A cracking WHOLE DAY out - the first for absolutely ages. The only time I do this these days is when I'm guiding as I was today.
The highlight was a Hobby lerkefalk. A double deja vu in that this record mirrors the last one I saw out here in that I saw what I was pretty sure was a Hobby a few days before I could confirm it. Not long ago I thought I had one (also at / close to Tjeldstø) so it was not a huge surprise to see it today.
I heard the Swallows låvesvale alarming about it but looking around all I could see was a White-tailed Eagle havørn. Shortly afterwards I received a call about a Hobby heading south, and this from a point further south than I was. I replied that I wasn't s sure that it was actually migrating, suspecting the bird was the same as a week or so ago and that it was following the pattern of last year's bird. No sooner had I put the phone down the bird came blasting overhead chasing something north through the reserve.
Shortly before this another relatively good bird in the form of a Stonechat svartstrupe had joined the Whinchats buskskvett beside Husvatnet, not bad at all. This bird was found by the other resident Øygarden birder shortly before I turned up but this was just random chance as news of the bird had not yet been sent out.
Before I left the house I had a Merlin dvergfalk, three White-tailed Eagle havørn and a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker dvergspett from my terrace. The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker sighting fits in well with an emerging pattern of occurrence in late August - another was seen at Hatten the previous day. A great start to the morning - what a fantastic time of year!
It wasn't all plain sailing though as some of the usual suspects proved difficult to find. However, several more White-tailed Eagles havørn, Sparrowhawk spurvehauk, the first Kestrel tårnfalk of the autumn (in fact the first of the year!) , a few flocks of Twite bergirisk, Bramblings bjørkefink and a whole lot more besides.
The highlight was a Hobby lerkefalk. A double deja vu in that this record mirrors the last one I saw out here in that I saw what I was pretty sure was a Hobby a few days before I could confirm it. Not long ago I thought I had one (also at / close to Tjeldstø) so it was not a huge surprise to see it today.
I heard the Swallows låvesvale alarming about it but looking around all I could see was a White-tailed Eagle havørn. Shortly afterwards I received a call about a Hobby heading south, and this from a point further south than I was. I replied that I wasn't s sure that it was actually migrating, suspecting the bird was the same as a week or so ago and that it was following the pattern of last year's bird. No sooner had I put the phone down the bird came blasting overhead chasing something north through the reserve.
Just about record shots of the Stonechat svatstrupe - it showed very nicely in the scope and as I was guiding my camera was back in the car at the time.
Shortly before this another relatively good bird in the form of a Stonechat svartstrupe had joined the Whinchats buskskvett beside Husvatnet, not bad at all. This bird was found by the other resident Øygarden birder shortly before I turned up but this was just random chance as news of the bird had not yet been sent out.
Before I left the house I had a Merlin dvergfalk, three White-tailed Eagle havørn and a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker dvergspett from my terrace. The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker sighting fits in well with an emerging pattern of occurrence in late August - another was seen at Hatten the previous day. A great start to the morning - what a fantastic time of year!
It wasn't all plain sailing though as some of the usual suspects proved difficult to find. However, several more White-tailed Eagles havørn, Sparrowhawk spurvehauk, the first Kestrel tårnfalk of the autumn (in fact the first of the year!) , a few flocks of Twite bergirisk, Bramblings bjørkefink and a whole lot more besides.
