Skogsøy was quiet and on the verge of disappointing. SE winds are not normally good for migration in spring but can produce some surprises. So it was today with a pair of Gadwall snadderand passing first south before turning and heading north. Not a species I see every year in Øygarden. A Greenshank gluttsnipe and, more predictably two dark phase Arctic Skua tyvjo were among the other sightings, Virtually no divers and only small numbers of duck passing today. The dominant species today were Gannets havsule with over 90 heading south. Common Gull fiskemåke passage started to pick up shortly before I gave up and headed in.
Several White-tailed Eagles havørn seen including a young bird that had a very good go at grabbing a goslong at Husvatnet but the parents are adept and protecting their young and the attack was unsuccessful. A Greenshank gluttsnipe remained here and the first Lesser Whitethroat møller of the year sanger here but not much else of note.
Tufred Duck toppand fleeing from a White-tailed Eagle havørn - this species has also started passing over the sea.
Exhausted White-tailed Eagle havørn after an unsuccessful attempt at Greylag chicks.
An adult at Skogsøy headed out to sea to harass Gannets havsule.
On the way home I stopped at Hatten where a pair of Hawfinch kjernebiter performed nicely along with Brambling bjørkefink, Bullfinch dompap, Blackcap munk etc.
Today I checked a few localities on a day with strong southerly winds and some light rain.
Small numbers of Black-headed Gulls hettemåke fed in fields here and there.
At Tjeldstø a Hawfinch kjernebiter turned up alongside a flock of Brambling bjørkefink.
Several Swallows låvesvale at Dåvøy were joined by the first House Martin taksvale of the year and a Sand Martin sandsvale showed at Solberg where five Purple Sandpipers fjæreplytt also put in an appearance.
Raptor wise is was back to just White-tailed Eagles havørn with several seen.
A Common Sandpiper strandsnipe on the shore in front of my house was the first at Nautnes this year-
A week spent in my inland home away from home:) I managed to cover most of my usual spots in between work and other stuff.
My impression was that things were a lot quieter than normal for this time of year. Waders were rather thin on the ground - very small numbers of Whimbrel småspove compared to normal, most tringa waders well down on normal numbers and a some of species of wader were simply not present. Yellow wagtail gulerele, normally extremely common, were present in much lower numbers than usual. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the spring was rather late and there was a long period of cold weather that stopped just a couple of days before I arrived.
That said, a decent variety of species (at least 82) were seen including a couple more new Engerdal species for me - a Hawfinch kjernebiter in the garden and a female Hen Harrier myrhauk. Other highlights including breeding Short-eared Owl jordugle, excellent views of singing Icterine Warbler gulsanger, Common Buzzard musvåk and Great Grey Shrike varsler seemingly holding territory.
Hawfinch kjernebiter - a new species for me in Engerdal.
This bird was seen in the garden at Heggriset.
Female Hen Harrier myrhauk - another new species for me in Engerdal - one of the first birds seen on my "farewell tour" on the morning I left.
Common Buzzard musvåk, Heggeriset
This shot shows the effect of the light with one pupil much larger than the other one:)
Short-eared Owl jordugle.
There was quite a lot of evidence of rodents in the hills, Kestrels tårnfalk were pretty much everywhere so it seems like not too bad a year for these birds in the mountains
Great Grey Shrike varsler - normally I see this species in the autumn / winter but they also breed in the area. Another pointer towards a reasonable rodent year higher up.
Icterine Warbler gulsanger - this bird at Heggeriset and another at Galten were the only two I saw during the week in Engerdal.
A couple of unseasonal sightings at Drevsjø were a flyover Jackdaw kaie and a Starling stær which looked like it was visiting a nest hole - this is a species I have normally seen as an autumn migrant in Engerdal.
Common Tern makrellterne at Sorken.
Arctic Tern rødnebbterne is the commonest tern in Engerdal
Yellow Wagtail gulerle at Heggeriset
This species was noticeably less numerous than normal this time round
Bullfinches dompap with young were still visiting the garden feeder
Great-spotted Woodpecker flaggspett, Engerdal
Siskin grønnsisik at the feeder
Bullfinch dompap at Heggeriset
Merganser siland, Galten
Raven ravn, near Drevsjø
Brambling bjørkefink - one of the commonest breeding birds in Engerdal
Although it is not exactly a secret that I am not a fan of birding in the parks of Oslo they are a good and easy way of getting up close and personal with a number of species.
Priority today was buying beer but I managed half an hour in the Botanical Garden at Tøyen. The park contains a wide variety of berry and seed bearing trees and is currently full of birds - many of which are relatively tame and easy to get close to.
Hawfinch kjernebiter
Waxwing sidensvans
Even though I was armed with just a simple point and pray superzoom it was straightforward to take pictures of some of the park's inhabitants.
Birds from my point of view were at least seven Hawfinch kjernebiter and the same number of Waxwing sidensvans.
Another cracking day weather wise and therefore expectations were not too high for grounded migrants. However, the island was full of birds including some good ones which made for a magic morning out with a real feel of spring / summer.
Just about the first bird seen - a male Blackcap munk - all three Blackcaps seen today were males
Probably the best bird of the day - a Hawfinch kjernebiter
Plenty of very restless Lesser Redpolls brunsisik about - this one sat still for a few seconds
Meadow Pipit heipiplerke
The first Willow Warbler løvsanger of the year for me
There was an obvious arrival of a number of species on the island with the best bird being a Hawfinch kjernebiter. A few Willow Warbler løvsanger were also present and even sang - lying back in the grass in the sunshine and listening to the first Willow Warbler song made the trip worthwhile in itself. At least three male Blackcap munk, several Swallows låvesvale, a singing Skylark sanglerke, a migrating Woodcock rugde, at least 8 Chiff-chaffs gransanger and several Goldcrests fuglekonge were among the other migrants seen.
Good numbers of migrating Curlew storspove were seen throughout the morning with a flock of 27 over my house before I left, a flock of 55 over Hernar and more flocks passing and resting on the islands.
Curlew storspove and Teal krikkand
Four Shoveler skjeand (right hand birds) and five Teal krikkand
The Shoveler were no doubt the same birds also reported at Herdlevær
One of several flocks of Teal krikkand seen
Wigeon brunnakke
The journey to and from the island was also productive - largely in the form of dabbling ducks. These included four Shoveler skjeand, several Wigeon brunnakke and around 25 Teal krikkand.
Pretty much a full day in the field today. It would have been hard to pick a worse day for it with a southerly gale and rain for most of the day.
Despite the conditions it was magic to be out and about without having to watch the clock for once.
Dunlin myrsnipe struggling against gale force winds
First year Kittiwake krykkje.
Seems like I'm not the only one to be restricted to this species.....there are obviously some "Sabine's shadows" along the Norwegian coast
Willow Tit granmeis at Skogsøy, a relatively scarce bird in Øygarden
With the forecast telling me the winds would drop during the morning and there would be little or no rain I opted for Skogsøy. The forecast was wrong on both counts. The wind did not drop and after half an hour of seawatching the rain set in. Given the strength of the wind (I was nearly blown over a few times!) it is amazing that anything passed at all. A couple of first year Kittiwakes krykkje, a few Common Scoter svartand, a Razorbill alke and two Dunlin myrsnipe heading south were pretty much all I had to show for my efforts. A Red-throated Diver smålom fished very close in and a couple of Gannet havsule headed north. A Willow Tit granmeis was the only out of the ordinary passerine.
Rock Pipit skjærpiplerke at Herdlevær
This species is all over the place at the moment - not just in its usual shoreline habitat
Song Thrush måltrost at Herdlevær
Plenty of this species on the move at the moment too
A drive-by at Herdlevær proved that things were on the move with flocks of the usual thrushes, Meadow Pipits heipiplerke, Rock Pipits skjærpiplerke, Bramblings bjørkefink and the usual.
Next up was Breivik where there were a few hundred thrushes, more Brambling bjørkefink, 40 Common Gulls fiskemåke feeding in the fields, a few Snipe enkeltbekkasin and a White-tailed Eagle havørn.
The best bird at Harkestad was a Goldfinch stillits, other stuff included yet more Brambling bjørkefink, 130 Redwing rødvingetrost, several Song Thrush måltrost, Rock Pipit skjærpiplerke etc
Tjeldstø produced more of the same but with a Hawfinch kjernebiter as the highlight, a White-tailed Eagle havørn, seven Teal krikkand and seven Tufted Duck toppand were among the other sightings.
I then tried for the Rose-coloured Starlingrosenstær at Sæle but just as I got onto the Starling stær flock a Sparrowhawk spurvehauk buzzed them and they, along with a 100 or so Redwing rødvingetrost fled south. A Grey Wagtail vintererle provided superb views but was impossible to photograph as it kept being scared up by an endless stream of cars and people so I just gave up. Otherwise just a couple each of Chiff-chaff gransanger and Blackcap munk during what was a very brief check.
