Falsterbo 25-28 August 2024 - Back to my roots / where it all went wrong

A few days at Falsterbo were just brilliant! This was a timely reminder of just how good this place is for birding.

It was here, some decades ago that my interest in birding really kicked off. Staying at the observatory and being invited to join the ringers at Flommen and joining the counters at Nabben were one of three pivotal happenings in my birding career. This time around I met up with some of the key players who enabled this and also met up with the new counters who are probably the best birders in Europe.

The thing with Falsterbo and especially Nabben is that you are exposed to a huge variety of species. As a teenager I wanted to be those people who seemed to be able to pick up absolutely everything. Nothing much has changed there and Falsterbo is still the place to be during the autumn migration. 

The social side of birding, at least at the heath was also great - meeting birders from Denmark, Germany, Netherlands and other places was just part of the Falsterbo charm. I've never understood why British birders seem to be so under represented here. It is really an advantage to know bird names in multiple advantages here!

We arrived on the morning of 25.08 with fresh southerlies and showers. Mostly a social day but the walk down the coast towards the lighthouse brought back many happy memories with flocks of Tree Pipits trepiplerke and Yellow Wagtails gulerle passing over continuously. A few Green Sandpiper skogsnipe on the pools along the golf course / Flommen were an added bonus along with Avocets avosett and many other species of wader. Wheatears steinskvett and White Wagtails linerle fed along the shore and a small number of raptors including a few Honey Buzzard  vespevåk passed overhead.

A brief session on the heath produced Hen Harrier myrhauk, Marsh Harrier sivhauk, White-tailed Eagle havørn, Ospreys fiskeørn and more.

The next day was another "warm up" day with a lazy morning followed by a period on the heath. A male Montagu's Harrier enghauk, over 40 Honey Buzzards vespevåk, a dozen or so Marsh Harrier sivhauk, Great White Egret egretthegre, several Osprey fiskeørn, Peregrine vandrefalk, good numbers of Sparrowhawk spurvehauk and Kestrel tårnfalk and more.

Marsh Harrier sivhauk

Hornet and Red Admiral at the heath

A brief look at the pools to the north produced Spotted Redshank sotsnipe, Avocets avosett, Little Grebe dvergdykker and the usual selection of wildfowl including Shoveler skjeand and Pintail stjertand. All good birds back on the home turf:)

On 27 August I was up bright at early and headed to Nabben before dawn. Just incredible for a birder based in western Norway:) The variety of feeding waders and wildfowl was worth it before anything else happened (75 Avocet avosett, Temminck's Stint temminkssnipe, Curlew Sandpiper tundrasnipe etc etc). Highlights included Caspian Terns rovterne, Caspian Gull kaspimåke, Arctic Skua tyvjo, Ortulan Bunting hortulan, , a couple of Pallid Harrier steppehauk (including a nice male), Red Kites glente, Black Woodpecker svartspett, Honey Buzzards vespevåk, Merlin dvergfalk and much, much more. Thousands of Tree Pipit trepiplerke and Yellow Wagtail gulerle passed over along with good numbers of hirundines and even a Black Woodpecker svartspett put in an appearance.

After Nabben I headed to the heath where among other things I had several White-tailed Eagle havørn, 20+ Red Kite glente, a couple of Black Kite svartglente, 30+ Osprey fiskemåke, a few Common Buzzard musvåk, three Hobby lerkefalk, a male Montagu's Harrier enghauk, Stonechat svartstrupe and tons more. Just fantastic!!

Numbers from the Falsterbo observatory website here although this does not include resting birds.

Avocet avosett

Black Woodpecker svartspett on the move

Carrion Crow svartkråke

Caspian Tern rovterne

Hobby lerkefalk

Honey Buzzard vespevåk

The lighthouse at dawn

Sunrise at Nabben

Osprey fiskeørn

Red Kite glente

Shoveler skjeand

Sparrowhawk spurvehauk

The next day I was predictably back at Nabben before the sun came up. Another excellent morning with Caspian Tern rovterne, hundreds of Sparrowhawk spurvehauk, a breif glimpse of a Tawny Pipit markpiplerke picked up by the counters. Once again a good variety of waders, wildfowl, raptors and passerines. It was hard to leave....

I didn't really make an effort to count, just enjoyed the spectacle:

From the Falsterbo Observatory website for 28 August:

Honey Buzzard vespevåk

An unusual species at Nabben - a couple of House Sparrow gråspurv suddenly turned up

Sparrowhawk spurvehauk

Several flocks of Tree Sparrow pilfink seemed to be trying to migrate but often came back north again after a short time

Skogsøy 19 August 2024 - One last seawatch

 A pre work seawatch in brisk SW winds and in good company produced another decent number of shearwaters:) Quite a lot of waders moving too but frustratingly most went unidentified.

3.5 hours gave the following:

Manx Shearwater havlire 24 S, 1 N

Sooty Shearwater grålire S 4

Fulmar havhest S 2, N 1

Red-throated Diver smålom S 1

Common Gull fiskemåke S 163

Kittiwake krykkje S 1

Gannet havsule 26 S

Black-headed Gull hettemåke 1 S

Shelduck gravand 1 N

Gannet havsule 26 S

Several species of wader passed, but just the usual suspects.

Common Gull fiskemåke

Great Black-backed Gull svartbak

First year Kittiwake krykkje

Mixed flock of Ringed Plover sandlo and Dunlin myrsnipe

On the way home the Whooper Swan sangsvane was once again present on Husvatnet.

Øygarden 14.08-18.08.2024 - Seawatching saves the week

 On 14 August I did my usual round at Herdlevær picking up the usual suspects including a couple of Dunlin myrsnipe and Ringed Plover sandlo on the rocks. A couple of Teal krikkand were also feeding on the shore.

Lesser Black-backed Gull sildemåke

Ringed Plover sandlo

Teal krikkand

Still some Wheatear steinskvett about

The adult Whooper sangsvane was still present on Husvatnet.

A drive-by at Kollsnes on 15 August produced only one of the young Stonechat svartstrupe of interest.

First year Stonechat svartstrupe

The only other birding was a seawatch at Skogsøy on 17 August in strong SW winds. I sat from 0700 to 1030.

Sooty Shearwater grålire S 26

Manx Shearwater havlire S 25

Fulmar havhest S 13

Otherwise just a single "commic" tern, a Common Scoter svartand, and small numbers of Gannets havsule, Common Gulls fiskemåke and Great Black-backed Gulls svartbak on the move.

The next day in much nicer conditions I did Herdlevær again and picked up a reasonable selection of waders including a flock of nine Turnstone steinvender, a Greenshank gluttsnipe and the usual. On the way home Tjeldstø proved slightly more productive with a Ruff brushane, a Spotted Redshank sotsnipe, a couple of Knot polarsnipe on one of the islands just out in the fjord, flyover Dunlin myrsnipe, a couple more Greenshank gluttsnipe, Common Sandpiper strandsnipe and some migrating Oystercatcher tjeld moving down the fjord.

Stonechat svartstrupe under better conditions:)

Øygarden 10.08-13.08.2024 - Seawatching picks up

On Saturday 10th August the wind was firmly in the SW and blowing a gale with associated showers so there was no other option than to head to Skogsøy for a couple of hours of seawatching before heading into "civilization" to buy a freezer and a new dishwasher. Not bad and great to be out there after so long.

Sooty Shearwater grålire 3S

Manx Shearwater havlire 3N, 2S

Fulmar havhest 3S, 2N

Gannet havsule 29S, 11N

On 10.08 the only real option was to use the hide, despite the narrow windows

Gannet havsule

Sooty Shearwater grålire

A White-tailed Eagle havørn flew over my house when I got back home.

The next day the weather was quite similar but things were rather quieter on another attempt at Skogsøy. Just a couple of Fulmar havhest, a Peregrine vandrefalk and a light passage of Common Gulls fiskemåke. Best bird was probably a Black-tailed Godwit svarthalespove at Breivik on the way out to Skogsøy.

The way home produced a couple of Jay nøtteskrike at Sture and the early Goldeneye kvinand on Husvatnet.

No birding on 12.08 but an unseasonal Whooper sangsvane turned up on Husvatnet, Tjeldstø

On Tuesday 13.08 it was back to guiding again and with limited time available it was Herdla again, Temminck's Stint temminkssnipe, Black-tailed Godwit svarthalespove, Curlew Sandpiper tundrasnipe and plenty of other species of wader were noted. A noticable passage of Greylags grågås heading south and most of the usual suspects resulted in around 45 species seen.

In the afternoon I went fishing in Fusa where just the usual gulls and a couple of White-tailed Eagles havørn were the only birds seen. But two lifers (at least as rod -caught) were Thornback Ray piggskate and Black-mouthed Catshark håhjel. - both of which went back alive and swam off strongly. Other fish ended up filleted and in the freezer I purchased earlier in the week:)

Thornback Ray piggskate

Black-mouthed Catshark  hågjel

Black-mouthed Catshark  hågjel

Thornback Ray piggskate

Øygarden + 03.08-09.08.24 - Some birding time at last - Spotted Reds starting to show

On my return to the west of Norway I went straight into guiding mode and on 0308 visited Herdla.  At least 47 species here including 10 species of wader. At least 20 Ruff brushane, a Whimbrel småspove and most of the usual suspects.

One of the Greylags was neck ringed - UK3 - a bird that I have seen in Øygarden previously:

Passerines included a couple of Whinchat buskskvett, a Yellow Wagtail gulerle and a Pied Flycatcher svarthvit fluesnapper.

After Herdla we hit my old turf in the Haukeland/ Gullfjell area where we added a number of new species for the day including Common Buzzard musvåk, Spotted Flycatcher gråfluesnapper, Swift tårnseiler and Goldfinch stillits. The lower levels of Gullfjell produced among other things Kestrel tårnfalk, White-tailed Eagle havørn and Common Crossbill grankorsnebb. Not a bad day all in all:)

The next day I spent just over an hour seawatching at Skogsøy in NW winds but it was surprisingly disappointing and was similar to my previous visit there. Very little to report indeed. However, getting on with things back home was a lot more productive with a Spotted Redshank sotsnipe and a couple of Greenshank gluttsnipe flying over.

Monday 05.08 was spent working from home with just the first Dunnock jernspurv for some time and Greenshank gluttsnipe flying over of any note.

On Tuesday 06.08 I did my usual round at Herdlevær before work including half and hour looking out over the sea which produced several flocks of Oystercatcher tjeld heading  south along with a variety of other waders including a Knot polarsnipe and a couple of Bar-tailed Godwit lappspove. Nice views of an Otter feeding too:)

Otter at Herdlevær

A pre-work visit to Tjeldstø the following day gave the first Wood Sandpiper grønnstilk of the year, a single flock of 29 Snipe enkeltbekkasin and a variety of other waders.as well as two first year White-tailed Eagles havørn.

The first Mink I have seen for some time ran along the shore in front of my house, I really need to get that hunting license and a rifle:)

On 08.08 I once again left the reservation for another trip to Herdla, this time a rare birding trip rather than guiding. At least 600 Greylag grågås in the area with more heading south overhead. A new neck-ringed bird VP5 was present - as usual with such birds observations come from Holland, Germany and Denmark.

Other sightings here included a Little Stint dvergsnipe, a few Kestrel tårnfalk, a Peregrine vandrefalk, a few Bar-tailed Godwit lappspove, 95 Ringed Plover sandlo and 35 Ruff brushane.

The next day I didn't get out at all but had a Sparrowhawk spurvehauk in the garden and nice views of a Spotted Redshank sotsnipe at Tjeldstø during a trip to the shops.

The "new" housing estate they insisted on building may be the source of the plastic

First year Spotted Redshank sotsnipe at Husvatnet, Tjeldstø

Oslo 28.07-02.08.2024 - At last som birding

On 28 July we spent the afternoon looking for mushrooms in the forests close to Oslo, suffice it to say there were a lot more mushrooms than birds. The woods were almost birdless with just a few Common Crossbill grankorsnebb, a Willow Tit granmeis, a few Wren gjerdesmett, small numbers of Siskin grønnsisik and a few of the usual tits.

However, all was not lost. Downtown Oslo produced flocks of Swifts tårnseiler which increased from around 20 when I arrived to over 40 by the time I left. Wonderful to see these urban birds swirling around in the skies close to the city centre in numbers bigger than I will ever see out in Øygarden.

I took the first boat out to Gressholm on 30 July and was absolutely not disappointed. This was the first morning out birding for way too long so there was not much chance of  disappointment. One of the first birds was a Bar-tailed Godwit lappspove which was closely followed by an Osprey fiskeørn. Just under 40 species in a couple of hours in Oslo in late July meant that this counted as a resounding success.

Barnacle Goose hvitkinngås - a "fake" goose Oslo where they are a common breeder

Bar-tailed Godwit lappspove - one of few waders present and probably bird of the day

At least one Osprey fiskeørn put in an appearance - the first I have seen on Gressholmen

Lots of White Wags linerle about

Rixy appears to have developed quite an unhealthy relationship with this island but to me she is just a back-up island and not the only one, not even the main one:) But any island is better than no island - especially in Oslo.

Colour ringed gulls in Oslo rarely give any interesting results for me and today was no exception. A Common Gull fiskemåke on Gressholm has only ever been seen in Oslo. Where it goes in the winter would be interesting though!

Colour ringed Common Gull fiskemåke

Previous sightings of this bird

 

Øygarden 23.07-26.07.2024 - Otters again

 Yet more not birding but good results on a family fishing trip and the Otters performed well from the terrace again.

A walk at Løvstian in Bergen on 24.07 was very nice in glorious weather but not much in the way of birds. 

On 25 July a family walk at Tjeldstø produced an adult White-tailed Eagle havørn, a couple of Reed Bunting sivspurv (my first at this locality this year) and most of the usual suspects.

The following day the absolute highlight was watching the mother Otter with her young in the early morning rain together with my granddaughter. A Greenshank gluttsnipe also flew over the house and a couple of White-tailed Eagles havørn put in an appearance.

Øygarden 15.07 -19.07.2024 - Otters

 The record breaking period of not birding continued.

From the house indications of gull movement with recently fledged birds were apparent with a first year Black-headed Gull hettemåke feeding with Common Gulls fiskemåke on 15.07.

Common Terns makrellterne seem to have had a better year than many previous years with fledged birds following their parents around seen in a few places. At least two Tufted Duck toppand remained on Husvatnet leading to suspicions of breeding but no young were seen. Starlings stær starting to form larger flocks now with up to 50 in a flock.

Young Wheatear steinskvett at Kollsnes on 15.07

On 16.07 a mother Otter with two young spent time feeding outside my house - typically harder to see in summer than at other times of year this is the first sighting for some time.

Common Sandpiper strandsnipe on the shore in front of my house

On 18.07 a first year Black Guillemot teist turned up on the sea in front of my terrace.

Black Guillemot teist

Newly cut grass at Breivik on 19.07 produced around 200 Common Gulls fiskemåke and a lone adult Black-headed Gull hettemåke feeding in the area.

Adult Black-headed Gull hettemåke

One first year Common Gull fiskemåke joined this flock of feeding and resting birds

Just a small number of the gulls present in freshly cut fields

Adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls sildemåke at Kollsnes

Øygaren 10.07-14.07 2024 - Still home birding

 Yet another week of extremely little birding activity - this time more family than work related.

Still the usual selection of species from my terrace including breeding Common Sandpiper strandsnipe, Goldfinches stillits (how these are expanding into Øygarden!),  Common Terns makrellterne, Common Whitethroat tornsanger and so on. Small numbers of Common Crossbills grankorsnebb also becoming regular.

White-tailed Eagle havørn harder to see but a small number of adults still around - seen hunting gulls for the most part of late. Both Herring Gull gråmåke and Common Gull fiskmåke with recently fledged young now starting to disperse,

Common Gull fiskmåke chick getting ready to leave the area in which it hatched

The tern colony at Dåvøy seems to have done well with  good numbers of fledged young (at least for the Common Terns makrellterne  - I strongly suspect that the Arctic Terns rødnebbterne in the same place fared rather worse with still downy young disappearing in the course of a few days.

A day of guiding on 14.07 produced a reasonable variety of species including White-tailed Eagle havørn, Common Crossbill grankorsnebb, most of the usual waders, Stonechat svartstrupe and more.