Less than a week after the Balearic Shearwater, an Aquatic Warbler was found at Stora Amundön in the southern parts of town. Equal to the Balearic in terms of rarity - 26th find in Sweden or so - it was also the first in the county and uncommon in other ways since most of the previous finds were either ringed or found dead.
This bird was discovered around 9 in the morning, but we didn't go there until 4 in the afternoon, since E was at work and many warblers are more active in the evening anyway. When we arrived at the scene it hadn't been seen since the discovery, and so it had to be flogged from the reeds to be seen at all. By then there were probably a hundred bird watchers there.
Trampling through the reed proved a successful move and suddenly the warbler was found again and zoomed about from time to time, at one time perching in a small oak. A very nice tick! Pity I hadn't had dinner before leaving home and also a bit boring that photographing the warbler was impossible without getting mud in your shoes, so I took pictures of the local House Sparrows instead :)
On Monday I life ticked Manx Shearwater and today saw another one and also life ticked Balearic Shearwater. If we'd stayed at Kråkudden for another fifteen minutes, I could have life ticked Sooty Shearwater and two hours later came a Cory's Shearwater. Good day for shearwaters to say the least.
On Monday the 19th I initially suggested a short afternoon trip targeting Marsh Warbler, but we ended up with a trip to Halland to life tick Terek Sandpiper. While there, we decided to go a few kilometers further south to look at a Dotterel which showed itself very nicely. As a bonus, a Short-eared Owl turned up and put on a very good show, first idly patrolling over the fields and then suddenly decided to have a snack. Another life tick! Now properly warmed up we decided to go another couple of kilometers south to Båtafjorden, where an Egyptian Goose had been reported. While we were there it got too dark to distinguish one goose species from another, so we went home again, happy even without the goose.
Too tired now to relate at any length the story of our adventures by Torslandaviken. That has to wait until tomorrow (later today, depending on time zone...)
Instead I can tell you that I really love Brudarebacken! :)
Stonechat (Saxicola torquata) young female.
I managed to hitch a ride to Brudarebacken and did not only get the life tick of Stonechat, but also Black Redstart and a year tick in the shape of an early Whinchat. As a nice bonus we also had six Ring Ouzels and a Kestrel eating a vole or similar. Got some pictures, but they are soo bad quality because of high ISO, too great distance for the lens and no tripod.
Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros)
It's probably not a bad idea to tell all non-Sweden dwellers that Black Redstart breeds in Sweden but isn't exactly common, while Stonechat is a semi-common guest that turns up 10-35 times a year in the country according to svwiki.
Saturday meant a trip to Halland. The main target was the Blyth's Pipit skulking by a beach there. We spent two hours standing around watching the more impatient twitchers trying to flog the little easterling from it's hiding. I'm generally against scaring the birds into showing themselves, but I wasn't going to make a fuss with all those seasoned birdwatchers, especially since they gave me another life tick when a Jack Snipe got tired of their antics and got airborne. In my opinion Jack Snipes should be left alone this late in winter, but since the weather is rather mild - I even saw some insects flying around - I let it pass this time.
At last, the pipit was found, but I only managed to see it clearly for about five seconds before it hid in the grass again. Tick nonetheless!!
On the way home we stopped by Getterön and got a well earned year-tick of Iceland Gull.
Only two lifers away from this year's goal now. Kittiwake and Purple Sandpiper are rather easy at this time of year, if you're in the right place...
I wish I was unemployed again sometimes. And had a car and driver's license so I could go and have a look at the Hoopoe north of here and the Oriental Turtle Dove in Falköping. I can only hope that at least the Dove stays until I have time to travel for the best part of a sunday. It did last year, and the year before :)
Obviously didn't go for the goose as planned in the previous entry. Got Spotted Crake the same evening on the other hand. He'd been on the spot for a couple of nights but the weather was changing so we safed him as quick as possible. Got a decent sound recording that I will upload when this computer and my camera can reach an agreement...
On July 15, the day after mr Crake, we went for the goose. On the way there I got about a million July-ticks, a year tick (Arctic Skua/Parasitic Jaeger) and a life tick (Curlew Sandpiper). Got a chance to get snapshots of Curlew Sandpiper and Bar-tailed Godwit with my Minolta XG9 and 400 mm lens. Might get good, the light was just perfect.
After crossing the rest of the relatively remote island we found the Barnacle Geese with whom the Red-Breasted was camping out. Wasn't easy to spot despite the differences in size and plumage.
In essence, last weekend was jolly good birding all over. Tomorrow there will be more carpentry at Hönö. The wind is just right for Manx Shearwater...
A Bee-eater was seen a couple of days ago in Torslandaviken and adjacent areas. My usual twitching crew were on location almost within the hour.
Bee-eaters aren't known for their patience, but this one was held in place by moderate but steady rain, so quite a lot of people got there in time. After we left it went back to Torslandaviken and was also seen there the next day.
I got a decent picture, but the computer I'm using right now doesn't want to speak to my camera, so it'll have to wait.
Ticked the Iberian Chiffchaff today. The most rare bird I've ticked so far. We decided not to go for the Greenish Warbler since it hadn't been reported in over 24 hours. So we went to see Egyptian Goose instead. There were three of them. Another life tick of considerable dignity even though they are feral zoo birds.Third life tick for the day was the quite common Ruff, which had so far totally evaded my every attempt :)
As I checked todays (June 6th) observations at about 11:45 in the morning I realised there was a Blyth's Reed Warbler less than thirty minutes drive from home. I soon got a text message about just that and five past 12 we were in the car.
At the location were already quite a lot of cars and people and the warbler could be heard from well over 50 meters away. Soon we found him in a row of bushes in the field by the road. Managed to record some sound but all the files were quite full of the sounds of heavy traffic and birders in conversation.
The Blyth's Reed Warbler is not an extremely rare guest in Sweden but the first one here was found in 1958 and this bird was the fourth or fifth in the Gothenburg area ever. Very nice!
Singing Blyth's Reed Warbler
In the evening I paid another visit with a friend. This time there were birders in the middle of the field, on the other side of the bushes. Even though they were very careful, they stood a bit too close in my opinion. As I ended up standing there too, I should perhaps not complain too much. This time, only one or two seconds of song were heard in about an hour. We got nice Common Kestrel and Stock Pigeon observations though.
This was my eighth life tick in six days and a good one too. Of the 22 warbler species seen fairly often in Sweden, I only have five to go. Two breed semi-rarely in southern Sweden, one strictly in northern Sweden and the other two are rare visitors from east just like the Blyth's.
I also checked the pond on campus today. The Mallard family is gone. Not sure if they have had time to get fully fledged or if they were eaten. The resident Moorhens took their young for a walk on the water-lilies.
Within 20 minutes of my last entry, we were on the road to Säve. Quite a lot of people were there already and mr Warbler showed himself very well. Managed to get a pic through the binoculars, crappy as usual but hey :) Gots to edit six minutes of film into a good piece of sound record. Lots of traffic and conversation...
A Blyth's Reed Warbler has been reported from the northern parts less than an hour ago. As with the Savi's Warbler and the Collared Flycatcher less than 11 observed in the Gothenburg area.
Started the birding day with a dash south for a Black Redstart that had been reported the day before from Mölndal. Dipped good and proper :) Saw male Common Kestrel and female Pheasant though.
When I got home the probable Savi's Warbler in Välen had been ID:d but I waited until nightfall to go there. Very boring trip! Tram to the end of the line and then slightly more than a kilometer to walk. Couldn't find the right street so I took another one which resulted in a 30 minute detour in quite the wrong direction... Hooray for bus line maps and compasses!
I heard the warbler long before I realised I did, but AC power thingies don't become suddenly silent. Found the tower and stood there for a while. Some Lapwings, a Redshank, a Ringed Plover and a Common Snipe were disturbed by my presence and made sound recording impossible for a while, but when they settled down I filmed with my digital camera and got an OK sound record.
Singing Savi's Warbler and warning Redshank (plus some cars)
But, my luck wasn't at end. I found a bus stop and realised that I wouldn't have to walk all the way back. From bus to tram that didn't really go where I wanted, then waiting 20 minutes for the right tram down town. Started out at ten past ten, got home at five minutes to 1. Bleh! Tired...
I wonder what will show up tomorrow? An Oriole would be nice, but I'll settle for a Rosefinch :) The Savi's Warbler was life tick 180 and I sport an average of 2.56 life-ticks per week this year. Perhaps I'm better off without a car? The accumulated mass of ticks would be unmanageable :D
The Great Reed Warbler was just about the first bird we heard when we got to Hökälla today. After less than ten minutes we managed to see it too as it climbed a reed and then decided to fly over to a bush. Nice! Strolled along the footpath to the tower by the northern pond. If the numbers are correct we found a total of 55 different species. Whinchat, Common Kestrel with babies, Green Woodpecker fledgling to mention some. At the tower I got life tick two for the day; Water Rail. Quite unexpected even though I learned that it had been heard the very same morning. Another very good birding day! When will the luck turn?
Tomorrow (later today) I'll probably try to get Black Redstart. Also, reportedly there seems to be a Savi's Warbler in the southwest. Needs investigating!
About simultaneously with the discovery of the Collared Flycatcher yesterday, a Great Reed Warbler was reported from Hökälla in the northern suburbs. We didn't go there yesterday since the trip alone would take well over an hour from where we were, but today we'll go get him :)
Helped leading an excursion for children in Slottsskogen today. We saw Wood Warbler, male Common Redstart and both the Firecrests. We also ringed a litter of Blue Tits. Blue Tit, about two weeks old and an infertile egg.
As I came home I got a text message about Collared Flycatcher in Gothenburg, the first one in about ten years. Had to clean the apartment first, but then we went for it. It moved around a lot but sang loud and clear so we heard it for about ten minutes before we saw it. In the Gothenburg area that tick has almost as much dignity as the Nightingale. :)
Went to Hönö to build a new nest for birders. Not a stunning amount of birds on the east side of the island though. But then again, every bird I saw was a new month-tick :) Common Tern, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Linnet, etc.
Went out in the afternoon to look for Red-breasted Flycatcher, and we found it too. Didn't manage to see it, but life-tick none the less. Month ticks there included Great Spotted Woodpecker, Black Woodpecker and Grey Wagtail.
Yes, I got the River Warbler today! It sat in the reeds between a bicycle path and the highway. Tried to tape the song but it was too disturbed by traffic, Marsh Warblers and a very energetic Thrush Nightingale. As i donned my backpack and marched off to the excavation site (Had to be dropped off 3 kilometers away for the Warbler) i got a bonus. Life tick number two in less than twenty minutes presented itself in the form of a startled Honey Buzzard in the underbrush beside the road. Needed some thinking to ID it though, so I wasn't absolutely sure until I got home and saw another report of Honey Buzzard from about the same location and the same time.
Later on my little walk, I took a bad turn and strolled out of Ytterby heading north instead of west. The walk back to Ytterby and the site took an extra hour. But on the other hand I saw a beautiful female Green Woodpecker sitting on the railway-track halfway between Ytterby and the site.
Tomorrow there might be time for birding, but mainly we will start building another shelter at the western point of Hönö in the northern archipelago.
There are indications, but not exactly evidence, that there are actually two Firecrests in Slottsskogen. They might even be nesting since something that resembled mating has been observed and one Firecrest was seen carrying nest material or food for the female in its beak. Only eight cases of nesting has been reported in Sweden and one of them was Firecrest/Goldcrest hybridization, so it's a rare event if it turns out to be correct.
Went to look for the Penduline tit again, this time on the right stretch of river... Heard it calling constantly for two hours, but saw it only for five seconds or so. Also got this year's first Spotted Flycatcher and Marsh Warbler.
A cup of coffee later a man from the birding club called and suggested that we'd go to Ytterby and get the Nightingale (rare in Sweden, as mentioned before). Said and done. Shortly before I was going to take the tram to our meeting point, another guy called and told me there was a Firecrest in the city park Slottsskogen. In the end we went first for Nightingale and then Firecrest.
This Nightingale was very shy in daylight and stayed silent if there are people within 30 meters. We sat there for an hour before it sang for a few seconds. Ten minutes later another very short song. Back to Gothenburg to look for the Firecrest. He had refrained from singin (probably since it's rude to sing with your mouth full) so just finding him took well over an hour even though he just flew back and forth between an oak tree and a spruce tree looking for food :)
All in all, an extremely good birding day! Three new species, one of them new to that part of town, the other two not even found yearly within the county. I happy!
26 year old birder from Gothenburg, Sweden.
My goal for 2007 was get above 200 life-ticks. I managed 215 and will attempt to get to 250 in 2008. A lot harder!
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
Rock Pipit (Anthus petrosus)
Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus) DSLR-digiscoped, hence quality.
Stonechat (Saxicola torquata) young female.
Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros)
Moorhen, less than two weeks old.
Blue Tit, about two weeks old and an infertile egg.