Quick twitch on Wednesday, beautiful White-backed Woodpecker on friday

Warm and nice weather, but also working. On Wednesday Eirik Adolfsen found a subalpine warbler on Herdlevær. It was skuklky, but steady. I had only a couple of hours before work and drove from Bergen. At the spot the bird was still difficult, but after some 20 minutes it showed itself. It was a pale, female bird. I studied it for some ten minutes, before I had to go home again, not knowing which species it was, but later on the day pictures showed the tail pattern with a lot of white on T5 nailing the bird to be a Eastern Subalpine Warbler Curruca cantillans. Good work , Eirik!

foto's by Stein Rune Risa

On friday I made an easy walk at Kismul, resulting in the usual suspects as Garden Warbler and Icterine Warbler, but also a showy male White-backed Woodpecker. Not often this species is showing itself like this to me!

male White-backed Woodpecker

🎤White-backed Woodpecker call

Grasshopper Warbler on Herdla

 Today after a busy work weekend, I made a trip to Herdla. It was nice spring weather with lots of singing birds. In the south west corner of the reserve I found a singing Grasshopper Warbler. Always nice to hear (and see) this species. I found out that it was only the second record for the island (one in September 2014). I made a sound recording and a record shot...

Further two Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits, a group of about hundred Golden Plovers, displaying Dunlin, noisy Long-tailed Ducks and a singing Lesser Whitethroat among others.

record shot of the Grasshopper Warbler

male Northern Wheatear

🎤 Grasshopper Warbler

🎤Long-tailed Duck

🎤Lesser Whitethroat

Black-tailed Godwit in Bergen

 Duing the last week I was a few times out in Bergen. Still cold with northern winds. Two Mandarin Ducks returned at Midtun. At Flesland two or three singing Goldfinches and at Stend a nice Black-tailed Godwit and a noisy Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. A remarkable lack of redpolls by the way. I presume they will come later...

Black-tailed Godwit (probable islandica)

darkish alba White Wagtail

around Bergen

 The day off and home alone. I took the opportunity to visit northern and eastern Bergen. I began at Sæterstølen, where to Green Woodpeckers called a lot. I didn't see them though. Here also a pair of Willow Tits (a little bit of pishing made them very curious) and a singing Hawfinch. Then I visited Garnes where a Black-headed Gull and three Velvet Scoters were present. Unneland was very quiet. At Kalandsvannet one of the two returned Red-throated Divers was present as well as a small group of Meadow Pipits. I hoped to see the Golden Eagles that usually are around Gullfjellet, so I drove the long road through Bontveitdalen without seeing them. Instead I found a Mistle Thrush at Hausdalen. I was with some other thrushes (Fieldfares and Red-winged) feeding on the fields. But it quickly disappeared in the trees, where I saw it shortly. After that I couldn't find it again. Nice anyhow. On the way home I drove along Nesttunvannet where to pairs of Teal were present...

a nice pair of Willow Tits showed very well at Sæterstølen

a cold but beautiful day

 Went for a short visit to Flesland gård. It was beautiful cloudless weather, but the northern wind made it feel quite cold. No silent birds today. All of them showed lust for life. There were 17 Greylag Geese on the fields and a few migrating birds. On the airstrips two Ringed Plovers were flying around. Further a good deal of migrating Blackbirds, Fieldfares, a Song Thrush, Meadow Pipit, heard only White Wagtail (or yarrellii) and a Goldfinch.

And a Dipper was at Fana kulturpark😊

a little bit of spring on Herdla

 Yesterday I visited Herdla for the first time this year. Nice, but cold walk around the reserve. It gave a bit of a spring feeling with all the (sometimes displaying) Lapwings, Oystercatchers, the first Ringed Plovers and singing Sky Larks. Otherwise a Greater White fronted Goose fabalis and an early Bar-tailed Godwit...

fabalis Greater White-fronted Goose

one of the 25 or so Oystercatchers

Earlier in the week I recorded a singing Hawfinch in Christieparken with the Song Meter Touch- app on my phone. The app is meant to record nature sounds. Quite good quality. It proves handy if you don't have the normal recorder with shotgun microphone with you (which is quite often...). Below you can hear the result.

🎤 Hawfinch

First twitch of the year

Three Wood Larks are present on the farm lands of Terje Håheim in Etne since November (!). This lark was not on my Hordaland list...

But this winter is a bad one. I have been busy with other things, all too often ill or the weather was too bad. Yesterday, at last, I made the three-and-a-half hour drive from Bergen. I was met by an enthusiastic Terje, who showed me around. After about  three quarters of an hour we found them back on one of the acres. The birds were shy and could not easily be approached. After a few attempts to get some images I left them alone... Terje, thanks for the coffee! 

Waxwings

 Waxwing are on the move. Not very big numbers, but anyhow. After a few flyby's I had two birds back my house, an adult and a young bird. managed a picture in fading light late afternoon.

On Tveitevannet a poor adult Red-throated Loon with a broken lower bill was present. Imagine how to get your own food and eating it without your lower jaw being present...Attempts were made to catch it, but without results so far. It won't survive anyhow and is probably in pain as well...

adult female Bohemian Waxwing. In the background first-winter bird

poor bird

Ring-billed Gull at last

Tried this one six or seven times before I saw it. But it is a beauty. it was discovered by Anita Rude.

Ring-billed Gull is a bit of a Bergen speciality (my fourth), but already some time since the last one...it was ringed here in the city centre

subadult Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis, old primaries just visible

A few days Utsira

 After the Dark-sided Flycatcher episode, we went to Utsira for a couple of days. On the island it was quiet with rarities, but very nice birding in nice weather. The birders there didn't hesitate to congratulate me on the discovery of the flycatcher. One of them, Torborg Berge, gave me the traditional snack to celebrate, a so-called Gullbrød. Many thanks for that😊

Birdwise, as said, no vagrants, although a Grey Phalarope was still new for my Norwegian list. Yellow-browed Warblers were few and far between, only two or three present. On Monday there was a good fall of  Goldcrests. Further worth mentioning were good numbers of Parrot Crossbills, two Carrion Crows, two Richard Pipits and two Ring Ouzels.

first-year Grey Phalarope

Goldcrest. Notice those nails!