swifts!

Managed a quick look at Klarningen before a trip to the dentists today. Things were much the same as yesterday, no sign of any white-winged black terns despite a huge influx into Skåne during the morning. The male shoveler was still loafing and had been joined by a male teal. Out on the water a red-necked grebe was new-in and a few swifts made an appearance. Always good to have them back.

In the afternoon the kids and I checked a number of wetlands searching for the black stork. No joy in BK, but Martin Åkesson just rang to say he has just seen it this evening back at Baramossa in Laholm kommun... Our searching produced no dragonflies (no sun) but we did bump into a pair of long-tailed tits, a long overdue year-tick.

ivory gull in BK!

Tasty

I could not get myself going this morning, despite a howling westerly, but news of an ivory gull north of BK in Halland got me going. If I could not bird at least I could twitch! I arrived at Laxvik to find the bird had flown and I knew where it was going so I headed straight back to BK. Arriving in the car park at Båstad in time for Martin Åkesson to ring and let me know the bird had passed Mellbystrand. Tension mounted I sat on the breakwater. The bird reached Skummeslövsstrand where Martin caught up with it (heroic), then Malenbadet. Martin arrived in Båstad. We waited and waited and then noticed birders on the other breakwater looking excited. Bugger!

Martin kindly kept watch and promised to ring if the bird flew and I shuffled round the harbour praying for it to stay. Luckily it was feeding on a dead bird and stayed put. What a beauty and huge everlasting thanks go to Martin. After filling my card (so to speak) I headed for the shops to buy it some fish. Feeding it frozen herring through the afternoon in front of a packed gallery was very pleasant and an occupation ideally suited to my weakened and emotional state.

wild wolf chase

Scrambled the family twice today and headed off to search parts of NW Skåne for wolf. One has been reported on-and-off all this year but was finally seen by birders near Vegeholm this morning and got on the grapevine. This may be the same wolf that was implicated in the death of three sheep in BK in mid-January. Anyway we gave it a good go this morning before heading home for a grilled lunch at Ripagården empty-handed.

It was not over though, whilst I was cooking dinner in the evening the phone rang, it was Martin Åkesson. His wife had just passed the wolf on the E6, it was trying to go east across the carriageway but not having much fun in the heavy Sunday afternoon traffic. We all piled into the car again and headed down the motorway. Suffice to say we did not see the animal but it may still be around...

Cuckoo!

I must be bonkers because it was not until after tea last night that I finally went down for the last hour of daylight and what would have been an epic seawatch if I had missed my tea and gone straight away! Highlights were my first skuas of the year, a dainty 1K long-tailed skua that angled in from the NW and bounced off again and at least two Arctic skuas. I managed to miss at least one sooty shearwater and a red phalarope, ho hum. Hopefully more of them later, if the autumn weather continues on in the same vein we could have a bumper year for seabirds. Two grey plover past close were nice. Got home to find that Martin Åkesson had found a 2K Mediterranean gull just up the beach and off-patch of course...

Today I decided to walk the beach between Båstad and Eskilstorpsstrand, in case the Med gull was still around and to see if any wrecked seabirds were present. Highlights on this long and often wet walk were as follows; osprey (1, Båstad), Arctic tern (3), guillemot (2 plus another dead), knot (singles at Båstad and Eskilstorpsstrand), little stint (1 south at Hemmeslövsstrand), sanderling (1, Eskilstorpsstrand) and little gull (4 1K birds south at Hemmeslövsstrand and another resting there on the way back). A fall of wheatears was very evident all along the stretch walked.

Moving on I headed for Torekov, picking up a cuckoo over the car at Lugnet, just outside town. The rev was looking pretty busy. At least 35 wheatears grounded here, quite a spectacle. Waders hanging about included; golden plover (84), grey plover (3), knot (1) and bar-tailed godwit (2). As I watched a magic merlin shot along just above the sea and bumped a flock of starlings feeding in the seaweed, emerging somehow with a greenfinch! A neat trick! Looking south I could see a lot of calidrids feeding on the weed by the harbour. Closer inspection revealed a flock of 60 dunlin which included four little stints. After two sparse years for this species I seem to be back on track.

Last stop of the day was Glimminge Plantering, the beach here produced a single shelduck, seven knot, five dunlin and a brace of greenshank. Then it started to rain again...

Swedish tick in BK!

This morning (another sun-drenched affair) we took our annual outing to Hallands Väderö, we had been on the island for all of 15 minutes when the phone rang, it was Martin Åkesson telling me that there was a hoopoe at Burensvik (back on the mainland and a much-wanted BK tick for me)...

En route to Torekov and the ferry to Hallands Väderö with Team Benstead I had a single house martin at Västra Karup, my first of the year. The mirror-calm sea allowed views across to Vinga Skär from the mainland before we got on the boat. Many auks loafing off the end of the island or standing about on shore, including guillemot (20), razorbill (20) and black guillemot (25). From the boat we had a close view of Vrenen which had a massive 70 black guillemot around it.

After an SMS from Martin Åkesson almost as soon as we got on the island, telling us of a hoopoe at Burensvik, we only had time for a walk up to the lighthouse and back along the Tångakärret trail before taking penultimate boat off the island. Hallands Väderö is a magical place, no doubt, and of course there must have been some mega lurking somewhere but we did not find it. Instead we enjoyed the clamour of the gulls, the spring bird-song, the 12 grass snakes sunning themselves along the edge of one of the pools and the glorious views and weather. There were few surprises but it was nice to see rock pipit (they vanish from the mainland in mid-April) and a woodcock flew past us near the lighthouse. I tried not to fret but it was great when the ferry hove into view and we could get back to have a crack at the hoopoe (after buying ice-creams...).

Håkan Johansson had kindly been keeping me updated on the hoopoe's movements and whilst flighty it sounded nailed down to a particular area. I arrived just as the gallery was starting to break up and everyone was drifting off back to their cars. They pointed me in the right direction and I snuck up on the bird. Fantastic and we all enjoyed the next hour and a half searching it out and watching it feed. A ring ouzel was calling occasionally from the juniper but I never saw it.

My first BK tick this year and what a beauty!

Foggy Sunday

Did a short session before breakfast at Påarps Mal, but a hard frost overnight meant that the coast was fog bound. As I drove towards the site at dawn I was constantly dodging grounded robins and song thrushes. The car park had a good number of calling brambling too. Out in the gloom I could hear small numbers of grey and golden plover and a lone dunlin.The fog lifted briefly and I enjoyed hunting amongst the goldcrests in the coastal juniper - just one chiffchaff and one blackcap.

After lunch we all went out to check Klarningen to find Martin Åkesson on site, we had a pleasant chat which made up for the low number of birds on site. The geese seem to have gone through and we could only scare up about 100 wigeon, 32 golden plover, a dunlin and 8 ruff. Buzzard migration was obvious though with 55 through in an hour. Big day for them.

The king is back!

Warm and fine today, our first chance to appreciate the warmth of the spring sun. Did a bit of essential gardening in the morning. Two white wagtails went low over the garden before lunch.

In the afternoon we went to Haga for a walk but surprisingly little was moving (not just the garden then), one chiffchaff was singing and song thrushes were evident too. Quickly moved on to Kattvik and Yttre Kattvik but very quiet here too, just a few black guillemots bobbing on a mirror calm sea. Visibility was awful though so I soon got itchy to move again.

Next stop was Ripagården which at least had some birds to look at. At least five chiffchaffs here, they really have come in strongly over the last two days. Also a pair of wheatears (yesterday's bird was my earliest Swedish bird so far) and a couple of white wagtails. Just as we arrived home I got an SMS from the excellent Martin Åkesson, a king eider had been found at Grytskaren. It was the work of just half an hour to nip up and cosh it off and get back for tea. Shame I didn't find it (thanks again Håkan), but I am not grumbling, a great bird!

Birding - 13/12/09

The over-wintering gyr falcon has finally started to settle in the Rönnen area at last, so we thought we would give it a go this morning. This bird was first seen in January 2005 and has returned every winter ever since. It seems to roost at Rönnen but can be absent or out of view for lengthy periods during the day. We arrived too late this morning and had to make do with great views of offshore Slavonian grebes (3), red-necked grebe (1) and black-throated diver (1).

Next we tried our luck at Sandön. A big flock of 70 dunlin and two oystercatcher were all we had time for. The phone went, it was a message from Martin Åkesson (thanks again) across the border, someone had reported some shorelark on the patch at Lervik. I never get these calls when I am actually on the patch... So off we went round the bay to Lervik, finding three of the shorelark pretty quickly (only my second patch record, be nice if they stick around). Nearby Grytskaren had just two curlew of note.

Dropping off the family I headed to Ripagården alone, this time chasing another bird, reported yesterday by Leif Dehlin - a black redstart. This also surrendered quickly, feeding on rocks below the harbour wall. Nice one - only my second patch record too and like shorelark still to be added to my self-found list. Also here an amazing total of 6 little grebes and a single redshank.

Another phalarope!

A rainy hot-dog grilling session at Grytskaren with the kids produced a few birds. The little bay at Lervik had waders again; greenshank (2), ruff (3), knot (8) and dunlin (1). Nearby at Grytskaren were more knot (16), bar-tailed godwit (10), greenshank (1), common sandpiper (2) and ringed plover (3). Ranarpstrand was quiet but muppets were scaring off the birds again...

Red-necked phalarope again! They're like blooming buses - my third BK bird in three weeks. The first was a blatant twitch, the second might have been self-found, but this one was all mine. Nice find and great to get at Klarningen. It was feeding avidly and evidently finding plenty to snack on.

After tea I nipped out, supposedly for a short session at Klarningen. Almost the first bird I looked at was a red-necked phalarope! After two years with none on the patch this was my third in three weeks and self-found finally. I rang out the news to Martin Åkesson in neighbouring Laholm, as I thought he might be interested and he said he would come down. So I stuck around to meet him. In the interval I crept up on the phalarope until it was feeding just two meters away. Magic stuff. Had a good natter with Martin when he arrived but we were forced to leave the site by a vicious little squall. Other birds here during the session included ruff (4), golden plover (30) and ringed plover (1).

Klarningen just gets better and better...