Another sunny day so out I went. Kicked off at Stora Hultstrand to check through the eider flock. Still perhaps 500 birds present but no sign of a king eider in amongst them. It was worth the effort though as single red-necked and Slavonian grebes were present. The seaweed banks produced a white wagtail and behind the beach a meadow pipit was singing its heart out.
Could not resist a trip to Klarningen after its recent good form but things were quieter today with very few swans and geese, although 125 teal remained. A light buzzard passage was evident and two red kites and a rough-legged buzzard put in an appearance too. Otherwise quiet with just ten snipe, two stock doves and a meadow pipit being notable.
Drove over to Torekov to check the rev next. More white wagtails (2-3) and five rock pipits, some of the latter colouring up nicely. The rev itself produced at least ten purple sandpipers and a flock of 20 coot but was otherwise quiet.
Last stop of the day was a walking tour of Gröthögarna. This was unexceptional until I started looking at potential dragonfly habitat and flushed a dark duck from under a poolside juniper. WTF! It landed, showing briefly and then scrambled back under another juniper and away. A female mandarin! Perhaps the first in BK? Mandarin is not yet accepted on the Swedish official list, although how it's status differs from Egyptian goose (which is on the list) is unclear to me. Driving away from Norra Ängalag I bumped into a flock of 220 chaffinch, at least 200 of these were male making a splendid spectacle in the denuded stubble field they were feeding in. In amongst them were at least 25 redpoll and two linnets. Nice end to the session.
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