Skogsøy 03 May 2026 - Seawatching as it should be:)

I spent several hours seawatching having got out of bed at stupid o' clock. In the best company possible I enjoyed things as they should be at this time of year here in the west of Norway.

Highlights were the first Pomarine Skua polarjo and Arctic Skua tyvjo of the year. A respectable number of White-billed Diver gulnebblom headed north and there was a good selection of other species passing despite it not being a record day of any kind, other than perhaps for laughing:) 

We sat from 0620 until 1300, not because we didn't want to leave - we physically couldn't until it was possible to move our legs again.

Red throated Diver smålom  N 102

Great Northern Diver islom N 1 2cy

White Billed Diver gulennblom N 12 (all adult)

Northern Fulmar havhest S 1

Northern Gannet havsule N 34, S 1

Great Cormorant storskarv N 3

Eurasian Shag toppskarv N 10, S 104

Barnacle Goose hvitkinngås N 35

Eider ærfugl N 1, S 1

Long tailed duck havelle N 4, S 1

Common Scoter svartand N 24, S 4

Velvet Scoter sjøorre N 1

Merganser siland N 2, S 1

Oystercatcher tjeld N 41

Ringed Plover sandlo 1

Whimbrel småspove N 9

Eurasian Curlew storspove N 1

Pomarine Skua polarjo N 1

Arctic Skua tyvjo N 1, S 1

Black headed Gull hettemåke N 7

Common Gull fiskemåke  N 9

Black-legged Kittiwake krykkje N 3

Common Guillemot lomvi N 1

Razorbill alke N 10

Atlantic Puffin lunde N 2

Auk N 21

Black-headed Gulls hettemåke

Common Scoter svartand

Gannets havsule

Note the bird in the lower picture has a black iris - something which indicates it is a bird flu survivor:)

2cy Great Northern Diver islom

Guillemot lomvi

Pomarine Skua polarjo

White-billed Diver gulnebblom

Whimbrel småspove

Skogsøy 02 May 2025 - No scope challenge

Strong onshore winds with heavy showers meant that this was very likely to be a good day. And it was:)

New species for the year seen en route were Sedge Warbler sivsanger and Lesser Whitethroat møller.

However, when unpacking my rucksack I discovered that my trusty scope was not there! So a bins only seawatch was the only option. The conditions meant that a lot of stuff came by quite close and I managed to identify most things that past, though inevitably there were some that got away and no doubt a lot that was missed altogether.

There were Poms at the end of the rainbow:)

No scope challenge.

I've always said using a scope makes things too easy, not sure I mean it though:)

Highlights were four Pomarine Skua polarjo,  four Pintail stjertand and 16 White-billed Diver gulnebblom. A bonus sighting was at least one Orca spekkhogger feeding quite close in - though difficult to follow in the rough seas.

Red throated Diver smålom N 132

White Billed Diver gulnebblom N 16

Northern Gannet havsule N 67, S 33

Great Cormorant storskarv S 2

Eurasian Shag toppskarv N 10, S 17

Pintail stjertand N 4

Long tailed duck havelle  N 55

Common Scoter svartand N 36, S 36 (lots of small flocks north, one flock south)

Goldeneye kvinand N 1

Oystercatcher tjeld N 3

Whimbrel småspove N 4

Turnstone steinvender N  3

Pomarine Skua polarjo N 4

Arctic Skua tyvjo N 6 (four pale and two dark)

Lesser black backed Gull sildemåke N 1

Black-legged Kittiwake krykkje N 3

Common Guillemot lomvi N 3

Razorbill alke N 1

Auk N 7

Arctic Skuas tyvjo

Small flocks of Common Scoter svartand headed north, one larger flock south

GBBG svartbak

Four Pintail stjertand

Pomarine Skua polarjo

and a few more Poms polarjo

White-billed Divers gulnebblom passing in the wide variety of lighting conditions today!

Skogsøy 28 May 2023 - All day sesh / Poms at last!

Perfect weather - a fresh North westerly breeze with some clouds.

The light changed constantly from full on sunshine to overcast and back again - the first of two challenges today. The second being that, at least for the first few hours, there was a lot going on a long way out whilst at the same time interesting stuff was passing in binocular range - no doubt I missed stuff at both distances:)

I sat from 05:45 until 13:00. Thought about leaving a few times but never quite brought myself to quit. Managed to avoid the "dead hour trap" and kept going without any regrets:)

Although far from a mega day there was a lot more going on than recent visits - highlights being of course two Pomarine Skuas polarjo, a Great Skua storjo and six Arctic Skuas tyvjo. A couple of Knot polarsnipe were another first for the year for me and there was plenty of interest most of the time. Two decent sized wader flocks escaped ID but I suspected Turnstone steinvender for the first and Sanderling sandløper for the second, another small flock of Turnstone steinvender came past later.

Small numbers of pale-bellied Brents ringgås, decent numbers of Kittiwake krykkje, Gannets havsule, Fulmar havhest, a 2cy Great Northern Diver islom, almost 70 Red-throated Diver smålom and more meant there was never a dull moment (with the exception of the dead hour between 09:00-10:00).

Arctic Skua tyvjo - easier to identify in the field than by photos

Another Arctic Skua tyvjo 

Arctic Tern rødnebbterne

Pale-bellied Bents (hrota) ringgås

Common Scoter svartand

Gannet havsule

3cy Lesser Black-backed Gull sildemåke heading north

Red throated Diver smålom N 68

Great Northern Diver islom N 1 2cy

Northern Fulmar havhest N 13

Northern Gannet havsule N 127, S 3

Eurasian Shag toppskarv N 7, S 44

Brent Goose ringgås N 151

Common Scoter svartand N 28, S 27

Merganser sland N 4

Red Knot  polarsnipe 2

Turnstone steinvender N 5

Pomarine Skua polarjo N 2 (1 dark, 1 pale)

Arctic Skua tyvjo N 6 (3 dark and 3 pale)

Great Skua storjo N 1

Common Gull fiskemåke N 2

Lesser black backed Gull sildemåke N 6

Great black backed Gull svartbak N 4

Black-legged Kittiwake krykkje N 75

Arctic Tern rødnebbterne N 29, S 4

Common Guillemot lomvi N 2

Razorbill  alke N 21 For some reason Razorbills have vastly outnumbered Guillemots this year - possibly something to do with the big movement last autumn that pushed them further south than usual?)

Little Auk alkekonge N 1 Freak record! Not often I see this species so far out in May!

Atlantic Puffin lunde N 7

Skogsøy 25 May 2002 - Back on form

Fresh SW winds with rain during the night. I used the rain as an excuse to lie in and did not get out and seawatching until 0630. With further rain on the forecast I opted to use the "hide" which is not as good as sitting out in the open where I usually sit but is very comfortable:)

Birds were pouring past to start with but passage tailed off quite quickly. Should have ignored the rain:)

Highlights were two Long-tailed Skua fjelljo and a Pomarine Skua polarjo. During "a last scan" whilst packing up a Sandwich Tern splitterne flew south at reasonable range:)  A couple of Black Guillemot teist and a lone hrota Brent Goose ringgås were among the other sightings.

The "hide" is a bit challenging, especially when it comes to photography so I mostly didn't get any images.

The biggest flock of Red-throated Diver smålom today...

Rock Pipit skjærepiplerke

Brent Goose ringgås going it alone

In almost 3.5 hours the following past:

Red throated Diver smålom N 49, S 2

Northern Gannet havsule N 192, S 7

Eurasian Shag toppskarv N 3, S 4

Brent Goose ringgås N 1

Long tailed duck havelle N 2

Common Scoter svartand N 2, S 10

Oystercatcher tjeld N 8, S 1

Pomarine Skua polarjo N 1

Arctic Skua tyvjo N 6

Long-tailed Skua fjelljo N 2

Black headed Gull hettemåke N 2, S 4

Common Gull fiskemåke N 6

Black-legged Kittiwake krykkje N 118, S 4

Arctic Tern rødnebbterne N 1, S 3

Common Guillemot lomvi N 8, S 3

Razorbill alke N 10

Black Guillemot teist N 2

On the way home I picked up a Kestrel tårnfalk and a Sparrowhawk spurvehauk at Tjeldstø.

Tragically the Starling stær chicks that were being fed so prolifically by their parents in my nestbox died at some point in the last 24 hours. There was no lack of food so I have no explanation other than that something happened to the parents.

Four dead chicks....

Strangely little in the way of nesting material

....yet up to a day or so ago the parents were coming in with food constantly

Skogsøy 07 May 2022 - More Poms!

Fresh northerly winds and feeling chilly with it.

Yet another cracking seawatch!

Highlight was almost without doubt four Pom Skuas polarjo heading north with a single followed by three shortly afterwards. Several Arctic Skua tyvjo also passed along with a few White-billed Diver gulnebblom and a good selection of duck and waders A decent number of Kittiwake krykkje passed including many/mostly 2cy birds. Almost strange that no-one claimed a Sab:)

There was a large group of people seawatching from Herdlevær and it was interesting to compare results. With so much going on I watched with binoculars for the most part (as usual). I missed a lot of stuff and I suspect this was due to not sitting glued to my scope and looking largely for birds that passed closer in (and they pass closer at Skogsøy).

Two presumed Orcas spekkhogger were a bonus sighting, assuming two females, long, backward curved fins and about the right size)

Arctic Skuas tyvjo - first of the year for me:)

2cy Black-headed Gull hettemåke

Common Scoter svartand

Gannet havsule

Kittiwakes krykkje

Long-tailed Ducks havelle

Poms polarjo

A couple of the White-billed Divers gulnebblom passed at nice photo range - not too cropped compared to the usual:)

Red-throated Diver smålom N 399 (ca 254 in the period where 267 were reported further north, not much missed for this species)

White-Billed Diver gulnebblom N 3 (all before 0700). So I missed all three reported further north

Northern Gannet havsule N 48, S 7

Great Cormorant storskarv N 1, S 4

Eurasian Shag toppskarv N 5, S 71

Tufted Duck toppand N 2

Eider ærfugl N 1, S 7

Long tailed duck havelle N 115, S 2 (108 v 101 at Herdlevær in the same period)

Common Scoter svartand S 24 (11 v 51 at Herdlevær, large miss)

Merganser siland N     1

Oystercatcher tjeld N 5

Golden Plover heilo N 4

Red Knot polarsnipe N 10

Pomarine Skua polarjo N 4 (1 followed by three just before 1100)

Arctic Skua tyvjo N 7 (5 pale, 2 dark), S 1 (dark) so I had just three in the same period where 12 were seen at Herdlevær.

Black headed Gull hettemåke N 1 2y bird (none at Herdlevær)

Common Gull fiskemåke N 3

Black-legged Kittiwake krykkje N 150 (only 71 v 87 in the same period further north. Many were rather distant, large proportion of 2cy birds)

Arctic Tern rødnebbterne N 2 (none at Herdlevær)

Common Guillemot lomvi N 6 (none identified specifically at Herdlevær)

Razorbill alke N 2