white wing invasion (20140518)

Paul Cook and I had a day birding together today and headed first to Hovs Hallar. Two-and-a-half hours here produced little in the way of vismig sadly, although we had two whimbrel north and a few yellow wagtails were on the go too. A male red-backed shrike was feeding below us on the undercliff. Refuelling at Torekov we picked up four swifts that looked resident.

The sun blazed from the sky as we headed out to Hallands Väderö on the boat. Over the next five hours we kicked about. Thrush nightingales and icterine warblers were in song. The southern woods had two fantastic singing male red-breasted flycatchers and a few wood warblers. Trogging round from Kappelhamn to the lighthouse was very quiet and before we knew it we were back at the jetty. On the boat back we picked up a single razorbill in the company of two guillemots.

Two singing  male red-breasted flycatchers were the highlight of a sunny five hours on Hallands Väderö. The weather was not conducive for a fall but we missed a few migrants apparently including the first BK rosefinch of the year...

During the day huge numbers of white-winged terns had been swarming into southern Sweden and it did not come as too much of a surprise to get an SMS telling us that Martin Ekenberg had found at least ten at Klarningen. Luckily we were just about to get off the boat when this news arrived and we endured the tense 20-minute drive over to the site. On arrival though we found the white-winged tern count had reached 18, it was quite superb. An osprey was hunting over Eskiltorpsdammar. Paul and I walked over to the river for an epic encounter with the loose flock as they fed busily, completely unconcerned by our presence.

Whoar!

A last ditch attempt to see the black stork at Barramossa failed sadly but it was a good day all the same.

epic garden birding

Had a great day in the field today. Kicked off with a look for a few things that may still be lurking on the hill. Lya Ljunghed failed to produce any stonechats but spring was in the air with whinchat and cuckoo singing lustily away. Taking the road through Tvehöga produced a few singing wood warblers but a quick check for red-breasted flycatcher failed too. In Östra Karup a grey wagtail joined me going down the road.

Klarningen produced the first year-tick of the day with a high honey buzzard over north. Also here one male shoveler and 40+ eider south! Otherwise quiet, recent rain has put the water level too high for passage waders! The ducks are breeding though with fluffy mallard, goldeneye and coot available.

High honey buzzard north over Klarningen

Next task was to check a few sites for the black stork that was present during my last tour. I checked the road between Frestensfällan and Baramossa. No joy although Baramossa (just off-patch in Laholm kommun) did produce a nice young family of whooper swan. Typically when I stray out of BK there is a reminder to return to the fold and this time it came in form of an SMS from Mats Ljunggren - he had a firecrest in his garden at Glimminge. As this was one of my most-wanted BK birds I was interested but did not exactly dash over. I checked a few more sites and then headed home for lunch and a look in my garden. I think it is the bible that it states that one should not look at birds in another person's garden until one has thoroughly checked one's own...

Over lunch I was stunned to hear an Acrocephalus warbler singing from one of the hedges.  A reed warbler! Superb and totally unpredicted addition to the garden list. Things were even better in Mats' garden in Glimminge plantering. The firecrest put on quite a show but I totally failed to secure a good image. Also here a honey buzzard over.

The best I could do with the firecrest but what a great bird and a superb find by Mats

Mats' garden was also busy with redstarts.

A walk around Glimminge and Vasaltsheden produced Slavonian grebe (1, full summer-plumage), two little terns, a couple of male red-backed shrikes and a singing icterine warbler. The latter two my first of the year.

A quick look at the pond at the Mäsinge end of the plantation produced a damselfly year-tick - Enallagma cyathigerum and a big grass snake.

Last stop of the day with some kids in tow was fantastic. We went up the hill to Hålehallstugan and the sun shone down. The carpark must have had 150 Cordulia aenea sheltering in it and down by the lake edge we found a good number of Coenagrion lunulatum. Overhead a male honey buzzard displayed with a frog grasped in it's talons. A nice end to a superb day in the field.

 Cordulia aenea

Honey buzzard displaying with a frog dangling from it's talons

still chilly

It was so cold today we did not need a net for the Odonates, we just picked them up...

Nipped out in the afternoon to check the lake at Pennebo, just outside BK in Halland. En route we stopped at the pond at Frestensfällan to get a long overdue BK year-tick - little grebe! At Baramossa we stopped for a nice roadside green sandpiper and also had a pair of spotted flycatcher.

At the lake it was about 10 degrees with a fresh westerly blowing. We worked through the commonplace damselflies sheltering along the track and flushed the odd Libellula quadrimaculata. The best of it was my first Calopteryx virgo of the year. So cold you could pick it up.

Coldest June day in Stockholm yesterday for 84 years...