Redwings!

Me and Number 2 went for a walk this morning around the Killeröd loop track. Quite a few birds as usual and plenty on the move. Migrants going over included woodpigeon (18), tree pipit (1), meadow pipit (2), my first redwing (2) of the season and brambling (1). In the woods we could hear crossbills and jays, and in the clearing we had a deja vu moment when a nutcracker flew on exactly the same track, equally stuffed with nuts, as the last time we did this walk. Thrushes were noticeable with at least five song thrushes and two mistles.

We took our packed lunch back to Ranarpsstrand, hoping for a migrant or two. In just over an hour and a half we managed; gadwall (1), Slavonian grebe (1), grey plover (1K), greenshank (1), lesser whitethroat (1) and redpoll (3). Siskin were moving in small groups past us almost continously, but most of the other vismig was going on just a little bit inland this morning.

Maggots!

With Number 2 still 'off sick', we headed out with her wrapped up in the back of the car in a big duvet nest. We tried Yttre Kattvik, but after our first frost overnight, the heat-haze off the sea was appalling...

Moving on we tried Klarningen (my 100th visit!), plenty of birds here but we had hardly started when we discovered that Number 1 had left her coat in the car... Notable birds we managed to see before leaving to go back to school were; barnacle goose (40, still present), wigeon (90), teal (90), pintail (2), hobby (1K), dunlin (3) and ruff (20+).

In the afternoon I pronounced Number 2 fit for light duties and we went out into the fantastic blue-sky weather to check out Ranarpstrand for an hour. A few barn swallow, skylark and buzzard on the move. Notable birds included; red-necked grebe (1), golden plover (1), grey plover (1K), dunlin (9) and greenshank (1).

Scratching about

With Number 2 off her food and slightly feverish yesterday, it was time to take things easy. We did head out in the afternoon though and squeezed in half an hour at Sandön before some shopping. Sandön was quiet with oystercatcher (1), dunlin (2), snipe (4) and bar-tailed godwit (5).

I nipped out for the last couple of hours of the day on my own. Tried Klarningen, forgetting that the sun would be right in my eyes. Couldn't use the tower anyway because of the ongoing work, so went for walk. Water levels have gone up again since my last visit and are starting to look respectable. The birds like it too with the following counted; barnacle goose (40), wigeon (94), ruff (33), snipe (12) and best of all a late spotted redshank (my first this month). A few passerines knocking about including a lone brambling, 15 skylark and seven fieldfare.

Slow morning

Windy from the north-east today. Checked out Ripagården in the morning. It was surprisingly quiet considering the huge numbers of migrating birds reported a little to the north at Grötvik. A light siskin and meadow pipit passage was evident and a male and 1K hen harrier came in-off together at one point. The woods held no obvious migrants, other than a single goldcrest.

Tried Torekov rev next and there were a few more birds of note here including my first Slavonian grebe of the autumn and 6 1K grey plovers. A quiet morning.

Back home

Water levels are high at Klarningen attracting good numbers of teal and other wildfowl.

Home again, having missed some stupendous sea-watching and at least one pallid harrier on the patch during my absence. Went for a look at Klarningen with the family this morning, water levels are up again and there were good numbers of teal (180) and wigeon (57). Also pintail (2), goldeneye (2), little grebe (1), dunlin (9), ruff (27) and greenshank (2). On the fields to the north a single snipe and nine golden plover.

A quick play at Eskilstorpstrand produced a calling crested tit and a flyby dunlin. We drove home past Älemossen and had a flock of 8 mistle thrush.

Looks like the disagreement between the council and the contractors has been settled and they are working to address the various issues with the bird tower. The bad news is the stairs have gone for the moment...

Postcard from Georgia

It's a steep learning curve for me on this trip, lots of new things encountered in the last few days and no doubt more to come. Pleasingly we have got to grips with one of the two potential new birds for me on the trip, my fifth lifer of 2010. Migration is in full swing, raptor passage is especially good, but many of the passerines are hard to find and may already have gone south.

Yesterday I finally unblocked Caucasian black grouse (my most wanted chicken). Had three males scooting about on the other side of a valley above Bakuriani just after dawn. My fourth time in habitat, so this bird was becoming very important! Whilst we watched we counted no less than 8 pallid harriers flying from roost on the slopes above us and heading over the pass and south. Mega! [Image nicked from BirdLife website]

Another new thing yesterday was a colony of social voles (Microtus socialis) up on the hills beyond the Javakheti Pass.

One of our target species above the Javakheti Pass was the impressive Colchicum speciosum. The supporting cast here included huge flocks of hundreds of twite and a few shorelark.

Rana macrocnemis - a new amphibian for me. Hundreds of tiddlers along the shore of Lake Tabatskuri yesterday.

Today we walked in the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park. Here we encountered Aeshna mixta in enormous numbers, some clearings having 500-600 hunting individuals as the sun dropped.

Doh!

Predictably with me on the first day of a trip to Georgia, there was a monster sea-watching session in BK today. Sabine's gull, Leach's petrel and sooty shearwater; all of which would have been patch year-ticks... Still mustn't grumble, although we spent most of today either shopping in Tbilisi or relocating to the hills, we did OK for birds. The oak forest above Tbilisi at Kodjori proved to be good for red-breasted flycatcher and green warbler and we had a few migrants including incredibly a female Menetrie's warbler, as well as a nice gang of ortolan! In cool, overcast conditions there was little evidence of raptor migration, although there were a number of grounded buzzards along the way. It should be a good trip.

Two hours at Yttre Kattvik

Number 2 and I were back at Yttre Kattvik for two hours mid-morning in strong south-westerly winds. Johan Stenlund and another birder were already in position and reported that not much had happened so far. As I sat down though after converting the car into a play-pen, they called the first skua, the first of five Arctics. As usual some of the birds were educational... Also noted were migrating common scoter (44), velevet scoter (5), black-throated diver (3), great crested grebe (1), gannet (1), peregrine (1), lesser black-backed gull (2), comic tern (10), Sandwich tern (25) and finally some guillemot (10), that latter have been rather scarce of late.

Just as I was packing up to go, a great skua was called and I got onto it as it went through low at medium range. Nice end to the seawatch but Georgia beckons and I literally had to get packing.

An hour at Yttre Kattvik

Busy in the house most of the day - a few migrants knocking around in the garden including this redstart and a spotted flycatcher.

At the end of the day, with breezy SW winds blowing, Number 2 and I headed out for an hour at Yttre Kattvik to see if any of the seabirds reported further north were coming within range down in BK. We managed one pale phase Arctic skua and ten common scoter - so pretty quiet!

Waterfowl survey - Dagshög to Torekov

With rainy weather and brisk southerlies forecast I nevertheless headed out to survey another 5-kilometre stretch of the Bjäre coast this morning. The weather did not disappoint and I got very wet but there were some good birds to be had, although there were even fewer waterfowl about to count than yesterday. The survey returns were as follows; grey heron (1), cormorant (69), mute swan (8), mallard (61), wigeon (29), teal (12), eider (43) and goosander (2). So not much! Waders were likewise in short supply with totals of; snipe (4), greenshank (1), knot (1), dunlin (4) and common sandpiper (2).

Otherwise things were more exciting than I was expecting. On the way north I picked up a superb female 1K goshawk and a single Arctic skua. The real excitement though came on the heinous trudge back against the wind and rain, when I arrived back at Påarps Mal to find two more skuas close in. Both flew a short way out and landed on the sea and although one was another Arctic, the other was a 1K long-tailed! Had reasonable views of it flying around and on the sea, nice one. Do I now have to add strong southerlies with lots of rain to my autumn sea-watching calendar?

Waterfowl survey - Torekov to Hovs Hallar

A 10 km coastal walk in September is always going to produce a few good birds. Today was rather quiet, but two superb Lapland buntings at Gröthögarna on the trek back to the car more than made up for it.

Walked the coast from Torekov to Hovs Hallar today to count waterfowl. As usual the September count was easily done as there were very few waterfowl around! The five-kilometre stretch of coast produced the following; grey heron (3), cormorant (239), mute swan (10), mallard (110), wigeon (48), gadwall (1), teal (6), common scoter (3), eider (82), goosander (1) and red-breasted merganser (5).

During the count I was entertained by a merlin (catching and then drowning an irate starling, before settling down to a messy breakfast), a couple of lesser black-backed gulls, good numbers of wheatear and smaller numbers of rock pipit and whinchat. The bushes were full of common migrants this morning but nothing of note appeared.

It was the walk back that produced the bird of the day when I was jolted out of my reverie by a couple of Lapland buntings on the path. It was one of those occasions where you find yourself looking at a great bird through your bins without knowing quite how you became aware of the bird in the first place. Auto-birding!

Swedish tick - ortolan bunting!

Out before first light this morning in an attempt to catch up with yesterday's bluethroat at Ripagården. Nothing doing on the bluethroat front though, despite a good kickabout. A few migrants on the ground including a tight flock of seven blackcap and one garden warbler, two lesser whitethroat, two whitethroat and single sedge and a few reed warblers in the reedbed. As I turned to leave a calling bird flying over low got my attention pretty quickly - an ortolan bunting. I have listened to the flight call 158 times according to itunes and finally it has paid off!

Nipped back to feed the team and packed them in the car for the short walk around the Killeröd loop track. This walk was really birdy today, producing a hatful of birds that I do not see so often. Jays (6) were calling in abundance and we even managed a single nutcracker (and perhaps another later) flying past a clearing with a bulging crop. Bird flocks contained crested, willow and coal tits and even a few migrants.

Checked the ploughed fields around Ljungbyholm in the afternoon. Huge numbers of wheatear (69!), as well as golden plover (135), red kite (2), a zippy merlin (1) and bizarrely an adult osprey resting in the middle of one huge field.