Finally found the time to go through my pictures and notes from my latest offshore trip - this time between mainland Spain and Mallorca.
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Relatively light SW winds.
Pleasant conditions but with some onshore wind saw me trying Skogsøy in case there was some kind of return movement following the recent weather.
I sat for a couple of hours but apart from a steady passage of Kittiwake krykkje heading north there was not much out of the ordinary. A Black guillemot teist on the sea and small numbers of Red-throated Diver smålom and Common Scoter svartand were among the other things seen.
A weekend of wild weather. Gale force onshore winds with some short hail / rain showers.
On Saturday 21 November I thought I would try somewhere at least slightly out of the brunt of the weather and opted for Hellesøy. A Little Auk alkekonge, a few White-tailed Eagles havørn, a couple of Kittiwake krykkje and a Red-throated Diver smålom were the rewards here. Otter up close and personal here too.
I then proceeded to pop in at various localities to see if anything had been blown down the east side of Øygarden. Purple Sandpiper fjæreplytt and Kittiwakes krykkje at Tjeldstø were a promising sign (both new species for the year there) and two more Otters even more up close and personal.
Flocks of thrushes and Starlings stær all over the place but nothing out of the ordinary.
Back home I had a Common Scoter svartand on the sea, a couple of Curlew storspove (first of the "winter" birds which I suspect come from Iceland - just as this weather front did) and more Kittiwakes krykkje.
Another highly unusual sighting were two birders checking out the promising area in front of my house. They did not see anything much of note - but someone else REALLY did. A Leach's Petrel stormsvale was photographed passing through Nautnesvågen - past my house in other words - just an hour or so before I came home.
From artsobs (thanks for the message Rixy) : https://www.artsobservasjoner.no/Sighting/25630741
A number of birders were out in Øygarden on Saturday - the two keenest did 2.5 hours of seawatching at Herdlevær before starting to check bays etc - including Nautnesvågen just an hour after this bird passed. Just shows how the luck of the draw affects things:)
Note to self: Do more birding from the terrace, there IS a reason behind the location. My house is not the best place for traditional seawatching but I've always thought of it as a potential spot for storm-blown bird. Next storm I'll stay at home:)
Sunday saw more of the same weather and a similar routine. Hellesøy produced little of note, just three White-tailed Eagle havørn and a couple of Long-tailed Duck havelle among the usual suspects.
Other birds of note included a Goldfinch stillits at Toft, two Woodpigeon ringdue and a Peregrine vandrefalk at Tjeldstø where the Greylag grågås flock had increased from 19 to 22.
A colour ringed Herring Gull gråmåke at Blomvåg was not the most exciting of finds but still nice to see where the birds were are seeing come from. This particular bird was ringed in 2019 some 15km away at Ågotnes.....so not a big mover (but this was the first sighting since it left its nest!)
A short stop at Solberg gave the best sighting of the day in the form of a Knot polarsnipe - a species never before recorded in November in Øygarden together with a late Oystercatcher tjeld and a seal. The wind was so strong it was impossible to keep my scope steady so I gave up and went home.
From the still very windy terrace I picked up a Red-throated Diver smålom on the sea, a few Common Scoter svartand and several Kittiwake krykkje. My terrace provided the best photo opportunities of the day:
Light SE winds, rather colder than of late.
Hoping for some kind of movement after yesterday's storm I headed for Skogsøy and spent a couple of hours seawatching. Birdwise there was nothing out of the ordinary but two Orcas spekkhogger heading north were well worth the effort.
Birds included a Little Auk alkekonge and a Black Guillemot teist heading north, a few Red-throated Diver smålom, a Velvet Scoter sjøorre and a variety of gulls including 14 Kittiwake krykkje heading south.
Frustratingly a white-winged gull heading south was too far off for positive ID.
On the way back to the car I picked up a Peregrine vandrefalk which was at a look out post on Herdlevær and an Otter.
Strong northerly gale with short hailstorms.
Started at Hellesøy where gulls were feeding in the high winds, mostly Herring Gulls gråmåke but a couple of Kittiwake krykkje and a few Common Gulls fiskemåke with them. At least two White-tailed Eagle havørn here.
Next up was a family walk at Herdlevær, here the wind was if anything even stronger. A female Scaup bergand was one of the very few birds seen here although a few Redwing rødvingetrost, a Snipe enkeltbekkasin and a Sparrowhawk spurvehauk were among the sightings.
Lots of Blackbirds svarttrost and Starling stær flocks pretty much all over.
Best bird today was the first Moorehen sivhøne of the year on Blomvatnet.
A few Common Scoter svartand were "surfing" in front of the house when I got home.
Stronger S winds today and not much time to be out and about.
I sat for 15 minutes at Solberg where the best sighting was another adult Little Gull dvergmåke. Otherwise just the usual including 10 Kittiwake krykkje and a Red-throated Diver smålom.
At Tjeldstø a (or the?) female Scaup bergand was present on Rotevatnet together with a female Common Scoter svartand and the flock of 19 Greylag grågås was still there.
Another 10 minutes from my terrace produced just a steady movement of Kittiwakes krykkje heading south and a Common Scoter svartand. And the Otter which has thankfully become a daily feature again after a period of only erratic visits.
The only other thing worth mentioning was a flyover Goshawk hønsehauk at Breivik.
A great morning out in relatively calm and mild conditions.
Started off at Herdlevær with my usual round. Before I sat down for coffee and breakfast I had already picked up Slavonian Grebe horndykker, Black-throated Diver storlom, Red-throated Diver smålom and more.
As usual during my coffee stop I kept my eye on the sea where there was a steady passage of Kittiwakes krykkje, Herring Gulls gråmåke and Common Gulls fiskemåke. Suddenly an adult Little Gull dvergmåke came into view, I fumbled for my camera hoping to get some record shots but was not sure I managed it until later. Frantically rescanning the sea to try and refind it I found a first year Little Gull and began to question my eyes/sanity for getting things so wrong but after a minute or so they teamed up and I saw them together:) First record this year for both Øygarden and the "county".
The way home also proved successful with a Hawfinch kjernebiter at Tjeldstø along with a flock of 19 Greylags grågås - I'm presuming these late birds are probably from Iceland.
Sunny with southerly winds.
The terrnace is where I should probably have stayed all day. The Otters are now back and seen most days, today there were also the usual three White-tailed Eagles havørn. I don't normally bother photographing them from the terrace anymore but the light was nice and they were performing well so I took a few shots.
In the afternoon a walk to Alvheim from Nautnes produced little more - at least two more eagles, Raven ravn, a Woodcock rugde and some of the usual woodland suspects such as Crested Tits toppmeis.
Strong southerly winds, mild and overcast.
At Tjeldstø, a flock of Whoopers sangsvane attracted two Teal krikkand, three Wigeon brunnakke and 20 Mallard stokkand which typically fed on whatever the swans kick up whilst they are feeding.
I had planned to look for woodpeckers and had just got out of the car to start working the woods when I received with hot tip and jumped straight back into the car to catch up with a species I have not definitely seen in Øygarden before - White-backed Woodpecker hvitryggspett. The species is regular enough a couple of fjords to the east of us and has probably been seen out here at the coast prior to the first documented birds this autumn.
As I have been offshore for most of the autumn it has taken a while to catch up with this species on the home turf - and today a cracking female performed well at close range, albeit in poor light.
