Herdlevær 14 November 2021 - Photo bonanza and first ever November record of Ringed Plover

Another day of cracking weather, light southerlies and sunny.

This post shoud come with a warning - rather more pictures than usual:)

Already during the short drive to Herdlevær I felt this was going to be a good day. A couple of late Woodpigeon ringdue flew over the road at Breivik as did a Woodcock rugde and a Sparrowhawk spurvehauk.

The Jackdaw kaie first seen amost a week ago turned up shortly after I started my usual round.

Jackdaw kaie

The walk out to my usual coffee and sandwich spot was relatively quiet. Howevr, a Ringed Plover sandlo on the shore was a real November rarity - the first record for November in Øygarden as far as I can tell. It was a first year bird and gave good views. As the sun rose the light improved and I crept down along the rocks to take some better photographs. Whilst doing this a flock of seven Purple Sandpiper fjæreplytt flew in and gave some decent photo opportunities.

Purple Sandpipers fjæreplytt - one of my favourite species that takes me back to where I grew up.

This bird is probably the one that is to blame for the state I am in now:)

I was initially quite happy with this photo of a species that has not been recorded in Øygarden in November before.

Nice preening image:)

Then the sun rose ever so slightly higher and I had to go crawling back over the rocks....

Over the sea there was obviously a fair bit going on, albeit at some range, several Little Auk alkekonge, Kittiwakes krykkje, a Curlew storspove and most of the usual late autumn suspects. A Peregrine vandrefalk was on the lookout for unwary migrants.

On my way back two Chiff-chaff gransanger gave good views feeding on flies attracted to mature ivy - hopefully the ivy I have got going in my garden will produce flowers before too long:). Neither of them gave any tristis indications.....

Chiff-chaffs gransanger

Some of the Herdlevær residents stopped me to ask if I'd seen anything rare just long enough to give a reasonable shot at one of the several White-tailed Eagles havørn seen today. 

2cy White-tailed Eagle havørn

Heading back to Nautnes a brief stop at Tjeldstø showed that the Whooper sangsvane numbers had doubled to four - unfortunately all adults. They were, as usual, accompanied by a flock of dabbling duck which included a Teal krikkand and a Wigeon brunnakke.

Hernar 13 November 2021 - Red-necked Grebe and more

Fantastic conditions with a light easterly breeze with the sun showing at times.

There were a number of reasons for choosing Hernar today (VERY unusual for me to head out there on a weekend): 

1) The Hernar year list is rather poorer than it has been in recent years

2) The weather conditions, including the rain during the night looked promising

3) There has been some "vis mig" at various locations the last day or two.

So Hernar it was and no regrets despite the fact there was very little in the way of visible migration  - something of a surprise given recent conditions. A few small flocks of Siskin grønnsisik and a light passage of Red-throated Diver smålom were pretty much the whole migration thing today.

Nevertheless a very nice day out in optimal late autumn conditions, mild and calm. 

Highlight was Red-necked Grebe gråstrupedykker on the sea during my first cup of coffee. The first in Øygarden this year (though one was seen later in the day from Sæle). Two Great Northern Diver islom and a Woodcock rugde were also additions to the Hernar 2021 list. At least one Water Rail vannriske was present  - the first I have seen locally this year.

Other sightings of interest included a few Meadow Pipits heipiplerke, a late Oystercatcher tjeld, a few Black Guillemots teist, a selection of the usual seaduck and a late(ish) Song Thrush måltrost.

Just short of 40 species so around the average on the island.

The moon was massive whilst waiting for the boat home

This pile of apples was very popular with Blackbirds svarttrost, Fieldfare gråstrost and Chaffinches bokfink

Great Northern Diver islom - one of two seen today - this one came in from the north and went in for landing close to the first one

One of the good things about island birding is that even common stuff can be of interest. On Hernar Great Tit kjøttmeis is a common late autumn migrant and winter visitor in small numbers

Another photo from the quayside whilst waiting for the boat home - Grey Heron gråhegre.

Herdlevær 12 November 2021 - Goshawk

Light E breeze with more or less clear skies.

My usual round at Herdlevær was generally quieter than of late, but far from dead. Small numbers of Redwing rødvingetrost, Brambling bjørkefink and Siskin grønnsisik were signs of continuing migration. 

A first year Goshawk hønsehauk flew over accompanied by a flock of 20 Hooded Crows kråke.

First year Goshawk hønsehauk

Shag toppskarv

Cormorant storskarv

Otter oter

Coffee and sandwiches produced a couple of Red-throated Diver smålom and small numbers of seaduck. Frustratingly an aythya duck heading south went unidentified, though I did get a Scaup bergand vibe.

I had to be at home to let the plumbers in to change my boiler so I changed my tyres over to winter despite the fact that winter still seems a fair way off.

Other birds included eight Greylags grågås heading south over Tjeldstø where there were also two Teal krikkand and an interesting medium sized raptor that disappeared whilst I was setting my scope up.

Øygarden 11 November 2021 - Hoopoe remains, Ring-necked Duck gone?

Westerly gale with short showers.

With a steady steam of twitchers / photographers heading out to Øygarden to see the current star attractions in the county I felt I could safely bird some other localities without having to check if the photo magnets were still present.

I stopped briefly at several places. First up was Dåvøy where nothing out of the ordinary was seen - just a White-tailed Eage havørn and a Sparrowhawk spurvehauk.

Solberg was slightly better with at least four White-tailed Eagles havørn, a Sparrowhawk spurvehauk and a couple of Curlew storspove.

Three of the four White-tailed Eagles havørn at Solberg

Alvheim held another WTE and there were some passerines here too including a few Redwing rødvingetrost.

Redwing rødvingetrost at Alvheim

Tjeldstø was relatively quiet but a few auks heading up the fjord included a Little Auk alkekonge and four Purple Sandpipers fjæreplytt joined the roosting Cormorants storskarv and gulls on the islands. A Wigeon brunnakke joined the Mallards stokkand that had joined the Whoopers sangsvane feeding in the north of the reserve.

Three Snipe enkeltbekkasin concealed in the grass

Back home the Hoopoe hærfugl was still present and still being visited by a steady stream of admirers. Amazing to see how much food it found in it the area it has chosen to forage, various grubs seemed to be the main prey. I spent slightly more time than I have previously done taking more pictures before heading home to try and sort out a leaking boiler...

Skogsøy 10 November 2021 - Auks

Strong W winds, mostly sunny

A short-ish (1.5 hours) seawatch gave nothing very exciting but a decent passage of auks (>>200), some Kittiwakes krykkje, Red-throated Divers smålom and Common Scoters svartand on the move. Several White-tailed Eagles havørn and more were seen. Three small waders were of obvious interest due to the late date but were too far out to identify,

The Hoopoe hærfugl remained at Nautnes and was viewed by another crowd of admirers. The Ring-necked Duck ringand was also present throughout the day and I caught up with it just before the light went during a trip to the shop.

Nautnes and Herdla 09 November 2021 - Hoopoe and some out of Øygarden birding

Today I had promised my youngest some long awaited driving practise before her forthcoming driving test so time was not in my favour today. I opted to start with a quick look at Hjelme West. There was not much doing there so when I received a tip-off regarding a Hoopoe hærfugl just a few hundred metres from my house I managed to run through the woods all the way back to my car. Thank you Skogsøy for the training:)

Shortly after I was enjoying the second Hoopoe for Nautnes and the fourth for the "new" Øygarden. Interestingly both observations in the old Øygarden were from EXACTLY the same place and both the other sightings were in Tælevåg. However, the national database does not contain all records as I know of others at Herdlevær and Tjeldstø neither of which seem to have been reported.

Not quite the habitat I had expected - there are other areas that seem more suitable very close by

Rooftop feeding is not something I have seen before

After snapping a few brief photographs it was time to drive. We went to Herdla on the other side of the fjord for various reasons, we had a short walk and did not do the normal full round but a nice Richard's Pipit tartarpiplerke called a lot and gave brief but good views in the scope. Two Taiga Bean Geese taigasædgås and a couple of Pinkfeet kortnebbgås joined a flock of 91 Greylag grågås there.

Two Taiga Bean Geese taigasædgås, a Pinkfoot kortnebbgås (left) and two Greylags grågås at Herdla

Taiga Bean Goose taigasædgås (right) and a Greylag grågås at Herdla

Two Taiga Bean Geese taigasædgås and two Greylags grågås at Herdla

A lone Whooper Swan sangsvane joined the geese in the fields too

The Hoopoe was still present on my return - unsurprisingly accompanied by a throng of photographers.

Tjeldstø & Herdlevær 07-08 November 2021 - Ring-necked Duck and other less exciting new species for the year

 I have been on holiday for the last few weeks - a ridiculous time of year to leave Øygarden from a birding perspective. However, certain things are outwith control - like when parents or siblings have "big" birthdays. There was some birding in the UK, Mallorca and even a little in north east Spain. More of that later if I find the time.

Needless to say I missed a lot of good birding but there is just a LITTLE bit more to life than birds.....

Sitting on the bus on the way home from the airport a message ticked in about a possible Ring-necked Duck ringand at Tjeldstø. I know public transport is not exactly the fastest way to get around but I'm sure the bus driver was driving especially slow....

After an eternity I finally arrived back at my house, grabbed my scope and jumped in the car and headed to Tjeldstø for the duck and to restock my empty fridge. Luckily the bird had not been scared off and was still very much present. In the scope it was anything other than a possible:)

Male Ring-necked Duck ringand at Tjeldstø

Third county record and the second for Øygarden (the previous one also being found in pretty much the same place by the same observer).

The next day I paused briefly at Tjeldstø on my way out and the bird was still present. As soon as I got out of the car it started swimming further out onto the lake so I let it be and carried on to check some other localities.

Herdlevær was it's usual late autumn self and produced the first Jackdaw kaie of the year for Øygarden and a flyover Yellowhammer gulspurv as the best birds in a local context. A minimum of four White-tailed Eagles havørn and a selection of finches were among the other birds present.

A quick look in the scope during my usual coffee and sandwich break showed that there was a steady passage over the sea. Among other things five Little Auks alkekonge, a couple of Great Northern Diver islom and several Velvet Scoter sjøorre passed along with Guillemots lomvi, Razorbill alke, Kittiwakes krykkje and Gannets havsule.

Jackdaw kaie at Herdlevær

Still plenty of Starling stær about....

I check Kollsnes where the counties latest ever Whinchat buskskvett was still present some days after being found.

Whinchat buskskvett

As the light went I made a further foray out, this time to Sæle where I heard what must have been a tristis Chiff-chaff sibirgransanger but didn't manage to see it well at all.

Skogsøy 12 October 2021 - Grey Phalarope at last!

A morning of NW winds and sunny with it.

This time I got my act together and sat in my usual autumn spot. Much better than the hide now that a) the wind was from NW and b) it was not raining.

I sat from 0830 to 1200 and there was a constant passage of birds. Once again, a lot of birds passed rather distantly and I spent a lot of time looking through my scope rather than with bins which is often my normal preference.

Best bird was a Grey Phalarope polarsvømmesnipe - an inexplicably rare bird in Øygarden and the first time with certainty that I have seen it here despite several probables in the past. In a way it was identified by default rather than by plumage features alone. I picked the bird up at about 700m out headings north and immediately suspected something due to the wing bars, pale head and flight. Almost immediately it started flying in circles low over the considerable swell before going in for landing and disappearing from view behind a big swell never to be seen again.

The other highlight was White-sided Dolphins feeding a couple of kilometres offshore - the behaviour of gulls and Gannets havsule led me to them and I saw them quite well several times in the scope over the course of a couple of hours. The first Little Auks alkekonge of the autumn also passed.

Peregrine vandrefalk and Snow/Lapland Bunting were among the other non seabird sightings of interest. Two White-tailed Eagles havørn appeared to be hunting far out to sea - at approximately 2km range - more or less where the dolphins were at one point.

Grey Phalarope polarsvømmesnipe 1

Gannet havsule S 108

Auk sp S 226

Cormorant storskarv S 60, N 4

Great Northern Diver islom S 1

Red-throated Diver smålom S 8

Common Scoter svartand S 6

Merganser siland S 1

Common Gull fiskemåke S 9

Long-tailed Duck havelle S 16

Razorbill alke S 11

Auk sp S 226

Little Auk alkekonge S 2

Guillemot lomvi N 2

Velvet Scoter sjøorre S 5

Common Scoter svartand S 6

Eider ærfugl S 2

Kittiwake krykkje S 6

Oystercatcher tjeld S 2