Two Citrine Wagtails on Herdla!!

 Only one afternoon at Herdla produced two Citrine Wagtails. Initially, Terje Hansen and Walter Lemme found a first-year bird at the golf course near the church. I twitched that one with Stein Rune Risa, although we only heard it. At the reserve, we joined other birders, and we had some nice, entertaining birding. There were four Northern Shovelers present, as well as good numbers of waders. Alongside the usual suspects, two Little Stints, two Black-tailed Godwits and 35(!) Grey Polvers are worth mentioning. A short walk at the 'bekkasinmyr' produced 5 Jack Snipes!

Meanwhile, Kjetil Salomonsen had found the Citrine Wagtail back at the manure storage (møkkakummen). Checking there, we soon discovered that two birds were involved. Cool😎!! Below are some pictures and sound recordings.

 

the upper bird with a warmer wash than teh lower bird 

🎤 Citrine Wagtail call

On the way back, we tried a Yellow-browed Warbler that was reported at Bønes in Bergen. That bird was still present.

🎤 Bar-tailed Godwit calling group

 

Quick visit to Breivik: Richard's Pipit

 If there is a Richard's Pipit about, I want to record it. So I went to Breivik early in the morning to do that with a bird already present for two days. Despite the windy circumstances I got a reasonable recording.  Listen below.

A very short visit to Herdlevær didn't produce much; only a haunting Merlin is worth mentioning..

🎤 Richard's Pipit flight call

European Roller at Eidfjord!!

  A European Roller is visiting Hordaland. It was first seen at Voss about two weeks ago. It was then rediscovered at Øvre Eidfjord on Sunday, September 6th. I had to work that day, so I couldn't try it. Only those who arrived in time saw it. Quite unexpectedly, it disappeared from that area after only a few hours...

But on Wednesday, September 16th, it was reported again from the same area, so I finally had the chance to see it.

On the morning of the 17th, I drove with Walter Lemme and Frode Falkenberg. After about 20 minutes of waiting, it appeared. Nice bird!!

 the worn flight feathers and coverts fits an adult bird (or may be second calendar year)

the bird sitting 'safe' at a distance

Herdla bad weather spectacle

 I thought I would have a few hours without rain on Herdla this afternoon, but that was definitely not the case. The rain didn't stop before I got back to the car.

As is often the case in September with these conditions, it was a wader bonanza with loads of waders. The problem was that they were very restless and flying around a lot, so I guess I didn't pick out all the good birds. Besides that, I had to dry my bins and scope continuously.

In just two hours, I saw at least 250 Common Snipes, 75 Bar-tailed Godwits, two Black-tailed Godwits, 150 Ruffs, 150 Dunlins, 30 Golden Plovers, 8 Grey Plovers, 50 Common Ringed Plovers, three Ruddy Turnstones, two Red Knots, a Curlew Sandpiper, and two fly-by Common Greenshanks. 75 Eurasian Widgeons, 25 Eurasian Teals, and 25 Mallards are also worth mentioning. 

Yellow-browed Warbler already in the 14th of September

I was Herdlevær again today, looking for small birds. Yesterday, a Yellow-browed Warbler was reported at there. When I arrived around 08:00, almost no birds were present, and it was raining. My initial thoughts were to try another place, but I kept on birding anyhow..

Around 10:00, I arrived at the "Bombehagen", and there a YBW was calling. It was at a different spot than the one the day before, so I assumed it was a new one. Anyhow, I managed a short recording and a moderate picture.

Further nice with common migrants, with many Blackbirds and Song Thrushes coming in. Also a nice group of Goldfinches with a lot of first-year birds...

my first YBW of the year

🎤 Yellow-browed Warbler call

first-year Goldfinch

Pallid Harrier

 Pallid Harrier is hard to get. Most birds are fly-bys, at least in Hordaland. Yesterday I got my bird...

Of course, I was driving when I saw the bird fly over the road at Kollsnes. I was on my way to Herdlevær and had not yet taken my gear out of my bag in the back of the car...

I immediately suspected a young Pallid Harrier. After I parked the car and got into my gear, the bird was already moving southwest. I quickly checked with my bins and confirmed it was a fine young Pallid Harrier. I had to take off the lens cap, turn up the light, and find the bird against the white sky, which can be quite difficult. And difficult it was!

But I managed some (bad) record shots that confirm the ID!

first calendar year Pallid Harrier

saw the bird mostly like this

this nice first year Kestrel was at Turøysundet later on the day

Tibetan Sand Plover at Jæren

Yesterday I drove with my family to Jæren to improve our chances of seeing the solar eclipse. In Bergen there are clouds most of the time. So it was a nice surprise that a Tibetan Sand Plover was discovered the afternoon before on Nærstranda at Jæren. It was still present and proved to be an easy twitch. 

Later on, we decided to try for the eclipse at Karmøy, because the forecast predicted a cloudless evening there. There the Lesser Grey Shrike was still present. That was easy as well, although it showed less well than the plover. We saw it just before the eclipse, which was nice to witness...

first summer Tibetan Sand Plover (probably female)

Lesser Grey Shrike with Starlings

partial eclipse, photographed through glasses

a quick twitch on Sunday evening

I missed the Bar-tailed Godwits that were seen in Bergen in July because I wasn't there. There are worse things in life, but it would have been a new species for Bergen. So when Oddvar Heggøy reported one yesterday at Storetveit after a day of heavy rainfall, I didn't need to think long. Robin and I twitched it successfully 😊. Species 202 on my Bergen list!

fine adult Bar-tailed Godwit

1st-year Kittiwake

And only two days later, this fine 1st-year Kittiwake was at Lille Lungegårdsvanne, discovered by Geir Bjørsvik. Another new one for Bergen, nr 203😊

White-winged Tern on Herdla

 No time to be lazy after work. Dag Gjerde found a White-winged Tern at Herdla in the late afternoon today. So I drove with Robin to the reserve to twitch it successfully. Most of the time it was resting, but we also saw it fly a few times. New species for me in Norway (and Hordaland)!

Back home and back in business

 After a few weeks of holidays and work (and bad weather), I chose to go to Herdla today. And it was the right choice. When I came, Ann-Kristin Østgård had just found a Sanderling, which is always a difficult bird to get in Hordaland. Otherwise, five fine Black-tailed Godwits were flying around and up til ten Bar-tailed Godwits were present. Rather quality than numbers today!

Further, good numbers of Sand Martin and White Wagtail, with both Blue-headed Wagtail and Pied Wagtail still present!

the five Black-tailed Godwits

juvenile Sand Martin