Tjeldstø 24 May 2011 - Dotterel!

Fresh South-westerly and occasional showers after gales during the night.

After a bad start to the day (trampoline blown 150m out of the garden and completely destroyed!) things improved greatly. The same winds that caused so much bother had also deposited two Dotterel boltit in the reserve - a new Øygarden species for me. This long awaited species has only been recorded a few times at most in Øygarden. Normally I see this species on Gullfjell or the Hardangervidda - great to finally see it so close to home. A flock of four waders flying over the house earlier in the day also struck me as being this species.

Other migrants were a couple of Barnacle Geese hvitkinngås grounded by the storm and a Black-headed Gull hettemåke.

 Above and below - the first Dotterel boltit for Tjeldstø

 Barnacle Geese hvitkinngås

 Golden Plover heilo

Lapwing vipe chick obeying the frantic cries of its parents and sitting very still in the grass

Singing Lesser Whitethoat møller, at least one Carrion Crow svartkråke and Lapwing vipe chicks were among the usual suspects.

Tjeldstø 21-23 May 2011

 Golden Plover heilo

Mallard stokkand with young

Strong southerlies with some rain at times

Took things easy for a few days - missing a passage of Brent geese ringgås and a Snow Goose snøgås on 22nd....(source blog at: http://www.birdwatchnorway.com/)

Mostly just the usual suspects in the reserve including one or two singing Lesser Whitethroats møller and up to two Carrion Crows svartkråke on 23rd. Small numbers of Golden Plover heilo resting were the only migrants noted.

Otherwise just ever more Greylags grågås with chicks.

Skogsøy 20 May 2011

Strong southerlies throughout the day.

It was never going to be good for skuas and divers today. In fact a four hour seawatch produced very little of anything - the highlight being a flock of four Shelduck gravand. Around 60 Gannet havsule and a little over 40 Eiders ærfugl, all but four of them males, headed north.

Shelduck gravand

Pitifully small numbers of Cormorant storskarv, Common Scoter svartand, Kittiwake krykkje, auks alker and Red-throated Diver smålom on the move along with a few waders.

The Carrion Crow svartkråke was back at Skogsøy again - presuming it is the same bird commuting between Tjeldstø and Skogsøy/Herdlevær.

Øygarden 19 May 2011

White Wagtail linerle

 Above and below Fieldfare gråtrost

Southerly with occasional showers.

Rather regretted not making the trip to Hernar as there was little of interest to find elsewhere. The Ringed Plover sandlo pair at Sture have hatched four chicks which is good news - the nest was narrowly missed by trucks a few days ago. Otherwise just a singing Lesser Whitethroat møller at Sture, a few singing Blackcaps munk here and there and a couple of House Martins taksvale.

About 40 Barnacle Geese hvitkinngås headed north over Tjeldstø.

Herdlevær 18 May 2011

Southerly with light rain.

Not much new in so it was breeding birds that provided the interest today with an Eider ærfugl sitting on three eggs and four if not five species of waders holding territory.

Tjedlstø 17 May 2011

Spent the day out of Øygarden and missed a fantastic passage of skuas....

Saw the Great Egret egretthegre from the sitting room window in the evening.

SKogsøy 16 May 2011 - Skuas

Light NW then light SW

Well worth the trip out today - although it was a case of quality rather than quantity. Highlights were three Long-tailed Skua fjelljo, two Pomarine Skua polarjo and a Black-throated Diver storlom. Other stuff inlcuded a couple of Arctic Skua tyvjo and 89 Red-throated Diver smålom.

 Raven ravn

 Part of a flock of Red-throated Diver smålom

Record shot of one of the Long-tailed Skua fjelljo

One large diver was probably a White-billed Diver gulnebblom but couldn't quite rule out Great Northern islom.

A Wryneck vendehals sang several times from very close to my garden - no time to check it out more fully. Species 161 from the garden....

Øygarden 15 May 2011 Great Egret from the sitting room - again

A quick trip to Skogsøy confirmed that passage was better today than of late. Several Arctic Skua tyvjo made their way north as did over 20 Red-throated Diver smålom.

Due to other commitments the seawatching had to be cut short and Tjeldstø was the next stop. A Great Egret egretthegre was pretty much the first bird I got onto. No doubt the same bird as yesterday predictably relocating to the reserve. It was again very shy and flew up for "no reason" several times.

 Great Egret egretthegre - third occurrence for Tjeldstø and the second time from my living room.

A Carrion Crow svartkråke was also present in the reserve where most of the geese now have chicks - no doubt the focus of attention for the local White-tailed Eagles havørn.

Øygarden 14 May 2011 - Great Egret

Southerly and sunny.

Took a quick look at Breivik which produced only the long staying male Pied Wagtail svartryggerle of any interest.

Back home working on the house / garden I received a tip-off about a Great Egret egretthegre at Steinsvatnet. There was nothing else to do than pile the children into the car and head off to see it. A five minute drive later we were watching Øygarden's third (or perhaps fourth) find of this superb egret. A powerful heat haze hindered both viewing and photography but all the necessary details were seen in order to confirm this as an adult in breeding plumage. The bird was rather flighty and was chased off by Greylags grågås but thankfully did not stray far.

For a picture of the second occurrence see here.

 Øygarden's third or fourth Great Egret egretthegre

A White-tailed Eagle havørn circled the garden whilst we were eating celebratory ice creams....

Skogsøy 13 May 2011

Light southerlies and rain showers

Another rather quiet day, although a Turnstone steinvender flying past the lookout,  a singing Lesser Whitethroat møller and a Carrion Crow svartkråke were all new for the year.

Other stuff was limited to a late flock of at least 15 Purple Sandpiper fjæreplytt and small numbers of Common Scoter svartand on the move.

The most uninspiring of local rarities - a Carrion Crow svartkråke.

Perhaps this bird is part of the movement that deposited large numbers of this species on Fair Isle a couple of days back?

Seabirds were limited to a couple of Razorbill alke, several Gannets havsule and a lone Kittiwake krykkje.

Hernar 12 May 2011 - Grasshopper Warbler

Light southerly and overcast to start with, clearing later.

Although the island didn't live up to last week's visit it still provided some excellent local birding. A female Black Redstart svartrødstjert and a very skulking Grasshopper Warbler gresshoppesanger were the highlights. Quite possible that both these birds are the same as those on Tuesday.

 Grasshopper Warbler gresshoppesanger

 Female Black Redstart svartrødstjert

 Common Whitethroat tornsanger

Otter

New arrivals included a few Common Whitethroat tornsanger, one of which was collecting nesting material, more Sedge Warblers sivsanger, two Common Terns makrellterne and a Common Sandpiper strandsnipe. A Tree Pipit trepiplerke was the first I've had in Øygarden this year (though the first was seen some time ago). Other notable birds for the island included a male Whinchat buskskvett, a House Martin taksvale and a male Tufted Duck toppand.

Tjeldstø 11 May 2011

A stroll around the reserve brought in the usual suspects - loads of Greylags grågås now with chicks and quite a few hirundines including several Sand Martin sandsvale on the move.

 Male Teal krikkand

 Above and below Golden Plover heilo

Wood Sandpiper grønnstilk

A small flock of Golden Plover heilo gave good views, a couple of Collared Dove tykerdue flew past and a Wood Sandpiper grønnstilk dropped into the reserve briefly.

Øygarden 10 May 2011 - Grasshopper Warbler

After spending the morning working a quick check of a couple of localities produced some decent birds - starting with a splendid male Yellow Wagtail gulerle (ssp flava) at Breivik.

Yellow Wagtail gulerle

At Kollsnes two Wood Sandpiper grønnstilk were present along with a male Whinchat buskskvett.

Wood Sandpiper grønnstilk

A cursory glance at Tjeldstø produced a pair of Collared Dove tyrkerdue flying over and a Black-tailed Godwit svarthalespove feeding beside Husvatnet.

Grasshopper Warbler gresshoppesanger

Female Black Redstart rødstjert

A very quick trip to Hernar seemed to confirm that the Crag Martin klippesvale has indeed moved on. The bird was not seen during a relatively short search by visiting birders on Sunday and unknown status from yesterday. However, there was still plenty to see with only part of the island covered. Highlight was a singing Grasshopper Warbler gresshoppesanger - seemingly the first documented find of this species in Øygarden (an autumn record some years ago was not sufficiently documented to be accepted). A female Black Redstart svartrødstjert and a male Whinchat buskskvett were other birds of note.

Another first for the year was a dark phase Arctic Skua tyvjo that flew over Hellesøy whilst waiting for the boat to leave.....

Skogsøy 08 May 2011

SE winds and sunny.

It is a very rare occasion that Skogsøy disappoints. Today was one of those days. Apart from small numbers of terns terner and a few Whimbrel småspove there was very little of interest today and I eventually gave up and went home.

At home I missed out on the first Spotted Redshank sotsnipe of the year, failed to identify a Bar-tailed / Black-tailed Godwit lapp/svarthalespove and had to make do with the first House Martin taksvale of the year.

 Gannet havsule at Skogsøy

 Redstart rødstjert at Kollsnes

An evening tip-off just about saved the day - an early Spotted Flycatcher gråfluesnapper and a female Redstart rødstjert at Kollsnes.

Øygarden 07 May - Crag Martin still present

Although I took things easy today seeing only the first Greylag grågås chicks of the year during a quick stroll at Herdlevær the same couldn't be said for the 25-30 listers that descended on Hernar from all over the country to successfully twitch the Crag Martin klippesvale.

All the other sightings of note came from the island with the Stonechat svartstrupe remaining, the county's first Swift tårnseiler for the year, a Goldfinch stillits and more.

Øygarden 06 May 2011 - Crag Martin still present!

Five of Bergen's finest prior to connecting with the Crag Martin klippesvale
A crowd of birders this big in Øygarden is almost as rare as the bird they are going for - there is the possibility of many more at the weekend though....

Shelduck gravand

Flock of Red-throated Diver smålom

One of many porpoises nise seen today

Deer hjørt seen on the way to Skogsøy

VERY calm and largely overcast.

I spent the morning seawatching at Skogsøy where seven White-billed Diver gulnebblom and 114 Red-throated Diver smålom were the highlights. Two Arctic Tern rødnebbterne were the first of the year in the county. Small numbers of Whimbrel småspove, a couple of Shelduck gravand and over 100 Common Scoter svartand also headed north.

On Hernar the Crag Martin klippesvale was present throughout the day pleasing all who tried for it (including one who drove through the night from Stavanger and one who came up from Haugesund). Amazingly the second new for Øygarden in two days was seen from the island - three Mute Swan knoppsvane - just shows what a bit of coverage will do..... Other noteworthy species on the island included a Stonechat svartstrupe, a Tree Pipit trepiplerke and the county's first Lesser Whitethroat møller for the year.

Lets see what tomorrow's crowds will bring...

Hernar 05 May 2011 - CRAG MARTIN!!!!!

First for Norway - CRAG MARTIN KLIPPESVALE
One of the local Meadow Pipits heipiplerke had a go at it...

CRAG MARTIN KLIPPESVALE

A decent passage of Barnacle Geese hvitkinngås today

Linnet tornirisk - common birds occur on Hernar too

Today the choice was to go to the doctors to check out a suspected broken finger or take the boat over to Hernar to see if there was anything about. Good job I chose Hernar - despite the pain in my "trigger finger" every time I took a photograph.

Inspired by recent sightings on Fair Isle and Shetland I was hoping for something decent and expecting in reality a flycatcher or similar. Virtually the first bird I got onto was a martin which quickly turned out to be a first for Norway - CRAG MARTIN KLIPPESVALE !! (there was a reported sighting in Finnmark a few years ago but unsure of the status of that find). The rest of the morning was spent frantically charging round the island trying to relocate it and secure documentation - the bird disappeared for more than an hour on two occasions. The rest of the time was spent on the phone so I didn't really check the island very well at all.

Generally few migrants around on the ground or in the bushes, just a female Blackcap munk and a Chiff-chaff gransanger or two. Main action away from the martin was a decent movement of Barnacle Geese hvitkinngås with several hundred passing.

A Black-tailed Godwit svarthalespove flew over Tjeldstø before I left the house.

Skogsøy 03 May 2011

Obligatory White-billed Diver gulnebblom record shot
Two Whimbrel småspove

A few of the Red-throated Divers smålom

Still plenty of Long-tailed Duck havelle about

Fresh northerly and sunny

Highlights once again was the diver migration, over 100 Red-throated Diver smålom and four White-billed Diver gulnebblom heading north and a second year Great Northern Diver islom flying south.

A Kestrel tårnfalk that came in off the sea was the first for me this year in Øygarden. Other stuff included a few Whimbrel småspove passing and small numbers of Kittiwake krykkje, Velvet Scoter sjøorre, Puffin lunde and Razorbill alke.

On the land the only birds of interest were a fly over Lapland Bunting lappspurv and a singing Twite bergirisk.