Øygarden 09.04-12.04.2024 - Spring

Home but not out birding at all.

A trip to the shops to fill up my empty fridge after I returned on 09 April produced a Jackdaw kaie / Rook kornkråke combo at Dåvøy as the best sighting.

Jackdaw kaie

Rook kornkråke

White Wagtail linerle, Dunnock jernspurv and the usual White-tailed Eagles havørn were seen from the terrace.

On Wednesday 10.04 more White Wags linerle here and there and a Guillemot lomvi on the sea in front of my house were all that I managed.

Twenty minutes sitting in the sun at Hatten the following day was very nice with a pair of Siskin grønnsisik, several Brambling bjørefink, a couple of Great-spotted Woodpecker flaggspett and the usual suspects.

Brambling bjørkefink

Female Great-spotted Woodpecker flaggspett

Siskin grønnsisik

Mergansers siland on the sea in front of my house

On Friday I heard my first singing Chiff-chaff gransanger of the year from my terrace, Gannet havsule and a bridled Guillemot ringvi were also seen here.

Female Pied Wagtail svartryggerle

Gannet havsule from the terrace

Bridled Guillemot ringvi from the terrace

Redshank rødstilk at Husvatnet, Tjeldstø

Male Wheatear steinskvett at Breivik

Other stuff included the first Redshank rødstilk of the year at Husvatnet, a smart male Wheatear steinskvett at Breivik, a female Pied Wagtail svartryggerle at Tjeldstø and a (the?) Carrion Crow svartkråke at Oen.

Offshore 27.03 - 09.04.2024 - Five species in two weeks

 My first offshore trip of the year was a spectacular failure birdwise - probably because I almost didn't get outside. A measly five species in early April means this was quite possibly the worst ever offshore trip I've ever had.

The only identified passerine was a Meadow Pipit heipiplerke just outside the Norwegian 12 nautical mile limit although there was another bird onboard which was probably a Goldcrest fuglekonge.

The time was spent at Gullfaks and Oseberg where all I managed was small numbers of Fulmar havhest (seems to be becoming scarcer and scarcer), Gannets havsule, a Lesser Black-backed Gull sildemåke and a Great Black-backed Gull svartbak. 

Lesser Black-backed Gull sildemåke

Fulmar havhest

Gannet havsule

Oseberg

Better luck next time I hope.

Skogsøy 26 March 2024 - Best Oystercatcher count since 2003....

Calm and sunny

With winds dropping and generally good conditions I thought it may be a good migration day. I was not wrong:) Highlight of four hours of seawatching was my best Oystercatcher tjeld count since 2003 with over 1600 heading north. A Merlin dvergfalk headed the same way as did 12 Shelduck gravand. Smaller numbers of the usual early spring stuff also on the move. Unusually there were more Shag toppskarv flying the "wrong" way (ie. north) than normal at this time of year.

A Dunnock jernspurv singing on the way out to the lookout was the first of the year and a Common Crossbill grankorsnebb was the first I've seen for a few weeks. Redwings rødvingetrost have now also joined the dawn chorus - first I've heard singing after the huge arrival last week.

Red throated Diver smålom N 2

Great Northern Diver islom S 1

Northern Gannet havsule N 2, S 1

Great Cormorant storskarv N 27, S 2

Eurasian Shag toppskarv N 68, S 96 Uusally high number heading north today

Greylag Goose grågås N 11

Shelduck gravand N 12 A flock of 10 came swimming past before taking off and flying north

Eider ærfugl N 3, S 3

Long tailed duck havelle S 2

Common Scoter svartand N 9

Merganser siland N 8, S 7

Oystercatcher tjeld N 1626 My highest count since 2003. Wish I could have stayed longer:)

Eurasian Curlew storspove N 10

Common Gull fiskemåke N 217

Common Guillemot lomvi N 11

Razorbill alke N 18

Black Guillemot teist S 1

Atlantic Puffin  lunde N 2

Auk N 48, S 5

Merlin dvergfalk N 1

Common Scoter svartand (male on the left)

Oystercatcher tjeld were pouring past today.

Shags toppskarv heading south

...and Shags toppskarv heading north

Migrating Shelduck gravand

Tjeldstø and Herdlevær 25 March 2024 - Cheeky pre-work outing

Sunny with a cool northerly wind again.

I was up bright and early and decided to get a couple of hours birding in before work - partly spurred on by the fact the first bird I heard from my terrace was a singing Grey-headed Woodpecker gråspett.

Things went pretty well with the first Pink-foot kortnebbgås of the year on Husvatnet - a very common bird indeed in the east of Norway at the moment but not many move up the west coast of the country. Also singing Meadow Pipit heipiplerke here - the first I've seen locally. My first one was across the fjord last week:)

Pinkfoot kortnebbgås before the sun came up properly.

I was glad I stopped as I didn't see this bird on the way home

I did my usual round at Herdlevær where migrants included a few each of Skylark sanglerke and Song Thrush måltrost and a couple of Snow Bunting snøspurv. Here too Meadow Pipits heipiplerke had arrived.

One of the Meadow Pipits heipiplerke at Herdlevær

A short breakfast break with the scope produced much the same as Skogsøy did yesterday although passage seemed rather more subdued. A couple of Puffin lunde headed south and two Red-throated Diver smålom headed north.

My point and pray had mixed results - in fully automatic mode it tends to opt for a shutter speed too slow for flight photographs

Cormorant storskarv results not as good as yesterday:)

Massively cropped Guillemot lomvi - not to shabby considering the range

My good deed for the day was to show some birders/photographers from town the male Stonechat svartstrupe at Kollsnes.

Home before 10:00 and back to the grindstone.....

Skogsøy 24 March 2024 - More than 1100 on the move

Sunny with fresh northerly winds

I spent a few hours seawatching at Skogsøy, slow going on the way out as there was some light frost.

Plenty of movement and a typical early spring day with Oystercatcher tjeld and Common Gull fiskemåke dominating. A Carrion Crow svartkråke headed out to sea shortly after dawn and a couple of Snow Bunting snøspurv headed north. A couple of White-tailed Eagle havørn flew over and were harassed by the local Raven ravn pair.

Red throated Diver smålom N 3

Northern Gannet havsule N 15

Great Cormorant storskarv N 14, S 1

Eurasian Shag toppskarv N 9, S 120

Greylag Goose grågås N 1

Eider ærfugl S 12

Long tailed duck havelle N 3, S 1

Merganser siland  N 2, S 1

Oystercatcher tjeld N 518

Common Gull fiskemåke N 319

Lesser black backed Gull sildemåke N 2

Black-legged Kittiwake krykkje N 2

Common Guillemot lomvi N 4, S 3

Black Guillemot teist N 1

Auk N 49, S 65. Undoubtedly a lot more than this, rather distant.

On the way home a short stop at Husvatnet showed that Greylag grågås numbers had suddenly increased to 80 - a big arrival during the last day or two.

Today I took my "proper" camera rather than the point and pray with me.

Common Gulls fiskemåke

Cormorants storskarv

Gannet havsule

Great Black-backed Gull svartbak

Lesser Black-backed Gull sildemåke

Oystercatchers tjeld

Øygarden 18.03-23.03.2024 - Arrivals

I returned to Øygarden as the light went on 18 March to find the fields were FULL of migrants - big flocks of Redwing rødvingetrost, Fieldfare gråtrost, Blackbird svarttrost and Starling stær were EVERYWHERE. A new species for the year were a couple of Golden Plover heilo with them.

Golden Plover heilo with Fieldfare gråtrost at Breivik

The following day I had a guiding trip and given the forecast of fresh southerly winds and rain I actually left Øygarden and did Herdla along and a quick look at my old haunts near Gullfjell. Just under 50 species noted during the course of the day. At Herdla a cracking 2cy White-billed Diver gulnebblom vied for top spot with a lovely male Lapland Bunting lappspurv. Four albifrons White-fronted Geese tundragås, a maleShelduck gravand, a flocks of Dunlin myrsnipe, Ringed Plover sandlo, Golden Plover heilo, Curlew storspove, all the usual seaduck, huge numbers of Skylark sanglerke, Rock Pipit skjærpiplerke and more meant this locality was a great success. Elsewhere Dipper fossekall, small numbers of Whoopers sangsvane, Goosander laksand and even a couple of "inland" Long-tailed Ducks havelle meant there was always something to see.

A business trip saw me leave Øygarden again on Wednesday morning but I did pick up the first local Black-headed Gull hettemåke of the year and a flock of around 20 Lapwing vipe on my way. Before I left a couple of Tree Sparrow pilfink turned up in my garden and a Sparrowhawk spurvehauk flew over.

It was long after dark on Thursday before I returned and Friday was spent largely confined to the home office where a couple of Goldfinch stillits and a Rock Pipit skjærpiplerke turned up in the garden. A trip to the shops produced the Stonechat svartstrupe pair at Kollsnes among other things.

Curlew storspove now back on their breeding grounds (up to now just coastal overwintering birds have been seen)

Goldfinces stillits on my feeder

On Saturday 23 March I took the morning off and did my usual round at Herdlevær and visited both Breivik and Tjeldstø. 

Other than a Rook kornkråke Herdlevær did not produce any surprises. Breivik produced two Rook kornkråke and two Jackdaw kaie. Nearby at Kollsnes a flock of 23 Skylark sanglerke was a good number for these parts. Tjeldstø held couple of pairs of Teal krikkand, singing Song Thrush måltrost, displaying Curlew storspove and more.

Rook kornkråke #1

Rook kornkråke #2