Birders often have a very different take on what good weather is. At this time of year southerly winds and rain count as good and towards the end of the period this is exactly what we got. This brought down some decent birds. I am not complaining about the weather at least:)
Still some Greylags grågås around although the migration is definitely underway.
Some of the Greylags grågås at Nautnes 4th August
Thursday 6th August was spent guiding around my old haunts prior to the move to Øygarden. So Unneland, the lower reaches of Gullfjell and "the back roads". Not quite as many species as last time but a number of different ones including Grey Wagtail vinterle, Tawny Owl kattugle, Spotted Flycatcher gråfuesnapper, Yellowhammer gulspurv and Jay nøtteskrike. A most enjoyable day out:) Non bird sightings included an Adder hoggorm (roadkill) and lots of tiny toads.
Tawny Owl kattugle at Unneland
I didn't leave the house on 7th August but as usual a White-tailed Eagle havørn flew over and the first Cormorant storskarv of the autumn fished in front of my house. Otherwise just the usual Common Sandpipers strandsnipe and so on. A light but noticable passage of Common Gulls fiskemåke heading south over the house too.
Cormorant storskarv at Nautnes
Adult White-tailed Eagle havørn photographed from the terrace
Strong winds and at times heavy rain set in at the weekend. This meant that I really did have to get out and about!:)
My usual round at Herdlevær on 8th August gave eight species of wader including a Ruff brushane and the first Purple Sandpiper fjæreplytt of the autumn. A lone Lapwing vipe was also present. On my way to and from Herdlevær a Carrion Crow svartkråke was at Breivik - incredibly shy it flew up well ahead of the local hoodies. A quick check at Tjeldstø on the way home produced a Greenshank gluttsnipe, a flyover Dunlin myrsnipe, several Curlew storspove, some Snipe enkeltbekkasin and a Sparrowhawk spurvehauk.
Carrion Crow svartkråke at Breivik
I did pretty much the same the following day picking up a nice Green Sandpiper skogsnipe and a Whimbrel småspove at Herdlevær. The Stonechats svartstrupe performed again at Kollsnes. Tjeldstø produced a couple of White-tailed Eagles havørn, a young Merlin dvergfalk chasing crows, a Spotted Redshank sotsnipe and a Greenshank gluttsnipe among other things. Another nice day out in "bad" weather.
On my return from Falsterbo it was straight into a couple of days of guiding.
An afternoon on Herdla on 31 August gave most of the usual suspects. Highlights were a couple of Black-tailed Godwit svarthalespove and at least two Curlew Sandpiper tundrasnipe. Surprise bird was a Whooper Swan sangsvane - no doubt the same bird that has frequented Tjeldstø recently.
Good numbers and a nice variety of other waders were seen including a couple each of Knot polarsnipe and Turnstone steinvender.
Dunlin myrsnipe
Two Knot polarsnipe and a Dunlin myrsnipe
Mixed flock of waders including two Curlew Sandpipers tundrasnipe, two Knot polarsnipe, Ruff brushane and Dunlin myrsnipe
The next day was a full day out in Øygarden and we kicked off from my terrace with Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett calling. A walk at Herdlevær produced significantly more species than at Herdla the previous day with the best bird being a Merlin dvergfalk. During the day a noticeable passage of Greylags grågås heading south. Passerines of note included a Stonechat svartstrupe, Whinchat buskskvett and Common Crossbills grankorsnebb. Best bird of the day in a local context was a Black-throated Diver storlom on the sea at Tjeldstø. A few White-tailed Eagle havørn and a good variety of early autumn migrants were also seen.
On 02 September the Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett once again made its presence known from the terrace and an early Grey Wagtail vinterle fed on the shore in front of my house. Also from my terrace an Otter put in an appearance.
Sunset from the terrace
Early morning view from the terrace
A large spider living on my terrace
The next day was spent preparing for an offshore trip with little time in the field. Best birds were a Kestrel tårnfalk at Husvatnet and a few Wigeon brunnakke at Kollsnes.
With a full house and the Christmas season upon us birding opportunities were limited. However, the weather was pretty much as good as it can get so time spent in the field was productive.
Whooper Swans sangsvane numbers seemed to increase during the period - but only to a maximum of 12 on Rotevatnet. Unfortunately all were adults - pointing to yet another poor breeding season wherever these birds come from.
Small numbers of Waxwing sidensvans still hanging around - but almost invariably only seen in flight. Brambling bjørkefink numbers continued to be high for the time of year - seemingly tempted to stay in the area due to the high number of pine cones. Common Crossbill grankorsnebb were also a common sight.
On 23 December I spent the day guiding away from Øygarden in the Bergen area. Around 45 species were noted during the day with highlight being a (the) female Smew lappfiskand on Kalandsvatnet. Great Northern Diver islom, Velvet Scoter sjøorre, Marsh Tit løvmeis, Dipper fossekall, Goosander laksand and Crested Tit toppmeis were among the other species seen.
I was not out on 24 December but a Goshawk hønsehauk over the house along with the usual White-tailed Eagles havørn was a bonus bird.
On 25 December a family walk to Hjelme Vest was a great success with a White-billed Diver gulnebblom on the sea as the best bird. Also present were at least four Great Northern Diver islom, a couple of Little Auk alkekonge, Black Guillemots teist, 15 Purple Sandpiper fjæreplytt, Curlew storspove, a minumum of four White-tailed Eagle havørn, 17 Long-tailed Duck havelle and more besides.
Another family walk, this time to Skogsøy, on 26th gave Peregrine vandrefalk as the best bird. Other sightings included Otter, Grey Seal and at least three White-tailed Eagle havørn
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.
I spent a couple of very pleasant days guiding an American couple around Øygarden and up on Gullfjell.
This was great fun with a lot of puerile humour - a pair of Great Tits kjøttmeis could set off the kind of sniggering that is possible with a 10 year old. There was also the constant translation of British bird names to the US version - and with so many of the over 70 species seen having a name beginning with Eurasion (Eurasion Curlew storspove, Eurasian Golden Plover heilo etc etc) it was suggested that I change my name from Natural Born Birder to Eurasion Birder.
Øygarden produced some decent birds with Corncrake åkerriskse the next best thing after the Trumpeter Finch trompetfink. Great Skua storjo chasing Gannets havsule, most of the local breeding waders, Eagle Owl hubro and plenty more. White-tailed Eagle havørn were unusually something of a struggle but we finally found three of these magestic birds at Hellesøy. Crested Tit toppmeis were a popular find invoking a new round of innuendo laden jokes. We also saw a few Otter here and there.
Gullfjell was a bit hard going above Redningshytten as the visibility closed in and it started to rain. Before this, however, we managed a Rough-legged Buzzard fjellvåk, a pair of Ring Ousel ringtrost, Dipper fossekall and most of the usual suspects.
Calm and overcast over Herdla, hot and sunny in Øygarden.
Kicked off a day guiding at Herdla- racking up well in excess of 50 species including a decent number of waders. A Little Stint dvergsnipe, a few Knot polarsnipe, 60 Ruff brushane and plenty more other waders. Some duck had arrived here too including Common Scoter svartand and Velvet Scoter sjøorre. Other decent birds included a Black Guillemot teist, a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker dvergspett and a Marsh Tit løvmeis.
It was harder work in Øygarden but several of the same wader species were seen here too along with the usual White-tailed Eagle havørn, Crested Tits toppmeis, Twite bergirisk and a Peregrine vandrefalk.
No pictures today as I tend not to use the camera whilst guiding,
Guiding again, popped in at a few localities in Øygarden and cleaned up on the target list of Eagle Owl hubro, White-tailed Eagle havørn and White-billed Diver gulnebblom - the latter at Skogsøy where a total of at least six were logged by one of the regular loonatics.
In a local context a Rook kornkråke, also at Skogsøy, was the bird of the day. Hard to understand how this could possibly beat the rest of the stuff we saw today....
A Great Skua storjo - the first of the year - was reported from Herdlevær.
