Skogsøy 20 November 2020 - Orcas

 Light SE winds, rather colder than of late.

Hoping for some kind of movement after yesterday's storm I headed for Skogsøy and spent a couple of hours seawatching. Birdwise there was nothing out of the ordinary but two Orcas spekkhogger heading north were well worth the effort.

Birds included a Little Auk alkekonge and a Black Guillemot teist heading north, a few Red-throated Diver smålom, a Velvet Scoter sjøorre and a variety of gulls including 14 Kittiwake krykkje heading south.

Frustratingly a white-winged gull heading south was too far off for positive ID.

On the way back to the car I picked up a Peregrine vandrefalk which was at a look out post on Herdlevær and an Otter.

Øygarden 19 November - Northerly gale and another new for the year

 Strong northerly gale with short hailstorms.

Started at Hellesøy where gulls were feeding in the high winds, mostly Herring Gulls gråmåke but a couple of Kittiwake krykkje and a few Common Gulls fiskemåke with them. At least two White-tailed Eagle havørn here.

Redwing rødvingetrost at Herdlevær

Scaup bergand at Herdlevær

Next up was a family walk at Herdlevær, here the wind was if anything even stronger. A female Scaup bergand was one of the very few birds seen here although a few Redwing rødvingetrost, a Snipe enkeltbekkasin and a Sparrowhawk spurvehauk were among the sightings.

Lots of Blackbirds svarttrost and Starling stær flocks pretty much all over.

First year Moorehen sivhøne on Blomvatnet

Best bird today was the first Moorehen sivhøne of the year on Blomvatnet.

Common Scoter svartand at Nautnes

A few Common Scoter svartand were "surfing" in front of the house when I got home.

Solberg 18 November 2020 - Another Little Gull

 Stronger S winds today and not much time to be out and about.

I sat for 15 minutes at Solberg where the best sighting was another adult Little Gull dvergmåke. Otherwise just the usual including 10 Kittiwake krykkje and a Red-throated Diver smålom.

At Tjeldstø a (or the?) female Scaup bergand was present on Rotevatnet together with a female Common Scoter svartand and the flock of 19 Greylag grågås was still there.

Adult Kittiwake krykkje passing my terrace

Another 10 minutes from my terrace produced just a steady movement of Kittiwakes krykkje heading south and a Common Scoter svartand. And the Otter which has thankfully become a daily feature again after a period of only erratic visits.

The only other thing worth mentioning was a flyover Goshawk hønsehauk at Breivik.

Herdlevær 16 November 2020 - LITTLE GULLS!!

 A great morning out in relatively calm and mild conditions.

Started off at Herdlevær with my usual round. Before I sat down for coffee and breakfast I had already picked up Slavonian Grebe horndykker, Black-throated Diver storlom, Red-throated Diver smålom and more.

Black-throated Diver storlom

Cormorant storskarv with ring - I would love to know where this bird came from!

Above two: Adult Little Gull dvergmåke

Above two: 1cy Little Gull dvergmåke

Slavonian Grebe horndykker

As usual during my coffee stop I kept my eye on the sea where there was a steady passage of Kittiwakes krykkje, Herring Gulls gråmåke and Common Gulls fiskemåke. Suddenly an adult Little Gull dvergmåke came into view, I fumbled for my camera hoping to get some record shots but was not sure I managed it until later. Frantically rescanning the sea to try and refind it I found a first year Little Gull and began to question my eyes/sanity for getting things so wrong but after a minute or so they teamed up and I saw them together:) First record this year for both Øygarden and the "county".

The way home also proved successful with a Hawfinch kjernebiter at Tjeldstø along with a flock of 19 Greylags grågås - I'm presuming these late birds are probably from Iceland.

Nautnes 15 November - Back to Eagles and Otters

 Sunny with southerly winds.

The terrnace is where I should probably have stayed all day. The Otters are now back and seen most days, today there were also the usual three White-tailed Eagles havørn. I don't normally bother photographing them from the terrace anymore but the light was nice and they were performing well so I took a few shots.

The focussing on my camera often only seems to work towards the edge of the frame. All the other shots of this Woodcock rugde well placed in the image were blurry.....

White-tailed Eagles havørn at Nautnes

In the afternoon a walk to Alvheim from Nautnes produced little more - at least two more eagles, Raven ravn, a Woodcock rugde and some of the usual woodland suspects such as Crested Tits toppmeis.

Hatten 14 November 2020 - FINALLY a new Øygarden species

 Strong southerly winds, mild and overcast.

At Tjeldstø, a flock of Whoopers sangsvane attracted two Teal krikkand, three Wigeon brunnakke and 20 Mallard stokkand which typically fed on whatever the swans kick up whilst they are feeding.

I had planned to look for woodpeckers and had just got out of the car to start working the woods when I received with hot tip and jumped straight back into the car to catch up with a species I have not definitely seen in Øygarden before - White-backed Woodpecker hvitryggspett. The species is regular enough a couple of fjords to the east of us and has probably been seen out here at the coast prior to the first documented birds this autumn. 

As I have been offshore for most of the autumn it has taken a while to catch up with this species on the home turf - and today a cracking female performed well at close range, albeit in poor light.

Here together with Great Spotted Woodpecker flaggspett

Female White-backed Woodpecker hvitryggspett - the first definite record for me in Øygarden - although I have strongly suspected it a couple of times, most recently earlier in the autumn.

There are other potentially credible records but none backed up with documentation prior to the spate of the records this autumn. At least two birds have been seen with a male at Breivik in addition to bird(s) at Skjold and Hatten

Hjelme Vest and Sæle 13 November 2020 - A normal late autumn day

 Strong SSE winds, mild and overcast.

Hjelme Vest was pretty much as expected with an adult Great Northern Diver islom on the sea, a few each of Velvet Scoter sjøorre, Common Scoter svartand and Long-tailed Duck havelle, a Purple Sandpiper fjæreplytt and the usual White-tailed Eagles havørn.

The woods here were typically quiet with a flock or two of Common Crossbill grankorsnebb and lots of Wrens gjerdesmett.

A quick look at Sæle produced the usual autumn thrushes and a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker dvergspett. A couple of Nuthatch spettmeis remained from the influx earlier in the autumn.

Goldfinch stillits, at least two White-tailed Eagle havørn and more seen from the terrace.

Solberg 11 November 2020 - Another new for the year

 Strong SSE winds, mild and overcast.

Another morning spent dropping in at a few localities with one of my daughters.

Tjeldstø produced at least three White-tailed Eagles havørn, with several more seen elsewhere included 3++ at Solberg, two at Alvheim and at least two at Nautnes.

Heron gråhegre, Solberg

Scaup bergand at Solberg

Just a few of the White-tailed Eagles havørn seen during the morning

Solberg produced the best bird - a female Scaup bergand - the first of the year in Øygarden. It swam towards us as we sat in the car but was spooked by an eagle and flew off. Several flocks of Common Scoter svartand headed south, a Red-throated Diver smålom fished offshore and a late Oystercatcher tjeld fed on the shore there.

Herdlevær 10 November 2020 - Still some new birds to see

 Mild and overcast again.

The best bird during a walk at Herdlevær was a Slavonian Grebe horndykker. Other stuff included a couple of White-tailed Eagles havørn, two Kittiwake krykkje, a late Oystercatcher tjeld and half a dozen Snipe enkeltbekkasin.

Slavonian Grebe horndykker

Three more White-tailed Eagle at Tjeldstø along with a couple of Whoopers sangsvane.

On the way home I popped in at Heggøy which has been rather disappointing for a long time but today a first year Red-throated Diver smålom fished there. I also picked up the Yellow-legged Gull gulbeinmåke again at Dåvøy - seemed slightly darker on the back than the Herring Gulls gråmåke, with a darker eye and a much whiter head.

First year Red-throated Diver smålom

Presumed Yellow-legged Gull gulbeinmåke

The biggest issue I have regarding ID is the fact this bird turns up year after year. Why on earth would this happen?

Back home at Nautnes a first winter Glaucous Gull polarmåke turned up - the first I have seen locally this year. More Scoter svartand on the move, Red-throated Diver smålom and several hundred Fieldfare gråtrost headed south.

Skogsøy 09 November 2020 - Seawatching again

 Another calm and mild day. Encouraged by the previous day's results from a late and lazy visit I was out as bright and early as is possible in November. There was a steady stream of stuff passing without any major surprises. In two hours I had the following:

Red-throated Diver smålom 12S, 2N

Merganser siland 2S

Cormorant storskarv 17S, 2N

Shag toppskarv 14S, 3N

Razorbill alke 7S

Black Guillemot teist 1S

Guillemot lomvi 1S

Little Auk alkekonge 1S

Common Gull fiskemåke 37S

Herring Gull gråmåke 35S

Gannet havsule 4N, 3S

Kittiwake krykkje 21S

Great Black-backed Gull svartbak 20S

Common Scoter svartand 13S

Long-tailed Duck havelle 5S, 4N

Eider ærfugl 15S, 3N

Velvet Scoter sjøorre 3S

Otherwise a couple of lateish Meadow Pipits heipiplerke, small numbers of Mealy Redpoll gråsisik along with the usual Redwings rødvingetrost, Fieldfare gråtrost etc.

Eiders ærfugl

Velvet Scoter sjøorre

Øygarden 06-08 November - Getting back to normal

 Now back home after a couple of weeks at work in the Mediterranean (more of that later I hope) and enjoying calm and mild conditions.

On 06 November there were Kittiwake krykkje and Guillemot lomvi on the sea in front of the house in addition to the usual White-tailed Eagle havørn. A look at Sæle produced a female Blackcap munk and a rather strange Chiff-chaff gransanger which sounded like a tristis but didn't really look like one.

Chiff-chaff gransanger - sounded just like a tristis but probably too much green / yellow in the plumage

Guillemot lomvi

Yellow-legged Gull gulbeinmåke (at least for now)

The white head on this bird really sets it out from the crowd

The long-staying Yellow-legged Gull gulbeinmaåke fed in the fields at Harkestad (I'm leaning back towards this ID now especially having seen more YLG in the Mediterranean).

Also nice to see three Whoopers sangsvane back for the winter at Tjeldstø.

Quite a few Common Crossbill grankorsnebb about with flocks flying over regularly.

On 08 October a family walk to Skogsøy was slightly frustrating as I failed to nail a large, broad winged falcon that flew over gaining height as it disappeared out to see. We also had a Woodcock rugde, a Snow Bunting snøspurv and some more flocks of Common Crossbill grankorsnebb.

Over the sea a light passage of Red-throated Diver smålom, Common Scoter svartand, and Common Gulls fiskemåke. One Long-tailed Duck havelle too.

Before we left a male Blackcap munk and a couple of Bullfinch dompap turned up in the garden.

Hamar and Engerdal 10-18 October - Not so promising

 After indications of large numbers of rodents in the Oslo area it was disappointing to not see the same going on further north in Hamar or up in Engerdal. 

Part of a flock of almost 1000 Pinkfeet kortnebbgås near Hamar. At least three of these had neck rings but these were just too fa off to read:(

In the Hamar area there were plenty of birds but without anything exciting - good numbers of geese and other wildfowl including some Pintail stjertand. Black Woodpecker svartspett, Goshawk hønesehauk, Nutcracker nøttekråke and the first small flocks of Waxwing sidensvans of the autumn were the only sightings of interest.

A late Chiff-chaff gransanger - interestingly pale legs visible on some of the pictures of this bird

One of a few Golden Eagle kongørn seen in Engerdal

Siberian Jay lavskrike

A Roe deer swimming across Engersjøen

Engerdal normally produces Great Grey Shrike varsler, Hawk Owl haukugle and more at this time of year but they were noticeable by their complete absence this time around. I managed to pick up a few Golden Eagle kongeørn, Siberian Jay lavskrike, Capercaille storfugl, Black Grouse orrfugl, Willow Grouse lirype and most of the usual suspects.

The main feature of birding in Engerdal was the huge numbers of thrushes, largely Fieldfare gråtrost feasting on the vast quantities of various berries above the treeline. The availability of these berries must be the deciding factor that dictates when these thrushes decide to leave for the UK and the continent. Berries were stripped on the rowan trees further down but the blueberries and others on the slopes more than make up for this shortfall. One heavy snowfall, however, and this food source will immediately become unavailable....

Predictably I missed a lot of good birds back in Øygarden including the first Bearded Tits skjeggmeis for the area.