On 29th August I left the reservation for a day of guiding at Herdla. This coincided with the Bergen Bird Life excursion to exactly the same place. Well over 40 species seen with 13 species of wader including a few Little Stint dvergsnipe, a couple of Black-tailed Godwit svarthalespove and several Greenshank gluttsnipe. A couple of White-tailed Eagles havørn gave decent views. Best bird was an early Slavonian Grebe horndykker and Red-throated Diver smålom flew over.
The following day I spent a couple of hours seawatching at Skogsøy. It was very quiet with not much moving although a small flock of Sanderling sandløper fed on the shore and a flock of waders which included around 8 Turnstone steinvender headed south. Strangely some waders were seen heading north.
Otherwise just the usual Gannets havsule, a Kittiwake krykkje heading south, a single Common Scoter svartand and a light passage of various gulls.
The walk to and from the car produced little other than a Kestrel tårnfalk and a couple of Crested Tits toppmeis.
On the way home I stopped at Tjeldstø but it was quiet here too with just a Kestrel tårnfalk and a Great Spotted Woodpecker flaggspett seen along with the usual White-tailed Eagle havørn. The woodpecker may indicate an invasion year - this species often turns up towards the end of August when they are going to start moving in numbers....time will soon tell if this is indeed the case.
A last minute guiding trip on 31st August had me doing Herdla again. Much the same story as the previous visit with plenty of waders although the variety and numbers were down in the "nice" weather though the Black-tailed Godwits svarthaespove showed again along with several Little Stint dvergsnipe. The Slav Grebe horndykker was present and at least four White-tailed Eagles havørn put in an appearance although at longer range than on Saturday. Again over 40 species seen.
I had to make up the hours the next day and didn't really leave the house so had to make do with White-tailed Eagles havørn and not much else.
Strong onshore winds on 2nd September meant that the temptation to get out to Skogsøy was strong. Unfortunately I had work stuff I couldn't shift and had to stay at home. In the early afternoon a message about a Hoopoe hærfugl further south in Øygarden made me snap. I didn't bother with this bird (over 20 minutes away so not happening) but headed out to Skogsøy instead. I was rewarded with a Sooty Shearwater grålire, a Manx Shearwater havlire and a pale phase Arctic Skua tyvjo as the best birds. Unusually I sat in the hide there in order to shelter from the wind and the several squalls that struck. Small numbers of Gannets havsule, a couple of Fulmar havhest and several Kittiwake krykkje also passed. Fulmar is a species that I see a lot less often than previously, it used to be a common species here.
