LANDGUARD - 9th March

 A pretty nice day with light NW winds and plenty of warm sunshine (the wind still had a chilly kick to it though); birds overhead through the morning were highlighted by a Red Kite which flew south the drifted over across the port.   Other birds included an influx of corvids with 21 Carrion Crows and 4 Rooks, a Chaffinch, 2 Greenfinches and a Grey Wagtail while in the bushes there were a few new Blackbirds, an increase to 29 Linnets, 4 Redwings and 3 Robins.   

A pleasant little walk up the River Orwell in the afternoon from Levington Marina produced the highlight of 3 Scandinavian Rock Pipits on the saltmarsh which were starting to get some nice colour; other birds included loads of waders along the river with 600+ Knot dominating along with 30 Grey Plovers and 300 Dunlin, 2 Cetti’s Warblers, a Stonechat and 3 Green Woodpeckers.   

A little seawatch in the late afternoon produced 3 Herons north far out to sea, 10 Shelduck north and a Curlew out.

Scandinavian Rock Pipit

Stonechat

Knot

Teal

NORTH RONALDSAY - 5th April

A brilliant day, pretty much flat calm throughout but overcast and a spell of light rain for a couple of hours from mid-morning; there was a great spread of migrants right across the island, with the highest concentrations around the Obs and Holland where totals included 5 Woodpigeons, 60+ Skylarks, 65+ Meadow Pipits, the first White Wagtail of the year in Funny Park, 15 Pied Wagtails, 5 Dunnocks, 22+ Robins, 2 Wheatears, 7 Song Thrush (including a British control), 12 Redwing, the first Mistle Thrush of the year near the Kirk, 11 Chiffchaffs, 11 Goldcrests, 4 Chaffinches, 2 Bramblings, a Siskin and 3 Snow Buntings.

                I then walked around the middle census route where it was steady with more of the same totalling 60 Skylarks, 40 Meadow Pipits, 7 Rock Pipits including a littoralis bird at Westness, a Dunnock, 23 Robins, 2 Song Thrush, 13 Redwing, a Chiffchaff, a Goldcrest, 11 Twite, a Merlin, 4 Pintail and 21 Bar-tailed Godwits.

littoralis Rock Pipit

Massive variation in plumage tones throughout the Robins trapped

and the Song Thrushes

13th October

Another ‘perfect’ start with the faintest waft of an easterly breeze under overcast skies; the nets were busy with 100 new birds caught but the variety was poor with 72 Goldcrests making up the majority of the total but there were 2 Siberian Chiffchaff types with one of them calling loudly, even when in the hand.

                A walk round the coast then produced a flock of 20 Pink-footed Geese, the late Common Sandpiper still, 2 Jack Snipe, a Lapland Bunting and a further increase to at least 29 Wheatears and 240 Rock Pipits.   The sun came out later in the afternoon to produce a lovely end to the day which encouraged a few raptors to appear around Groda with a hovering Rough-legged Buzzard, a high circling Hen Harrier, 2 Sparrowhawks, a Common Buzzard and a big female Peregrine.

                Inland it was much quieter than yesterday but there were some good birds around with a big flock of 26 Northern Long-tailed Tits at Vatnemarka – the first of the autumn, a Black Woodpecker in Lebeltet Nord and 13 Swallows still while the 6 Brent Geese, a Tufted Duck and 76 Wigeon were on Vågsvollvåien.

 

'Siberian' Chiffchaff #1 - this bird gave the classic tristis call

'Siberian' Chiffchaff #2 - they're from the east at any rate!

Jack Snipe

Northern Long-tailed Tit - its about time these turned up!

Chiffchaff

Rock Pipits in the evening light

 

10th October

With lighter winds than the forecast had suggested we were able to open all the nets for the busiest morning of the autumn so far as a total of 215 new birds were caught with the bulk made up of 115 Blue Tits and 82 Goldcrests although the obvious highlight was an awesome Short-eared Owl caught in Net Four (an overdue ringing tick!); otherwise the variety was poor with just single Blackcap and Chiffchaff of note among the few other birds.

 

                The area was disappointingly quiet after such as busy morning although the [somewhat frustrating] highlight was an almost certain, flyover PENDULINE TIT which went south over Gunnarsmyra; it called a couple of times and I saw it as a tiny speck overhead but I couldn’t get any more details.   Other highlights included a Great Grey Shrike at Vågsvoll and a Slavonian Grebe and Jack Snipe in Verevågen along with a Redstart, a Tree Pipit, 4 Chiffchaffs, 7+ Wheatears and 125+ Rock Pipits while a steady stream of Meadow Pipits headed south along with 6+ Grey Wagtails and some Siskins.  

Awesome Short-eared Owl (probably find it 'Goshawked' later!)

First decent arrival of Goldcrests today

Rock Pipit

Wren

Slavonian Grebe

 

2nd October

A similar day to yesterday with plenty of bright sunshine but a blazing NW wind to make things difficult; there were fewer birds on the sea but they did include a summer plumaged Great-northern Diver south, an adult Kittiwake north and 16 Velvet Scoters while the three Brent Geese were still on Vågsvollvåien with 31 Wigeon and 2 Pintail and a Hen Harrier was across the fields.   A ‘normal’ Yellow Wagtail was joined at the lighthouse at lunchtime by a very striking adult male Eastern Yellow Wagtail (or so I think!) with a very distinctive head pattern and a harsh, buzzy Citrine Wagtail-like call.

                The coast was predictably quiet in the strong wind but there was a Bar-tailed Godwit in Sevika and a Jack Snipe at Fuglejønna; inland there was nothing really to mention with a few small leftover Siskin flocks milling around.

 

Bar-tailed Godwit

Rock Pipit

Putative Eastern Yellow Wagtail 

 

26th May

Very sunny and very windy throughout with all the morning’s action being on the sea with the exception of the first Common Rosefinch of the year singing in the Gallery Garden; birds offshore included good but distant views of a Long-tailed Skua drifting SE (a Norwegian tick!), the first Curlew Sandpiper of the year south, the first 33 Brent Geese of the predictable late May passage, 2 Barnacle Geese, single Black-throated and Great-northern Divers, 146 Red-throated Divers and 95 Gannets.

                10 Dotterel were still present with 8 on Vågsvoll and 2 in front of Vågsvollvåien while there were 33 Dunlin and 10 Ringed Plover in Vågsvollvika before a little walk along the sheltered side of Lebeltet only produced 2 Wrynecks, the male Red-backed Shrike (the last time I’m going out these in orange as I’m seeing them every day now!) and a Spotted Flycatcher.

                A little jaunt in the evening after I had tried unsuccessfully to spring trap the Dotterel (one of them set a trap off without getting caught!) allowed me to hear a Corncrake singing by the roadside near Huseby between Vanse and Farsund; it sang for about 30 seconds every 10 minutes but there was no way I was ever going to get a glimpse without doing some unethical!

 

More Dotterel pictures!

Eider

Rock Pipit busy collecting food

 

30th March

Nice and sunny but with an increasingly brisk and cold NW wind produced a trickle of northbound Gulls but not much else offshore; the first Wheatear of the year appeared in front of the bunker in the morning, the drake Garganey was again on Vågsvollvåien and the Black Redstart was still around.   The regular young female Peregrine again came in off the sea carrying prey (probably a Snipe) and a few hours later had a swipe at a Black Guillemot forcing it to crash dive into the sea – obviously a repeated technique by this individual and the three or four piles of Woodcock feathers out on the point over the last couple of weeks can be attributed to this bird!

                Not much else was seen through the day in the now strong and still cold NW wind although a flock of 25 Curlews dropped in to Vågsvollvåien late afternoon where there was also 60+ Common Gulls.

 

Red-breasted Merganser having a wash

Eider

Long-tailed Duck

Velvet Scoter

Rock Pipit

Lapwing

 

27th March

A nice, sunny day with the White-billed Diver reappearing offshore along with 6 Great-northern Divers, a drake Garganey north (a Norwegian tick!) and two Goosanders while yesterday’s Black Redstart was still around the lighthouse.   I then popped out to a woodland site near Apta and managed to hear a calling White-backed Woodpecker but was unable to get a glimpse!

                There wasn’t much in the afternoon with 2 Golden Plovers and 15 Curlew in Vågsvollvika and a small male Sparrowhawk over the fields.

 

 

No pics today so here's another Rock Pipit

 

26th March

After an horrendous night there was a covering of snow at dawn but by mid-morning it had stopped snowing and the gale force winds had rapidly dropped off to basically nothing leaving a pleasant, if cold day.   Birds around in the morning included the White-tailed Eagle playing with a Raven and a Peregrine over Steinodden, a male Goshawk flashing past Vågsvollvika where there was also 11 Curlew, a Grey Wagtail and 2 Pied Wagtails and 2 Great-northern Divers, 5 Red-necked Grebes, a pair of Goosander and 58 Goldeneye around the coast on very flat seas.

                There were a few birds in Lebeltet in the afternoon including 40+ Blackbirds, 8 Song Thrushes, a Mistle Thrush and c10 Goldcrests which encouraged me to open a few nets which produced a smart Black Redstart amongst a few Blackbirds and Goldcrests.

 

Scandinavian Rock Pipit (funny that...being in Scandinavia!)

Lapwing in the snow

Black Redstart

Tree Sparrow

Deer O Deer