Chiff-chaff gransanger of the year fed at Sture.
In the afternoon a Pinkfoot kortnebbgås and an albifrons Whitefront tundragås were reported, I managed to hear the former among Greylags grågås and see the latter briefly in flight.
I started the 3rd April at Hjelme where a Chiff-chaff gransanger and a Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett were the best sightings.
Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett
At Sæle a Red necked Grebe gråstrupedykker on the sea was probably the same bird that has been reported on and off at this locality previously. Small numbers of Long-tailed Duck havelle, a Common Scoter svartand, Black Guillemot teist and singles of both Rock Pipit skjærpiplerke and Meadow Pipit heipiplerke fed in the area.
Next stop was Tjeldstø where the Scaup bergand showed quite well again. A rarer sightig for northern Øygarden were two of last year's Mute Swans knoppsvane - almost certainly of urban origin as they swam straight over to me when I got out of the car. Several Teal krikkand, a couple of White Wagtails linerle and a Meadow Pipit heipiplerke were indications that migration is picking up.
Breivik proved quite productive with the first Jackdaw kaie of the year, a pair of Stonechat svartstrupe and the first two Linnets tornirisk of the year.
Common Gulls fiskemåke feeding at Breivik
The first Linnets tornirisk of 2026
Saturday 4th April was quite social as I bumped into a number of other birders out and about. Although it was a nice morning out and about nothing special was seen. The female Scaup bergand and the two young Mute Swans knoppsvane remained at Husvatnet, Tjeldstø.
Crested Tit toppmeis photographed at a feeding station
The 5th produced a flurry of new arrivals starting with a Dunnock jernspurv in my garden. Numbers of singing Song Thrush måltrost and Redwing rødvingetrost increased too.
At Husvatnet, Tjeldstø the first Redshank rødstilk of the year put in an appearance. Breivik was quite good with a nice Ring Ousel ringtrost and the albifrons Whitefront tundragås as the best observations. The Stonechat svartstrupe pair at Kollsnes showed well too:)
Redshank rødstilk at Husvatnet
Ring Ousel ringtrost at Breivik
Stonechats svartstrupe at Kollsnes
Albifrons Whitefront tundragås at Breivik
The two Mute Swans knoppsvane had moved to Dåvøy and it was here that I noticed they were colour ringed. Both birds were ringed last autumn further south in Øygarden at Stølsneset, Ågotnes - so these Easter tourists had not moved very far from their ringing site.
Mute Swans knoppsvane at Dåvøy
I actually left Øygarden on 7th April and did a guding trip at Herdla. There was plenty to be seen here including White-tailed Eagles havørn, a few Pinkfeet kortnebbgås, a Barnacle Goose hvitkinngås, a couple of Golden Plover heilo and a Pied Wagtail svartryggerle along with good numbers of Lapwing vipe, Ringed Plover sandlo, Meadow Pipits heipiplerke and the usual.
A Common Snipe enkeltbekkasin at Ådnevika was undoubtedly a new arrival as it has been a while since the overwintering birds have shown. On the way home the albifrons Whitefront tundragås showed well at Breivik.
Albifrons Whitefront tundragås
Curlews storspove also returned during this period and it was lovely to hear them displaying at several localities in northern Øygarden.
Another week where it was difficult to get out, but this time in Oslo.
On 17th I spent 15 minutes in the Botanical Gardens and the gardens were full of life with lots of birds present, many of them new arrivals for me. Some Hawfinch kjernebiter remained but Chaffinches bokfink had arrived and were singing as were Starling stær and Woodpigeon ringdue.
Chaffinch bokfink
Hawfinch kjernebiter
Woodpigeon ringdue
On 21st I headed into the gardens again before heading down to catch the ferry to Gressholmen. The gardens held at least a couple of Stock Dove skogdue as the best sighting, along with Great Spotted Woodpecker flaggspett and others.
Stock Dove skogdue in the Botanic Gardens - I'd have been very pleased to get shots like these of this species in Øygarden where they are rather scarce migrant.
The trip to Gressholmen was quite suceessful with a few decent flocks of Pinkfeet kortnebbgås heading north. A couple of Goshawk hønsegauk, a few Shelduck gravand, five Ringed Plover sandlo, more Stock Dove skogdue, two Purple Sandpipers fjæreplytt and plenty more to see. Oystercatcher tjeld, Greylag Goose grågås and Barnacle Goose hvittkingås were also the first I've seen in Oslo this year. A big increase in Black-headed Gull hettemåke and Common Gull fiskemåke numbers since last time and several Lesser Black-backed Gulls sildemåke too. A great morning out!
The first of a few flocks of Pinkfeet kortnebbgås that headed north
Purple Sandpiper fjæreplytt
On 22nd I visited Østensjøvatnet which was amazingly still almost totally frozen, though obviously thawing around the edges. Highlights here were my first singing Reed Bunting sivpsurv of the year, some Great Crested Grebes toppdykker, a couple of Pintail sjtertand, a good selection of gulls out on the ice, over 20 Coot sothøne and most of the usual suspects.
Lots of Lesser Black-backed Gulls sildemåke, Common Gulls fiskemåke and Black-headed Gulls hettemåke at Ostensjøvatnet.
One of at least three Great-crested Grebes toppdykker present
One of two Pintail stjertand present, the other had "bling"
Back home in the city centre a Whooper sangsvane flew over.
