Øygarden 14 March 2013

Barely out of the house at all.

Solberg produced my first Oystercatcher tjeld of the year with one resting on one of the islands and a flock of 25 heading north. Otherwise quiet here with just five Velvet Scoter sjøorre of note.

The surviving Whoopers sangsvane of the winter fed on an ice-free portion of Rotevatnet, Tjeldstø and a further six adults were at Kollsnes.

Whoopers sangsvane at Kollsnes

Small flocks of Greylags grågås seen various places.

Tjeldstø 18 February 2013 - more signs of spring?

Calm, foggy and wet.

A quick walk at Dåvøy produced a single Snipe enkeltbekkasin and virtually nothing else.

Back at Tjeldstø a flock of four Starling stær had joined yesterday's flock of Fieldfare gråtrost and as I returned home the first Greylag grågås of the year flew over calling - a real sound of spring.

Herdlevær 17 February 2013

Strong southerlies with rain.

The change in the weather seems to have prompted some movement - small numbers of Starling stær seen at a few localities - perhaps early migrants. Little of interest seen at Herdlevær today though I did find a dead Whooper sangsvane - obviously eaten by the local eagles and Ravens ravn.

Fieldfare gråstrost at Tjeldstø

A flock of 12 Fieldfare gråtrost fed in fields at Tjeldstø.

Hjelme Vest 12 February 2014 - more SEAPOP and an Øygarden "mega"

Calm, sunny and cold again.

Counting seabirds at a couple of the localities used for population monitoring again.

Hjelme Vest produced a massive five Curlew storspove - something that may indicate some kind of early spring movement. A Woodpigeon ringdue also flew in off the sea here. Otherwise it was situation normal - a Great Northern Diver islom, Black Guillemots teist and a couple of Velvet Scoter sjøorre in addition to the more numerous species. Two flocks of Purple Sandpiper fjæreplytt complimented yesterday's good showing.

Solberg was very quiet with little on the sea - at least four Otters seen here though. A small flock of Purple Sandpiper fjæreplytt fed here too.

Øygarden 11 February 2103, SEAPOP and the first Puffin of the year

Calm, sunny and freezing.

The annual SEAPOP count of overwintering seabirds was held today - covering the same route as previous years. As usual this was a great day out in a small boat and there was plenty to see.

Highlights were the first Puffins lunde of the year, a couple of Curlew storspove, a flock of eight Turnstone steinvender, several flocks of Purple Sandpiper fjæreplytt and plenty of the usual suspects.

Good numbers of Black Guillemot teist seen today

 Eiders ærfugl

Guillemot lomvi

Puffin lunde

Purple Sandpipers fjæreplytt

This must be the Purple sand with the shortest bill I have ever seen.....

Turnstones steinvender

Above and below: two different White-tailed Eagles havørn with fish

Most frustratingly a scoter with white on the back of the head / neck flew up and disappeared. Would have been good to nail that one.....

Dåvøy 05 February 2013

Reasonably calm and verging on sunny.

A quick check at Dåvøy was all there was time for today but this turned up a Snipe enkeltbekkasin, the wintering Slav Grebe horndykker and a Peregrine vandrefalk as best birds.

Solberg 04 February 2013 - Glaucous

Wet and windy most of the day.

The last few days have had a definite Glaucous Gull polarmåke feel to them and sure enough today a second year bird showed briefly among other gulls at Solberg. Otherwise rather quiet - seems like the seaduck may have moved to more sheltered areas.

A Goshawk hønsehauk buzzed the Hoodies kråke at Tjeldstø where two Whoopers sangsvane fed in a small area of open fresh water. Looks like it will be freezing again before the lakes have even thawed.....

Skogsøy 02 February 2013

Northerly gale but mostly sunny. Extremely treacherous underfoot.

Herring Gull gråmåke

Gannets havsule

Sat out at Skogsøy for almost two hours without seeing anything very special. However, there was some definite movement with over 30 Gannets havsule, 30 Kittiwake krykkje, 13 Razorbill alke, a Little Auk alkekonge and a couple of Velvet Scoter sjøorre heading north. At least one Guillemot lomvi flew south but several of the other southbound auks may well also have been this species.

Great-crested Grebe toppdykker

At Herdlevær the Great-crested Grebe toppdykker showed itself well again - and predictably attracted the attention of the county's fantatic year listers. A Whooper Swan sangsvane was an unusual bird to see on the sea here....

Herdlevær 31 January 2013 - Bad weather movement

Glorious weather, sunny with a light northerly breeze

Really frustrating to be stuck inside yet again as I knew there would be a response to the strong winds of the last few days.

Sure enough half an hour at Herdlevær in the middle of the day produced over 40 Kittiwakes krykkje heading north and at least 50 Gannets havsule on the move.

Best bird was a Curlew storspove but no sign of the grebe.

Four Starling stær in the garden was another indication that birds are on the move.

Herdlevær 29 January 2013 - First local rarity of the year

Southerly winds, rain and mild

Great-crested Grebe toppdykker at Herdlevær

Not actually out today as such - but a  quick trip to run some errands produced a nice Great-crested Grebe toppdykker at Herdlevær. Although two were recorded in Øygarden in 2012 the previous record was back in 2005 so this is a decent find.

A Starling stær in the garden and a flock of about a dozen Filedfare gråtrost at Breivik were further indications that the change in the weather has brought about some movement.

Herdlevær 27 January 2013 - too little too late

Foul conditions. Gale force southerly winds with rain.

Difficult to even walk today never mind see any birds. Barely even the usual suspects seen today.

The thaw came too late for a Woodcock rugde I found VERY freshly dead and very emaciated....goodness knows how many scenes similar to this have played out along the coast the last few days,,,

Tjeldstø 26 January 2013 - a few more patch year ticks

Strong southerlies and rather warmer than of late. So warm it could snow.

A quick check at Tjeldstø (which still takes more time than it should!) produced little of interest but landed a couple of new for the year for this locality - a couple of Velvet Scoter sjøorre on the sea and a Rock Pipit skjærpiplerke on the the sea.

A small flock of Common Crossbills grankorsnebb were also present. Both Woodcock rugde and Snipe enkeltbekkasin still obviously surviving though I didn't actually see either species.

Rong 24 January 2013 - Viking Gull?

It remains calm sunny and freezing.

Barely out at all today. A 10 minute stroll from the house with the dog produced two Snipe enkeltbekkasin together - both different birds to yesterday. Goodness knows how they are surviving.

A trip to the bank (honest!) paid off with a probable second year Viking Gull (Herring / Glaucous hybird). In the field I was struck by the paler primaries which lack contrast with the rest of the wing and seem to have broad pale edges. I snapped a few record shots but it flew before I could get any closer and I didn't have time to relocate the bird.

Anything rarer would probably have had a darker bill and a more rounded head.

Nor have I had time to look at the photos in any detail so any comments welcome.

Here are some record shots of this bird:

Bright sunlight is not what you need when looking at gulls....but the primaries certainly look pale enough here

Primaries and tertiaries pretty much the same colour

Underwing would have done a Glaucous gull polarmåke proud...

Pale broad tail band.....

Pale primaries with broad pale edges obvious in this picture

And finally two Herring Gulls gråmåke with a Great Black-backed Gull svartbak between them

This really shows how dark the primaries are on "normal" Herring Gulls (if there is such a thing as a normal gull)

Øygarden 23 January 2013 - Another tricky one down

Predictably calm, sunny and frozen - though that should change in a few days time....

Record shot of today's highlight - a Dipper fossekall

The best bird of the day was without doubt a Dipper fossekall at Alvheim - first of the year. This can be a tricky bird to see in Øygarden (only one observation per year in 2011 and 2012). Obvious that conditions inland are even worse than out here....

There is at least one double record here and some refer to same individual seen on different occasions - but you get the idea. This is all records from Øygarden (first from 1991). Source is artsobservasjoner.no.

A check of the lagoons at Skogsøy produced very little indeed - just seven Whooper Swans sangsvane and 10 Goldeneye kvinand. Still I had to try....

Tjeldstø 22 January 2013 - Turnstones

Cold, calm and sunny again.

A mad dash around a few localities still took more time than it should have. Tjeldstø produced the best results with a flock of six Turnstone steinvender a good winter find. A Purple Sandpiper fjæreplytt with them was also new for Tjeldstø for the year.

Other birds here included a Snipe enkeltbekkasin still hanging in there and Tree Sparrow pilfink numbers in the garden went back up to five.

Solberg was very pleasant but rather quiet with three Velvet Scoter sjøorre and three Otters the best of what was on offer.

Øygarden 21 January 2013

Another cold and sunny day, still well below freezing.

Blackbirds svarttrost numbers still increasing in the garden as the cold tightens its grip. At least 12 present simultaneously at one point - so the total number involved is likely to be a lot more than this.

Still slightly limited by a sore knee I took things a little easy again and went looking for something different during a break from work. No luck there but did see a few of the Siskins grønnsisik from the flock that has been visiting Skjold the last several days.

Sparrowhawks spurvehauk and Great-spotted Woodpecker flaggspett "everywhere" at the moment.

Looks like the weather is due to break at the weekend....

Solberg 20 January 2013

Very calm, sunny and frozen.

Frustrating to be inside working most of the day yet again....

At Solberg highlight was a Woodcock rugde. Other birds included three Velvet Scoter sjøorre, a couple of Black Guillemot teist, two Gannets havsule and around 30 Long-tailed Duck havelle. Finally a small flock of Eiders ærfugl here.

No sign of the probable Yellow-billed Diver gulnebblom reported yesterday.

At least three Tree Sparrow pilfink, Great-spotted Woodpecker flaggspett and the usual in the garden.

Hjelme West 19 January 2013 - Red-necks

It remains calm, sunny and freezing.

A morning trip to Hjelme Vest proved quite productive. Highlights were the first two Red-necked Grebes gråstrupedykker of the year on the sea.

Crested Tit toppmeis

The "light-billed Diver" seen last time was still present and turned out to be an adult Great Northern Diver islom. Tricky one in many ways and easy to fall into the Yellow-billed Diver trap.   Otherwise very much the same as previous recent visits with Black Guillemots teist relatively common, a Curlew storspove, a couple of Velvet Scoter sjøorre, Woodcock rugde tracks in the woods etc.

Tjeldstø 18 January 2013 - Woodcock / Another one bites the dust

Still clear cold and sunny.

This bird ate several such larvae in the short period of observation I had - hope it is enough to keep the bird alive!

With ever descreasing amounts of fresh water the afternoon school run once again provided the best birding. Brief views of a Water Rail vannriske and excellent views of a Woodcock rugde were the highlights. Photography and viewing greatly hampered by traffic though....

Snow on the eyeball MUST be cold!

A combination of work and a very painful knee after a fall on the treacherously slippy ice / snow combo yesterday I barely got out at all. A short hobble at Hjelme produced the first two Jays nøtteskrike of the year  along with several Parrot Crossbill furukorsnebb and the usual woodland stuff. 

Tjeldstø 17 January 2013 - Another new species

Calm, sunny and still well below freezing.

Yesterday's snow helped show the tracks of a Woodcock rugde obviously desparate for somewhere to feed. Another was seen in flight during the morning school run.

A Snipe enkeltbekkasin (different bird to yesterday) fed in an area planned to be obliterated. Wonder where these birds will go then....

A single Redwing rødvingetrost feeding on juniper berries was the first of the year in Øygarden.

A very quick look at Solberg produced nothing out of the ordinary, just White-tailed Eagle havørn, Long-tailed Ducks havelle and the usual suspects. No Eiders ærfugl here yet again.....

Tjeldstø 16 January 2013 - Water Rail again

SE winds, steady light snowfall and well below freezing.

Still no time for birding as such and conditions were most unpleasant anyway - which is not to say there weren't any birds about.

A quick look at Tjeldstø produced a Snipe enkeltbekkasin and the first Fieldfare gråtrost of the year at this locality.

Water Rail vannrikse

Another good sighting was the Water Rail vannrikse on the afternoon school run. Very difficult to get any photos though as I didn't want to scare it by getting out of the car and the road isn't wide enough for two cars. Tried a couple of passes but gave up in the end. Apologies to both the cars who had to stop and for the profanities hurled at you.....

Herring Gulsl gråmåke

Hooded Crows kråke

A drive-by at the Herdlevær / Skogsøy gull flock convinced me that something good will turn up there if I only get the time to look....