Skogsøy 03 April 2021 - Expectations

 Light northerly winds, overcast to start with, turning sunny.

With many flocks of resting birds here and there during yesterday's strong winds I was hoping for a big push today with better migration conditions. Not as much passed as I had hoped / anticipated but it was still an enjoyable few hours of seawatching.

Highlight were the first Pinkfeet kortnebbgås of the year - actually heading soutb. Absolutely nothing compared to the numbers reported in the east of Norway recently where thousands have been seen along their normal migration route. The commonest bird was as usual at this time of year Common Gull fiskemåke, but Cormorant storskarv and some other stuff was on the move. A Lessser Black-backed Gull sildemåke and a feeding Ringed Plover sandlo were among the other sightings.

I spent the rest of the morning / afternoon catching up on things that needed doing in the garden. The first Twite bergirisk of the year was among the birds seen at home.

Cormorant storskarv / Shag toppskarv comparison shot

Mergansers siland

Rock Pipit skjærpiplerke were singing again today

Shag toppskarv flock heading the wrong way

The totals from 06:54-10:00 were

Red throated Diver N 4

Northern Gannet N 1

Northern Gannet S 2

Great Cormorant N 35

Great Cormorant S 1

Eurasian Shag N 25

Eurasian Shag S 59

Pink-footed Goose S 3

Eider S 2

Long tailed duck N 1

Common Scoter S 5

Merganser N 12

Oystercatcher N 15

Eurasian Curlew N 3

Common Gull N 490

Lesser black backed Gull N 1

Great black backed Gull N 5

Common Guillemot N 4

Razorbill N 4

Atlantic Puffin N 1

Auk N 21

Auk S 4

At Breivik on the way home I was surprised to see one of three hunters take two shots at a flock of Greylag grågås that were flying over quite high. No birds fell so either they missed completely or some of the birds flew on with shot in them. As per my understanding there are some farms in Øygarden which are allowed to shoot a limited number of birds in the spring. To be honest I think this alright but shooting with the birds out of range is not. Greylag are one of the few species on the increase in Øygarden and that the farmers have this small allowance is only fair.