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Monday, August 10, 2009

Birding - 10/08/09

The invasion of 7-spot ladybirds continues and the mortality is high

Sixteen greylag geese nearly took the chimney off this morning - a real autumn feel is settling on this part of Sweden.

Overcast weather and light rain in the morning was a good enough excuse to go out with the family. We spent the morning birding at Sandön and Rönnen. Sandön had very few waders; dunlin (9), Temminck's stint (1), greenshank (1), ruff (4), curlew (40), bar-tailed godwit (1), snipe (3), oystercatcher (1), ringed plover (26) and little ringed plover (1). The reedbeds held three water rail and sedge and reed warblers in some numbers. The sea (in a cursory scan) revealed the first Slavonian grebes of autumn (3), nine great crested grebes, three tufted ducks and seven goosander. A razorbill offshore was with at least three unidentifiable half-grown alcids. An osprey lazily hovered over the sea.

Rönnen had a Dutch ringed greylag goose (part of a flock of 750-1000) and 300 barnacle goose. Geese are on the move! Waders were disappointing here though with greenshank (4), wood sandpiper (9), common sandpiper (8), ruff (1) and little ringed plover (3).

Number 1 & 2 had some park theatre to attend in the afternoon, so Number 3 and I went for a walk along the river in Ängelholm. Here we found four mandarin duck (some 1K) and heard a distant black woodpecker as it flew through the trees. As we sat by the river a Cordulia aenea sped past.

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