Hernar 27 March 2013 - First trip to Hernar

Almost predictably calm and sunny and with a very heavy overnight frost.

Blackbirds svarttrost in various pluamges

The first trip to Hernar of year. Not much in the way of migrants though a Song Thrush måltrost was the first I've had this year and there were quite a lot of Blackbirds svarttrost about - seeming to find food despite the hard frost.

Other half-decent sightings were a couple of Black Grouse orrfugl and a Woodcock rugde.

Some Greylag grågås and Cormorant storskarv passage overhead.

Breivik 25 March 2013 - Mistle Thrush again

Yet another gloriously sunny and calm day.

Still not getting out much but a quick stroll at Breivik produced a Mistle Thrush duetrost along with the usual Woodpigeons ringdue etc.

White-tailed Eagle havørn

Whoopers sangsvane with Greylags grågås

Plenty of eagles soaring about various places and a family of Whoopers sangsvane joined the geese on the part of Husvatnet that has thawed.

Tjeldstø 24 March 2013

Cold and sunny

Small numbers of the usual early spring arrivals but migration obviously later than usual. Greylag grågås numbers up to 60 and White-tailed Eagles havørn typically very obvious.

A Woodcock rugde was seen roding in the evening.

Tjeldstø 18 March 2013

Strong easterly and feeling very cold.

Just time for the quickest of walks at Tjeldstø.

Best bird was a hunting Peregrine vandrefalk which caused some mayhem among the gulls.

Peregrine vandrefalk

 Starlings stær

Otherwise just more of the same and a further increase in numbers of Starling stær and Blackbird svarttrost.

Skogsøy and Tjeldstø 17 March 2013 - More spring

South easterly winds, decent weather.

The thaw continues as does the arrival of more migrants.

Made the classic mistake of sleeping in and thereby ruined what may have been a half-decent day at Skogsøy. Sat for a couple of hours 09:00-11:00 and caught the tail end of the day's migration.

Cormorant storskarv

Shag toppskarv

Highlights were a Red-throated Diver smålom heading north and the a first Black-headed Gulls hettemåke of the year. A couple of Woodcock rugde were almost certainly new in and small numbers of Oystercatcher tjeld were on the move.

Heavily cropped record shot of Mistle Thrush duetrost

At Tjeldstø the Mistle Thrush duetrost showed again, 10 Woodpigeon ringdue were newly arrived and a Siskin grønnsisik turned up in the garden

Some larger flocks of Starling stær were seen various places inlcuded 60 at Breivik and 40 at Tjeldstø.

Another good sighting was a Golden Eagle kongeørn seen flying over Knappen, Toftøy.

Breivik and Tjeldstø 16 March 2013 - Spring!

Relatively mild after overnight snow.

Part of the Lapwing vipe flock at Breivik

Some real signs of spring today with 22 Lapwing vipe at Breivik, along with 25 Greylags grågås and small flocks of Starling stær.

 Typically very flighty this Mistle Thrush duetrost did its best to avoid being photographed

A tip-off about a Mistle Thrush duetrost at Skjold proved fruitless but I found either it or another bird at Tjeldstø - it flew over just as I had given up and was about to head home. Other stuff seen during the search included several more Lapwing vipe, a Woodcock rugde (new in?), a few flocks of Starling stær, Fieldfares gråtrost and a fly over Siskin grønnsisik.

Things are on the move at last.....

White-tailed Eagles havørn on the ice at Tjeldstø

Whoopers sangsvane at Kollsnes

Herdlevær 15 March 2013

South-easterly winds and cool with it. Everything still pretty much frozen.

Part of a flock of more than 20 Greylags grågås at Breivik

More Greylags grågås at Breivik, Tjeldstø, Herdlevær etc obviously starting to arrive in some numbers.

At Herdlevær just a few Oystercatcher tjeld and very little else indeed.

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.