Calm conditions, light SE winds and overcast meant the conditions were ideal for another all day sesh on Hernar. A couple of other birders from town obviously thought the same thing and also spent the day on Hernar. All in all a very nice day out.
Once again plenty of birds about without anything to write home about until it was just about time to go home. More of that later.
Good numbers of thrushes and finches were seen - both on the island and flying over. A very minimum of 25 Song Thrush måltrost is quite a good number given that the peak for this species is normally somewhat earlier. Plenty of Blackbird svarttrost, Redwing rødvingetrost and Fieldfare gråtrost too.
Flocks of Brambling bjørkefink passed over the whole day, as did Starling stær, Meadow Pipit heipiplerke and Siskin grønnsisik.
Other migrants on the island included at least eight Blackcap munk, a couple of Chiff-chaff gransanger, a Willow Warbler løvsanger (same bird as last time?), a Pied Fly svarthvit fluesanpper, a Redstart rødstjert, a Wheatear steinskvett and three House Sparrow gråspurv. Snow Bunting snøspurv were heard passing over on two occasions on opposite ends of the island.
A flock of 20 Greylags grågås rested on the sea along with a Mallard stokkand, small numbers of Red-throated Diver smålom headed south down the fjord during the course of the day too.
In the early afternoon I had an attack of toothache which caused considerable discomfort. Luckily Bergen's very own birding doctor was on hand with some paracetemol and the ever friendly residents contributed with ibuprofen:) Having taken my tablets I did a last round of the island - in part to retrieve my glasses which I had left under a bush on the east side of the island. A light drizzle set in as I headed back to pick up my scope and rucksack and do a last sweep of the west end of the island.
And there, on the edge of the path sat a Little Bunting dverspurv feeding together with a Meadow Pipit heipiplerke. I snapped a few shots and hoped they would be good enough and immediately alerted the others who had settled down to have a coffee prior to the boat home. A frantic search of the area proved fruitless - the bird had just disappeared.
My Øygarden bogey bird has finally fallen. I must be the only birder in Øygarden to not have seen this species, an acute embarrassment by all accounts. On the way back I couldn't make up my mind what was best - that my toothache had stopped or that I had finally unblocked Little Bunting:)
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