It’s not too late to say Happy New Year is it? I returned to Voss to be told that while I was in the Netherlands, temperatures dropped to minus 29.7. Boy is that cold and I was glad I didn’t experience it. As one would expect bird life was at a minimum. The Mallard flock that usually are to be found on the river in the centre of Voss had pulled out, no doubt heading for the nearest fjord. Whooper Swans seemed also to have had enough of the cold weather with only 3 birds at Lake Seim. It takes more than minus 29 c to send the hardy little White-throated Dipper (above photo) on its way. I recorded birds at 3 localities with the most being 3 birds at the waterfall at Dugstad. While I haven’t seen Redpoll in the garden since my return and Siskin numbers remain low, the Common Bullfinch flock hit a new record with 25 birds. And lastly Hawfinch. Numbers are not as good as last year but there are still 3 birds present at the usual bird table just outside Voss. Once again I have had problems with logging on to this blog, and as you can see the writing is green and not the usual black. I have now decided to revamp my website Birdwatchnorway.com adding my blog page onto that site. This revamp should take a week or a little longer.  

 

I have had problems logging on to my blog during the past few weeks hence the lack of news but now things seemed to be back to normal. The cold weather has affected birdlife here too. Most of the lakes are frozen and what open water there is has attracted the odd Grey Heron, Whooper Swan, Common Goldeneye and Goosander. It looks like most of the winter Mallard population can be found along the river that runs through Voss where people throw bread to them.  One of the highlights of the past week has been a big female Northern Goshawk that has been attacking the Hooded Crow flock that fly’s into a small group of pine near my house. I have been able to sit in the comfort of my living room and watch the action. Woodland habitat in general has been quiet. Great-spotted Woodpeckers seem to be tackling the cold while I was lucky to see two Nutcracker, usually, at this time of the year they retreat into the thickest part of the pine forests. Small flocks of Siskin, Common Bullfinch and one or two Common Crossbill are the only other species that I have recorded. Garden birding has been so some so. Looking at my own garden has been a little disappointing so far this year. No Robin to be seen and only one male Blackbird. The Greenfinch flock is about 25 birds while Siskin and Redpoll sp. are very low in numbers. That being said my “bird of the month” so far this December was a stunning male Snow Bunting – feeding under the bird table and a new tick for my garden list.  Other species seen in people garden’s while driving past include wintering Fieldfare and Common Chaffinch. I spent the day on the coast at Sotra on the 18/12. It was good to see the sea again, even though the birding was a bit disappointing. Well, I will take this opportunity to thank all that have sent me e-mails and Christmas greetings and wish one and all A VERY MERY CHRISTMAS AND GREAT BIRDING NEW YEAR. I myself will be celebrating the Christmas holiday season in the Netherlands, so I look forward to all the waterfowl around Kesteren.

Back from my trip to the UK and the Netherlands, I found Voss to be in the grips of winter with snow covered ground and temperatures as low as minus 10c. While I have been on my travels a White Stork turned up at Lake Mels. It was still around and on the 20/11 and while I was watching it a White-tailed Eagle gave it a scare as it flew close by. On my return I had also received an e-mail from a local man here in Voss. He sent the above picture which shows a Pine Grosbeak. He said there were at least 10 birds in a small flock. Good to know that they are around and I will no doubt spend a few hours this week looking for more. Other “winter species” to turn up include 30 Whooper Swans and 6 Hawfinch at their usual bird table in a garden on the outskirts of Voss.

With two trips to Bergen during the past week and heavy snowfalls on Wednesday night and all day Thursday there hasn’t been much time for birding around Voss. While in Bergen however I did manage to get out onto the island of Sotra for a few hours on one of the trips. Weather wise it was clear but a cold strong breeze blew from the north. There were a lot of birds on the move. Fieldfare seemed everywhere and I estimated between 3 and 5 thousand birds that day. Bramblings too were common, and though the above bird turned at the last moment, spoiling the photo, it is still nice to look at the patterning on the birds back. Other finches included large mixed flocks of Redpoll sp. And smaller numbers of Common Bullfinch. I also had the autumn’s first flocks of Bohemian Waxwing flying over while watching Blackcap and Common Chiffchaff in one of the gardens at Sæle. As usual White-tailed Eagle was recorded with three birds as well as a single Eurasian Sparrowhawk. Other than that it was most probably a Grey-headed Woodpecker that was the “bird of the day”. In a few days I leave on a longer birding trip to England and the Netherlands. By the time I get back, Voss could be in the grips of winter, so I can only hope that this winter will not be as hard and long as last years. 

After days of torrential rain that caused heavy flooding in many parts of the county of Rogaland, the sun finally showed through on the 7/10. The next few days produced good numbers of birds with new day records of birds caught at the ringing station as well as birds seen in the field. Such species as Common Chiffchaff, Goldcrest and Blue Tit seemed to be everywhere, not to mention thrushes and Meadow Pipits.  On average between 100 and 110 species were seen on the island each day during the period of my stay. After the Chestnut Bunting was caught at the ringing station on the 5/10 exceptions were high of another “mega” turning up. Unfortunately that didn’t happen but one can’t complain when discussions ran high if there were 3 or 4 Red-flanked Bluetail on the island. It didn’t help matters when I discovered one (above photo) at a new locality on the 9/10. This was considered to be a new bird though the Norwegian Rarities Committee will have the last say on the matter. Otherwise there were plenty of exciting species to look for, most of them staying around for a few days, giving all the birders on the island good opportunities to look for them. Here are some of the more interesting birds. Great Snipe, Short-toed Lark, Richard’s Pipit, Barred Warbler, Yellow-browed Warbler, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Common Rosefinch and Little Bunting. On the 9/10 wind directions changed overnight to northerlies and by the next day there were fewer birds to be seen on the island. By midday things were still very quiet so when a Baird’s Sandpiper was discovered on the mainland at Jæren it was too much for the hardcore twitchers and a Helicopter was booked and landed on the football pitch. At about £250,- a man a queue soon formed with eager twitchers willing to fork out the cash to get a tick in their little black books.

The rest of us continued to trawl the island, hoping for our own “Mega”. Unfortunately this didn’t happen though we did find a Olive-backed Pipit that fortunately stayed around for a few days so the birders who had been to see the Sandpiper saw it on their return to the island. It is always hard to leave Utsira and one can’t help feeling the “gut feeling” of missing something, either on the day you leave, or the day after. This year Blyth’s Reed Warbler, Rose-coloured Starling and Arctic Redpoll were all recorded on the day I left, but that is birding, you can’t be everywhere and see everything. It didn’t really matter. I was on my way to Jæren and the Baird’s Sandpiper was still present. Ha-ha-ha, eat your hearts out all of you that forked out the cash for the helicopter ride. Over the next few days I saw this cracking wader every day. Otherwise Jæren was good. Several species of wader were still about and wildfowl numbers were very good. Huge flocks of Brambling, some estimated at 1000-1500 birds were a spectacular sight as they whirled around in a tight flock. On the 13/10 I was rewarded with a Palla’s Leaf Warbler at Brusand. The next few days after that were spent searching the beaches and woodland areas in the hope of finding something good. In between times I visited Refsness looking for the Rose-coloured Starling and Vik looking for the Surf Scoter but to no avail. However, all good things must come to an end and it was with a good portion of reluctance that I headed for home. The next weeks will be spent at Voss with maybe a couple of trips out onto the coast at Sotra. I will keep you posted.

With the weeks weather dominated by grey sky’s and rain, it wasn’t before the weekend that the weather changed for the better. Unfortunately, I had to go to Bergen so all I managed birding wise was a couple of hours Saturday morning. The rest of the week was a case of dodging the rain showers and hoping that something would turn up. Despite flooded conditions at the local marshes wildfowl numbers remained low with some species like Common Teal moving on their way. Despite the poor weather it was a good week for birds of prey with a single White-tailed Eagle, 2 Northern Goshawk, several Eurasian Sparrowhawks, Rough-legged Buzzard, Golden Eagle and a Peregrine.
While driving to check out a new woodland area a female Capercaillie walked out in front of my car. I obtained great views as she stopped and started picking up small stones from the dirt track. I took a few photo’s, but as it was through the windscreen they were blurred. Once again nothing much on the wader front, no doubt due to high water levels, though I did see a European Golden Plover (above photo) on the Saturday. Small flocks of Wood Pigeon have been moving down the valley all week while the woodlands have produced Green Woodpeckers and several Great-spotted. There are still some small flocks of Barn Swallow while Meadow Pipit are definitely on the move with large restless flocks through the whole valley. Thrush numbers too are dropping fast. Other than that it is only the resident species, most preparing for winter.

I ended my last blog by complaining about the rain. Unfortunately, things did not change and it rained more or less none stop the whole week, except for the weekend when, though overcast, it stayed dry. Despite the weather I spent a lot of time in the field. The flooded marshes brought in the wildfowl. 4 Eurasian Wigeon stayed around for a few days at Reppen while Common Teal were recorded at several localities with the largest flock at Reppen with 20 birds. Mallard was the only other dabbling duck to be recorded. Further out on the lakes small flocks of Tufted Duck and Common Goldeneye were to be seen while the rivers produced both Red-breasted Merganser and Goosander. With the sighting of the Red Kite some weeks ago, I spent more time than normal watching the sky line. However, this was to no avail though I did see Northern Goshawk,  Eurasian Sparrowhawk and Peregrine Falcon. The high water levels made it impossible to check some of the marshes properly, even Common Snipe, the only wader to be seen all week, had to find drier ground (above photo) Gull numbers remained stable with mostly Herring Gull on Lake Vangs and the odd Greater Black- Back on Lake Løna. Other than that passerines were on the move with large flocks of mipits, mostly Meadow but one or two Tree. White Wagtail were also in good numbers. The flooded marshes held good numbers with the highest count of 40+ birds at Reppen. Another species to be seen in good numbers was Barn Swallow with one or two Sand Martins joining the flocks. This week also produced White-throated Dipper at one of its fast winter locations, this combined with new snow on the mountain tops on Wednesday only confirming that winter is on its way. Blackbird numbers seem to have increased, no doubt migrating birds taking a break on their way. Fieldfare, Song Thrush and Redwing were the complete opposite, they were passing through in good numbers with no time for a stopover. The only Sylvia warbler to be seen was Blackcap while Common Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler both seemed to be holding out. However, one of the Chiffchaffs that I found in Prestegardsmoen sang differently than the other Common Chiffchaffs. The “chiff-chaff” song was totally different than another nearby Common Chiffchaff, it was more higher pitched and quicker. It seemed “rattled” and not as defined as the characteristic call of the Common Chiffchaff. My thoughts strayed towards Siberian Chiffchaff . Nutcracker seem to be everywhere with my highest day count being 31 birds. I also saw a couple of Eurasian Jay this week and a single Eurasian Jackdaw. I should think that I recorded around 60 species this week, not a lot but not bad considering the weather.

With warm weather during the beginning of the week, and low water levels on the marshes, things couldn’t be better for looking for waders. However, things were disappointingly quiet with only a scattering of Greenshank and Common Sandpiper. Wildfowl numbers are slowly increasing with Eurasian Wigeon turning up at suitable habitat and Tufted Duck and Common Goldeneye forming small flocks on the lake. With things being so quiet I decided to check breeding sites for Grey Wagtail (above photo). This species has increased in numbers, at one time regarded as a rarity; there are now several breeding pairs. This year however it looks like they have had a poor breeding season because I only found evidence of successful breeding at one locality. Otherwise a trip to Granvinsdelta produced several Blackcap and a single Garden Warbler, both new species for August. The only species that seems to be in any decent numbers is Common Chaffinch with small flocks foraging along roadsides. I leave for Falsterbo in Sweden in a few days time so I will not be up-dating my blog until mid September.

With only a Peregrine, Eurasian Oystercatcher (above photo) and Greenshank at Voss being of any interest, I headed for Jæren, just south of Stavanger. It was a good move. Though the weather was fantastic it did put a damper on sea watching. Other than a steady flow of Northern Gannet, Great Cormorant, Shag and a single Sandwich Tern there was very little else during the hours I spent watching. As expected wildfowl numbers were good with large flocks of Greylag amongst these I found several Bar-headed Geese and a single Barnacle. Most ducks were going through their moult, so I didn’t spend too much time checking the flocks of Eurasian Wigeon, Common Teal and Mallard though I did pick out one or two Northern Shoveler. Tufted Duck, Greater Scaup and Common Goldeney were seen on the lakes while Common Eider and Red-breasted Merganser were seen on the sea. I had at least 4 Peregrine at three different localities as well as single Eurasian Sparrowhawk and Merlin. I also enjoyed watching two European Marsh Harriers testing their flying skills, maybe an adult with a  young bird in tow?  The long staying White Stork was still present at Lake Orre.  As hoped wader movements was good. All in all over 20 species were recorded. Though nothing of great interest, many like the Red Knot and Bar-tailed Godwits were still in their summer plumage.  I didn’t spend much time looking for passerines. There were a few  Rock Pipit and plenty of Meadow Pipits as well as Northern Wheatears along the beaches while Linnet and Twite feed in large areas of weed that grew in some areas. The most interesting passerine that was noted was Parrot Crossbill. Now it is back to Voss, I will keep you posted.