Hernar 06 October 2021 - Little Bunting FINALLY unblocked!

Calm conditions, light SE winds and overcast meant the conditions were ideal for another all day sesh on Hernar. A couple of other birders from town obviously thought the same thing and also spent the day on Hernar. All in all a very nice day out.

Once again plenty of birds about without anything to write home about until it was just about time to go home. More of that later.

Good numbers of thrushes and finches were seen - both on the island and flying over. A very minimum of 25 Song Thrush måltrost is quite a good number given that the peak for this species is normally somewhat earlier. Plenty of Blackbird svarttrost, Redwing rødvingetrost and Fieldfare gråtrost too.

Twite bergirisk

1cy Peregrine vandrefalk

Wheatear steinskvett

Flocks of Brambling bjørkefink passed over the whole day, as did Starling stær, Meadow Pipit heipiplerke and Siskin grønnsisik.

Other migrants on the island included at least eight Blackcap munk, a couple of Chiff-chaff gransanger, a Willow Warbler løvsanger (same bird as last time?), a Pied Fly svarthvit fluesanpper, a Redstart rødstjert, a Wheatear steinskvett and three House Sparrow gråspurv. Snow Bunting snøspurv were heard passing over on two occasions on opposite ends of the island.

A flock of 20 Greylags grågås rested on the sea along with a Mallard stokkand, small numbers of Red-throated Diver smålom headed south down the fjord during the course of the day too.

In the early afternoon I had an attack of toothache which caused considerable discomfort. Luckily Bergen's very own birding doctor was on hand with some paracetemol and the ever friendly residents contributed with ibuprofen:) Having taken my tablets I did a last round of the island - in part to retrieve my glasses which I had left under a bush on the east side of the island. A light drizzle set in as I headed back to pick up my scope and rucksack and do a last sweep of the west end of the island.

And there, on the edge of the path sat a Little Bunting dverspurv feeding together with a Meadow Pipit heipiplerke. I snapped a few shots and hoped they would be good enough and immediately alerted the others who had settled down to have a coffee prior to the boat home. A frantic search of the area proved fruitless - the bird had just disappeared.

Little Bunting dverspurv

Here I let photoshop decide the colours - not too bad a job

My Øygarden bogey bird has finally fallen. I must be the only birder in Øygarden to not have seen this species, an acute embarrassment by all accounts. On the way back I couldn't make up my mind what was best - that my toothache had stopped or that I had finally unblocked Little Bunting:)

Herdlevær 05 October 2021 - Wet weather gear test

Southerly winds again, some very heavy shows, light drizzle and some clear periods. 

A walk around Herdlevær with one of my daughters tested our rain gear. Mine failed, hers didn't:)

Very similar to recent visits in most respects, plenty of birds about and a good passage of gulls very close in, once again with good numbers of Lesser Black-backed Gulls sildemåke. Red-throated Diver smålom, Cormorants storskarv and other species also headed south.

Common Gull fiskemåke

GBBG svartbak

LBBG sildemåke

A Peregrine vandrefalk, a Sparrowhawk spurvehauk and two White-tailed Eagle havørn were the raptors seen today.

Wader numbers are typically reducing but Golden Plover heilo and Dunlin myrsnipe were both still present - the latter giving some nice photo opportunities.

Dunlin myrsnipe

Passerines included the usual four species of thrush, 40+ Brambling bjørkefink, a female Blackcap munk and a Chiff-chaff gransanger.

Back home I had a reasonable selection of species in/from the garden including Goldcrest fuglekonge, Jay nøtteskrike and a Guillemot lomvi on the sea again.

Heron gråhegre on the shore in front of my house

Skogsøy 04 October 2021 - Snow Bunting

Strong gale from south, largely sunny but some short showers.

Today I opted to use the hide, very comfortable given the conditions and made seawatching possible if not actually ideal:)

The best bird was actually very close to the hide in the form of the first Snow Bunting snøspurv of the autumn. 

In the period 10:20 - 12:15 I had the following:

Gannet havsule, 39S, 20N

Red-throated Diver smålom 43S

Razorbill alke S 1

Common Gull fiskemåke S 19

Lesser Black-backed Gull sildemåke S 2 adult

Herring Gull gråmåke S 3

GBBG svartbak 3S

Cormorant storskarv S2

Skua sp (Arctic / Pom) 1N (very distant)

Wader (small and pale) 2S

Guillemot lomvi 2S

Common Scoter svartand 8S

Auk 3S

Kittiwake krykkje 10S, 1 1cy N

Gannet havsule

Snow Bunting snøspurv

Looking for gold at the end of the rainbow...

Random view on the way back home

Herdlevær / Tjeldstø / Nautnes 03 October 2021 - Gales

 Southerly gale.

On my way south a dead Woodcock rugde lay in the road at Skjold, I stopped and checked in for rings as usual.

My usual walk at Herdlevær gave Merlin dvergfalk and the first Long-tailed Duck havelle of the autumn as the best birds. However, my usual lunch break was cut short - the wind was too strong and meant that coffee did not make it from the thermos into the cup. More importantly my scope kept almost blowing over. 

A Peregrine vandrefalk was the only other bird of note here, though still lots of Brambling bjørkefink and a small flock of Golden Plover heilo about.

I thought I would see what was going on down the fjord on the eastern side of Øygarden. Not much, although small numbers of Red-throated Diver smålom headed south here too. Crested Tits toppmeis, yet more Brambling bjørkefink and a couple of Jays nøtteskrike were among the species seen here.

One of the many Brambling bjørkefink at Tjeldstø today

A Common Scoter svartand on Husvatnet was a relatively rare freshwater occurrence.

I thought seawatching conditions would be better back home - and they were:) An hour from the terrace gave 26 Red-throated Diver smålom heading south, a few Razorbill alke and Guillemot lomvi passing, Dunlin myrsnipe, lots of Gannets havsule, two White-tailed Eagles havørn feeding on something big that was hidden from view, Sparrowhawk spurvehauk and more. One Guillemot lomvi even swam past the house in the shelter of the bay.

Guillemot lomvi swimming past my terrace.

This bird dived repeatedly and seemed therefore to be behaving normally - though dead auks have been found in both the UK and further south in Norway recently.

Herdlevær 30.09 - 01.10.2021 - Taking it easier

On 30 September a light southerly breeze meant it was probably a good day for the birds to migrate - and indeed I had two Kestrels tårnfalk heading south - one of them a long way out to sea. Hunting Sparrowhawk spurvehauk, Peregrine vandrefalk and White-tailed Eagle havørn were the other raptors seen.

A single Sanderling sandløper was the best of the waders present.

Sanderling sandløper

Wheatear steinskvett

There was not a lot in the way of grounded migrants but a few Wheatear steinskvett were present and an interesting sylvia warbler call took quite a bit of time in an attempt to sort it out. All I actually saw was a male Blackcap munk but the call sounded altogether wrong for this species.

Still plenty of Brambling bjørkefink feeding on the still plentiful rowan berries along with small numbers of the usual thrushes.

The first Goldeneye kvinand of the autumn also turned up here.

The following day the wind was stronger and I did my usual round. Best bird was a Grey Plover tundralo with six Ringed Plover sandlo on the shore.

Grey Plover tundralo with Ringed Plovers sandlo

Three first year Lapwing vipe at Kollsnes and a drive-by Stonechat svartstrupe were the only other birds of note before the reaction to my second covid vaccination kicked in and had me on the sofa for the remainder of the day.

First year Lapwings vipe at Kollsnes

The first Stonechat svartstrupe I've seen for a while - a nice male.

Hernar 29 September 2021 - First YBW and Stock Dove

 SE winds, some cloud cover.

With promising conditions I thought an all day session on the island of all islands, Hernar, was the best choice. I was not disappointed:)

Highlights were the first Yellow-browed Warbler gulbrynsanger for the county this year and the first Stock Dove skogdue of the year for Øygarden. The latter was also a new species for me on Hernar. A decent selection of other migrants were among the well over 50 species seen.

Stock Dove skogdue - a much rarer species in Øygarden than YWB

Yellow-browed Warbler gulbrynsanger

At least one, probably two of these Siberian gems were present on the island today and were the first record for the county this year - a slow start by all accounts.

A Whinchat buskskvett, a Pied Flycatcher svarthvit fluesnapper, nine Blackcap munk, several Chiff-chaff gransanger, at least one Willow Warbler løvsanger, Kestrel tårnfalk, Merlin dvergfalk and at least two Sparrowhawk spurvehauk were among the other species of interest.

Large numbers of finches (mostly Brambling bjørkefink and Chaffinch bokfink) and several hundred Meadow Pipits passed over during the course of the day. 

Herdlevær 28 September 2021 - Rosefinch

Fresh southerly winds.

Plenty of migrant passerines - largely finches and thrushes as is usual for the time of year but also Chiff-chaff gransanger, Spotted Flycatcher gråfluesnapper, Blackcap munk and Reed Bunting sivspurv. Best bird was Rosefinch rosefink which gave good views but was difficult to photograph with lots of things in the way and against the sun.

Common Rosefinch rosenfink

Chiff-chaff gransanger

White-tailed Eagles havørn

My usual stop for sandwiches and coffee showed that there was a decent movement of various gulls and a small selection of waders including a few Sanderling sandløper on the shore. Flocks of Meadow Pipits heipiplerke passed more or less constantly both over the sea and over land.

Black-headed Gull hettemåke

Common Gull fiskemåke

Herring Gull gråmåke

LBBG sildemåke

I then checked Breivik quickly, here a couple of Lapwing vipe were the first for a while. Also in the fields a few Snipe enkeltbekkassin and a couple of Skylark sanglerke.

On the way home I popped in at Tjeldstø where the Pintail stjertand was still present along with the other wildfowl. Jay nøtteskrike and Curlew storspove were the other sightings of interest here.

Jay nøtteskrike

Pintail stjertand

In the afternoon the terrace produced a couple more White-tailed Eagles havørn and a total of at least 60 Golden Plover heilo heading south.