7th May

Blustery and rainy through the morning but there were a few breaks to allow us to do stuff; caught a few birds in a brief spell first thing including a Garden Warbler, Whitethroat and a handful of Willow Warblers.   Birds heading north at sea included 7 Pintail, 64 Common Scoter and 70 Gannets while a summer plumaged Great-northern Diver was off Ronodden while a few bits in Vågsvollvåien through the morning comprised a little influx of ducks with 3 Gadwall, 4 more Pintail, 2 Shoveler and the pair of Garganey and a few waders including 5 smart breeding plumaged Knot which dropped in mid-morning, 3 Greenshank and 4 Common Sandpipers.

                Other things in the morning included a nice selection of Yellow Wagtails with a flavissima, 3 thunbergi and 4 flavas and 6 Twite with the Linnet flock while out on the fields there was a big increase to 289 Golden Plover, a Wood Sandpiper, 4 Dotterel on a bare, recently tilled field (different to the four birds that were out on Steinodden a few days ago) and two singing Sedge Warblers.

                The wind was now a pretty strong north-westerly so I kept to the sheltered side of Lebeltet in the afternoon where there was a fine selection of migrants including 7 Pied Flycatchers, 10 Tree Pipits, 32+ Blackcaps, 30+ Willow Warblers, 7 Whitethroats, 4 Lesser Whitethroats, 3 Redstarts and 2 Whinchats.

 

Redshank having a bit of a display

Gadwall - pretty scarce here only the second I've seen at Lista

Plenty of Blackcaps and Pied Flycatchers around today

Red Squirrel

 

6th May

A bit calmer in the morning but there were fewer birds around as grounded migrants around the lighthouse included a Garden Warbler, 2 Redstarts, a Lesser Whitethroat, 5+ Blackcaps and 15+ Willow Warblers (including a very grey looking acredula type bird trapped); the Pallid Harrier did another close flyby, appearing right above my head in the carpark before heading back out across Gunnarsmyra, just like yesterday!

                There were a few birds on the sea including 2 Arctic Skuas, an Arctic Tern, 17 Whimbrel south, 170 Red-throated Divers and 3 Goosanders; a few bits passed through or were on Vågsvollvåien during the morning with 2 smart male Grey-headed Wagtails and 5 Twite on the grass, 3 Greenshank, 3 Shoveler and the pair of Garganey.

                A walk round the coast in the afternoon produced 3 more Greenshank, 4 more Whimbrel, a Short-eared Owl on Steinodden, a Common Sandpiper, 2 Dunlin and good numbers of hirundines with 120+ Swallows, 25+ Sand Martins and 6 House Martins, while there was a Pied Flycatcher, a Brambling and a couple of Tree Pipits around Verevågen.

 

Crazy looking acredula-type Willow Warbler

Displaying Ringed Plover

Sand Martin and Swallows taking a break

The Wagtails certainly weren't impressed when I flushed this Short-eared Owl from out on Steinodden

 

5th May

A blustery start but it was clear there were plenty of migrants around, however the conditions limited the ringing to only a few nets but I managed to catch 30 new birds including the first Icterine Warbler of the year.   Birds around the lighthouse in the first few hours included 30+ Willow Warblers, 2 Redstarts, a Lesser Whitethroat, 10+ Chiffchaffs and a couple of Blackcaps; the wind continued to increase and I was forced to close the nets mid-morning and just as I had the Pallid Harrier drifted low across the carpark, round the lighthouse and back out over to Gunnarsmyra and of course I had put my camera away so I could close the nets!

                The rest of the day was severely limited due to the hard, driving rain that arrived late morning and only let up briefly late afternoon but birds seen in the brief window around Lebeltet included 6 Redstarts, 7 Tree Pipits, 2 Whinchats, 3 Whitethroats, a Pied Flycatcher, 13+ Blackcaps and another 30+ Willow Warblers.   A very brief and very wet look at Vågsvollvika in the afternoon produced a Wood Sandpiper, 4 Whimbrel, 7 Common Sandpipers, a Blue-headed Wagtail and the pair of Garganey.

 

Redstart

Even in the nasty conditions, this White wagtail was full on nest building

Yellowhammer

A terrible, long range, heavily cropped, terrible record shot of the Pallid Harrier

 

4th May

There was still a strong SE wind at dawn after a stormy and wet night; so after a fruitless look at the sea I was about to walk the sheltered sides of the plantations but before I could there was a BLACK KITE sat in a field out in Gunnarsmyra which after a while drifted off NW – distant views but not bad.   There was a good scattering of migrants out in the area as would be expected given the conditions, totals included 8 Redstarts, 5 Whinchats, two Ring Ouzels, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Whitethroat, the first Garden Warbler of the year, 15+ Blackcaps, 10+ Chiffchaffs, 37+ Willow Warblers, 2 Pied Flycatchers and 9+ Reed Buntings as well as slight increases in Robins, Dunnocks and Thrushes.   A walk out onto Steinodden also produced the same 4 Dotterels in the same spot, 2 Kestrels and a Merlin.

                There was also a fine selection of birds in Vågsvollvika just after lunch including the Pectoral Sandpiper still, feeding with a Little Ringed Plover and a Wood Sandpiper, 3 Common Sandpipers, a Greenshank, the pair of Garganey, 11 Redshank, 6 Teal, a Blue-headed Wagtail and a Peregrine which came within inches of nailing a Redshank, forcing it to dive into the sea!   There was a singing Sedge Warbler out on Gunnarsmyra where there was also a big increase of 170+ Golden Plover.

                The day ended in a similar fashion to how it started as a scan across Gunnarsmyra revealed a smart 1^st summer PALLID HARRIER sat in a field!   May the Fourth be with you!

 

Whinchat

Migrant Willow Warbler by the lighthouse

Pectoral Sandpiper

Wood Sandpiper

Little Ringed Plover

The Peregrine moments after he just missed a Redshank

 

3rd May

Another nice, calm, sunny start but with a pretty heavy frost at dawn and the wind soon started to pick up; the sea was pretty dead but presumably the same adult White-tailed Eagle did another close flyby (yet again no camera!), a Peregrine came in off with prey, a Wryneck called from in Lebeltet and there were a pair of Garganey on Vågsvollvåien who were mercilessly harassed by an aggressive Shelduck!   The nets were also quiet with a retrap Willow Warbler originally ringed in April 2012 being noteworthy.

                I tried to keep on the sheltered sides of the plantations in the afternoon as it was now a blazing force 7 south-easterly and there were a few migrants about including the first 3 Redstarts of the year, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, 4 Blackcaps, a Tree Pipit, 6 Chiffchaffs and 15+ Willow Warblers while there were at least 4 Twite with the Linnet flock at the lighthouse.

 

Redstart

Mealy Redpoll

Snake in the grass

 

2nd May

Another beautiful, calm and sunny morning albeit still a bit chilly; there were a few birds at sea through the first few hours including 89 Red-throated Divers, 280 Gannets and 21 Black-headed Gulls but the morning’s highlight came at first light when there were the first 7 Wood Sandpipers of the year on Vågsvollvåien but they soon flew off high and noisily to the north.   The nets were pretty quiet with three Swallows caught together the highlight along with 2 Blackcaps with other birds around including a male Blue-headed Wagtail, a Kestrel and one of the Slevdalsvann Cranes out on the fields.

                As yesterday the NW wind picked up through the afternoon but it still turned out to be an excellent few hours with 4 very confiding Dotterel out on Steinodden, the first Lesser Whitethroat of the year in Vatnemarka where there was also a singing Wryneck and the adult male Marsh Harrier, a stunning summer plumaged Lapland Bunting in Gunnarsmyra along with a Whitethroat and my first Sedge Warbler of the year singing away and another Wood Sandpiper in Vågsvollvika but this time feeding in the seaweed with a smart Pectoral Sandpiper!

 

Four fabulous Dotterel

Stunning Lapland Bunting

Pectoral Sandpiper

Blue-headed Wagtail

 

1st May

Beautiful, flat calm and sunny through the morning with a few new birds around; I didn’t really look at the sea but my few glances did produce a 1^st year Glaucous Gull, 2 Barnacle Geese (an overdue Norwegian tick!) and a Bar-tailed Godwit north along with a few Red-throated Divers and Red-breasted Mergansers.   The nets produced the first two Whitethroats of the year and 7 Willow Warblers while a smart male Whinchat sang in the carpark – another first for the year.

                The afternoon didn’t live up to the morning with the increasing NW wind a factor as birds seen included another Whinchat singing in Vatnemarka, 3 Tree Pipits, a single Twite in Sevika and a Merlin.

 

Whitethroat

Lesser Redpoll

White Wagtail