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

Øygarden 10.01-16-01-2026 - Birding therapy

Tough times on the home front😪 so kind of hard to keep going. This week some birding has helped take my mind off things as it has done before during some of life's various challenges.

I returned home shortly after midday on 10th January and 15 minutes later I was out in glorious, if rather cold conditions. 

The first birds I saw from my terrace were two White-tailed Eagles havørn:)

With good light and no wind I headed to Hjelme Vest where the star bird was a lovely White-billed Diver gulnebblom. Other species here included a flock of 39 Long-tailed Duck havelle (a shadow of the number that would have been present a decade or two ago), a Velvet Scoter sjøorre, five Common Scoter svartand, a Curlew storspove , a Peregrine vandrefalk and more White-tailed Eagles havørn. Despite the freezing temperatures there was a Common Snipe enkeltbekkasin in one of the usual spots.

After this I popped in at a few other places picking up a Woodcock rugde at Hatten, a small flock of Purple Sandpipers fjæreplytt at Tjeldstø, some Common Crossbills grankorsnebb and more.

The following day I went to Skogsøy with one of my daughters, the wind has picked up significantly and there was rather more to see than on our previous visit there. A Great Northern Diver islom headed south as did a Gannet havsule and several Kittiwake krykkje headed north. Other stuff included a couple of Velvet Scoter sjøorre, 

On the way home drive-bys produced Common Snipe enkeltbekkasin, Redwing rødvingetrost, the first Chaffinches bokfink of the year and more.

Common Snipe enkeltbekkasin.

Snipe, Woodcock and other species dependent on unfrozen ground are struggling big time at the moment.

On Monday 12.01 it was more of the same really with White-tailed Eagles havørn seen various places, small numbers of Fieldfare gråtrost and Redwing rødvingetrost, Common Gull fiskemåke, more Common Snipe enkeltbekkasin and the Heron gråhegre roost at Dåvøy numbered 31 birds.

A number of Snipe enkeltbekkasin are using the smallest of holes in the ice in an attempt to try and find food.

On 13th January I visted several localities and picked up a Woodcock rugde, a few Snipe enkeltbekkasin, including one that had succumbed to the current conditions. A Little Grebe dvergdykker was present at Dåvøy.

Redwing rødvingetrost at Hatten

Dead Snipe enkeltbekkasin at Tjeldstø

Female Velvet Scoter sjøorre at Herdlevær

White-tailed Eagle havørn at Dåvøy

The next couple of days were spent at work in Bergen but on 14th January a drive-by at Dåvøy on my way into the city produced two Little Grebe dvergdykker.

Little Grebes dvergdykker at Dåvøy

On 16th January I stayed in Øygarden and spent a couple of hours checking some other localities in the calm, mild and slightly wet conditions. At Dåvøy a Little Auk alkekonge was the first of the year, a Great Northern Diver islom fed actively there and Otters gave point blank views whilst my camera was still in my rucksack.

Great Northern Diver islom at Dåvøy

The usual selection of stuff was present at Solberg including another Great Northern Diver islom, a lone Long-tailed Duck havelle, a White-tailed Eagle havørn and good numbers of Cormorant storskarv and Shag toppskarv.

Skogsøy 04 May 2025 - Third day in a row!

Another morning of seawatching in great company, the hours flew passed as did plenty of birds!

Light northerly winds and glorious sunshine made for good conditions, nothing out of the ordinary but some excellent views of some cool species:)

A second year Great Northern Diver islom fed on the sea as did various auks. Singing Lesser Whitethroat møller, White-tailed Eagle havørn and more were seen on the way to and from the lookout point.

Red throated Diver smålom N 88

Great Northern Diver islom N 2 (1 adult, 1 2cy)

White Billed Diver gulnebblom N 7 (all adults)

Northern Gannet havsule N 81

Great Cormorant storskarv N 2

Eurasian Shag toppskarv N 7, S 85

Greylag Goose grågås N 2

Barnacle Goose hvitkinngås N 88 (some flocks overhead)

Shelduck gravand N 2

Mallard stokkand N 5

Eider ærfugl N 3

Long tailed duck havelle N 14

Common Scoter svartand N 6, S 12

Velvet Scoter sjøorre N 3

Merganser siland N 2

Oystercatcher tjeld N 42

Whimbrel småspove N 1

Redshank rødstilk 2

Black-legged Kittiwake krykkje N 15, S 4

Common Guillemot lomvi N 2

Razorbill alke N 8

Black Guillemot teist N 3

Auk N 6, S 5

Some Barnacle hvitkinngås flocks came right overhead

Gannets havsule gave good views as usual

This 2cy Great Northern Diver islom shows how photos can deceive, seen well in the scope the pale bill was just an effect of the strong sunlight.

Some Oystercatcher tjeld still on the move

Razorbill alke

Shelduck gravand

Some cracking views of White-billed Diver gulnebblom!

On the way home a couple of Carrion Crow svartkråke turned up at Breivik.

Skogsøy 03 May 2025 - The loonatic season continues

Another day, another seawatch:) This time under much calmer conditions and with a lot less rain. And with a scope this time!¨

A typical seawatch for the time of year with decent varierty but without big numbers of anything. Bonus species was a pod of Orcas spekkhogger feeding actively offshore.

Red throated Diver smålom N 62

White Billed Diver gulnebblom N 13

Northern Gannet  havsule N 39, S 23

Great Cormorant storskarv N 8, S 1

Eurasian Shag toppskarv N 6, S 69

Barnacle Goose hvitkinngås N 9 (25 more flew north over land on my way out)

Long tailed duck havelle N 18

Common Scoter svartand N 10, S 34

Velvet Scoter sjøorre N 3

Merganser siland N  4, S 2

Oystercatcher tjeld N 5, S 12

Whimbrel småspove N 8

Arctic Skua tyvjo N 3 (2 pale, 1 dark) , S 1 (dark)

Common Gull fiskemåke N 9

Black-legged Kittiwake krykkje N 7

Common Guillemot lomvi N 1

Auk N 2

Gannet havsule

Raven ravn heading back to its nest with something

Part of a flock of Red-throated Diver smålom

Velvet Scoter sjøorre

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!