Øygarden 29 January 2020 - Back west again

Calm, mild with drizzle in the morning.

Spent an hour or two at Hjelme - an underrated spot that does not really get the attention it deserves but has produced some interesting birds over the years. There were no real surprises today but a nice female Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett showed well. Jay nøtteskrike, 50 Brambling bjørkefink, 20+ Chaffinch bokfink, several Crested Tits toppmeis, a pair of Common Crossbill grankorsnebb and a flock of four pipits which I did not manage to identify with certainty were among the other species seen there. And White-tailed Eagle havørn.

After that a short look at the sea at Hellesøy produced, among other things, six Velvet Scoter sjørre, 9 Purple Sandpiper fjæreplytt, two Black Guillemots teist and four Long-tailed Ducks havelle. And White-tailed Eagles havørn.

Male Common Crossbill grankorsnebb

Female Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett

On the way home from Oslo yesterday I had some stuff to do in town and ended up running for a bus. However, I just had to stop and look at a second year Glaucous Gull polarmåke that was sitting around in a city centre park.

I have been puzzling over why I have seen no white-winged gulls this winter out in Øygarden - despite there being some reasonable gull flocks here and there.

Second year Glaucous Gull polarmåke in Bergen city centre