Engerdal 11-18 June 2025 - Engerdal calling

A visit to Engerdal in June is part of the annual routine and this year was no exception. Always too long since the last visit and as ever I was keen to see what was about.

We headed up on 11th June with a stop in Hamar on the way up, just as normal. An hour or two Åkersvika gave some good species with singing Rosefinch rosenfink, Little Ringed Plover dverglo, two Osprey fiskeørn, a variety of other wader species and a Goosander laksand with 10 young.

At Heggeriset in the evening a few minutes birding gave a couple of Kestrel tårnfalk, Swifts tårnseiler and the usual hirundines.

I was up bright and early the next day doing my usual first day round. Highlights were many including a Hawk Owl haukugle, Ospreys fiskeørn (inlcluding birds on a nest) and Black Woodpecker svartspett (in the garden!) Also eight Velvet Scoter sjøorre on Galtsøen which I considered a bit strange so late in June - still waiting for somewhere to thaw or given up and moving on? Plenty of birds about in general but few waders compared to previous years.

Golden Plover heilo in the churchyard in Engerdal

Roadside Hauk Owl haukugle

I had to work all day on 13.06 but a few minutes out produced singing Icterine Warbler gulsanger at Heggeriset. A Swallowtail butterfly in the garden was a nice surprise.

A few hours walking around the Hyllsjøen / Hundsjøen area on 14th June gave some good surprises with another Hawk Owl haukugle and a male Red-backed Shrike tornskate. These in addition to the usual suspects which included a few Siberian Jays lavskrike, at least five male Black Grouse orrfugl, singing Redsarts rødstjert and more. Once again, rather fewer waders than what I used to consider normal.

Red-backed Shrike tornskate

Siberian Jay lavskrike - uncropped!!

On 15.06 I was again not really out but a Mistle Thrush duetrost at Kvilten was nice to see. Lots of Goldeneye kvinand with young on the river at Heggeriset too.

Hare at Drevsjø

Mistle Thrush duetrost at Kvilten

Pied Flycatcher svarthvit fluesnapper at Drevsjø

On 16.06 I managed a pre work foray into the hills - Svarthammaren. Here singing Tree Pipits trepiplerke as I got out of the car, Ring Ousel ringtrost playing hard to get, a surprise Green Sandpiper skogsnipe (don't often see them so high up), several of the more expected Wood Sandpipers grønnstilk, singing Yellow Wagtails gulerle, Black-throated Diver storlom on the nest, Whimbrel småspove, Golden Plover heilo and more. 

Much more surprising was a Beaver, well above the treeline. Not sure what was going on there!

Beaver above the treeline

Black-throated Diver storlom trying to hide

Pictures heavily cropped - no way was I going closer to this bird that obviously had something important going on

Wood Sandpiper grønnstilk

A very smart Yellow Wagtail gulerle

The way home produced Garden Warbler hagesanger and a nice Golden Eagle kongeørn:)

The 17th June was the last full day in this wonderful area and I spent the morning doing my usual round of Galtsjøen, Isterfossen and Drevsjø along with a little side trip to Sorken.

37 Black-headed Gull hettemåke on Galtsjøen was quite a high number - but again a bit concerning as these birds should have been breeding somewhere at this time.

Isterfossen punched above its usual weight with a Herring Gull gråmåke (strange time to see an adult bird in Engerdal), Grey Wagtail vinterle, Icterine Warbler gulsanger and more.

Other birds seen during the morning included Slavonian Grebe horndykker, Red-throated Diver smålom and several Black-throated Diver storlom.

Herring Gull gråmåke at Isterfossen

Slavonian Grebe horndykker

A pre-breakfast walk on the last morning saw me on the edge of Kvisleflået. Just a couple of female Black Grouse orrfugl and a couple of singing Mistle Thrush duetrost of note.

xxx

Besseggen 17-19 June 2020 - Run to the hills

Desperately hot for someone not keen on the heat so the mountains seemed like a good idea - and athough Besseggen was not my idea it is THE hike to do here in Norway and with things set to open up it seemed like an opportunity to avoid the worst of the crowds.

There is good birding to be had in the area so with Iron Maiden playing I drove a long way in a vain attempt to cool down....

Hen Harrier myrhauk and Rough-legged Buzzard fjellvåk flying over the road along Valdresflye made me want to to stop and see what was out there. However, these stops did not produce that much and I saw no waders at all. Further down from the plateau itself a Short-eared Owl jordugle hunted within view of the road and a cracking male Red-backed Shrike tornskate gave a deja vu feeling - having seen a pair in more or less the same place during a guiding trip a couple of years ago.

Roadside Red-backed Shrike tornskate

thunbergi Yellow Wagtails såerle

Besseggen was just incredible scenery-wise, we chose to hike behind the crowd that left the boat in order to avoid the selfie stick brigade. It was also far too hot to be walking / climbing. Species seen on the hike included a Bluethroat blåstrupe, several Ring Ousel ringtrost and some Ptarmigan fjellrype.

A male Ptarmigan fjellrype put on a show, initially to allow his mate to scuttle off to safety and then to see off another male.

This is the actual "Besseggen" - the ridge walk.

....and some general stunning scenery.

No wonder it is so popular!

Herdlevær 15 October 2017 - Almost not twitching

Strong southerly winds, rain at first going over to occasional showers. Very dull.

Red-backed Shrike tornskate

Willow Tit granmeis at Tjeldstø - a small influx is going on at the moment. Not normally an easy species to see in Øygarden

I had planned on going somewhere other than Herdlevær but by the time it was time to go I had a text message about a Red backed Shrike tornskate that I felt should not be ignored given the time of year.

So I headed out with Mum to try and find the thing. This was easier said than done but eventually I found it and put to rest any fears/hopes that it might have been something more interesting. Far from the best photos I have taken of this species this year but a good bird locally. Other birders who didn't connect as quickly hung around a bit longer and found a Black Redstart svartrødstjert at the same place.

A number of birders made the trip out to see the Yellow-legged Gull gulbeinmåke and some of them were successful.

Still at least 30 Brambling bjørkefink in the garden.

Eastern Norway 11.08-22.08 Incidental birding....

A largely family orientated trip to Hamar and further north to Engerdal in a roundabout kind of way produced some decent incidental sighting.

First year Red-backed Shrike tornskate, Hamar

First year Whinchat buskskvett, Hamar

From a terrace in Hamar on 13.08 a couple of cups of coffee produced a Red-backed Shrike tornskate, a Marsh Harrier sivhauk, Goshawk hønsehauk, two Sparrowhawk spurvehauk and at least one Osprey fiskeørn. Nice.

Up in the mountains in Oppland (Åsdalstjønna) there were still Bluethroat blåstrupe present along with a variety of other passerines.

Siberian Jay lavskrike with blueberry, Engerdal

Plenty of Yellow Wagtails gulerle about in Engerdal with a good mix of adult and young birds

Golden Plover heilo

Roadside Hawk Owl haukugle (actually in Sweden, but not by much)

Small numbers of Tree Pipits trepiplerke still around in Engerdal

One of several Osprey fiskeørn sightings - this one as I was packing the car to leave Engerdal

Engerdal produced most of the usual suspects despite little effort in the field. Siberian Jays lavskrike eating blueberries and mushrooms, more Ospreys fiskeørn and plenty of passerines now moving down into the valleys - Yellow Wagtail gulerle being the most numerous. Predictably not many waders left but still some Whimbrels småspove high up on their breeding grounds, a Greenshank gluttsnipe, small numbers of Common Sandpiper strandsnipe and a single Golden Plover heilo.

A quick shopping trip over to Sweden gave roadside views of Hawk Owl haukugle and Sibe Jay lavskrike.

Eastern Norway 21-23 July - Run to the hills

One of many young Bluethroat blåstrupe at Fokstumyra

A few days of guiding in eastern Norway gave some birding. We started the ball rolling at the well-known Fokstumyra nature reserve. There were virtually no waders or wildfowl but a number of good birds put in an appearance including Hen Harrier myrhauk and Crane trane. There were good numbers of young Bluethroat blåstrupe about with some of these attended by adults. Best bird here, however, was a completely unexpected species in the form of a singing Quail vaktel.

Female Red-backed Shrike tornskate

The next day we headed on to Valdresflye. The journey there gave cracking views of Siberian Jay lavskrike, a pair of Red-backed Shrikes tornskate at a much higher altitude than I ever expected to see them at, Rough-legged Buzzards fjellvåk, Ring Ousels ringtrost and plenty more besides. Perhaps the best sighting was an adult Bar-tailed Godwit lappspove at Ovre Sjodalsvatnet.

Dotterel boltit

Shorelark fjellerke

Young Snow Bunting snøspurv

Stunning scenery....

Valdresflye itself was a bit on the quiet side but good numbers of Dotterel boltit inculding plenty of young birds were very nice to see having heard little other than doom and gloom about the breeding season up north this year. Other species here included Shorelark fjellerke, Snow Buntings snøspurv and more Rough-legged Buzzard fjellvåk.

Østensjøvatnet, Oslo

We finished the trip with a visit to Østensjøvatnet in Oslo where we picked up Green Sandpiper skogsnipe, had point blank views of Reed Warblers rørsanger and added plenty of new species to the trip list.