Singing Snow Bunting

 Snow Bunting breeds in Bergen. But it is not easy to see it, because it breeds at the top of Gullfjellet and to get there you have to take a long walk in mountainous area. It takes all day, at least for me it does. 

Anyhow, on the 11th of June I went with Walter Lemme to see and hear the birds. After three hours of climbing in bad weather we reached the top. In spite of the fog the birds were easy to find, showing themselves nice. And more importantly, they were singing. We saw at least two males and a female. 

I did not take my camera and was most eager to record them...I got some nice recordings of the song and (alarm) call...listen below

On the way back we saw a nice male Ring Ouzel. Otherwise, almost no birds up there...

🎤 Snow Bunting song

🎤 Snow Bunting alrm call

a weekend at Golsfjellet

 Recently, I spent the weekend with a nice group of fellow birders at Golsfjellet. On the way on Friday we birded Hardangervidda, concentrating on the specialties there. We saw, among others, seven Great Snipes, a Willow Ptarmigan, and Horned Larks

On the other side of the Hardangervidda the avifauna is quite different. Common Cranes are all over the place and Pied and Spotted Flycatchers are (very) common. Furthermore, you can hear birds that you don't hear around Bergen. It was therefore a nice opportunity to record the songs of a few common passerines, such as Brambling, Common Redstart, Bluethroat and thunbergi Yellow Wagtails.

 Best birds on Golsfjellet were five Siberian Jays and a pair of Great Grey Shrikes, feeding their young still in the nest. See and listen below😊

one of the five nice jays we saw and heard

🎤 Siberian Jay calling

common at Golsfjellet: thunbergi Yellow Wagtail

🎤 Yellow Wagtail song

Common House Martin finding mud for building nest

Common Cranes all over the place

🎤 Common Crane calling

Bluethroat svecica

🎤 Bluethroat song

At Geilo we saw three pairs of Horned Grebe at their nesting sites

🎤 Brambling song

🎤 Common Redstart song

Short-toed Lark revisited

After working the weekend, I wanted to see the Short-toed Lark better and for longer. And, of course, take some pictures. So I went to Herdla again on Monday afternoon. The bird was still present on the beach at a distance, but after a while, it came closer. The result is not great, but it's acceptable. 

A nice summer plumaged Ruddy Turnstone, about 10 Dunlins,  10 Common Ringed Plover, and a Blue-headed Wagtail were present in the same area.

On Tuesday, I went for a little walk at Sele and Kalandsvatnet and tried for the White-backed Woodpeckers at Unneland. The woodpeckers called infrequently and from different localities, but I managed a recording.

🎤 White-backed Woodpecker call

🎤 Redwing song

Working weekend with Short-toed Lark!

Working the last weekend of May is not without risk. And of course, my friend Stein Rune found a Short-toed Lark at Herdla on the 30th. Luckily, he found it in the morning, and I had a late shift. So I drove to Herdla, jogged to the spot where he had found the bird, and could see it through his scope. And I was on time at work!

On Sunday, I walked back from work and sound-recorded the Icterine Warbler, which was still present. In addition, a family group of Grey Wagtails was flying and calling in the Chrstieelven. Listen below to these birds. 

🎤 Icterine Warbler

🎤 Grey Wagtails

Common Rosefinch

Yesterday, a Common Rosefinch was found at Svartevatnet in Bjørndalen. I went this morning and was able to get a sound recording. Due to the wind it is not the best quality. but acceptable.

At Unneland, I found some nice birds myself, including one or two White-backed Woodpeckers, a Grasshopper Warbler, and an Icterine Warbler. One of the woodpeckers was a male, probably the other a female. Later that day, Stein Rune and I heard one of them at the same spot. I didn't succeed in record the woodpeckers..But the Common Rosefinch and the Common Grasshopper Warbler you can hear on the links below

🎤 Common Rosefinch

🎤 Common Grasshopper Warbler

Work, Herdla, Flesland

 On the way to work Wednesday morning, I heard an Icterine Warbler sing in Christieparken. Nice one, so I reported it on Bergen Band. A few people even twitched it. After work, I went to Herdla to try for the Pectoral Sandpiper and other waders. No Pectoral, but it was nice to see five (!) hrota Brent Geese and five or six Eurasian Whimbrels on migration. The flavissima Yellow Wagtail showed itself briefly. Otherwise, it was quiet and cold on Herdla. When I woke at 02:30, I decided to go for the Spotted Crake at Flesland. It was singing irregularly. My sound recording of the bird was bad; listen below. A displaying Woodcock there as well!!

the five White-belled Brent Geese

an adult and a pullus Lapwing

🎤 Icterine Warbler

🎤 Spotted Crake

Collared Flycatcher at Skjold on Øygarden

 On Saturday the 23rd Bjørnar Skjold reported a Collared Flycatcher on Skjold, Øygarden. Cauteous as ever, he wasn't sure at first. But when the bird was seen by other birdwatchers, who could confirm the ID, he was satisfied and able to remove the question mark from his initial report.

But I understand Bjørnar's hesitation, because it is a strange bird. It looks like a pale male or a strongly patterned female. The bird shows itself well, but always at a distance, so it is difficult to judge all the characters. The wings and tail fit a female better than a male (pattern on the greater coverts and white on the outer tail), but the head fits a male, albeit a bleached one, with the almost complete collar and the white spots on the forehead... One can see an age difference in the wings with the worn outer greater coverts, primaries and visible secondaries not moulted yet and one year old. That makes it a second-calendar-year bird. With these type of birds one must always keep the possibility of a hybrid in mind, especially with ficedula flycatchers!

During the last few days the bird has been discussed by Tor Olsen, Frode Falkenberg (and me). Tor has had contact with Johan Träff, who has ringed 1000+ flycatchers on the eastern Swedish isles. He thinks this bird is a grey-morph Collared Flycatcher, not a hybrid. He agrees that this is a second-year bird, but says that the sex is better left undetermined. He has seen quite a few grey-morph females, but never a male like this...

there are better pictures, but these are mine

two nice Barnacles on Dåvøy on Saturday

The predictable bird: Wood Warbler

 In the Bergen community, we get Wood Warblers almost every year in the third week of May, but often only one bird. Yesterday, Espen Eidsned discovered a singing bird at Langeskogen. Since it is such a nice bird, I went there this morning with Stein Rune. The bird was singing well, so I got some nice recordings. In the second recording, you can hear the characteristic, plaintive whistles. In the same area, up to three Spotted Flycatchers as well 😊. Listen below (with headphones)

🎤 Wood Warbler in full song

🎤 Wood Warbler 

🎤Spotted Flycatcher song

First Herdla, then night birding in Nord Hordaland

 Tuesday was the best day to try for night birds in Nord Hordaland. But before that we (Stein Rune og me) visited Herdla in the afternoon for an hour and a half. It is finally becoming better with waders this spring. We saw three Temminck's Sandpipers, 30 Dunlins and a Ruff (which is a good one in spring).

At night in Nord Hordaland, it was good with the Spotted Crake still present, a Black-throated Diver calling a bit, and a briefly displaying Black Grouse. A calling female Water Rail at another spot is also worth mentioning. But strangely we heard no Sedge Warblers, maybe it was a bit too cold?

fine Temminck's Sandpiper

one of the many Lapwings

🎤 Spotted Crake

🎤 Water Rail

Meanwhile, at Kalandsvannet on 21.05. A pair of Sedge Warblers was skulking about at the parking lot at Kalandsviken. After I started pishing, one of them came up.

probably the female of a pair of Sedge Warblers 

Waiting for the next wave of birds

 The last few weeks the first wave of summer birds has arrived, which makes birding nice, but a bit the same. Birds like Common Swift, Garden Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher and Icterine Warbler have still not arrived in the usual numbers.

Today I had a nice walk at Sæle, Kismul. It was nice with three Pied Flycatchers and other breeding birds, but no migration and not many new birds. The Canada Geese were not to miss 😊.

🎤 Canada Goose

Tawny Owl still present at the usual spot at Hordamuseet