Øygarden 28.09-02.10.2026 - New species for the house list / the Nutcrackers are here

A most frustrating week: conditions were perfect and I have full time job. I say it every year but I really have to book holiday for the last week in September....

I managed anything between half an hour and an hour or so out and about with more summer than we had in the summer, easterly winds and so on.

On 28th I managed to spend 15 minutes at Tjeldstø and half an hour an Sæle. Tjeldstø gave a few White-tailed Eagles havørn, a Sparrowhawk spurvehauk and a Wheatear steinskvett along with the usual Wigeon brunnakke and so on.

Sæle was full of birds but nothing remarkable, just a female Blackcap munk, several Chiff-chaff gransanger and four Common Crossbill grankorsnebb.

Sparrowhawk spurvehauk

Male Wheatear steinskvett

On Tuesday 29th it was almost wall to wall Teams meetings and frustratingly I received a call from Bjørnar saying he had found what we had been expecting - a Nutrcracker nøttekråke. I've seen plenty this year, just not here at home where it is something of a rarity. Having suffered through a meeting or two I finally made it out and heard Nutcracker at close range without seeing it. I sat down to wait and soon heard a more distant call and scanning over the treetops I found two gaining height rapidly and heading north.

As this was really a trip to the shop I also stopped very quickly at Husvatnet where a late Lapwing vipe was present.

The photo that could have been something had I not knocked a button on my camera and screwed up the settings. Same thing happened with the Nutcrackers...

After this breif foray out it was back to barracks. Three minutes on the terrace during a break whilst making dinner I picked up a Stonechat svartstrupe. Luckily the bird stayed and a post dinner stroll with my better half and NBB junior #1 provided a photo opportunity.

Stonechat svartstrupe at Nautnes

The next day I found out my "good dad rewards" don't just apply to my daughters. There is also a similar concept called "good boyfriend rewards" where bird karma also kicks in. So, to save my better half some transport time, I offered to drive her half an hour to a bus stop with some more connections to civilisation. This resulted in a Common Buzzard musvåk on the way south and a lovely Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett on the way home:)

Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett at Sture

Back home I had Jay notteskrike in the garden along with the much commoner White-tailed Eagles havørn.

Øygarden 26.09-27.09.2026 - Weekend Birding

I was travelling with work all week so not even the usual incidental obersvations to note this time. But I did get the weekend at home.

On Saturday 26th September I did my usual round at Herdlevær which was quite productive. The local Bergen Birdlife group were out in force so I almost went somewhere else.

Best birds were a Lapland Bunting lappspurv and a couple of Jack Snipe kvartbekkasin.There were some other migrants inlcuding some of the usual waders, a Reed Bunting sivspurv, Chiff-chaff gransanger and Dunnock jernspurv.

Dunlin myrsnipe trying to look like something more interesting. Nice try.

...and back on land again. Back to normal

Jack Snipe kvartbekkasin are not easy to spot with their superb camo

Here somewhat easier from a different angle

After this I stopped briefly at Sæele but there was nowhere left to park - too any birders. The only sighting worth a mention were a couple of Twite bergirisk.

Twite bergirisk

The next couple of hours were spent trying to repair my central hoover. Always something....

On Sunday 27th I spent a couple of hours seawatching at Skogsøy. There was some migration into strong SE winds:

Arctic Tern rødnebbterne S 8 (a bit on the late side)

Cormorant storskarv S 10, N 1

Gannet havsule S 16, N 4

Herring Gull gråmåke S 7

Common Gull fiskemåke S 25

Turnstone steinvender S 1

Golden Plover heilo S 7

Grey Plover tundralo S 13

Dunlin myrsnipe S 3

Purple Sandpiper fjæreplytt S 2

GBBG svartbak S 2

RB Merganser siland S 4

Bar-tailed Godwit lappspove S 2

Black Guillemot teist N 1

Common Scoter svartand S 2

Bar-tailed Godwits lappspove with Grey Plovers tundralo

Common Gulls fiskemåke

Cormorants storskarv

Purple Sandpipers fjæreplytt with Dunlin myrsnipe

Shag toppskarv

Øygarden 18.09-20.09.2026 - Some more migrants

A short window between meetings had me out of the house in a flash on 18th.

I chose my usual round at Herdlevær which gave a Bar-tailed Godwit lappspove, a couple of Common Sandpiper strandsnipe and three other species of wader. Several Wigeon brunnakke and a Chiff-chaff gransanger were the only other migrants.

Bar-tailed Godwit lappspove

Dunlin myrsnipe at Herdlevær

Golden Plovers heilo

This Golden Plover heilo had me going being a lot less golden and had very coarsley notched tertials

Rock Pipit skjærpiplerke at Herdlevær

The Richard's Pipit tartarpiplerke showed well at Breivik again:)

Meadow Pipit heipiplerke

Richard's Pipit tartarpiplerke

At Tjeldstø on the way home Grey Plover tundralo, Merlin dvergfalk and some unidentified waders showed up,

Back home thrushes were starting on the berries in anger, White-tailed Eagle havørn, a flock of 20 Wigeon brunnakke, a few remaining Oystercatcher tjeld on the shore, Rock Pipit skjærpiplerke and the usual.

A young White-tailed Eagle havørn photographed from my terrace

I started the weekend with another walk at Herdlevær, much the same story although with a different selection of waders.

Tjeldstø gave better results with 10 Grey Plover tundralo flying over, a few Golden Plover heilo, at least 300 Starling stær, some Wigeon brunnakke, a couple of Teal krikkand and the usual.

On Sunday 20th I did over two hours seawatching at Skogsøy with strong onshore winds and some heavy showers. The much hoped for shearwaters failed to show but a few Fulmar havhest, a flock of six Brent Geese ringgås, a "commic" tern, various gulls and waders on the move and perhaps most surprising a decent movement of Red-throated Divers smålom with 169 passing in flock sizes akin to the spring passage.

I popped in at a few other places on the way home without much of note. Howevr, a short look from my terrace revealed a flock of around 30 Brent Geese ringgås headed south.

Øygarden 13.09-17.09.2026 - Good Dad rewards

During this period I was restricted both by work and looking after an absolutely not birding dog.

However, although I am not supersticious, birding karma seems to be a thing - something I call "good dad birds". If I do something nice for my children I am often rewarded with some good birds. This time was no exception.

With Yellow-browed Warbler gulbrynsanger and other goodies at the coast and a Roller blåråke a few hours drive away inland there was obviously plenty of potential. Looking after the dog meant that I had to leave work behind for a bit each day.

On 13th I went off the reservation for a guiding trip which was great fun. Herdla produced a lot of birds, including some of interest. A couple of Curlew Sandpipers tundrasnipe, a Black-throated Diver storlom, two Grey Plover tundralo, two Black-tailed Godwit svarthalespove, at least 10 Bar-tailed Godwit lappspove and a late Wood Sandpiper grønnstilk were among the best sightings here.

A short walk at Hellesøy on 14th produced at least one of the Rosefinches rosenfink that had been reported there on 12th September. A couple of Lapland Buntings lappspurv were also present here, although I only ever saw them in flight.

Common Rosefinch rosenfink at Hellesøy

An even shorter walk at Herdlevær produced nothing much. An obviously unwell Snipe enkeltbekkasin was still too well to catch.

Common Snipe enkeltbekkasin

The only birds of note on the 15th were a couple of Grey Plover tundralo at Tjeldstø where there were a couple of Wheatear steinskvett and a small flock of Wigeon brunnakke.

The dog dragged me around Herdlevær on 16th where a Grey Plover tundralo gave good views, a couple each of Dunlin myrsnipe and Ringed Plover sandlo were present along with two adult White-tailed Eagles havørn. 

Grey Plover tundralo

Ringed Plover sandlo

White-tailed Eagle havørn with prey, Nautnes

A Greenshank gluttsnipe flew over the house at dusk and a White-tailed Eagle havørn flew over the terrace carrying something interesting - perhaps a lumpsucker rognkjeks.

On17th the briefest of checks at Sæle showed there were some migrants about with a few Chiff-chaff gransanger present. Small flocks of Ringed Plover sandlo and Meadow Pipits heipiplerke passed during the morning.

In the afternoon I thought I would be kind and drop the dog off and save my daughter some driving. This paid off very nicely with a relatively early Richard's Pipit tartarpiplerke at Breivik. Grey Plover tundralo, a flock of Golden Plover heilo and a flyover Lapland Bunting lappspurv were among the other species here.

Richard's Pipt tartarpiplerke.

I think this is the first one I have found without hearing it first - and unusually also seen quite well on the ground instead of the usual flyover views. It was very vocal at times.

On the way home I was rewarded with a few Pinkfeet kortnebbgås at Tjeldstø.

Oslo 03.09-12.09 - Party Time

Another week or so in the capital. 

One of the reasons I was there was to go to the Waterboys featuring Steve Earle concert on 7th. Superb! My brother came over and social activities were prioritised, some travelling for work put another spanner in the works so all I managed was a walk in the nearby Botanical gardens and a nice few hours on Gressholmen.

The Botanic Gardens, although pleasant and quite birdy predictably produced little excitement, although a couple of Stock Dove skogdue were nice to see for a western Norwegian birder.

On 12th September we made it to Gressholmen in the rain. Hopes were of course high and in a way the island produced with some migrants present in the form of a Kestrel tårnfalk, several Dunlin myrsnipe, four Wheatear steinskvett and a couple of Meadow Pipit heipiplerke. Although this might not sound like much it was a very enjoyable trip and there were lots of birds of 29 species seen.

Dunlin myrsnipe on Gressholmen

Øygarden and Herdla 29.08-02.09.2026 - Waders and seabirds

On 29th August I left the reservation for a day of guiding at Herdla. This coincided with the Bergen Bird Life excursion to exactly the same place. Well over 40 species seen with 13 species of wader including a few Little Stint dvergsnipe, a couple of Black-tailed Godwit svarthalespove and several Greenshank gluttsnipe. A couple of White-tailed Eagles havørn gave decent views. Best bird was an early Slavonian Grebe horndykker and Red-throated Diver smålom flew over. 

The following day I spent a couple of hours seawatching at Skogsøy. It was very quiet with not much moving although a small flock of Sanderling sandløper fed on the shore and a flock of waders which included around 8  Turnstone steinvender headed south. Strangely some waders were seen heading north.

Otherwise just the usual Gannets havsule, a Kittiwake krykkje heading south, a single Common Scoter svartand and a light passage of various gulls.

The walk to and from the car produced little other than a Kestrel tårnfalk and a couple of Crested Tits toppmeis.

On the way home I stopped at Tjeldstø but it was quiet here too with just a Kestrel tårnfalk and a Great Spotted Woodpecker flaggspett seen along with the usual White-tailed Eagle havørn. The woodpecker may indicate an invasion year - this species often turns up towards the end of August when they are going to start moving in numbers....time will soon tell if this is indeed the case.

A last minute guiding trip on 31st August had me doing Herdla again. Much the same story as the previous visit with plenty of waders although the variety and numbers were down in the "nice" weather though the Black-tailed Godwits svarthaespove showed again along with several Little Stint dvergsnipe. The Slav Grebe horndykker was present and at least four White-tailed Eagles havørn put in an appearance although at longer range than on Saturday. Again over 40 species seen.

A selection of Dunlin myrsnipe, Ringed Plover sandlo and Little Stints dvergsnipe

Redshank rødstilk

Ringed Plover sandlo

Ruff brushane

I had to make up the hours the next day and didn't really leave the house so had to make do with White-tailed Eagles havørn and not much else.

Cormorant storskarv fishing off my terrace

One of the White-tailed Eagles havørn seen from my terrace

Strong onshore winds on 2nd September meant that the temptation to get out to Skogsøy was strong. Unfortunately I had work stuff I couldn't shift and had to stay at home. In the early afternoon a message about a Hoopoe hærfugl further south in Øygarden made me snap. I didn't bother with this bird (over 20 minutes away so not happening) but headed out to Skogsøy instead. I was rewarded with a Sooty Shearwater grålire, a Manx Shearwater havlire and a pale phase Arctic Skua tyvjo as the best birds. Unusually I sat in the hide there in order to shelter from the wind and the several squalls that struck. Small numbers of Gannets havsule, a couple of Fulmar havhest and several Kittiwake krykkje also passed. Fulmar is a species that I see a lot less often than previously, it used to be a common species here.

Gannet havsule

Sooty Shearwater grålire