Øygarden 22 January 2018 - A cracking day out

High cloud and SE winds, temperatures creeping over freezing.

The intention today was a quick walk at Hjelme Vest and then home again to get on with things but this plan went horribly, horribly wrong. There was just too much to see.

Hjelme Vest was rather quiet with just a nice Great Northern Diver islom on the sea, a few small flocks of Purple Sandpipers fjæreplytt, a couple of White-tailed Eagle havørn, Rock Pipit skjærpiplerke and many of the usual suspects.

A Fieldfare gråtrost in a bad way...

.....and another just slightly worse off

A Redwing rødvingetrost working its way along a snow free area of ground. This spot is often used by sheep to shelter from the worst of the weather and the soil is therefore no doubt a little richer - hopefully providing something in the way of food.

A Wren gjerdesmett worked the same section of ground and even passed under the Fieldfare gråtrost.

It is obvious that the Fieldfares gråtrost are struggling - a few good sized flocks came in off the sea heading south -numbering some 250 in total. I found three dead and one moribund bird on the short walk. The first dead bird looked like it had just dropped dead from its perch in a tree - it is quite possible this bird used the last of its energy evading a bird of prey and then could not survive the night. Other dead Fieldfares gråtrost had been dead slightly longer - two of them along a stretch of ground protected from snowfall by an overhanging cliff.

I left most of one of my sandwiches along this stretch -hoping it might just be enough to save a thrush or two as they work their way along looking for food. Very shortly afterwards a Redwing rødvingetrost showed up working its way along in the direction of the sandwich crumbs.....

Above: two Common Snipe enkeltbekkasin

Woodcock rugde feeding very close to my house.

A Woodcok rugde fed just outside my house and gave good views from the car. Elsewhere a couple of Snipe enkeltbekkasin also gave an excellent roadside showing.

Best sighting of the day - two albifrons Whitefronts tundragås

The drive-bys continued with a pair of adult albifrons Whitefronts tundragås at Sture.

Trying by now to limit the birding I swung by Blomvatnet as I neared the grocery shop - where I picked up a Dipper fossekall.

Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett

An unseasonal Meadow Pipit heipiplerke

On my way home I drove through Hatten where a Meadow Pipit heipiplerke put in a very unseasonal appearance, my first Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett of the year showed up and a Goshawk hønsehauk flew over.

Not bad at all.
   

Skogsøy 21 January - First trip to Skogsøy

Sunny, fresh southerly breeze.

On this, the sixth day I have actually been in Øygarden this year, it had to be Skogsøy.

There was predictably little passing but as expected this is resulted in the first Gannet havsule of the year along with a small flock of Guillebills alke/lomvi and a light passage of gulls heading south. Excitement was provided by a Peregrine vandrefalk that made a couple of sorties out over the see to attack flocks of Fieldfare gråtrost fleeing the wintery conditions.

Small numbers of Eiders ærfugl on the sea were another local first of the year. Something has happened to the overwintering Eiders here as they seem to becoming ever less numerous....

A couple of White-tailed Eagles havørn put on a decent show and at least one flock of 20 Parrot Crossbills furukorsnebb fed in the woods.

Fish-eating birds with punk rock hairstyles

Female Wigeon brunnakke - a scarce winter bird in Øygarden

The way home produced a Wigeon brunnakke and at least a couple of Tree Sparrows pilfink at Tjeldstø.

Nautnes 20 January 2018 - Winter again

Light southerly winds, sunny, snow on the ground and a lot of freshwater frozen.

Eventually made it home after delayed flights meant I spent an involuntary night at Copenhagen airport.

Two of the Mealy (Common) Redpolls gråsisik in the garden today

(un)Common Gull fiskemåke flying over the house

The garden provided a couple of Øygarden year ticks in the form of several Little Auks alkekonge flying past and a Lesser Redpoll brunsisik together with several Mealy Redpoll gråsisik feeding around the almost empty feeder. The male Teal krikkand was still on the sea in front of the house together with his Mallard stokkand friends, a Common Gull fiskemåke (anything but common in the winter out here) flew over as did a pair of Bullfinch dompap - another infrequent winter visitor here.

Still some flocks of Fieldfare gråtrost heading south as well as small numbers of Redwing rødvingetrost. A couple of Snipe enkeltbekkasin and a Sparrowhawk spurvehauk put in an appearance at Tjeldstø.

Herdlevær & Nautnes 13 January 2018 - Migration

Cold and sunny with light southerly winds

Today was a day of mass migration - enough for a decent autumn day in fact. Flocks of Fieldfare gråtrost headed south pretty much all day with approximately 1000 birds flying over during the couple of hours I spent at Herdlevær. This was no doubt a cold weather movement now that the record numbers that have been overwintering further north are no doubt running out of berries.....

Part of a southbound Fieldfare gråtrost flock

One of a few Rock Pipits skjærepiplerke seen at Herdlevær

Other highlights at Herdlevær were a Peregrine vandrefalk, the first Woodcock rugde of the year, a Snipe enkeltbekkasin and a Razorbill alke. A few Rock Pipit skjærpiplerke, a White-tailed Eagle havørn and many of the usual suspects were also present here.

Male Teal krikkand on the sea in front of my house with a couple of Mallard stokkand

Back home at Nautnes was almost as good with best bird being a male Teal krikkand on the sea in front of the house, the first Bullfinches dompap I have seen locally this year and a flock of seven Purple Sandpiper fjæreplytt seen from the terrace. More thrushes, a couple more White-tailed Eagle havørn and a couple of flocks of Redpoll gråsisik were among the other species seen from the terrace.

Other new birds in Øygarden for me this year were a Common Gull fiskemåke and a couple of Jays nøtteskrike.

Hjelme Vest 09 January 2018 - FIrst White-billed of the year

Clear, cold and sunny with a fresh SE breeze.

A quick scan of the sea at Hjelme Vest really did the place justice today with the highlight being a White-billed Diver gulnebblom feeding just with photo range. First of the year in Hordaland.

 

White-billed Diver gulnebblom

At least two Great Northern Divers islom, a Red-necked Grebe gråstrupedykker, several Black Guillemot teist, around 35 Long-tailed Duck havelle, a nice flock of Purple Sandpipers fjæreplytt, a Rock Pipit skjærpiplerke and a few Crested Tits toppmeis were among the other new birds for me this year here. A couple of Snipe enkeltbekkasin

Small flocks of Fieldfare gråtrost and Redwing rødvingetrost more or less everywhere and at Tjeldstø one of these flocks was joined by the first Starling stær of the year. I also added Chaffinch bokfink and House Sparrow gråspurv to my Øygarden year list here among other things.

Øygarden 08 January 2018 - Self-cropping Eagles

I didn't get home until after 1400 so there was very little left in the way of light.

Slavonian Grebe horndykker - massively cropped by myself

White-tailed Eagle havørn cropped by itself.

White-tailed Eagle havørn far enough away to fit in the frame

I popped in at Dåvøy where the White-tailed Eagles havørn autocropped their own images by coming too close to fit in the frame. However, I only took a few seconds out to photograph them as some kind of Pavlovian response. I was a lot more interested in the sea where the regular overwintering Slavonian Grebe horndykker was together with a few Red-breasted Mergansers. At least four Common Snipe enkeltbekkasin were also present here.

Other than the grebe the best birds were a Water Rail vannrikse (Tjeldstø) and a large Peregrine vandrefalk (Solberg) which has something of a Gyr-vibe and may be the same bird I saw a few times late last year.

Elsewhere a couple of small flocks of Parrot Crossbill furukorsnebb, a few Willow Tit granmeis and lots of both Redwing rødvingetrost and Fieldfare gråtrost about.

Hedmark / Oslo 01-07 January 2018 - Eastern kick-start

I spent the first week of January in the east of Norway. Birding came well down the list as there has been a lot of other stuff going on.

Best bird on the first day of the year was an inland Common Scoter svartand along with a number of more expected species.

Arctic Redpoll polarsisik in the Botanical Gardens, Oslo

On 3rd January a short stroll in the Botanical Gardens in Oslo produced at least two Arctic Redpoll polarsisik along with the usual Hawfinch kjernebiter and a variety of other finches.

Firecrest rødtoppfuglekonge at Fornebu

A walk at Fornebu with Rixy on 5th saw us refinding the Firecrest rødtoppfuglekonge that has settled in for the winter there. Fingers crossed it will survive....

Downtown Dipper fossekall, Oslo

Other than that some pleasant strolls in and around the city gave the usual selection of stuff including auks, a Dipper fossekall in the city centre and some cracking views of Goshawk hønsehauk chasing gulls and pigeons.

Øygarden 15-19 December 2017 -

Barely out of the house for the time being. Life is really getting in the way of birding, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

I've largely been limited to drive-bys in conjunction with errands, though I did get out for a little under two hours on Saturday 16th and again on 17th.

One of a number of Great Northern Diver islom seen recently - it seems like this is a good winter for them

Landscape photography with a telephoto lens - from Herdlevær

There are plenty of Snipe enkeltbekkasin about - they were forced into unfrozen areas a few days ago but have spread out again now....

White-tailed Eagles havørn are as obvious as ever....

Parrot Crossbill furuskorsnebb seem to be the dominant crossbill species at the moment with flocks of up to 20 all over the place. Snipe enkeltbekkasin have been showing well at a number of localities and a Dipper fossekall or two seem to have settled in for the winter. Great Northern Diver islom is another species that is showing well with individuals seen at several places over the last few days.

Seaduck on the other hand are virtually non-existent.

Waders other than Snipe enkeltbekkasin also seem thin on the ground, though I have seen the occasional Curlew storspove and some Woodcock rugde tracks in the snow that has melted during the last couple of days.

Nautnes and Blomvatnet 05 December 2017 - Calm after the storm pays off.

Strong onshore winds and rain for most of the daylight hours today.

Moorehen sivhøne

Above and below: Female Scaup bergand (right hand bird) together with four Tufted Duck toppand and a Goldeneye kvinand

Four Tufted Duck toppand

Still too much to do to be out and about but whilst running errands I popped in at Blomvatnet - this proved quite successful with the first Moorehen sivhøne of the winter (and the year for that matter) - quite possibly a returning bird from the east of the country. A female Scaup bergand was another good find here. Otherwise it was just four Tufted Duck toppand along the usual Goldeneyes kvinand, Mallard stokkand etc.

Very often I am almost surprised how many birds there are about as soon as the weather calms down - today was yet another example of this.

Around 1430 I noticed the wind had dropped and it had stopped raining and whilst waiting for several pages of work documents to go through my scanner I looked out of the window to see what I have looked for many times before - a Hawk Owl haukugle sitting in trees a fair distance off. I managed to confirm the observation in the scope but it flew before a camera could be brought to bear....Species 131 from the house:) Also in the area a couple of Willow Tit granmeis and a small flock of Parrot Crossbill grankorsnebb.

Not bad going to get two new for the year in Øygarden on a bad weather day in early December!

Dåvøy 04 December 2017 - Most of the winter suspects in one go

Calm and mild if a little on the dull side.

A quick trip to Dåvøy produced many of the usual winter suspects with a Slavonian Grebe horndykker on the sea together with a Great Northern Diver islom. Other stuff here included Black Guillemot teist, seven Purple Sandpiper fjæreplytt, a Snipe enkeltbekkasin, a flock of 25 Parrot Crossbill furukorsnebb and several Common Scoter svartand.

The Heron gråhegre here roost has increased to over 40 birds.....

Øygarden 28 November - 03 December - Back but not really in business

I was welcomed home by news of the Black-headed Bunting svarthodespurv and some fantastic weather. However, being preoccupied with other things I did not really make the most of a period of settled and sunny conditions although White-tailed Eagles havørn, Otters and other things did their best to distract me.

Highlights 28 - 29 November were a Bullfinch dompap flying over the house (my first in Øygarden this year), Dipper fossekall near Alvheim, a Water Rail vannrikse at Hatten. Common Crossbill grankorsnebb, Common Redpoll gråsisik, Whooper Swans sangasvane and a flock of 12 Greylags grågås were among the birds seen.

Great Northern Diver islom

Two of the three GNDs present

Red-throated Diver smålom

One of four White-tailed Eagles havørn seen - here with Lyngøy in the background

Its that time of year again. Gratuitous White-tailed Eagle havørn spam

A trip out to Hjelme Vest on 01 December as the light was going produced some good sightings - including three Great Northern Divers islom and a Red-throated Diver smålom on the sea along with 25 Long-tailed Duck havelle, a Little Auk alkekonge and a couple of Black Guillemot teist. A Goshawk hønsehauk put in an appearance earlier in the day near Alvheim.

A couple of days of wilder weather made it easier to get on with things and not think about birding too much although I had Snipe enkeltbekkasin at Nautnes among other things.

Hatten 14 November 2017 - Black-headed Bunting

Whilst I was away a Black-headed Bunting svarthodespurv was seen and well photographed at Hatten on 14th November.

This is only the second record for Øygarden - but perhaps not unexpected as there have been good numbers in Norway this autumn.

Pity it didn't hang around until I returned - I have missed both occurrences here:(

Photos by Roald Hatten.

Black-headed Bunting svarthodespurv