After the weather change (snowstorms) of the last few days not many birds around anymore. But there are lots of Waxwings on the move these days. Had six groups, most of which were flyby's...
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| young bird |
So far this autumn
Today the snow came, all too early! Yesterday another visit to Turøy and later to Tjeldstø and Herdlevær. May be the last good bird this autumn: Common Rosefinch in the garden of a local birder living in Tjeldstø...
This was another new bird for Hordaland for me. Further a lot of Waxwings, Tree Sparrows and a Lesser Whitethroat on Turøy.
This was another new bird for Hordaland for me. Further a lot of Waxwings, Tree Sparrows and a Lesser Whitethroat on Turøy.
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| young Common Rosefinch |
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| Berry-eater |
Herdlevær
Had the morning off, so I took Hickman for a walk on Breivik and Herdelvær. The stonechats seem gone, but a Red-necked Grebe and a couple of Goldfinches made it OK. Further three Chiffchaffs (all common) and the usual Treesparrows. Om Turøy a Water Rail was calling and I had a flyby Lapland Bunting
Herdlevær. It doesn't stop this autumn
Tried today the BBP in strong easterly winds and cold circumstances. Could not find that one, neither did anybody else, so it is probably gone. Goodies, however, were a flyby Waxwing and a Jack Snipe.
Afterwards tried Herdlevær. Not many birds there... I met Julian Bell, who told me he had seen a stonechat, which disappeared. Together we succeeded in finding it back. It was a light bird, but we kept it at the time as being a normal Stonechat, primarly because the lack of an obvious eyebrow. It had a pale rump, but we were not able to see the exact patterns of the rump. A good bird for Hordaland. It was twitched by some Bergen birders.
However, close inspection of the pictures later on the day revealed that it was a Siberian Stonechat Saxicola maura after all. Julian's pictures showed that it had a large light-orange rump without any spots. On other pictures one can see a light throat and a light eyebrow, albeit not very obvious (this varies within the species). The eyebrows meet over the bill, as visible on the pictures below. Another good character is the lack of any (dark) spotting on the undertail coverts.
In other words, another good bird for this autumn!
Tried today the BBP in strong easterly winds and cold circumstances. Could not find that one, neither did anybody else, so it is probably gone. Goodies, however, were a flyby Waxwing and a Jack Snipe.
Afterwards tried Herdlevær. Not many birds there... I met Julian Bell, who told me he had seen a stonechat, which disappeared. Together we succeeded in finding it back. It was a light bird, but we kept it at the time as being a normal Stonechat, primarly because the lack of an obvious eyebrow. It had a pale rump, but we were not able to see the exact patterns of the rump. A good bird for Hordaland. It was twitched by some Bergen birders.
However, close inspection of the pictures later on the day revealed that it was a Siberian Stonechat Saxicola maura after all. Julian's pictures showed that it had a large light-orange rump without any spots. On other pictures one can see a light throat and a light eyebrow, albeit not very obvious (this varies within the species). The eyebrows meet over the bill, as visible on the pictures below. Another good character is the lack of any (dark) spotting on the undertail coverts.
In other words, another good bird for this autumn!
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Siberian Stonechat  |
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| Difficult to judge exactly, but on this picture you can see a bit of the winglenght.The primary projection seems too long for a Stonechat... |
Buff-bellied Pipit
Again a good bird this autumn. This time a Buff-bellied Pipit at Tjeldstø, Øygarden, found yesterday by Julian Bell. He is the one with the good pics. I did only see the bird shortly and heard it's call: quite characteristic, reminding of a Grey Wagtail. Further a Yellow-browed Warbler calling at Tjeldstø.
Utsira week 40
We were on Utsira week 40 as usual. It was in a way a quiet week with not many birds, but the quality was high. Three new species for me: Eastern Olivaceous Warbler on the 1st of october, Blyth's Reed Warbler on the 4th and Pied Wheatear on the 5th. Further some five or six Barred Warblers (I saw two of them), up til three Red-breasted Flycatchers and a few Yellow-browed Warblers.
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| Eastern Olivaceous Warbler |
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| Blyth's Reed Warbler |
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Pied Wheatear |
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| Red-breasted Flycatcher |
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Red-breasted Flycatcher |
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Chiffchaff |
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| My companions for the week |
