all white? yeah I'm all white!

The great white buzzard of BK. This bird has been around for over 12 years now and it always amazes me how seldom I see it!

Worked quite hard today with little reward. Kicked off near Grevie kyrkby by having a look at the splendid leucistic buzzard that lives in these parts. Just a little brown on the nape, otherwise clean white. 

Spent two hours working the woods along the shoreline at Segelstorpsstrand. Bumped into a big flock of 40+ goldcrests and had one chiffchaff. Plenty of tits about too with 8+ long-tailed tits indicative of some movement (457 through Kullen this morning!!) and a few thrushes around too including my first redwing of the season. But I could not find anything good, just two grey wagtails to write about.

Tried Öllövsstrand next but same result here, the best bird a male blackcap, although a flock of 60+ tree sparrow, with a good number of chaffinch and brambling was nice to see.

After lunch I decided to try the stubble south of Klarningen, but a good boot around reveal a dearth of birds, just a few meadow pipits, reed buntings and skylarks. The flooded pools had ruff (1) and golden plover (2) and these attracted the attentions of a peregrine at one point, resulting in a tense three minute chase that had me on the edge of my seat. From the tower things looked quiet with wigeon (55), teal (55) and shoveler (3) the best of it. The lone shelduck remains on station, must be damaged.

Last stop of the day was a sunny Eskilstorpsstrand which produced four white-fronted geese and two long-tailed ducks. Winter is upon us...

One of two grey wagtails at Segelstorpsstrand this morning.

More walking - 10/03/10

We all headed up to Önnarp this morning, it was good to others at the weekend, but the mist and cold and hint of snow did not do us any favours today. We trudged around a nice snowy circuit but the place was practically birdless. Just towards the end we came across a flock of tits that included three fantastic and annoyed coal tits, complete with little spiky crests. Coal tit was a patch year-tick for me, they are rather local on the higher ground in Bjäre.

Next stop was more wood-gathering at Lervik and Grytskaren. Good numbers of eider here (700), plus oystercatcher (1), lapwing (1) and curlew (1). Back at home I picked up the kids and walked back the long way around the village. It was pleasing to pick up three bullfinches and a single hawfinch. A flock of 30 brambling were around the garden today.

We had the famous white buzzard at Ängelsbäck on the way home, all white apart from a brown nape patch. Looked good in the snow.

Unlucky 13 - birding Falsterbo

Star of the raptor parade today for us at Falsterbo was this rough-legged buzzard. Others made do with a 1K pallid harrier. Oh the shame!

Went down to Falsterbo last night to stay with Terry (Birding Copenhagen) and three of his mates from East Anglia. They had evicted the Seven Dwarves and were living in a tiny cottage in the woods. Luckily there was just enough floor space for me. During the evening they gripped me rigid with tales of their second day at Falsterbo - short-toed eagle, black kite.... We hoped for more of the same on their third day.

Common buzzard - gentle trickle of birds through during the middle part of the day.

Rain overnight and a breezy northerly did not bode well however and we had a 'mare of a day. We somehow managed to miss all the good birds - Falsterbo has quite a complex geography and it is easy to be in the wrong place, unless you opt to sit at the end all day. We started at the end (Nabben) in the early morning. A few honey buzzards drifted south. The lagoon here was crammed with waders and we spent some time trying to find a broad-billed sandpiper in the throng of dunlin. No joy, but our searching turned up at least two little stint and a curlew sandpiper (the latter my first 1K bird of the year). A white-tailed eagle terrorised the local cormorants for a while and sparrowhawk were regular overhead. Several squalls came through whilst we waited here and we got wet! Passerine highlight came in the form of a single grey wagtail, although a few meadow and tree pipit were heard overhead. We elected for breakfast and a move to the heath to await raptors.

Red kites never failed to entertain, 30-odd birds passed us today.

Typically as we settled into our comfy chairs and waited for the raptor parade, the phone went. Martin Åkesson had found a Lapland bunting back in BK... The movement of raptors today was rather poor, although it included a splendid rough-legged buzzard, two hen harriers, another or the same white-tailed eagle and perhaps thirty red kite. A crane flew silently overhead but a white stork gave us the slip out to the west. A few crossbill and siskin were apparent. Out on the lagoon, four avocet will probably be my last of the year. With more rain in the offing I decided to head back to BK for a crack at the bunting. Tramping back over the heath produced a nice marsh gentian which somehow eluded me photographically.

An hour and a half later I was strolling through sunny fields in a light breeze back on the patch (Eskilstorp) - a phenomenal change in weather. Queen-of-Spain fritillaries were booted from underfoot and despite walking the field for an hour I could not find the bunting. Too bad, but I got home in time for a fish-and-chip supper.

Birding - 04/03/09 - patch tick!

Buzzards are on the move!

A half hour walk around the village in the morning revealed calling green woodpecker - a localised breeder on the patch. Migration much in evidence with skylark and lapwing moving. Small flocks of whooper swans flew north, we had 32 in total. Six grey geese (almost certainly bean) slipped by high without calling.

The weather being so good we decided to get out of the house and head for the coast. Ten minutes later we were at Ranarpstrand. The Grytskaren skerries hosted a brief immature peregrine and a careful search through the distant cormorants revealed one shag. Offshore three Slavonian grebes looked good, although no sign of any summer-plumage yet. Migration still on the go here too with a further 23 whooper swans, a buzzard in-off, a single stock dove north (year-tick) and best of all two bean geese - at an identifiable altitude and calling. The latter were a much-wanted patch tick, result!

Back at home I spent the afternoon in the garden hoping for migrating cranes - but had to make do with five waxwing that occasionally perched in the trees overhead.