10092012

 Ovipositing Aeshna mixta, the most common dragonfly on the wing at this time of the year.

Had a great walk out on Monday morning last but have been too busy doing office-work and getting the garden in shape ahead of my trip to northern mexico next week to blog it out. Walked Gröthögarna up to Ripagården and back. The highlight was a poor encounter with the bluethroat near Norrebrohamn, whiclt trying to find it though a red-throated pipit flew over south. The bushes were not exactly heaving with migrants but there was a steady trickle of sub-saharan stuff and finches were noticeable for perhaps the first time this autumn...

 Aeshna mixta

 A common wasp chewing the head off a Lestes sponsa!

In the afternoon taking advantage of some quite warm weather I hunted dragonflies at a few sites around BK - Aeshnas were dominant with grandis, cyanea and especially mixta on the wing at all the sites checked. Best bird was a hobby over Vysterborg but no sign of any Sympecma here despite a good kick about.

photo-bugging gets addictive

 A feeding Anax imperator at Lönhult allowed me to play with the higher shutter speeds available to me now and to fully appreciate the ridiculously fast motor drive on the 7D (8 frames/sec!!).

Headed out this morning with the kids to check the pond at Lönhult for dragonflies. We did well recording both Anax imperator and Cordulia aenea for the first time at the site, along with Orthetrum cancellatum. The Atlas work ticks along slowly despite the variable weather, in fact today demonstrated that it is worth getting out whatever the weather. We quickly checked the ditch at Ljungbyholm too this morning, no Odonata at all amazingly, but a few meadow browns and ringlets on the wing here.

After swim-school we headed out again under overcast conditions to check Bränneslätt again. Light rain fell scuppering once again our chances of a reasonable dragonfly survey, but we especially enjoyed the huge female raft spider found by Number 1. Last stop of the day was by the reedbed at Hulrugered which produced just one Calopteryx virgo (my first of the year in BK) and some other classy invertebrates including the splendid robberfly (Laphria flava) and a female scorpion-fly (Panorpa communis).

Number 1 earned a doughnuts for the team by finding this splendid raft spider (Dolomedes fimbriatus) at Bränneslätt today - a big female carrying a large egg bundle.

 An Aradus bug at Bränneslätt - not sure which one yet...

The splendid Laphria flava - a beast of a robber-fly found at Hulrugered reedbed.

A female scorpion-fly (Panorpa communis) also at Hulrugered today. [check out the beak on that! honorary bird I reckon]

grey plover

This lost-looking 2K little gull was resting at Torekov when we arrived.

Number 2 and I had a short session up the coast this morning. We started at Norra Ängalag, no sign of a big fallout here this morning sadly. On the 9th the car park trees were crawling with willow warblers, today almost total silence. An hour here produced a year-tick in the form of a (presumably) 2K grey plover slipping south. Otherwise it was rather quiet apart from a single honey buzzard over and a close singing thrush nightingale (not that quiet then!).

We moved to Torekov rev next. A 2K little gull was resting in the small bay at the base of the rev and a single turnstone remains. 120 barnacle geese flew through north, a peripheral flock of the huge movement of this species being reported through southern and south-eastern Sweden today.

On the way home we checked out Lönhult damm. This little pond surrounded by agriculture never fails to amaze me, this time we had great views of a female merlin and a feeding greenshank. Later whilst doing the school-run, I stopped for a harrier which proved to be ringtail hen harrier. Nice comparison with the pallid harrier of two days ago. Just need a Monty's now for the month!

Crane fly

This lone crane circled the field at Klarningen a few times but decided not to land in the end and continued on north.

Finally a day in the field. Kicked off at Klarningen which was rather quiet but enjoyed a reasonable amount of passing trade which made it all worthwhile. Wildfowl on the ground included three female pintail, eight shoveler (mostly male) and the elusive male garganey. Four coot have taken up residence, which I am slightly sad to say excites me greatly, it feels like a proper wetland now! Waders present included a single little ringed plover, two ruff and two greenshank. Many of these had moved on by the time I left though. Flybys included a single crane, an osprey and a 2K little gull.

Petersberg produced my first BK crested newt this morning. This site is slated for development if they ever finish the tunnel under Hallandsåsen, be interesting to read the Environmental impact assessment. Do not build on it - would be my advice. Unmanaged land and open water are at a premium in BK.

Next stop was Petersberg (the hunt for a BK water rail continues...). A singing male redpoll was an over-looked year-tick here but the main action came from the herps, with a fiesty grass snake and a great crested newt in the bag (the latter my first in Sweden). Also moor frog singing here. In 2012 I am targetting the herps of southern Sweden as well as birding and doing my dragonfly atlas work so it should be interesting (for me anyway!).

A quick look at Stensåns mynning revealed a number of scoter offshore but the easterly wind was cutting up the surface and made detailed examination of the birds difficult. If we get a calm day I will go back though, scoter numbers are good along this stretch and there must be something rare lurking in amongst them. From here I could see terns off Båstad so I checked it out. Two Sandwich terns were resting on offshore rocks and hawking over the sea were at least 13 common terns. Nice to have them back. A boat put up the duck offshore and revealed at least one Slavonian grebe panicking amongst the velvet scoter.

Had lunch up at Salmon Heights (Salomonhög), not a bad place for a house really, drumming snipe and displaying curlew overhead in the garden, very atmospheric. Nearby I had a pair of marsh harrier (breeders or migrating birds?). Last stop of the day was the tiny Lönhult dämm, this site rarely fails to surprise me and today it produced my first common sandpiper of the year.