Friday, August 26, 2011

Herdlevær 26 August - Little Gulls!

Southerlies with light showers

A quick look at Solberg produced small numbers of waders and an Otter eating a huge flatfish but little else.

Herdlevær was very quiet for passerines but for everything else it was a different story. Despite the late and lazy start there was non-stop action at the coast. Flocks of waders were passing constantly - most too far off to be identified. Oystercatcher tjeld, Golden Plover heilo and Ruff brushane were the commonest identified but plenty of Dunlin myrsnipe, Ringed Plover sandlo, Knot polarsnipe and other species. Several hundred waders passed in total.

 Dunlin myrsnipe
 Ringed Plover sandlo


Many waders also stopped to feed on the islands - largely Knot polarsnipe, Ringed Plover sandlo, Dunlin myrsnipe and Sanderling sandløper.

However, the undoubted highlight was a flock of FIVE Little Gulls dvergmåke - an adult summer and four first year birds. This is probably the biggest flock ever recorded in the county. Two Little Stint dvergsnipe - always a good bird in Øygarden passed in a mixed flock of Dunlin and Ringed Plover.

Other sightings of interest included the first pale-bellied Brent Geese ringgås of the autumn heading south, a couple of dark phase Arctic Skua tyvjo, a Great Skua storjo and a Red-throated Diver smålom - the first of the autumn for me.

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