great day out (20150226)

Had an increasingly rare day in the field today in southerly winds, blues skies and lots of bird movement (mostly skylarks!). Skylarks were definitely the bird of the day, plenty already singing on territory and they could be heard overhead nearly continuously along the coast in the morning.

Great grey shrike finally fell for the year at Ripagården (one of four year-ticks recorded during the day), an engaging individual that was hopping about on the short turf searching for invertebrates. Thanks Sara!

I started the day at Glimminge plantering, where the beach failed to produce a ringed plover but it was evident here and at all coastal sites visited afterwards that shelduck had arrived in numbers. Dagshög next to check for the black duck (no sign), two black guillemots well offshore were the highlight here. Påarps mal did produce the black duck, sheltering in the rocks from the brisk southerly wind. Out on the island were my first ringed plovers (3) and three lapwing. Torekovs rev had two more ringed plovers and at least three oystercatchers. A single purple sandpiper was spotted way to the south on Svarteskär.

Norra Ängalag had a few birds moving through including ten white-fronted geese and a single stock dove going like a bat out of hell. My last coastal stop of the day was at Ripagården hoping for the great grey shrike reported earlier in the week. It was still present and showed very well, hopping about in search of food in the short turf by the sea. A Lapland bunting calling as it flew north was a nice bonus.

Finally I had a quick look at Klarningen. Lots going on here for a day in February with 17 shelduck, 12 teal and 36 lapwing all seeming very early.

SEO

My fourth BK short-eared owl turned up this morning on Gröthögarna and showed well. My best views for a long time.

Nipped out for a three-hour spell on Gröthögarna this morning. I was hoping for a few migrants, tree pipit and pied flycatcher would have been nice but it was not to be. Rather quiet instead, though I was greeted by at least four blackcap at the Norra Ängalag car park when I arrived. Otherwise it was cold and grey and few birds were singing. A short-eared owl put in an appearance though, always good value, a few green sandpipers were dotted about and there was a single common sandpiper at Dalen. On the way back I found my latest ever great grey shrike.

Meanwhile the big news here in Sweden today was the finding and subsequent mass twitch of the country's second black-shouldered kite. This bird was seen exiting Denmark on Wednesday. A great find by a committed patch-worker.

Not for me though, instead I managed 15 minutes at dusk at Klarningen on the way back from a swimming party. In the gloom I could make out the male garganey, the three pintail and at least nine shoveler. My first fluffy greylag goslings were strutting about too.

Also my latest great grey shrike this morning. It felt more like winter than spring early on...

Seven year-ticks!

Grey day, fog really got in the way today but probably caused this great grey shrike to pitch into Torekov rev.

After what seems like a very long time I finally got to spend a day in the field today. Things kicked off well with a grey partridge on the school-run, this species has been scarce after the last few harsh winters and this was my first of the year.

Klarningen was fogged in but cleared just enough over the hour-and-a-half for me to see what was about. Plenty here with a pair of smew and the first green sandpiper of the year being the highlights. Also here white-fronted goose (14), barnacle goose (2), gadwall (pair), the first oystercatcher pair on site and at least four snipe.

A quick look at Eskilstorpsstrand produced quite a few seaduck, including a good build-up of eider (350) and seven scaup. It is time to look for king eider again, no luck today though.

After lunch I checked out Torekov rev but the fog was awful. Out on the rev (when it could be seen) were at least 11 purple sandpipers but they were impossible to count properly. Birds kept on coming with my first white wagtail of the year swiftly followed by my first (two) grey wagtails. Five rock pipits here included at least one nice summer-plumage bird and the bushes were playing host to a great grey shrike (my first on the rev). On the way home I checked out Påarps Mal but the fog dropped like a hammer and there was little to see apart from a pair of barnacle geese that looked like they might stay and breed.

thrush

I seem to be off the pace this year and chasing other people's birds, this song thrush (a great February find) was spotted by others yesterday at Ripagården.

Spent a day in the field today. Kicked off at Ripagården for a look around. The song thrush reported yesterday was still feeding on the seaweed bank by the harbour and whilst I watched it I heard skylark migrating north overhead! Also a male hen harrier past.

Torekov was amazing, the brisk northerly and the mild conditions conspiring to break up the sea-ice and send it streaming south through the sound. The noise of the ice-laden rollers breaking on the reef was like a passing jet. Bird-wise the highlight was the pile of seaweed, which was busy with four redwing, seven fieldfare and ten starling, as well as the usual dozen meadow pipits. No sign of any rock pipits today. Out on Vinga a lone white-tailed eagle looked out over the mess of ice.

In the afternoon I tried walking the Killeröd loop for birds but it was rather tiring in the snow and I saw no birds. I did hear common and two-barred crossbill though. A drive around to Hålehallstugan produced my first-ever February great grey shrike, a confiding and rather satisfying bird. Also here a pair of bullfinch and a single female common crossbill. A good day out, the BK year-list finally creeping over the ton.

Finally a February great grey shrike for the boy. I found this one from the car at Hålehallstugan at the end of the day. Always excellent.

Gröthögarna circuit

Great grey shrikes are a daily occurrence at the moment. This one was patrolling the shoreline at Dalen today.

Had a three hour walk around Gröthögarna and Ripagården this morning. A light southerly breeze kept me company. Visible migrants were finchy and thrushy today with two goldfinch, five twite and one redpoll competing in the sky with a good number of redwing and a few fieldfare. One mistle thrush was amongst the many thrushes gorging on berries on the headland. A 1k peregrine tabbing south may well have been migrating too. One of the best birds of the walk was yet another great grey shrike, it will be a record month for this species for me no doubt.

Ripagården produced another 1K wheatear, a fresh-plumaged and strikingly rufous bird. A good look in the plantation produced just goldcrests and the usual suspects (including at least one crested tit). The walk back was enlivened by bumping into a female lesser spotted woodpecker, a real surprise.

Getting late for northern wheatear now and every one I glimpse raises my hopes of a rare wheatear. Desert wheatear in Halland today...

Lesser spotted woodpecker - a new bird for me on Gröthögarna.

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.

Birds everywhere

I must admit I have been thinking that things have gone a bit quiet birdwise here in BK of late. But yesterday when I read Leif Dehlin's returns from Ripagården, I was pleased to note that I may well be wrong and not a little gripped off too. So with a free morning together Mrs B and I headed out that way.

Only my second Gröthögarna great grey shrike, showed well but briefly before melting away.

First stop of the day was at Vråen, just before Ripagården, the bunting/finch flock was right up against the farmhouse this morning but behaved reasonably well and luckily the farmer here is happy that the crop sown for birds attracts both birds and birders! We got a few glimpses of Lapland bunting as the birds repeatedly spooked into the trees and then two flew out over our heads, calling away and landed conveniently on the road for 'scope views. Also here five reed buntings. The rest of a chilly hour here was spent cursing at a flock of 40-odd redpoll, sure enough after an hour a good Arctic redpoll had been processed but as always I wonder how many there really were. I am not sure there is a more frustrating exercise than trying to determine Arctic from mealy redpoll. Mrs B could be heard chortling behind me as my invective got steadily more fruity.

A young white-tailed eagle, up in the air over Ripagården with an adult this morning.

Ripagården had a big flock of 200 mallard which included just one teal and two wigeon. A snowy walk around Gröthögarna produced more notable birds; red-throated diver (1 south), redwing (2, my first for ages), goldcrest (5) and best of all a great grey shrike. Out on Tjällran was at least one purple sandpiper. Back at Ripagården a scan of the bay revealed a black-throated diver (1), two splendid white-tailed eagles and in the wood behind we could hear black woodpecker. Driving back past Vråen we had a gang of four snow buntings and nearby a single skylark, the latter looking set to overwinter. Great walk, packed with great birds.

The adult white-tailed eagle.

Hat-trick on Öland

We all went to Öland for three days and it was fab!

The main drag through the Ottenby reserve down to the southern tip of Öland is excellent for getting close views of stuff - this fantastic grey grey shrike stopped us in our tracks as we headed down for the accentor on Day 1.

The star of our long-weekend was this MEGA black-throated accentor! It stayed just long enough for us to get amazing views down to two metres on the Friday and then disappeared overnight in time for the Saturday crowds (sounds familiar...). Team Benstead does not twitch much but this bird was truly splendid.

We rounded off Day 1 by finding this skulky reed warbler (in October!) at Sebybadet. The weather had gone wrong for continuing arrivals of Sibes sadly but the family appreciated the incredible blue-sky birding.

Sebybadet also produced my first waxwings of the autumn, they should be on-patch now too I reckon.

The highlights of Day 2 included my first Swedish dusky warbler (Triberga läge) and also my first steppe eagle (here with a white-tailed eagle). After ignominiously dipping one in Skåne with Terry on New Year' Day, it was a wonderful moment when this sub-adult bird appeared overhead with four white-tailed eagles at Ottenby.

Other highlights included a strong supporting cast of stuff at Ottenby including a good red phalarope, purple sandpiper, black redstart and bearded tit, an Arctic redpoll at Kapelludden and rough-legs were on the move throughout the island. We also saw more birders than I have seen all year. Great trip!

Patch winter magic - 11/12/09

After wrangling Numbers 1 & 2 to the UK and back alone this week, Mrs B decided that I deserved a day in the field, and what a great day it was. Kicked off at Klarningen. Wildfowl present in good numbers again. This time geese took centre stage with over 200 greylag and 160 Canada geese floating about. Duck numbers were much lower than last time with just mallard (9) and wigeon (7). Inevitably parking at the usual spot flushed everything off and as the geese flew I noticed a few smaller 'grey' geese in amongst the greylag. They did not go far, quickly dropping into a field on the other side of the E6 and just on patch. I gave chase and found myself looking at a large gathering of geese and at least 17 whooper swans. Working through the goose flock eventually revealed 6 rossicus bean geese and 7 white-fronted geese. Superb! Both these species are scarce on patch. At least 400 Canada geese and 300 greylag geese in this flock too.

Nice to see Eskilstorps pools full of water for a change, after the dry spring we had this year. This is a government-funded wetland creation scheme, shame about the powerlines but it looks fantastic for dragonflies. Did not get here this year in the summer, but hopefully next year the kids will all be up to the walk in, vehicular access not being possible sadly.

The star bird at Eskilstorp pools today was this excellent great grey shrike.

Management on the farm at Eskilstorp includes plenty of game cover crops, this one is supporting a large flock of tree sparrows and yellowhammers at the moment.

One of the exciting features of Eskilstorp pools is the neighbouring tall wet grassland. Multiple-ownership and a lack of drainage have meant that it has effectively been abandoned. The high water level seems to be naturally preventing scrubbing over, it has not been grazed for over ten years and is good for grasshopper warbler in spring. If corncrake ever turns up on patch it will be here.

Decided to walk in to Eskilstorp pools next and this proved to be a great idea. I was greeted by a variety of raptors; a hen harrier (ringtail) slipped away feinting at a perched rough-legged buzzard as it did so, a kestrel sat about and there may well have been a light passage of buzzards south. Best of all though was a superb great grey shrike scoped sitting up on a birch, later I watched it butchering a bird in an apple tree surrounded by hungry blackbirds! From the reeds the lone call of a reed bunting emanated, they really are staying late this year.

Next wetland in the chain is the pit at Petersberg, this little site often produces a surprise and today it was a great brace of redhead smew. Also here were 40+ tufted duck and 25 mallard.

Last stop of the day was for a few of the sites around Torekov. The rev was quiet with very few species; highlights included grey heron (15), mallard (243), wigeon (44), goldeneye (35), redshank (3) and snow bunting (8). No sign of any purple sandpipers again. Påarps Mal was the last stop of the day. Walking down past the house, I flushed a huge 1K female goshawk, which doubled back and showed well in flight. They really are monsters. Also here a black woodpecker calling away. Not surprisingly, considering the close proximity of a goshawk, there was nothing smaller than a mute swan down at the coast. A single pipit flushed south and may well have been a water pipit...