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

1605 northern Øygarden

 Migration is in full swing, easterlies, mid-May. The choice wasn't difficult. It had to be Øygarden yesterday.

It was nice, but not very good. But circumstances were very good for sound recording!

I had four singing Lesser Whitethroats and loads of Common Redpolls. At Dåvøy the Common Terns were back, but there was no sign of the Arctic Terns. I hope they will come later...There, a White-tailed Eagle flew over, which made the nesting Great-Black-backed Gulls alarm (listen below)

female European Greenfinch

third calendar year White-tailed Eagle

Great Black-backed Gull at nesting site at Dåvøy

🎤 Great Black-backed Gull 

🎤 Lesser Whitethroat

🎤 Common Redpoll

Citrine Wagtail

Sunday the 10th of May was cold, but entertaining. At Herdla the Citrine Wagtail was still present, but only in the morning when I was there with Espen Eidsnes and Sølve Dag Søndbø. Other birds there were a nice male British Yellow Wagtail (flavissima), two Pied Wagtails, 4 Wood Sandpipers, a Greenshank and 6 Dunlins (one of them displaying).

In the afternoon I birded Fana together with Stein Rune Risa, resulting in the first Grasshopper Warblers of the season at Hamre. At Fana kulturpark we could make nice shots of a newly fledged Dipper. Below some photo's of the day as well as a sound recording of a Marsh Tit

2nd calender year Citrine Wagtail

2nd calender year Pied Flycatcher

female Northern Wheatear

recently fledged White-throated Dipper

🎤 Marsh Tit

Little Egret at Lysekloster

 This morning I twitched the Little Egret at Sørstraumen near Lysekloster. Nice bird, difficult to photograph where it was (white bird, dark background and sunshine)...

At Kalandsvatnet I saw my first Whinchat of the year. Otherwise a female northern Wheatear, two House Martins and two Sedge Warblers.

a classic fall on the 5th of May

When I woke up in the morning, I saw snow, the last thing you want in May. And it was cold! And the bad weather continued during the day. I had some errands to run, but in the afternoon I tried some birding around Bergen. At the biological station I saw my first Common Terns of the year, but things were otherwise quiet there. I decided to check some spots for the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker at Nesttunvatnet. Not finding the woodpecket I noticed that there were more swallows than usual flying around (Barn Swallows and Sand Martins). Nice, but not unusual in the first week of May..

Kristianborgsvannet is also worth checking for Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, so I went there afterwards. There were lots of birds about as soon as I entered the area. A very large group of swallows was foraging over the water; about 50 Barn Swallows together with some 20 Sand Martins and four House Martins. In the reed I saw an astonishing 25 Willow Warblers, two Blackcaps and two Meadow Pipits trying to catch insects. One does not often experience so many birds in such a small area. It was a classical fall of birds on the move that were forced down by snow and cold showers!

Yellow-billed Divers

 On the third of May the weather forecast promised northerly winds, so I went with 9 others to Geitingneset at Herdlevær. In this period White-billed Divers are almost guaranteed. And indeed, during a 4-hour seawatch, we saw eight birds fly by, all in summer plumage! 

It was a nice count with some a Pomerine Skua, two Arctic Skuas, some 80 Red-throated Divers and nice numbers of Razorbill and Guillemot, as well as 6 Whimbrels. After the seawatch we birded Øygarden, but it was cold due to the strong northerlies. As a result, it was calm, but three House Martins, a pair of Stonechats and a calling Wryneck are worth mentioning...

two of the eight White-billed Divers

nice male Chaffinch at Tineskogen

the crowd at geitingneset

0105 Nordhordaland

 May first promised to be a nice day with sunshine and southeastern winds. So Stein Rune Risa and I decided to spend the day in Nordhordland, i.e., Radøy, Alver, and a bit of Lindås.

It was a nice day with lots of singing birds. We had two Common Cuckoos, a singing Green Sandpiper, a flyby Common Crane, a vocal Green Woodpecker, the first Common Whitethroats of the year and a fantastic Capercaillie, along with loads of summer species back, such as Willow Warblers, Blackcaps and a few Common Sandpipers😊

🎤 Common Cuckoo