Lazy Sunday

Could not get out of bed this morning, eventually got out for the tail-end of the windy weather at Yttre Kattvik for a mid-morning session with the whole team. The results of the hour-long watch, whilst not stunning did suggest that I should have made the effort to get out earlier! A big surprise was a female scaup, belting past in the company of a female tufted duck. Other good birds included a flock of six 1K little gulls, a 1K kittiwake, a single knot and a whimbrel.

After lunch I nipped out on my own to look at Torekov and Ripagården. The rev was excellent but once again the birds were distant and spooky (too many raptors around, including an excellent 1K peregrine). Best of the waders; knot (8), sanderling (1), little stint (1 - patch year-tick), Temminck's stint (2), curlew sandpiper (1 1K), dunlin (68), ruff (3) and turnstone (2). A few passerines dropping out too with lesser whitethroat, whitethroat and yellow wagtail evident. Had a recce around the back of Flymossen enjoying a food pass between an adult and a juvenile marsh harrier and adding a few dragonfly species to the fledgling square list.

Last stop of the day was at Ripagården. The beach had knot (3) and bar-tailed godwit (7) and the bushes had at least one red-backed shrike. It was eyes down for dragonflies though and I may have glimpsed a male Sympetrum striolatum (scarce here). Did see a few definite Sympetrum vulgatum. and some other common species.

Sympetrum vulgatum male.