17th December

 Right, my first blog entry for a while due to my laptop dying a couple of weeks before I was due to leave Sweden and then the two weeks quarantine period straight after I got back to the UK, during which (unsurprisingly) I didn't see very much as I was very good and didn't go out at all!

My first day of [relative] 'freedom' and of course the main port-of-call on this fine day was Chelmarsh Reservoir where it was a great few hours birding; the highlight was obviously the long-staying first-winter PIED-BILLED GREBE which showed well in the far NW corner by the causeway - it was found about three weeks ago, a first for Shropshire and handily waited for me to get back!

There was a good supporting cast which included a Great-northern Diver (also long-staying - the first I've seen here I think), a smart first-winter female Goshawk which flew along the south shore, at least 2 Kingfishers, a Green Sandpiper by the causeway, single Gadwall, Wigeon and Goosander and some good flocks of 65+ Chaffinches, 60+ Redwings and 25 Fieldfare.

Great-northern Diver

Terrible picture of the Pied-billed Grebe, it showed really well in the scope but not for the camera!

SWEDEN - 15th November

 Back to overcast conditions again but with a stronger SW wind so I didn’t do any ringing; I only ventured out for a few hours to have a walk around Frystrandsfjorden to the north of the reserve where birds of note comprised a smart adult male Goshawk which flew north, a group of 6 Scaup with the Goldeneye at the mouth of the bay, a single Slavonian Grebe and a little trickle of 40+ Redpolls moving south in small flocks.

SWEDEN - 14th November

 A gorgeous morning, sunny and calm but the nets were very quiet, a couple of new Common Redpolls the only birds of note; there were a few birds around though in the fine conditions including 14 Whooper Swans, 2 Smew (both redheads which flew in from the north), a Jack Snipe flying around the reedbed with a good 30+ Snipe, obviously flushed from somewhere also flying around, a Greenshank (first one for a while), 2 Peregrines – the usual adult male and a 1cy male and 10+ Bearded Tits obvious in the reeds.   

Didn’t go anywhere in the afternoon despite the weather but a nice evening watching from the house over the bay produced another impressive corvid spectacular, as numbers comprised 1,309 Hooded Crows, 1,200+ Jackdaws and an impressive 420+ Rooks (these included a big flock of c300 which came in high from the SE to drop onto the airfield); also of note was another increased total of 1,452 Lapwings with a single Ruff and 5 Golden Plovers, 4 Shoveler, the Greenshank again and at least 7 Curlews which left high to the south at dusk, all the time calling loudly – classic migrating behaviour.

Pretty pink Redpoll

SWEDEN - 13th November

 Same yet again although the sun broke through for about an hour late morning, the nets were quiet with just a handful of Common Redpolls but there was plenty of other stuff to see.   

The highlight was finding a drake Green-winged Teal feeding just below the house, it hadn’t finished its moult yet (especially the flanks) so the pattern was indistinct so it was a case of grilling it to make sure the less-than-complete vertical white stripes were even on both sides and they were!   

Other birds included a redhead Smew flying high over the house, a Woodcock flushed from just outside the house, 14 Whooper Swans (including a new family party which flew in from the north), 14 Pintail and a Grey Wagtail.   

The point was quiet at lunchtime before a look at the mouth of the bay from Sillhallsvik produced the usual wildfowl including a female Scaup, 16 Shoveler and 15 Whooper Swans while a Bullfinch was new for me there, 3 White-tailed Eagles were feeding on something and a big female Sparrowhawk flew across the water from the north.

Green-winged Teal

Sparrowhawk

SWEDEN - 12th November

 Similar again, a touch of drizzle in the air but calm; the nets were decent with another 37 Redpolls caught (31 Common and 6 Lessers) with the added bonus of another fine male Hawfinch caught by the house.   Other birds seen through the morning comprised 13 Whooper Swans, a Ruff, 5 White-tailed Eagles, the now-regular adult male Peregrine and a Grey Wagtail.

Hawfinch

Messy eater Greenfinch

Had to look twice at some of the nice, white Redpolls, this one looks better in this photo than in real life - just a Common!

SWEDEN - 11th November

 A dreary, thinking-about-being-drizzly day but remaining calm throughout; the nets were quieter than of late but did include another handful of Common Redpolls and a Blackcap while other birds of note comprised a total of 64 Whooper Swans, 3 Little Grebes, 14 Goosanders and a Grey Wagtail.   

A walk round Sillhallsvik and then the Marina from lunchtime (although it was already pretty dark!) produced a single adult Bewick’s Swan with 41 Whoopers at the mouth of the bay where there was also big numbers of ducks and waders totalling 531 Mallard, 305 Teal, 23 Shoveler, 2 Pintail and a Ruff, also of note were 10 Little Grebes by the Marina, good totals of 95 Goldeneye and 55 Red-breasted Mergansers and a Treecreeper – the first I’ve seen out on the peninsula.

Bewick's Swan with the Whoopers

Whooper Swans

SWEDEN - 10th November

 Another carbon-copy day, calm and heavily overcast throughout; the ringing was again dominated by Redpolls as I managed to catch 51 Common and 6 Lessers but missed out as another Coue’s Arctic Redpoll was seen around the nets, feeding right underneath but failed to get caught, the only other bird of note caught was a distinctive Greenfinch – a massive adult male with a wing of 97 and a nice grey cast all over, unusual for an adult male, probably from way north and east!   

Other birds seen through the morning comprised a total of at least 96 Whooper Swans with flocks dropping in and moving off all day (I probably missed some though), 27 Shelduck (my highest count here), 2 Shoveler, 420+ Mallard, 385+ Teal, 14 Goosander, an increased 1,364 Lapwings in the bay, 3 Ruff, a Jack Snipe flying around the reedbed at dawn, a Sparrowhawk, 2 Peregrines, 4 Hawfinches (three high over and another single by the feeders) and a single Bullfinch.   

It was another epic night for Corvids in the bay just before dusk as I broke my previous record with a massive 1,261 Hooded Crows gathering in front of the house right up until it got dark – I don’t know when and where the subsequently go.

Inamongst the many nice, smart, white Common Redpolls have been a few of these huge billed, thick legged, long-winged, bulky, white but heavily streaked brutes - I wonder where they are from?