Oct 25, 2017

Bergen list: Gadwall

A pair of Gadwalls Anas strepera was reported the day before yesterday (but not yesterday) at Muthaugtjern near Flesland in Bergen. As the species is new for my Bergen list, I checked anyhow today. Still present!
Didn't get decent photo's, only record shot of the male...


Oct 18, 2017

Yellow-browed on my house list

This morning, while walking with Hickman I heard a Yellow-browed Warbler Phylloscopus inornatus in Christieparken. Christieparken lies some 200 meters from my house and surprise: ten minutes later I heard it calling from my house! Only species nr 38 for my houselist!!

Oct 17, 2017

Yellow-legged Gull!!

A Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis is being present since the end of september on Øygarden, but only the last few days it is being seen regularly at Hatlestad, near Tjeldstø on Øygarden. Couldn't visit last weekend, so I went monday morning. I found it first flying at Straumsundet, but half an hour later I found it back sitting together with two Herring Gulls on a rock at quite a distance, much to the relief of those who were searching; a huge crowd of four other birders(!) managed to see it there after being warned...The bird flew away after some ten minutes.
There is some discussion about the ID (good p5, but not enough black on the outer primaries...). I am not a gull-guru, but I think that it looks like a very good candidate for michahellis. We'll see how the rarity committee decides...it would be a new bird for me on my Norwegian list.
On Herdlevær the female Red-baked Shrike was still present, together with a calling Yellow-browed Warbler, some flyby Parrot Crossbills, Common Redpolls and the usual Tree Sparrows.

Not the best picture: record shot of the Yellow-legged Gull (bird on the right). 
Large bill with red gonydeal angle-spot and completely white head visible here.
It also has a red orbital ring, visible only when clicking on the picture...

Red-backed Shrike, adult female as it seems

one of the noisy Tree Sparrows



Oct 7, 2017

Parrot Crossbills around

The last weeks an invasion of Parrot Crossbills Loxia pytyopsittacus is going on. Had a few over our new house and at Herdlevær the last few times I visited as well as on Turøy and the biological station in Bergen. The two on Turøy I could identify by bill structure.
However, taxonomy isn't stable in the Loxia- genus. It seems there are a few types of crossbill and some of them are like Parrot in structure and call. For the moment we call the birds of the last few weeks here and in north-western europa pytyopsittacus calling typical with an  almost wader-like quality as I would call it.

Further yesterday a Yellow-browed Warbler there and lot of thrushes in the air. Not much else on the warbler front, though...One Chiffchaff, a Blackcap and a rather late Pied Flycatcher...