slipper time

Just had a great week-long tour on Gotland with a great group of people, the highlight being (as usual) the lady's slipper orchid show.

postcard from the Pyrenees

 Spanish gatekeeper

Orthetrum brunneum

Tawny pipit

Honey buzzard

Lizard orchid

Lady's slipper orchid

Pyrenean brook newt

Bird's-nest orchid

Postcard from the Pyrenees

Just finished a two-week tour of the French and Spanish Pyrenees. The birding was OK but spent most of my time looking at bugs and herps. This crazy sawfly on the first day is probably Rhogogaster viridis but there are a few lookalikes.

Sand lizards (Lacerta agilis) go high into the Pyrennees at the southern extremity of their range.

 This freshly emerged apollo (Parnassius apollo) looked good in the early morning light on Canigou.

 Lamping at night around one of the hotels in Spain proved great for amphibians and even produced my first southern smooth snake (Coronella girondica).

I have been wanting to see a male midwife toad (Alytes obstetricans) with a backpack of eggs for some time. It came to pass on this tour!

Fat toad.

We found two asp vipers on the tour, this one was nearly knelt on by one of the team!

 Great to get photos of large psammodromus (Psammodromus algirus) on the Spanish side, another species in a herp-rich tour.

With just over 1,000 species of plant logged by the botanists over the two week period, it was all rather bewildering for the non-botanist (nob?). I confined myself to enjoying the more way-out species as usual such as the splendid Leuzea conifera.

 One of my most enjoyable finds was of a pair fiery clearwing (Bembicia chrysidiformis) near Tremp. It has a widespread distribution, just sneaking into Kent in the UK, but is never easy to find.

Never a great trip for Odonates but we scored a few mostly widespread species including this Crocothemis erythraea.

Pyrenean brook newt (Euproctes asper) is a firm favourite on this tour and usually not too difficult to locate.

Western green lizard (Lacerta bilineata) was added to the list on the penultimate day in the field whilst walking the fantastic Ossoue valley near Gavarnie.

The tour ended with a chance to walk the busy trail up to the famous Cirque de Gavarnie. Superb.

more atlas work

The rosea form of Nymphaea alba was looking good today at Dagshög.

A single male Brachytron was new for the square today at Dagshög.

Another sluggardly start saw us all heading to Dagshög for a BBQ and dragonfly session. This proved to be an inspired choice as all the nasty looking squalls missed us over the next three hours. A light breeze form the sea did little to suppress Odonata activitity and we had a good look around the various wetlands at this under-watched location. Few surprises but Coenagrion pulchellum, Brachytron pratense and Orthetrum cancellatum were all new for the square.

We left ahead of potential rain and went north to a sunny Torekov to have a look at Flymossen. It was getting late by now and we found no libellulids on the wing here, just Enallagma and Ischnura elegans, as well as my first meadow browns of the year.

Gotland diary

Just back from nine days on Gotland with the family. If you have never been, then go!

21/5 driving to Gotland the long way through Blekinge
Driving cross-country gave me an opportunity of checking a few sites en route and we stopped first at Hercules dammar. A quick look here confirmed that we should try and get back on a camping trip during the summer. A white stork sat on top of a nest at the stork centre and the environs of the pools was busy with dragonflies, with Erythromma najas being a year-tick. A hobby was hunting dragonflies too and high overhead four black terns shuttled between wetlands.

Hercules dammar was a great site, reminiscent of very good 'Broadland' habitat but with more wildlife! This Erythromma najas was my first of the year.

Driving through Blekinge we stopped hopefully at three Coenagrion armatum sites. I was astonished by these spots (they seemed fairly ordinary, I always thought this species was a bit picky habitat-wise). Sadly we failed to turn up the species at any of the sites - too early I guess - but we did find a new Coenagrion lunulatum site near Berntorp.

22/5
We timed our arrival on Gotland perfectly to coincide with Sweden's eighth Western Bonelli's warbler. Just half an hour from where we were staying and quickly under the belt before we went fossil-hunting. In the afternoon I checked out nearby Närsholmen but there was little evidence of a fall. As usual I was surprised to find breeding turnstones, I always think of them breeding further north.

23/5 Torsburgen
Before breakfast I checked a very quiet Närsholmen and then had a look at a new site, the nearby Lausviken. Fantastic spot for waders that produced knot (1 - year-tick)), a flock of 17 broad-billed sandpipers (ditto), 32 dunlin, ruff (2) and greenshank (2). After breakfast I finally got round to checking the cottage garden and found the obligatory male collared flycatcher singing by his nest-box.

Spent the day with the team. The highlight being a sunny walk around the incredible plateau hill-fort at Torsburgen. Bird-wise rather quiet but great for invertebrates with small pearl-bordered fritillary and best of all 1-2 swallowtails (the latter my first in Sweden).

A walk around Torsburgen produced my first Swedish swallowtail butterflies.

24/5 south Gotland
My pre-breakfast look at Närsholmen was rather quiet, just one collared flycatcher. Nearby Lausviken was better though, although I am always a sucker for waders. Today's quota included knot (2), Temminck's stint (1), curlew sandpiper (2, year-tick), dunlin (35) and 16 broad-billed sandpipers. Driving away I finally picked up my first red-backed shrike of the year.

Närsholmen is a great spring orchid spot with plenty of elder-flowered orchids, but interestingly burnt-tip orchids were early this year and got me thinking about trying for Lady's slipper orchid...

Picking up the team we all headed down south. First stop was Grötlingboudd where the hide pool produced a single black-tailed godwit (year-tick) and 8 Temminck's stints. Next stop was Falludden. I really love this site, it has migrant trap written all over it. The marshy woodland here had at least two red-breasted flycatchers, I climbed into one of the large bushes and enjoyed close views of these great little birds. With time pushing on we elected not to visit Stockviken, a move that I was later to regret... It rained most of the afternoon and Hoburgen was deserted, just one yellow wagtail flying about. Back at home I discovered that a white-winged tern had been spotted at Stockviken during the afternoon and so headed back down south after dinner. I had just half an hour on site but this was enough to enjoy the splendid white-winged tern, along with a supporting cast that included a female red-necked phalarope, a Caspian tern, five garganey and some displaying ruff. A good day for birds.

25/5 north to Fårö
My pre-breakfast session at Lausviken produced another different set of birds although the broad-billed sandpipers remained (though just 8 this morning). New in were 35 gadwall, a white-tailed eagle, six Temminck's stints and right out in the middle of the bay a single black-tailed godwit (which eventually flew south right overhead).

Picking up the team once again we headed north. First stop was a chance to look for penduline tit at Landträskdammen. Unfortunately 'we' were quickly distracted by Odonata and found Gotlands first colony of Coenagrion armatum and plentiful Sympecma fusca (both lifers). I was on cloud-9. The armatum find is easily my best to date in dragonfly terms here in Sweden.

Coenagrion armatum

Moving on we headed for some fossil-hunting at Lickershamn, a site that conveniently was also hosting a 2K yellow-billed diver. It took some time to find but I got great views. Also here one black-throated diver (adult) and a single Slavonian grebe. Last year we never got close to visiting the island of Fårö, but with Ma B on board we went the extra mile and got on the ferry and had a fun afternoon looking at the crazy limestone formations on the beach and even managed a fantastic male Montagu's harrier low over the road at one point. But then we had to drive back...

The famous 'rauksteinar' at Langhammar beach on Fårö. Well worth seeing and surrounded by a large Arctic tern colony.

26/5 Kallegateburg
Spurred on by our success with dragonflies we tried to find Sympecma paedisca - a species only known in Sweden from two sites on north Gotland and only recorded in two years by the same couple. Everyone who has searched since has dipped and we too failed to find any despite coming up with plenty of fusca. Both sites were man-made and unremarkable, but I would love to come back at the end of April to have a proper look.

Slavonian grebes breed on many of the waterbodies on Gotland.

The focus of the day though was our visit to nearby Kallegateburg - the famous site for Lady's slipper orchid on Gotland. Fantastic habitat, although very dry this year. Although we had one close encounter with a nutcracker it was the invertebrates and flora that stole the show. Runnels of water next to the boardwalk produced my first Libellula depressa of the year. Boggy pools held raft spider (Dolomedes fimbriata) and the butterflies included my first Swedish little blues, dingy skippers and northern chequered skippers. It was a magic place and then we reached the slipper orchids. Magic, they were just opening, perhaps 5% being properly open and all in mint condition.

A northern chequered skipper at Kallegateburg, I have a feeling this may have been a lifer.

A female Libellula depressa laying eggs on a small stream whilst being buzzed by Libellula quadrimaculata males. The male depressa were busy holding territory overhead.

I do not botanise much but this species has fascinated me for some time. Great to finally get to see it and the site where it is found on Gotland is just superb.

27/5
Spent seven exhausting hours at a kid's amusement park (Pippi Longstocking's place) today and driving home we were rewarded with a corncrake that flew across the road in front of the car at Bjers.

Gröthögarna magic

The best bird at Gröthögarna this morning was this short-eared owl, only my second in BK.

Another morning session on Gröthögarna for me today. I have birded this area reasonably consistently for four years and so was overjoyed to get three site ticks in four hours! A great session. Walking the back trail against the light at the start of the walk was almost immediately brightened up by a soaring short-eared owl, which floated about idly sparring with a marsh harrier before drifting off. Birds had dropped out all over the site, good numbers of whinchat and grey-headed wagtail evident and a few pied flycatchers. The thrush nightingale was singing away lustily - still no others in BK, a late arrival for this species this year. Walking on into Ripagården I was overtaken by a male pochard heading north, my first for the site. The reedbed still had a singing reed warbler, with sedge warbler singing nearby too. The final icing on the cake came back near the car at Norra Ängalag - a reeling grasshopper warbler. Offshore on Tjällran sat a single turnstone. Great session.

Two cranes remains at Gröthögarna.

In the afternoon we walked Vasaltheden (marsh harrier) and nearby Glimminge (hobby) and checked out Greviebackar for pasque flowers. Nice day.

Postcard from Georgia

It's a steep learning curve for me on this trip, lots of new things encountered in the last few days and no doubt more to come. Pleasingly we have got to grips with one of the two potential new birds for me on the trip, my fifth lifer of 2010. Migration is in full swing, raptor passage is especially good, but many of the passerines are hard to find and may already have gone south.

Yesterday I finally unblocked Caucasian black grouse (my most wanted chicken). Had three males scooting about on the other side of a valley above Bakuriani just after dawn. My fourth time in habitat, so this bird was becoming very important! Whilst we watched we counted no less than 8 pallid harriers flying from roost on the slopes above us and heading over the pass and south. Mega! [Image nicked from BirdLife website]

Another new thing yesterday was a colony of social voles (Microtus socialis) up on the hills beyond the Javakheti Pass.

One of our target species above the Javakheti Pass was the impressive Colchicum speciosum. The supporting cast here included huge flocks of hundreds of twite and a few shorelark.

Rana macrocnemis - a new amphibian for me. Hundreds of tiddlers along the shore of Lake Tabatskuri yesterday.

Today we walked in the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park. Here we encountered Aeshna mixta in enormous numbers, some clearings having 500-600 hunting individuals as the sun dropped.

Postcard from Gotland

Just had a great week on Gotland with the family...

"Look Daddy - a snow owl" - it begins... We stopped on the way for lunch at the delightful, family-sized Porsbjärs nature reserve in Halland. It looks good for owls and grouse, we had a surprise wryneck and the first icterine of the year. We will return.

Spent some time at Oskarshamn, the harbour had Arctic terns and a pair of black redstart busily feeding young.

Our cottage at Puser was close to Paviken (where we had these splendid white-tailed eagles), but a little too far away from the key sites in the south.

Caspian terns were frequently observed, I am still waiting patiently for my first patch Caspian.

We watched this dark gotlandicus grass snake trying to swallow a toad for some time.

Waders were a little disappointing, I failed to find any broad-billed sandpipers, a flock of 18 purple sandpipers in good plumage were some consolation.

The incredible flora of Gotland could not be ignored and we spent quite a bit of time looking at the spring flowers. Hepatica nobilis is one of my favourites.

Highlights of a week on Gotland with the team included a staggering three Swedish ticks! I know, not difficult for me but still... Greenish warblers were located on a number of days, singing their songs from the tree-tops. I managed to time my visits to Hoburgsklippan to avoid all the good birds but still managed a self-found white-billed diver (tick Number 2). On the last night a corncrake started singing from the field behind our cottage (Number 3). Other goodies included a brief Richard's pipit on the deck, the abundant collared flycatchers, a superb perched female Montagu's harrier, penduline tit at the nest and singing rosefinches. My total of birds seen in May now stands at 179 and there are still more to come...

Dawn patrol - 26/04/10

This is from yesterday, when we all stopped at Greviebackar to enjoy the spring show of pasque flowers.

Another early start saw me at Petersberg at 0530 hoping for an early Acro. Had to make do with a showy water rail, two displaying redpoll and a flyover green sandpiper. Klarningen next for grey partridge (pair), moorhen (pair and year-tick), wood sandpiper (3, ditto) and a superb pair of whinchat (another year-tick). With garganey just over the BK boundary, it was time for the first visit of the year to Skottorps våtmark. Had a good look around this time and found the garganey (pair), as well as whooper swan (1), goosander (2), ruff (1), redshank (1), wood sandpiper (3) and common sandpiper (2). It is a cracking site and hopefully in the future Klarningen will be as good.

In the afternoon we all went for a walk around Glimminge and Vasaltheden. Glimminge was rather quiet, although seven shoveler were nice and the woods were full of recently arrived migrants singing away. Vasaltheden had the best birds though with two more shoveler, whimbrel (1, year-tick), greenshank (1) and my first lesser whitethroat of the year.

Ringed plover clutch at Vasaltheden today. These guys have a chance, most of Klarningen has been harrowed (!) since my last visit which must have destroyed plenty of lapwing and skylark nests.