whooper trooper

Part of a huge flock of wildfowl feeding in fields in Ängalag was today's treat, a huge congregation by local standards and including at least one tundra swan, two pink-feet and two white-fronted geese.

Managed to drag myself away from the computer this morning and get out in the field for a grey and wet afternoon of birding. We screeched to a halt in Ängalag when we spotted a huge flock of whooper swans in a fallow field. Closer inspection revealed a lot of wildfowl, with counts of whooper swan (270), greylag goose (237), barnacle goose (100) and canada goose (69) making it the biggest flock of grazing wildfowl I have ever seen in BK. In amongst all this we managed to pick up one tundra swan, two white-fronted geese and best-of-all another two pink-footed geese (perhaps the same individuals first seen on Tuesday). Epic stuff and indicative of the early move north by migrants this year due to the mild weather.

Afterwards Torekovs rev in the rain did not seem half as exciting and we did not linger long. A black woodpecker flew by and out on the rev was a single snow bunting.

finally a full day in the field

Finally a day off and a chance to catch up with a few things that have been spotted over the last week. The day started well with an icterine warbler singing from the garden! Hit Tvehöga first and took about twenty minutes to track down the singing red-breasted flycatcher, difficult amongst the noise created by all the other songbirds in this nice patch of beech forest. A quick look at Klarningen revealed a singing marsh warbler near the tower and some fluffy moorhen chicks, but little else of note.

Driving through Hulrugered on my way to check some dragonfly sites I stopped for a roadside pair of cranes and again for a mistle thrush. Bränneslätt mire was very wet and full of Odonates, my first Leucorrhina dubia and Cordulia aenea of the year were long overdue and there were plenty of the former here as usual.

Leucorrhina dubia - my first of the year.

Next stop was the pools at Bösketorp, always good for Odonates, there was plenty to look at as usual. New for the year here were Leucorrhina rubicunda  and  Coenagrion lunulatum. Birds included my first little grebe for the year (!) and a single green sandpiper.

Leucorrhinia rubicunda - note the reddish pterostigma, completely yellow costa and the larger broader abdominal spots.

Coenagrion hastulatum

 

Coenagrion lunulatum

In the afternoon I searched Vysterborg again hoping for Sympecma fusca, I had one female here last year and have yet to repeat the feat in BK... Plenty of Odos though with Libellula depressa (male, first of year) and Brachytron pratense (ditto) taking the honours. Some bird breeding evidence here as well, with young coot and shelduck being my first of the year.

Brachytron pratense at Vysterborg

Last stop of the day was the pond at Lönhult, here there were two 2K whooper swans feeding on waste seed potatoes as well as more Coenagrion lunulatum and a single Brachytron pratense.

Whopper goose or whooper swan

Larking about with the kids

Numbers 1 & 2 are still off school with a bug, the antibiotics are being pumped in and they seem to be responding. Today we ventured out to Klarningen where I built them a huge nest in the bird-tower. En route we headed over the hill picking up several flocks of fieldfares, six mistle thrushes and best of all we caught up with Ekenberg's flock of 12 (yes, twelve!) woodlark at Ehrenstorp. An amazing record and always great to see.

Whooper swan numbers are still building at Klarningen, with 70 on site and another 14 on nearby Eskilstorps dammar.

Klarningen over three hours was almost as good, the goose flock produced two taiga bean geese, the whooper swan flock had built to 70 and still included the two tundra swans. A solitary crane dropped in unnoticed and commenced feeding along the back - at last! Another year-tick popped up in the shape of a single snipe. No sign of any ringed plovers today, were they just passing through? Raptors featured too with rough-legged buzzard (1) and my first kestrel this month, the latter almost certainly migrating. A stiff easterly blew throughout the day and seems to have reduced the flow of migrants in the last few days.

The tundra swans gave us a flyby too this morning.

Last day of thaw

The ten-day thaw has put lots of water on the fields and roads. This flooded former beet field at Öllövsstrand attracted a big flock of mallard along with whooper swans and the first Canada geese in BK this year (maybe). Good to see wildfowl looking relaxed but the weather is set to go sub-zero again from tonight for at least the next ten days...

A game of two halves today with sort session in the morning and afternoon. Checked out Axeltorpsravinen in the morning picking up a dipper year-tick, as well as siskin (2) and treecreeper (heard). Driving over the top to Klarningen I had my first grey heron of the year at Tvehöga - there are few on the coast at the moment and this bird was feeding in a very small stream. My first look at Klarningen for 2011 was predictably quiet - two mute swans were feeding in the large amount of ice-free water and a black woodpecker called from the riverside trees. A quick look at Eskilstorpsstrand rounded off the morning but the foggy conditions were not ideal and I left with just 23 tufted duck in the notebook. Still no scaup for me this year.

In the afternoon I decided to try for redshank at Segelstorpsstrand but skunked out. Did find a nice flooded field at Öllövsstrand though which had whooper swan (16), Canada goose (13) and mallard (200), as well as one grey heron. Looking south I could see a large falcon on Grytskären and so motored south to confirm that it was a peregrine. One day I will get a gyr...

Grasshopper!

Up again early and out the door to look at the Halland part of BK; the main aim being to check various sites for grasshopper warbler. Dawn at Eskilstorpstrand was clear and quiet, a few red-throated divers remained but they hardly bothered with attempting to migrate as the skies darkened and rain threatened soon after dawn. An osprey drifted north with an entourage of irate gulls.

Whooper swan at Petersberg, a pair seem to have taken up residence in the chain of wetlands in this bit of Halland. Sadly the Petersberg brown-field site is scheduled for housing so I will lose this excellent little wetland in due course. Shame!

Petersberg had a confiding whooper swan and the high pitched flight-call of a hawfinch alerted me to its progress overhead. Walked into Eskilstorps dammar next and right at the far end heard a faint and apparently distant snatch of grasshopper warbler song. Looking around I was surprised to find two birds just behind me in the short grass, they dived off into a clump showing streaky undertail coverts. Sub-song? Walking back two spotted flycatcher were out in a bare field, hawking from clumps of earth. As I left it started raining and it set in for the day. This did not stop me visiting Klarningen; not much there though unless you like copulating curlews.

Before I went home I tried for the penduline tit seen yesterday at Skottorp's wetland, typically I failed to appreciate where the bird was and left empty-handed.

Eskilstorpsdammar - water levels are dropping fast here too, but not as quickly as at Klarningen across the river. I think Klarningen is leaking, either through undisabled former drainage pipes or maybe they struck a lens of sand during the land-forming process. The good news is that the windpump is connected up, so it may be operational. The system at Eskilstorp is rainwater dependent (it takes drainage water from agricultural areas to the west), so in dry springs it can be very low.

Birding - 08/03/10

Whooper swan on ice at Båstad this afternoon.

We all got out of the house in the morning for more firewood and birds. We walked the shore between Lervik and Ranarpstrand, hoping to connect with the elusive trio of shorelark that have been lurking all winter. I do not know where they get to, but they were not present this morning. Failing to see these ensured a quiet session, with a smattering of shelduck, as well as ringed plover (2), curlew (1), oystercatcher (1), skylark (50) and just six rock pipit.

In the afternoon whilst the team shopped and ate cakes I walked from Axelstorps Ravine into Båstad. No sign of any dippers throughout the walk sadly. The sea at Båstad was kinder though with whooper swan (6), tufted duck (8), scaup (3) and long-tailed duck (5) of note.

Wildfowl counting - 12/09/09

Sloe birding today - very few waterfowl to count during the survey. I was surprised by the low numbers of eider and red-breasted merganser. Very little passerine migration either, Sweden may have emptied overnight (light winds and clear).

Had a wildfowl count to do today, despite the fact that I was supposed to be at Falsterbo, with Birding Copenhagen and his crack British team. They may have scored big (short-toed eagle and black kite reported) but I will get down there tonight and find out.

Walked the coast between Dagshög and Hovs Hallar (some ten kilometres). There was very little to count and numbers of all species were surprisingly low. I do this count in January as well and it is rammed with waterfowl then and lots of additional interest too (water pipits being a favourite). Highlights were few and far between considering the mileage but included a confiding peregrine, two pintail and a shag at Torekov and two whooper swans at Ripagården. Despite calm sea conditions only six alcids seen; with two each of black guillemot, guillemot and razorbill. No grebes or divers at all! Amazing.

Another atrocious hand-held digi-nightmare from the boy-Benstead. If you squint it gets quite arty. But you get the idea no doubt, what a stunner.

The other good thing about January counts is that the duck look nice.

Counted a few of these today.

We have had a few whooper swans on patch all summer this year, failed breeders no doubt. The southward migration has yet to begin.