Tjeldstø 21 December 2007

Blackbird svarttrost
Brambling bjørkefink

Not out and about today. A couple of oiled gulls, no doubt from the Statjord spill flew past the house.

Took a couple of photos in my garden at 800 ISO and slow shutter speeds on the shortest, and quite possibly the dullest day of 2007. At least the days are getting longer from here on!

Øygarden 20 December 2007

Red-throated Diver smålom

Gave looking for oiled birds a break today - with good results.

At Solberg best bird was an adult Peregrine vandrefalk - I was beginning to think there were none in Øygarden this winter. Other birds included a very unseasonal Lapwing vipe, a Curlew storspove, 20 Purple Sandpiper fjæreplytt and three Velvet Sctoer sjøorre.

Near Nautnes a Red-throated Diver smålom fished in one of the shadiest places in Øygarden on an otherwise sunny day; this is quite an unusual find during the winter months. Whilst taking pictures of this bird both Redwing rødvingtrost and Great spotted Woodpecker flaggspett were seen.

Skogsøy 19 December 2007

Eider ærfugl panic - click for larger image
Cormorant storskarv
Eiders ærfugl in flight - ladies first!

Once again out looking for oiled seabirds and once again around 5% of passing gulls were oiled. Generally very quiet indeed, probably due to the light winds. Birds worthy of mention included a Red-throated Diver smålom and five Little Auks alkekonge heading south. One clean adult Gannet havsule flew north. It may be worth a note that ALL the oiled birds seen recently have been heading south.

Other than that I experimented with taking photographs on what must be about the dullest day of the year - barely any light at all so I was quite pleased with today's results.

Tjeldstø 18 December 2007

Whooper Swans sangsvane on Rotevatnet, Tjeldstø
Greylags grågås at Breivik
Female Scaup bergand, Rotevatnet

Only out for the briefest of strolls - and turned up the first Scaup bergand for Tjeldstø so far this year! Otherwise Willow Tit granmeis remain in the area after the autumn invasion and there are plenty of Common Crossbill grankorsnebb flocks about.

The Whooper Swans sangsvane now number eight - the highest thus far this winter.

Other stuff worth a mention is a report of a Water Rail vannriske from 11 December near Toftøy and the Greylag grågås flock remians at Breivik.

Skogsøy 17 December 2007

Oiled Herring Gull gråmåke
Eiders Ærfugl
Shag toppskarv

Once again oiled seabirds obvious - 5% of passing gulls were oiled.

Luckily it seems that the seaduck and other inshore species may be spared this time around. No oiled Eiders ærfugl, Shag toppskarv or other species hid hard by the Server have been seen with oil on them yet.

Only a few Little Auk alkekonge today and very little else passing.

Best bird today were a Lapwing vipe at Herdlevær and, in an Øygarden context, a big flock (40-60) of Siskin grønnsisik. Another unusual species for Skogsøy was a Bullfinch dompap.

The big flock of Greylags grågås was still feeding at Breivik.

Skogsøy 16 December - oiled again!

Oiled Great Black-backed Gull svartbak
Oiled Herring Gull gråmåke
Heavily oiled Gannet havsule

Spent an hour seawatching at Skogsøy and, as anticipated, the first victims from the recent oil spill at Statfjord were in evidence. A Great Black-backed Gull svartbak, a Herring Gull gråmåke and a heavily oiled Northern Gannet havsule were all seen.

Tragic to have the same region hit by oil twice within the same year - no time for the memories of the Server disaster to fade.

Other than the somewhat predictable oiled birds there were a few birds of interest about including a Red-throated Diver smålom south (late), 17 Little Auk alkekonge also heading south, a Curlew storspove, a Woodcock rugde and the usual selection of seaduck - repeatedly flushed by at least one colour-ringed White-tailed Eagle havørn.

Common Scoter svartand (click on lower picture for larger image)

Colour ringed White-tailed Eagle havørn - causing panic amoung the ducks

Long-tailed Ducks havelle - click for larger image

On the way home a flock of 34 Greylags grågås at Breivik were a surprise find - a very large flock for December.

Part of a flock of Greylags grågås at Breivik, click for larger image

Øygarden 14 December 2007 - Black Redstart

Black Redstart svartrødstjert at Sture

Temperatures above freezing, little wind and very little light. Star bird was a Black Redstart svartrødstjert at Sture. This is stretching the definition of late autumn migrant a bit far. Also at Sture at least one Goldfinch stillits.


At "Hjelme Vest" the usual winter fare included a Great Northern Diver islom on the sea, a Red-necked Grebe gråstrupedykker, a Curlew storspove, a Black Guillemot teist and a flock of 25 Purple Sandpiper fjæreplytt.

Øygarden 13 December 2007

Red-breasted Merganser siland with snake pipefish havnål

Great to be back in "costa del Øygarden". Spent a couple of hours checking out a few places. At Solberg the best bird was a Great Northern Diver islom - and for the first time I watched this species struggling to swallow pipefish havnål. Other stuff here included a couple of immature White-tailed Eagle havørn and a small flock of Long-tailed Duck havelle. A male Red-breasted Merganser siland swallowed a pipefish, coughed it up again and swallowed it for a second time.

At Alvheim a Sparrowhawk spurvhauk, a Velvet Scotet sjøorre and a couple of Purple Sandpiper fjærelplytt were seen along with the usual suspects.

Tjeldstø 13 November 2007

Clear and cold today. Not bad at all for mid-November with a number of latish migrants seen including four Skylark sanglerke, a Song Thrush måltrost, a Blackcap munk and 30 Starling stær. Several Common Snipe enkeltbekkasin out in the reserve , a Little Auk alkekonge and a Great sptted Woodpecker flagspett were other birds of note.

Hellesøy 25 October 2007 - Grey-headed Woodpecker

Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett investigating boat shed, Hellesøy
Entanglement in fishing gear claims more victims than oil spills......

A stroll around Hellesøy was quite productive - the highlights were again were a Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett and a flock of 17 Waxwings sidensvans. This is the peak season for both of these species. For more details see this page. The only other species of interest here other than the continued passage of Fieldfare gråtrost and Redwing rødvingtrost was a flock of 10 Long-tailed Tit stjertmeis.

At Sæle another flock of Waxwing sidensvans was seen along with two Blackcap munk.

The first Woodcock rugde of the autumn flew over my house at dawn....

Tjeldstø 24 October - a good day

One of the many Starling stær at Tjeldstø today
Goldcrest fuglekonge

Plenty about today with highlights being a Lapland Bunting lappspurv, a flock of 12 Waxwing sidensvans and a Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett. The supporting cast included two Goldfinch stillits, 10 Long-tailed Tit stjertmeis, a Great Spotted Woodpecker flaggspett and several Skylark sanglerke.

Good numbers of Fieldfare gråtrost both in the fields and on direct migration along with smaller numbers of Redwing rødvingtrost, Blackbird svarttrost, Starling stær and a couple of late(ish) Song Thrush måltrost. Small flocks of Crossbill korsnebb still very obvious, several Twite bergirisk and a few Brambling bjørkefink were also noted.

Throw in a Sparrowhawk spurvhauk and a White-tailed Eagle havørn and it was all in all not too bad....

Øygarden 20 October 2007

Chiff-chaff gransanger at Tjeldstø
Probable Parrot Crossbill furukorsnebb, Sæle
Common Redpoll gråsisik, Hjelme
White-tailed Eagle havørn, Hjelme

Checked out a few localities starting at Herdlevær where large numbers of Blue Tit blåmeis and several Willow Tit granmeis were still present. The best birds here were the firtst Long-tailed Duck havelle of the autumn - a flock of around 30 sat on the sea.

Flocks of crossbills were seen everywhere - largely Common Crossbill grankorsnebb but a flock at Sæle looked very much like Parrot Crossbill furukorsnebb. At Sæle there were at least three Blackcap munk feeding on elderberries. One Nuthatch spettmeis also present.

At Hjelme a large flock (at least 150) of Common Redpoll gråsisik fed in the pines - one of several flocks seen today. Also at Hjeme a White-tailed Eagle havørn and a Sparrowhawk spurvhauk were two of three raptor species seen during the day - a Goshawk hønsehauk at Tjeldstø being the third. A Chiff-chaff gransanger fed in a garden at Tjeldstø.

Øygarden 09 October 2007

Very pale Lesser Whitethroat møller - possibly of the eastern (Asian) form minula

Jay nøtteskrike at Hjelme - only lone individuals now being seen

The first Little Grebe dvergdykker of the autumn at Sæle today

The Blue Tit blåmeis invasion continues....

Part of a flock of 60+ Fieldfare gråtrost on their way south

Yet another wonderful day in glorious weather. The number of migrants around continues to drop - migrating is no problem with clear skies and light winds!

Started the day at Herdlevær where the Yellow-browed Warbler gulbrynsanger remains. Today, however, this may not have been the best bird - a Lesser Whitethroat møller which seemed to me to be of the eastern form minula was present in juniper scrub to the north of "village". Other birds of note included a Jack Snipe kvartbekkasin and a late Willow Warbler løvsanger.

Migrants included some largish flocks of Fieldfare gråtrost heading south and Common Crossbills grankorsnebb heading north.

Sæle was much quieter with the best bird here being an early Little Grebe dvergdykker. A female Blackcap munk feeding on elderberries and a small flock of Long-tailed Tit stjertmeis were also present.

At Hjelme a Jay nøtteskrike and a Nuthatch spettmeis were possibly the last of the recent irruption - lingering on in one of the few suitable habitats for these species in Øygarden. However, there are still huge flocks of Blue Tit blåmeis on the move - the largest flock today contained at least 50 birds!

Øygarden 08 October 2007

Yellow-browed Warbler gulbrynsanger, Herdlevær. Click image for larger version

Willow Tit granmeis

Great Spotted Woodpecker flaggspett at Tjeldstø (click on image for larger version)

North westerly winds and a succesion of showers meant things didn't look too promising. However, this was far from the truth as a few hours birding produced some good birds.

Started off at Tjeldstø where a newly arrived Great Spotted Woodpecker flaggspett showed quite well. Other birds included Jay nøtteskrike, small numbers of Crossbill grankorsnebb, a Sparrowhawk spurvhauk and plenty of Redwing rødvingtrost in the fields.

Moving on to Herdlevær the undoubted highlight was a Yellow-browed Warbler gulbrynsanger which may have been a new bird as the area has been searched at least twice without result since the last one....other stuff included a Peregrine vandrefalk and a huge flock of Blue Tit blåmeis - numbering at least 60. Some of the irrupting Willow Tit granmeis are still about but numbers have dropped considerably with no large flocks present.

Øygarden 06 October 2007

A short stroll at Tjeldstø produced a few of the recent irruptive migrants including a Jay nøtteskrike and a Nuthatch spettmeis. Otherwise just a few Wigeon brunnakke and a couple of Lapwing vipe.

A quick look at Herdlevær produced a cracking Yellow-browed Warbler gulbrynsanger which called a few times. However, generally fewer birds around here than of late....

Herdlevær 02 October 2007

One of many Goldcrest fuglekonge at Herdlevær
Two migrating Nuthatch spettmeis

Jack Snipe kvartbekkasin going to ground...

Generally not as much about as the previous visit but far from dead. Best bird was a Jack Snipe kvartbekkasin. Other stuff on the move included a few Nuthatch spettmeis, a small flock of Brambling bjørkefink and most of the usual suspects including a Sparrowhawk spurvhauk.

Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett reported near Kollsnes.

Small numbers of Crossbill korsnebb and Twite bergerisk flying over at Tjeldstø

Hellesøy 01 October 2007

Long-tailed Tit stjertmeis - damn that leaf!

One of four Twite bergirisk today

The highlight of a short afternoon stroll at Hellesøy was a nice flock of Long-tailed Tit stjertmeis, unfortunately rather difficult to photograph. A small flock of Twite bergirisk were also present.

Other stuff included small numbers of Willow Tit granmeis also on the move, a small flock of Velvet Scoter sjøorre and a couple of Curlew storspove.