scorcher

A warm sunny day had the odos out along the coast including this Cordulia on the golf club ponds at Torekov. Worth getting shouted at by irate golfers...

Had a morning in the field today and headed for the coast in blazing sunshine. Torekov rev had obviously received some migrants with two red-backed shrikes, a sedge warbler, two icterine warblers and a thrush nightingale in the bushes and at least nine yellow wagtails in the grass. A quick look at the new golf club pools in between golfers produced Cordulia aenea, Ischnura pumilio and Coenagrion pulchellum. But then I had to move on...

Norra Ängalag next and the plantation here had five spotted flycatchers for a year-tick. Down at the coast and in line with the many SMS texts received from the NW boys was a splendid passage of barnacle geese (1500+ but no brent). The shoreline near my watch point eventually delivered a nice set of waders with single dunlin, green sandpiper and best-of-all a single Temminck's stint.

Last stop of the day was at Ripagården which was rather quiet for birds barring 18 mostly thunbergi yellow wagtails. The odos though included a single tiny female Ischnura pumilio - my first of the year.

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

post work session

 Rhagium inquisitor - a perky little longhorn beetle seen at Bränneslätt this afternoon.

Worked for five hours gardening today before the constant bending over gave me a big headache! Ears still at 50% and painful so decided to go and look at dragonflies at Bränneslätt as you do. Plenty of Leucorrhinia dubia on the wing here, plus Libellula quadrimaculata, Cordulia aenea and Coenagrion hastulatum. No surprises then on the Odo-front. I did enjoy an encounter with a small longhorn beetle, my first Rhagium inquisitor.

Afterwards I quickly checked Klarningen. Nothing too unusual here, although stuff kept popping out of the vegetation. An osprey sat on a snag by the river, the first resting bird I have ever seen here. Wildfowl included two male garganey, two gadwall, and single male shoveler and wigeon. Waders included a fluffy curlew (after last year's fox predation, it is nice to see these birds produce young), a greenshank, a green sandpiper and a few ruff.

Cordulia aenea - one of my favourite dragonflies, this one is a female caught lurking in the woods away from the the pool at Bränneslätt.

Luck of the Irish

Had my first BK swift at last as I came over Salomonhög at midday. The Scandinavian high has broken down now and we have cloudy unsettled weather. Still warm enough for dragonfly action though so after lunch I headed out to Hålehallstugan.

In June 2008 I found a single male Coenagrion lunulatum (my first) at Hålehallstugan and have seen none since. I went back this afternoon and found about 35 individuals at the site. So far the only colony known in BK.

Cordulia aenea were emerging too, these guys wander away from the shoreline to emerge. The furthest exuviae today were about 20 metres from the water's edge!

My first female Coenagrion lunulatum - a plumage tick, that blue S8 mark is a good tell.

It was a good session, because I confirmed the presence of a colony of Coenagrion lunulatum (only the second time I have seen this species). Also here Libellula quadrimaculata and Cordulia aenea. Birds noted included a green sandpiper, 30-odd sand martin, sedge and reed warbler singing and a monster hawfinch just over my head. On the way home I checked out Ranarpsstrand, but I don't think I have ever seen it quieter, just one male gadwall and a flyby little tern.