Hjelme 26 October 2018 - Little Egret before breakfast

On Thursday afternoon I was at the office in Bergen when I received a telephone call from birders from Bergen who had driven out again to try and relocate the Little Egret silkehegre.  They had found it close to where it was initially sighted near the old church at Hjelme. Very frustrating but I felt I took it very well and kept working and planned to try for it first thing Friday....

Heavily cropped version of one of the first pictures I took of the Little Egret silkehegre

The next morning I was up bright and early and clinched the egret before the sun came up. One of the local Grey Herons gråhegre clearly didn't appreciate the competition and hassled the egret until it flew off. I soon re-found it actively feeding on the plentiful small fish and prawns in the area.

However, even this was short lived as it flew off and I did not manage to relocate it again. This pattern continued over the next day or two with some birders making repeated trips out to try and connect with the bird - some without success.

Some very approachable Purple Sandpipers fjæreplytt.

Some Purple Sands fjæreplytt, a few Parrot Crossbills furukorsnebb and a Treecreeper trekryper were among the other birds seen.

Øygarden 23-24 October 2018 - Little Egret - a new species for Øygarden!

Tuesday 23 October saw me spending 10 minutes at Hellesøy and another 10 minutes at Tjeldstø. The strong NW winds brought some seabirds down the fjord and Kittiwakes krykkje were seen on the inside at both Hellesøy and Tjeldstø.

Several White-tailed Eagles havørn were seen with at least four at Hellesøy and more elsewhere - including from the house as usual.

On 24 October the winds eased and I hoped for a movement of seabirds at Skogsøy. There was not a lot passing with 10 Kittiwakes krykkje and a couple of large flocks of auks (15 and 25+) heading south. A couple of probable Puffins lunde also passed. Other than that just a lone Velvet Scoter sjøorre and a Long-tailed Duck havelle of any interest.

The bird on the right looks like a normal Common Crossbill grankornebb whist the left hand bird has a much heavier bill

This one would go down as a heavy-billed Common Crossbill grankorsnebb in my book

A flock of Crossbills on the way home made for some head scratching. A couple of them were clearly Common Crossbill grankorsnebb but most looked to be Parrot Crossbill furukorsnebb with massive square bills. A Sparrowhawk spurvehauk spooked them before I could get more photos.

Øygarden's first Little Egret Silkehegre. Photo: R. Hatten

On my way home I received a message about an unknown bird, possibly a Little Egret silkehegre. I checked my mail and indeed it was. I spent some time looking but saw nothing other than a Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett. Needless to say the twitchers from town quickly moved in but they too failed to relocate the bird on 24 October.

Northumberland 29 June - 10 July - Summer hols

Ten days back "home" in Northumberland were largely dedicated to family stuff but I did manage 10 minutes at Druridge bay, a day out at Lindisfarne as well as family walks in the Hartope Valley and at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea.

Part of a flock of Manx Shearwater havlire, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. Northumberland, 03 July 2016

Mediterranean Gulls svarthavemåke were, as usual, a feature at Newbiggin with a few different ages groups represented. An early morning walk with my grandaughter gave cracking views of Manx Shearwaters havlire close in - something not quite reflected in the pictures here.

Avocet avosett, Druridge Bay, Northumberland, 04 July 2016

Little Owl kirkeugle, Druridge Bay, Northumberland, 04 July 2016

Ten minutes at Druridge bay on 04 July gave plenty of decent sightings with Avocet avosett, Little Egret silkehegre, a flock of Black-tailed Godwit svarthalespove and an obliging roadside Little Owl kirkeugle were the hightlights.

Dunlin myrsnipe were among returning waders seen at Lindisfarne, July 2016

Sanderling sandløper, Lindisfarne, July 2016

On 06 July a number of returning waders were already present at Lindisfarne nature reserve including flocks of Sanderling sandløper, Knot polarsnipe and Bar-tailed Godwit lappsove. The were also good numbers of Little Terns dvergterne in the area. I was informed that is now a criminal offence to take pictures of the latter species - though quite how true this is away from the breeding sites remains to be confirmed.