Dåvøy 06 January 2020 - Yellow legs.....

Near gale force southerly winds again but little rain. Little in the way of visibility so fairly hard going again today

Obviously darker than Herring Gull gråmåke (pro YLG feature)

Red spot on bill bleeding over to upper mandible - another pro YLG feature

Unfortunately the bird was spooked (possibly by Whooper Swans) before I managed to document the open wings...

This is the time of year those troublesome yellow-legged gulls turn up. Today a (the?) yellow legged gull turned up at Dåvøy - a regular spot for this to happen. It could potentially be a Yellow-legged Gull gulbeinmåke as it shows a number of pro YLG features - darker grey mantle, red eye ring, powerful bill with pronounced gonydal angle, red bill spot bleeding over to upper mandible, yellow legs, darker yellow eye and all white head. It was spooked by something before I managed to see the open wing properly - P10 looks to be all white (not good for YLG) but P5 does appear to be black (good for YLG). Or it could just be an omissus type Herring Gull gråmåke - hopefully some better shots of the wings will point ID in the right direction. The advanced moult (i.e. no streaking on the head) is obviously another pointer to YLG.

Red-breasted Merganser siland at Dåvøy

Also at Dåvøy the Grey Heron gråhegre roost numbered 46 birds which is a decent count.

A Peregrine vandrefalk hunted at Tjeldstø.

Willow Tit granmeis

The only definitely identified new for the year today were a couple of Willow Tit granmeis - although common enough inland it is not a common bird locally except during "invasion" years. In 2019 there were only three records of this species in Øygarden - none of which I managed to see.

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.

Øygarden 15 October - Almost there

Finally managed a short trip out of the house but before I left a couple of Grey Wagtail vintererle and a flock of Shag toppskarv were additions to the new garden list - which now stands at a whopping 35 species.

A late Lesser-black backed Gull sildemåke was the highlight at Husvatnet, Tjeldstø.

Part of the Two-barred Crossbill båndkorsnebb flock 

Common Crossbill grankorsnebb feeding in rowan bushes

Willow Tit granmeis - good numbers of this irruptive migrant passing through recently

Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett

Mealy Redpolls gråsisik - some pale rumps seen but nothing good enough to claim anything....

At Herdlevær a mid afternoon stroll produced lots of grounded migrants including a few each of Chiff-chaff gransanger and Blackcap munk along with the usual selection of autumn thrushes and finches. Highlight here was a flock of seven Two-barred Crossbill båndkorsnebb. Other stuff of interest were a couple of Willow Tit granmeis and a Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett.