trees and sea

Dragged the team out for a walk around the woods around the Önnarp firing range today - it was ridiculously mild and almost bird-free. Warm winters are always a bit dull here. No hard weather movements and always a curious lack of birds...

Tried Grytskären for a while and this was better the mild weather encouraging more grey heron (4) than usual to attempt to over-winter. Also here a mobile flock of at least 25 dunlin - a large flock for winter here in BK. Also here a nice close Slavonian grebe.

pygmy? (23012014)

Walked the long loop at Killeröd this morning in an attempt to year-tick crested and coal tit after missing them the other day. In the end I managed to hear crested tit but did not get a sniff of a a coal. I did hear two distant notes form a possible pygmy owl though at one point. Otherwise similar birds to the other day, with another four willow tits on show during the walk.

it rains

Ed and got up early and checked out Hovs Hallar hoping for some vismig but the heavens opened up and we headed to Klarningen after half an hour. Here we found the place rather empty of birds, a flyby pintail, a gadwall and two little grebe being our only reward. Rain continued throughout the day and although we walked the Killeröd-Önnarp loop we failed to locate our target bird - nutcracker and had little else besides. A wash-out!

pine marten!

Willow tit

Had a good walk this morning around the long loop from Killeröd which kicked off with a brief view of a pine marten on the track. My fourth daylight encounter in six years.

This time of year is always busy in the woods hereabouts, with plenty of young birds on the wing and big flocks of insectivores cramming in food ahead of their migration to the tropics. I too am heading to the tropics soon but I was trying to get fitter not fatter as I wandered around the circuit!

Birding had a great 'Scandinavian' feel to it this morning with great looks at flyby goshawk (1) and nutcracker (2). Cranes bugled and black woodpeckers gave their insane flight calls. A huge flock of flycatchers and chats must have contained at least 20 spotted flycatchers...

During the walk I had hoped to find a two-barred crossbill as we are in the midst of a huge crossbill/two-bar irruption at the moment, but despite the near constant presence of calling crossbills I could not find their scarcer cousin. The common:two bar ratio so far through Falsterbo this autumn is 15463:77 though so perhaps I should not feel too bad...

 Goshawk

Nutcracker

nutcracker!

The first year-tick of the day was the target of a long trudge in the snow around the Killeröd-Önnarp loop.

Went for the strenuous exercise option this morning with a walk in the snow around the Killeröd and Önnarp area. I was hoping to break the crossbill drought but they are definitely hard to find at the moment. Looking through my records I find I did not see a parrot last year and there were few common crossbills last year too. I was also hoping for a nutcracker for the year and I only had to walk 3 km before I heard one calling nearby and it popped up to have a look at me. Few other birds of note, just one singing willow tit and a calling black woodpecker.

Stopped at Slottet on my way out, picking up three long-tailed tits (another BK year-tick). Ranarpsstrand produced the year-ticks too with two skylarks through and at least eight dunlin and two knot (early/overwintering) out on Grytskären, signs that March is nearly upon us. Driving home I finally found a pheasant in BK, a female at Segelstorpsstrand. This time last year I was well over a 100 for the year, this year just 92 at the moment, cannot complain about the quality though.

walk in the woods

Finally got some sleep last night and woke up late to find snow on the ground and a couple of waxwing feeding in an apple tree near the house. Took the team for a walk in the woods around Killeröd in the afternoon. Not much doing here, willow tit predictably being the highlight.

When I finally looked at my phone I realised that the 1K gyr falcon reported whilst I was away at the end of Oct/early November had been seen again during the morning. Is it wintering? Time will tell if I can connect with this much-needed BK tick!

Weak migration and another longhorn

 Number 1 found my first Stictoleptura rubra for me this afternoon on a walk around the Killeröd-Önnarp loop with the team. This is the female and we watched it egg-laying on a conifer log.

Got out a bit late this morning to look for migrants around Gröthögarna. Nothing much doing just a few tree pipits, three red-backed shrikes and a scattering of warblers and chats. Nearby Torekov rev produced a few waders, notably three sanderlings, but no big surprises.

In an overcast afternoon we all headed out to walk the Killeröd-Önnarp loop. Birds were few and far between but included a black woodpecker heard and a spotted flycatcher sallying out into a clearing. Invertebrates were good but a bit of sun would have helped matters. Even so number 1 found me a brace of Stictoleptura rubra - a new longhorn beetle for me. Later I had fun trying to photograph Aeshna juncea in flight but was defeated by the low light levels.

Number 1 managed the double, finding me a male Stictoleptura rubra later on! Longhorns can exhibit surprising sexual dimorphism.

Aeshna juncea captured in flight in poor light, you can just make out the yellow spots behind the eyes, a diagnostic feature when trying to rule out subarctica.

Sunday morning

Nipped out for three hours before breakfast this morning. Drove over the top picking up three cranes but no ouzels. Klarningen was reasonably busy with things dropping in occasionally and whizzing off north, you really need to spend all day here...

Wildfowl at Klarningen included the three pintail and seven shoveler, but no sign of last night's garganey or the six Egyptian geese recently reported just over the border in Laholm's kommun. A few raptors on the go though with hen harrier and rough-legged buzzard through north. Waders provided the most value this morning with 20 golden plovers buzzing the tower on arrival, three superb male ruff strutting about, a whimbrel calling overhead somewhere, an elusive greenshank and a very brief wood sandpiper (the latter a year-tick). Equally quick was a flyby by a barn swallow and a house martin and high overhead I heard my first tree pipit of the year.

After breakfast we got the team together for a walk in the woods around Killeröd and Önnarp. The weather deteriorated on us and much of the walk was in the rain. Aside from a light passage of buzzards and two grounded rough-legged buzzards it was rather quiet.

jay

Recovery is always surprisingly slow after 'real' flu and so it has been this time. But things are getting better and I managed a circuit through the woods around Killeröd looking for two-barred crossbills. No joy though, just five common crossbills and a jay heard. The latter a year-tick.

peeeeeeegmy!

Today's star bird, a cracking male pygmy owl, whistled in for great views. I have heard two birds in BK before without converting them but this one surrendered nicely.

After mucking out the house yesterday I reckoned that I deserved a day in the field! Kicked off by looking at the 'big field' at Ljungbyholm, which had a nice adult peregrine sitting in the middle of it. Storahultsstrand was quiet, plenty of ice offshore and the sea was holding a good-sized flock of goldeneye (200+). Nearby on Grytskären an adult white-tailed eagle was making a nuisance of itself and another (or the same) adult peregrine was in attendance too.

Walking Ranarpsstrand produced a handful of meadow and rock pipits and five starling. Slim pickings.

After lunch I decided to try and bag a few easy year-ticks by going for a walk in the woods between Killeröd and Önnarp. This worked well, two hour's of walking in the snow produced the desired sackful of year-ticks, including a nice pair of singing common crossbills, calling nutcracker, crested tit and at least five willow tits. The best though came at the end when a male pygmy owl burst into song nearby and a hectic chase through the woods eventually produced good views before I had to go for the school-run. Sweet.

a walk in the woods

A flock of 60+ waxwing in the Lindab carpark at Förslöv kicked off the day. The men from Glimminge found a pygmy owl at Killeröd yesterday, which prompted a long morning walk around the area. No sign of the owl, but a lot of agitation amongst the local tits and goldcrests when they were played the 'bicycle-pump' call. Highlights included a total of 29 two-barred crossbills and at least five crested tits.

In the afternoon I suddenly found out that there had been a Siberian chiffchaff at Öllövsstrand yesterday, so off I went late in the day for a fruitless search of the coastal scrub. Vasaltheden produced the only good bird of the afternoon, a 1K peregrine flying past south.

Flooding out

Cranes decided to head south today when the winds went northerly and the big rush saw me logging over 700 south from various locations in BK, including the garden.

Kicked off at Eskilstorpsstrand hoping for left-over seabirds in the dying NW wind. It faded fast and veered more northerly. I had to be content with three great skuas mugging gulls offshore and ignore the reports of Leach's petrel and sooty shearwater from points south of me in BK. Picked the wrong place! Ten scaup offshore here were my first of the autumn and I also recorded a single sanderling (my first October bird in Sweden). After an hour and a half I headed for Klarningen.

At Klarningen it quickly became apparent that birds were moving in big numbers. The first flock of cranes was 130 strong and the total in two hours was 554, many right overhead and trumpeting away. Greylag (172), buzzard (60) and woodpigeon (1060) were also obviously on the go. On the wetland were whooper swan (4), wigeon (89), teal (150), shoveler (14, a site record), lapwing (250), dunlin (1) and ruff (3). A single adult female marsh harrier was my latest in BK and the 1K female peregrine seen last time here was still ineptly chasing waders about.

The 1K female peregrine is still terrorising prey at Klarningen but I have yet to see it kill anything.

Over lunch the garden produced a flock of 55 cranes south as well as two goldfinch feeding in the rowan out the back with a couple of blackcaps. We all went out in the afternoon for a walk in the woods around Killeröd and Önnarp. More migration spotted in the clearings with a flock of 64 crane south and a steady string of buzzards weaving across the sky. Best birds though were four two-barred crossbills and two great grey shrikes.

Two great grey shrikes livened up a family walk around Killeröd and Önnarp this afternoon.

Walking in the woods

Took Number 2 out for a long walk around the woods in Killeröd and Önnarp this morning. Plenty of birds migrating overhead, mostly brambling/chaffinch and the first appreciable thrush movements of the autumn with both mistle thrush and fieldfare on the the go. Highlights came in the form of multiple encounters with two-barred crossbill (20+) and crossbill (30) and a nice acorn-stuffed nutcracker. Willow tits were calling everywhere this morning with at least six noted during the walk.

In the afternoon we headed out to Stora Hultstrand/Vejbystrand which produced three Slavonian grebes and five grey plover. The single wheatear here a reminder of how many migrants have slipped south already.

Red Tuesday

Took the team for a rainy walk around Önnarp in the morning. Did the usual loop and had a good time. The kids munched on blueberries and I walked on a bit to hear what was about. I did good in a limited way with a few scarce patch species; heard my first nutcracker of the year and had a couple of willow tits. The undoubted highlight though was a good view of a perched adult female honey buzzard, interrupted whilst feeding. Checked out the lake at Hålehallstugan, lots of young birds on the water and a spotted flycatcher hunting round the edge.

In the afternoon, Mrs B and I headed for Sandön. The rain overnight and during the day had knocked a few waders down. I was chuffed with five curlew sandpipers but many more were to come later. Also here dunlin (80) and bar-tailed godwit (1).

As the rain had eased off I decided to check Rönnen quickly. The shoreline west of the island was heaving with calidrids. At least 450 dunlin, a massive 52 curlew sandpipers and seven knot. 52 curlew sands all in summer plumage and whizzing about like maniacs!! Despite the huge number of calidrids there were no stints or broad-bills. I was I suspect robbed... Also here little ringed plover (2), ruff (2), snipe (2), greenshank (2), wood sandpiper (10) and common sandpiper (15).

On the way home stopped at Sandön again quickly for grey plover (1) and golden plover (1). A successful day.

It's back!

Spent a decidedly chilly pre-breakfast period in the field, first walking Grytskären-Ranarpsstrand and then quickly visiting Stora Hultstrand. Both were worth doing. The first walk produced barnacle goose (17 north), shoveler (4) and my first patch avocet of the year. Stora Hultstrand was worth checking, it looks good for waders at the moment, and produced avocet (1 - possibly the same bird), purple sandpiper (6 flying by - a little strange), greenshank (1) and my first turnstone this year. A big flock of Numenius flying past proved to be mixed - perhaps ten curlew and 18-20 whimbrel.

My first patch grizzled skipper.

After breakfast I took the kids out for the day. We did a big walk around Önnarp firing range, which was rather quiet (until we got there...). Saw some birds though, plenty of tree pipits and pied flycatchers around and had a nice hawfinch perched up briefly. Number 1 found me my first patch grizzled skipper. A dead common shrew went down well and was adopted (which reminds me to check, they may still have it!).

Common shrew.

On the way home we checked out a few wetlands (seeing Ginger Rogers for the first time) and hit the beach at Segelstorp to reward the kids for a hard day in the field. It was almost warm by now and they waded about happily in the water and I got told off by a (no doubt) well-meaning onlooker for abusing my children. I tried to explain that their mother was a sea-otter but it got lost in translation...

Odd and sods - 16/03/10

Grabbed a few minutes birding in a busy day today. The garden had four lapwing over north in the early morning and unusually siskin (2) were present at the feeder. Drove through Barkåkra twice today, picking up a hunting rough-legged buzzard on the first pass and two grey partridge on the way back.

Dragged the kids out kicking and screaming in the afternoon to Önnarp, but they soon settled happily into a half hour snow games session. Over the din I could just hear a black woodpecker calling near the army camp.

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.

Birding - 29/04/09

Slow worm - on the path at Ripagården this morning. More frequently encountered in this part of Sweden than in Norfolk (UK)

A walk out with Mum B, Mrs B and Number 3 around Önnarp later in the day produced this early Queen-of-Spain fritillary. The first Odonate of the year appeared briefly too but got away - almost certainly Libellula quadrimaculata

Spent a couple of hours in the field before breakfast at Ripagården. Things were quiet on the migrant front, although plenty of singing redstarts, lesser whitethroats and blackcaps have arrived on territory since I was last here.

Flushed the same pair of grey partridge again - they seem to have taken up residence. Other highlights were a fox (hard to see here, although evidently widespread), a slow worm and a superb grey-phase tawny owl perched low down in the wood being mobbed by a collection of passerines.

Birding - 18/04/09

A displaying green sandpiper takes a breather in the top of a conifer - another species I cannot get used to seeing as a breeding bird

I snuck out for two hours before DIY and headed for an exploration of the firing ranges at Önnarp. An hour and half tramping about here was not without compensation although I failed to find any black grouse or woodlark. Best bird was a male merlin streaking north over a clearing. The displaying green sandpiper was my first of the year and a heart-warming sight. I may also have heard nutcracker, which probably breed in small numbers hereabouts but can be tricky to pin down.