Azure Tit

 On Monday an Azure Tit was discovered at Brekstad near Trondheim. A bird I wanted to see! So on Friday I took together with Terje Hansen and Anders Heien a flight to Trondheim, and with a hired car we drove a two hours drive to the spot. We arrived as late as 13:35. The bird was seen 10 minutes before we arrived. Knowing it would be dark around 15:30 we waited, quite nervous about the chances of seeing the bird before dark... But after about three quarters of an hour it came to the feeders. What a bird. It was difficult to take pictures in the fading light, so I concentrated on watching it through my bins. I got one useful picture though😊

After-Christmas ducks

Between family dinners, I took the opportunity to visit Kalandsvannet for the pair of Smew reported the last few days. I couldn't find them in Kalandsviken, but after checking Gorvika twice I succeeded finding them. Saw them for about ten minutes before they disappeared again, flying off.

Not often one sees such a fine male here, only my second time

fine male Smew

Spectacled Eider

 As the Spectacled Eider returned in October, I booked a long weekend in the Netherlands to see it. On Friday the 5th I visited Texel with my brother Sybrand, Lazar, Dusan and Lory Brinkhuizen and Enno Ebels. A dense fog made it difficult to find, but after two hours I located the bird. And there it was,  preening at only 25 meters, giving superb views and photographic opportunities for almost an hour. What a bird👊!!!

Otherwise, a bit of birding around Groningen with birds such as two Corn Buntings, a Hen Harrier, a nice Woodcock, some flyby and calling Water Pipits, lots of geese (with a few Tundra Bean) and a distant third-winter Caspian Gull😊

cosmic views of a cosmic bird

me taking pictures

foggy conditions don't bother us

together with my lifelong friend Enno Ebels

 (the bird in the background)

Eurasian Woodcock

Caspian Gull

the two Corn Buntings at Warffum

Fana late November

 On Sunday I birded with Stein Rune Risa and Terje Hansen around Fana. It was just late November easy-going birding in very nice weather. We visited Lysekloster, Kalandsvannet, Hordamuseet and Espeland.

We had a good daylist with two Nutcrackers at Lysekloster and three White-tailed Eagles, three Common Buzzards and a Sparrowhawk that killed a pigeon at Kalandsvannet. Nice bonus was that I could record a singing White-throated Dipper and calling Common Mergansers...

second calender-year White-tailed Eagle

🎤 White-throated Dipper

🎤 Common Merganser

Ducks still present

 While feeding birds with my daughter at Tveitevannet I keep my eyes open of course. There are the Gadwall and some Wigeons still present, now in pristine plumage. Otherwise the usual birds there...

male Eurasian Wigeon

Western Jackdaw of the monedula race

the handsome Gadwall still present

late autumn northern Øygarden

 I visited northern Øygarden today, that is Herdlevær, Breivik, Hellesøy, Sele and Sture.

Nice birding with some nice birds. On Herdlevær I had two Waxwings, a flyby Snow Bunting and a flyby Yellowhammer, all scarce birds. Further, a Common Chiffchaff and a pair of Common Crossbills, of which one was begging. Listen below. A new species for Herdlevær for me was Long-tailed Tit!

At Hellesøy I couldn't find the Black Redstart back. Here Long-tailed Tits as well. At Sele I had a Common Chiffchaff and some Long-tailed Tits, as I did at Sture. Great Spotted Woodpecker at all places. Not that many thrushes and fewer Robins and Blue Tits...

🎤 Bohemian Waxwing call

sonogram of the call

🎤 Common Crossbill begging

Siberian Chiffchaff

Found today a Siberian Chiffchaff during a walk in the neighborhood. I heard it first and saw it quite well, though it was moving a lot. Didn't carry my camera, but I took a recording, that should do it...May be not the most typical call, but still quite plaintive. It had the looks, khaki bird without green tones, white underside and black bill, legs and feet...

🎤 Siberian Chiffchaff

sonogram of the call

The day before I visited Radøy together with Terje Hansen and Jørn Opsal. Lots of potential there. We had a nice day without finding any rarities, but there were lots of thrushes and the like about. We had otherwise four Chiffchaffs (one possible Siberian), four Water Rails, a Little Grebe and Bothe Green and Grey-headed Woodpecker.

🎤 Water Rail

On Sunday I was on Øygarden with Stein Rune. Same, same. Nice birding, nothing special, although a late Willow Warbler and a calling Reed Bunting at Herdlevær made the visit worthwhile.

🎤 Reed Bunting call

🎤 Common Starling chattering group

still bad weather

 The weather kept me home the last couple of days. Most birding is behind the computer and staring at the feeder. The feeder attracts mostly House Sparrows, Great and Blue Tits, a few Chaffinches and a Brambling...Kalandsvannet produced a Pink-footed Goose on the tenth...

nice Blue Tit at the feeder

Pink-footed Goose at Åkerneset, Kalandsvannet

bad weather

The "best week of the year" is the wettest so far with storm Amy and otherwise very much rain.

I tried Herdlevær with Stein Rune Risa on Sunday. Although it was not raining for a few hours, it was windy and we didn't find good birds after the storm. A migrating Grey Plover was probably the best bird. Further many Blue Tits, a few Treecreepers, nine Common Crossbills, only one Chiffchaff and 20+ Blackbirds, as well as the Taiga Bean Geese still present at Breivik...

On Monday before shopping a quick check at Tveitevannet produced three Hawfinches, the Gadwall still present, at least two lesser Black-backed Gulls and some 75 Starlings.

Hopefully next week is going to be better....

first autumn lesse Black-backed Gull

first autumn Common Gull with has only recently startet mould to first winter plumage. Could it be a northerly breeder?

pristine Gadwall

some of the Taiga Bean Geese

Hummingbird Hawk-moth at Herdlevær

 

day of the ducks

 I had the morning on Herdlevær, but it was the afternoon in Bergen that produced the scarce birds. At herdleværsvegen it was nice with migrants, with among others two Blackcaps, some 15 Goldcrests, five Chiffchaffs, three Treecreepers and a group og 40 Blue Tits. But I had a meeting in bergen, so I had to leave already at 11:30. After the meeting I went with my daughter to Tveitevannet to feed the birds there. The Gadwall was still present, now in full plumage and it was together with a Green-winged Teal, which is rare there.

Lateron I twitched the Shoveler at Kristianborgsvannet and at the feeders at home a Chaffinch took a quick visit...

drake Gadwall

Green-winged Teal

Northern Shoveler