Five Garganeys

 I began the day at Breivik. Nice birding there with the first Common Linnets of the year, eight Lapwings, Eurasian Curlew, the first Meadow Piput, a Goldfinch and a male European Stonechat. I thought I had a Mistle Thrush, a lone bird looking bigger than the Fieldfare alongside, quickly dissapering. I reported it on Band...Together with Terje Hansen, Jørn Opsal, Ann-Kristin Østgård and Stein Rune Risa, who happened to be in the neighborhood we tried to relocate it. We did. It proved to be a Song Thrush actually😑. Have to check better next time before I report.

 Anyhow, back at the car Terje got a call from Nils Fredriksen about five (!!!) Garganeys he had found at Trellevika south on Sotra. We twitched them successfully! The little group comprised two males and three females. They were very active, flying a lot and displaying. Spectacular!

Sunny day in March

 A walk at Storrinden while waiting for a car-check in nice weather delivered may singing tits (four singing Willow Tits!), but also a lot of other people going there. So a bit difficult for sound recording, but I managed some nice ones. Listen below

🎤Marh Tit song and call

🎤Blue Tit call

🎤Eurasian Bullfinch song

Spring on Lindås

 Nice weather today with a spring feeling at Kjenes edellovskogen on Lindås. Not many species but most of them pretty noisy. Below some recordings. 

Best bird was a female White-backed Woodpecker with brief views and only calling twice. Otherwise the usual suspects with a Nutcracker, Eurasian Jays, Marsh Tits and a singing Eurasian Treecreeper. I was pleased with the latter, because I don't get a lot of opportunities to record that one in full song!

🎤Eurasian Treecreeper song

🎤Marsh Tit song

🎤Marsh Tit song

🎤Eurasian Jay "cat"call

🎤Eurasian Jay screech

Common Pochard

 After a week at Hemsedal in the snow, I visited the Common Pochard at Angeltveit on Øygarden. Nice male. The two Mute Swans there were an Øygarden tick for me...

On the way back home a I had a flyby Golden Eagle and in the city center the Caspian Gull still going strong. An early Lesser Black-backed Gulle there as well. There I met Jørn Opsal, who showed me his own made app, which he uses to report birds in artsobservasjoner real time. Cool, but for now only for his own use. I hope it's going to be be something for all in the future

More ducks at Tveitevannet

 No Ring-necked Duck today at Tveitevannet. In stead there was a young male Greater Scaup around today. Much less rare, but still nice. The ducks come and go as it seems. Below some pictures of some of the ducks...

2nd calendar male Greater Scaup

female Eurasian Wigeon

male Eurasian Wigeon

Mallard

Twitch at Tveitevannet: Ring-necked Duck!!

 I was at home preparing for pizza when Oddvar Heggøy (who else there) reported a Ring-necked Duck in a hole in the ice at Tveitevannet. I was there within 10 minutes and together with some other birders we got the bird. The light was bad and it was sleeping a lot, but I managed a decent picture. While watching the duck Oddvar noticed the Caspian Gull standing on the ice, same bird as in the city centre. Nice Friday afternoon!!!

female type Ring-necked Duck

Caspian Gull with the J9100 ring

hole in the ice at Nesttun

 After a few days illness and being inside, I had to do some errands and took the opportunity to check Nesttunvannet for ducks. Two Common Mergansers (difficult to photograph) showed well, as well as some 15 Whooper Swans and a few Tufted Ducks and Wigeons. Nothing out of the ordinary though...

male Goosander, Nesttun

male Tufted Duck, Nesttun

female Tufted Duck, Nesttun

Tawny Owl, Espeland

Øygarden again

 Today northern Øygarden in beautiful winter weather again. I began at Hellesøy, where Terje Hansen Stein Rune Risa and Kåre Skarsvaag already were present. Together we checked the sea between the islands for birds. There some 8 Long-tailed Ducks, a few Velvet Scoters, Purple Sandpipers, Black Guillemots, a Common Loon and a Red-throated Loon were present. Via Svellingen (Rook still present) we checked Sjåneset. Much the same there with some more Common Loons, more Long-tailed Ducks and more Black Guillemot's. A few Eurasian Curlews present there and a large group of Purple Sandpipers flying around.

Thereafter I checked Tjeldstø where the first Greylag Geese were on the breeding grounds, I presume. A Goldfinch and a few Redwings present at the back of the reserve.

At Herdlevær I came across Cecilie Hansen and Daniel Taranger. Not many birds there, but I saw a Common Snipe and some Crested Tits were very noisy, probably in spring mood...

Caspian Gull in Bergen centre

 Yesterday Anita Rude (who else) found a Caspian Gull. She did that before! It was a second year bird. Today it was seen before 12:00. The little group of birders that were too late had to wait until 15:00 before it appeared again. At the same moment Arild Breistøl og Sindre Molværsmyr had come to try to ring the bird. They succeeded immediately. Large bird with large bill, so probably a male! Also a Black-headed Gull present, which is a scarce bird in Bergen...

first winter Caspain Gull

first winter Black-headed Gull

Arild Breistøl ringing and showing the bird

Alver

 On Sunday the 2nd of February I birded the area around Manger in Nord-Hordaland. I do not visit that part of Hordaland very often (only on summer nights for nightbirds), but I should do that more often...The weather was dark grey, making photographing difficult...Anyhow, at Byrkelandsvannet a Great Grey Shrike was present. It was a difficult bird to see, hiding most of the time. At Byrkelandsvågen a Slavonian Grebe was showing itself only shortly and at Manger a small group of geese (three Barnacles and a Greater White-fronted)was flying around. Further birds like singing Common Crossbills, a lone Parrot Crossbill and a Green Woodpecker made the day good. I tried for Greater Scaups at Eikangervåg without luck, but here a group of about 1000 Common Eiders was present. Don't see those numbers very often...