cranes back on patch

Had a pleasant morning in the field today, netting the black duck for March and two year-ticks. Kicked off at Påarps mal for the black duck, a brisk westerly was blowing and the bird was hunkered down with mallard on one of the islands offshore. Flying past a few gannets, a red-necked grebe and a red-throated diver.

The rev was unfortunately being disturbed by a 'birder' (or something like that) but I managed to count ringed plover (5), oystercatcher (30) and purple sandpiper (7). IN amongst the ducks my first gadwall of the year (a pair).

Driving in to Rålehamn  I bumped into a mobile flock of 21 redpoll but they did not stick. Offshore  more gannets and even a fulmar past.

Last stop of the day was Klarningen. Geese were feeding here and included a nice total of 68 white-fronteds. Driving home over the top I found a pair of cranes feeding at Ehrenstorp, easily the best bird of the day. Great to have them back!

Wildfowl count - Torekov to Hovs Hallar

Had a great session doing another wildfowl count today. Snow was on the ground but the temperature barely dropped below zero, we might get a winter yet though. Torekov harbour had seven coot (!), 25 over-flying and very noisy twite (year-tick) and I nearly saw a black redstart I think...

The rev produced another noisy flock of 35 twite and at least two purple sandpipers. Rålehamn next and pretty routine here although the mirror calm sea produced the first three razorbill of the day. Out on Tjällran it was pretty quiet, something to do no doubt with the two large white-tailed eagles in residence.

Norra Ängalag produced another year-tick in the shape of a red-necked grebe (finally!) and there were at least ten twite feeding in fields here too. The final Ripagården leg delivered another year-tick (black guillemot), as well as 12 common crossbill and a dunnock. Not a bad count.

Afterwards I checked Klarningen for rough-legged buzzard and scored one. A few thrushes going past south included a single redwing. Checked Petersberg next and discovered that machinery is on site to level the reedbed and pit for development. I never really found anything amazing here over the last seven years but I always enjoyed poking about here for birds and other wildlife and it was one of the few bits of deep, open freshwater in the municipality. It will make reedbed birds harder to find, and destroy one of only two of the municipality's red-necked grebe breeding sites. Why the kommun is building houses in a floodplain is anyone's guess but no doubt money talked.

Swedish tick!

Christmas came late this year - glaucous gull at Torekov, an addition to my Swedish list and therefore a most welcome BK bird.

News of a glaucous gull yesterday on Hallands Väderö sent me out the door with some optimism this morning. I searched the coast between Torekov rev and Norra Ängalag before getting an SMS that Rolf had found it feeding on a dead porpoise just north of Torekov sewage works. Sure enough there it was on arrival and it posed well as it snacked on cetacean flesh. Superb!

Other highlights were few, there seems to have been a slight influx of goosander, whooper swans are still passing, the rev had two goldcrest and offshore Vinga held a pair of resting peregrines.

wildfowl count - part 2 (20140920)

The second part of my September wildfowl count produced some great birds including two BK year-ticks - nice to get a reward sometimes.

Getting out of the car at Torekovs rev just after 0800 was greatly enlivened by a close flyby Richard's pipit, calling well as it flew low south (just flushed from golf course?). Only my second BK record and my first self-found bird. Excellent. The rev was otherwise quiet although six shoveler were present, barnacle geese were obviously moving in modest numbers and a single bar-tailed godwit was only my second of the year...

Next stop was Rålehamn where a brief glimpse of a wryneck was confirmed by a sudden, surprising and very brief burst of song. The rest of the count up to Hovs Hallar passed without further excitement.

wildfowl count - Torekov to Hovs Hallar

Another morning duck counting, this time in much milder conditions, between Torekov and Hovs Hallar. In between the counting I found a few good birds. A male pintail popped up at Rålehamn. I finally found a raven (!) for the year, one flying noisily around Norra Ängalag. Ripagården produced a treecreeper in a small flock that also included three goldcrest. Tjällran had a roosting peregrine.

After the count I headed for Båstad to have a quick look for the oystercatcher, no sign but 18 whooper swans in the bay. Klarningen next hoping for the great grey shrike that has been reported occasionally over the winter. It was quiet on site but amazingly on the way home I picked up a great grey shrike as I drove up Sinarpsdalen. Year-tick number four for the day but as I opened the door I added another as ten waxwing swept over the front garden.

shed load of year-ticks

It wouldn't be winter without at least one photo of a white-tailed eagle

Got out for another morning of birding today. Checked out Torekovs rev at first light and found one roosting purple sandpiper. Finally logging one for the year, others saw up to ten later in the day of course. A flock of 32 wood pigeon here too.

Next stop was the main purpose of my day out, ie to try and locate the Arctic redpolls found by Nils Kjellén two days ago. I knew where they would be, as I had found a small flock of redpoll in the area in early November... Sure enough the fallow fields just north of the golf course held a big and very flighty flock of about 150 redpoll. In amongst them at least one Arctic but it was difficult to get good views of it sadly.

Moving on to Norra Ängalag I met up with Olof Jönsson and Thomas Svanberg and they were kind enough to find me some more year-ticks whilst I rested my shingles. Kittiwakes were flying past, a bird I have been overlooking this year! A sub-adult white-tailed eagle cruised north. Thomas called a trio of snow buntings as they flew north offshore. Razorbills were present offshore, together with a few red-throated diver and one black-throated.

We all headed back to the redpoll field and saw the Arctic again and the guys noticed a few twite in amongst the redpolls this time. Nice. On the way home I bagged barnacle goose and collared dove bringing the BK year-list to fairly creditable 72.

snow bunting

Had a media interview today in the field which started in horribly wet conditions at Torekov. We checked the rev and it was difficult in the rain, but we could not avoid the flock of 25 snow buntings - a welcome BK year-tick and a species I managed to miss completely last year somehow!

During the morning the weather ameliorated and we checked the rocks off Torekov (six shag) and searched in vain for the water pipit at Påarps Mal (25 more or the same snow buntings here though). Next stop was a quick check of Rålehamn for a wheatear sp. reported yesterday. No sign though so  we drove over to Ranarpsstrand hoping for a late jack snipe. On the way we saw some incredible storm damage - including an entire barn pushed over by the wind near Mäsinge. Sadly it was the storm which probably denied us jack snipe as well, as the previously excellent habitat at Ranarpsstrand is now covered in seaweed! We tried Lervik too with the same result. Not a very satisfying look around BK all-in-all!

Afterwards I had a quick look in the plantation at Grytskären, nothing here though just a single nuthatch.

061013

Struggling with a virus made for some poor birding today. I hit Torekovs rev in the morning but things were quiet (one chiffchaff) and I spent some time looking at large gulls... Later I walked Rålehamn and Norra Ängalag which was equally quiet (one chiffchaff) and four feeding curlew on the fields behind the coast.

In the afternoon I checked out Klarningen. More going on here with pintail (3) and shoveler (8) and at least 47 ruff feeding on the wetland and the former pea-field which has now been tilled. Walking the remaining stubble produced a big flock of 65 linnets and lots of skylarks but no buntings. Overhead a rough-legged buzzard went through south and buzzard and red kite were prominent. The calls of crossbill and water rail penetrated my virus-muddled mind before I headed for Eskilstorppsstrand. Here the beach was quite busy too with a single ringed plover being my latest BK bird ever and also single dunlin and six 1K grey plover. Not much offshore with flyby red-throated diver (1) and velvet scoter (5) only. Laholmsbukten has been empty this summer/autumn for some reason.

huge day counting ducks

Big raptor day in BK today with several merlins, a peregrine and this 1K goshawk at Torekov.

The September duck count was not a chore today, as it was punctuated by several good birds including a heard-only BK tick. I worked the coast between Dagshög and Hov Hallar as usual and typically there was not much to count on the wildfowl front, although wigeon numbers were perhaps a little higher than normal. The best duck a single pintail at Ripagården.

But it was migrating passerines that dominated my attention. At Torekov mid-morning I finally heard the flight call of a red-throated pipit and looked up to see it travelling high overhead. A short while later a two-barred crossbill called on the edge of town but I had no time to look for it. [It was seen later with common crossbills by the sewage works]. Despite this scattering of exciting birds there was no large scale movement going on, just odd groups of chaffinch moving south and occasional calls overhead from tree pipit, yellow wagtail and reed bunting.

A scattering of raptors also kept me entertained with two merlins, a peregrine and an immature goshawk during the long walk. Waders were few and far between but did include a single grey plover at Torekov rev. A great day out in the field.

armatum again and again

The fantastic weather in the afternoon led to an exciting run of discoveries, with Coenagrion armatum found at two further sites in BK, this time in Skåne and therefore qualifying for the Atlas.

Had a spell birding around Gröthögarna in the early morning, on tenterhooks most of the time waiting for confirmation of my black scoter. Eventually just before 0900 the sms came through that the bird had been reported by Nils Kjellen - phew, being a single observer is harrowing at times. Birding at Rålehamn, Norra Ängalag and Ripagården was rather subdued. Barnacles were moving in a very small way, and yellow wagtails were on the ground in small numbers. Norra Ängalag produced the best birds with my first BK little tern of the year, as well as single ruff and dunlin.

 A Chrysomela populi at Rammsjöstrand brightened up the afternoon

In the afternoon Mrs B and I took advantage of the fact that the kids were at a party and got out into the unfeasibly warm weather (28 degrees, sorry of you are in the UK reading this). Dragonflies were flying and we headed first to check the pond at Glimminge. My first Ischnura elegans and Enallagma were on the wing and we did not have to wait long before a Coenagrion armatum male sauntered past! Bloody hell! Also here a grass snake and plenty of common newts and even a few great cresteds.

Checking a few wetlands around Rammsjöstrand failed to turn up any more armatum so we headed for Flytermossen. And guess what here we found seven armatum including two females! Just amazing!

Libellula quadrimaculata was a year-tick for me today (here recently emerged at Rammsjöstrand)

Flytermossen (Torekov) finally produced some female Coenagrion armatum, as well as at least five males, my first multiple sighting.

Coenagrion armatum at Flytermossen

ring ouzel madness

 In my first six years of birding in BK I recorded just seven ring ouzels, today I saw seven more!

After a lazy morning we headed out for a walk and a picnic around Gröthögarna. At Norra Ängalag a skulky ring ouzel dived into cover and disappeared. Song thrushes were everywhere. There were a few migrants around the car park here including single blackcap, lesser whitethroat and pied flycatcher. The walk around the headland was rather quiet although another year-tick finally materialised in the shape of a single confiding male whinchat.

Meanwhile Mats had found two more ring ouzels at Vasaltheden so we headed that way to check them out and get a site-tick. I braked just short of the gate because there were at least four ring ouzels grubbing about in the trees either side of the gate! In the end we counted at least six but I think there may have been more. Many moved out onto the bare fields nearby to feed, whilst others skulked inside the juniper. Superb!

Last stop of the day was Klarningen. Things had quietened down considerably here since yesterday, although it is always a difficult site to work against the light in the afternoon. Water levels continue to drop alarmingly... Best birds here were greenshank (1) and my first lesser black-backed gull on site this year.

gyr refound

They always look large but the true size of this gyr falcon really became apparent when it started flying around with a hooded crow in it's talons.

Spent a sunny morning in the field working the coast between Påarps mal and Norra Ängalag. Big flocks of eider at most locations along this stretch, with a total of 1950 logged during the morning, no sign of any rare interlopers but this has to be the stretch to concentrate on this spring for that elusive king. The rev produced a single dunlin and nearby I had my first twite of the year in a stubble field.

Last stop of the day was Norra Ängalag where things seemed quiet (although there was a flock of 300 common scoter offshore) until I glanced south and noticed a large falcon going vertically into a flock of distraught crows. Gyr? I walked the short distance south to Rålehamn and flushed it from the beach. It carried the crow it was feeding on to some offshore rocks and although distant seemed unhappy with me and pretty quickly flew again, this time north. It was astonishing how effortlessly it carried the crow out of sight onto Gröthögarna. A great end to the session.

wildfowl count

 Two brent goose at Torekovs rev were the highlight of a rapid wildfowl count this morning. A BK year-tick.

It's that time of year again and before jetting off to Mexico I had to dash round counting the wildfowl between Dagshög and Hovs Hallar. September counts are always much lighter than January ones in terms of numbers, so this made the task easier. I normally enjoy the walk but with time running out I had to do it by car for the first time. Highlights along this stretch of coast were; brent goose (2 at Torekovs rev), pintail (2 at the rev), shoveler (2 at Norra Ängalag), bar-tailed godwit (3 at the rev) and three grey plovers (Torekov).

Bluethroat!

Still undone by flies, anyone know what this hump-backed beauty is?

Nipped out early in the morning for a good walk thrashing the area between Rålehamn and Ripagården. A few common migrants around but nothing obviously going on. The bird of the day was a superb female bluethroat in the rough vegetation around the stream mouth near the harbour at Ripagården. It showed well and was my first autumn bird in BK. More mysterious was the odd crake-like call emanating from the nearby reedbed here. If I knew how to embed an audio file, I would let you hear it. Will try and work out how to do it later.

Later we all went for a walk around the Killeröd loop, picking up the usual suspects; jay, willow and crested tit and hawfinch. But no sign of any nutcrackers today.

Weak migration and another longhorn

 Number 1 found my first Stictoleptura rubra for me this afternoon on a walk around the Killeröd-Önnarp loop with the team. This is the female and we watched it egg-laying on a conifer log.

Got out a bit late this morning to look for migrants around Gröthögarna. Nothing much doing just a few tree pipits, three red-backed shrikes and a scattering of warblers and chats. Nearby Torekov rev produced a few waders, notably three sanderlings, but no big surprises.

In an overcast afternoon we all headed out to walk the Killeröd-Önnarp loop. Birds were few and far between but included a black woodpecker heard and a spotted flycatcher sallying out into a clearing. Invertebrates were good but a bit of sun would have helped matters. Even so number 1 found me a brace of Stictoleptura rubra - a new longhorn beetle for me. Later I had fun trying to photograph Aeshna juncea in flight but was defeated by the low light levels.

Number 1 managed the double, finding me a male Stictoleptura rubra later on! Longhorns can exhibit surprising sexual dimorphism.

Aeshna juncea captured in flight in poor light, you can just make out the yellow spots behind the eyes, a diagnostic feature when trying to rule out subarctica.

that flu by

Had yet another look at the 'eastern' black redstart at Rålehamn this morning, it looks in good health and was as confiding as usual, allowing a close approach.

Got out for the first time after eleven days laid up with 'real' flu, the whole team went down with it so it got pretty messy. Mrs B also contracted pneumonia and so the road to full recovery is looking long. The only bird noted whilst poorly was a garden tick stock dove blazing north on 23/2. But nice weather tempted us out for the first time today for some low-energy sitting in the sun and looking at birds.

Skylarks have successfully returned in numbers in my absence and both shelduck (13) and oystercatcher (14) made showy additions to the avifauna at Torekov rev. These three species are the earliest returnees every year. We tried but failed to find a ringed plover during the morning, another early bird. The rev also had a superb 2K peregrine sitting on it and fifteen bean geese migrated north overhead.

Moving on we checked out Rålehamn and found the eastern black redstart to be as obliging as usual. Driving round to Ripagården produced a great grey shrike at Norra Ängalag but Ripagården was quiet, although we were really running out of steam by this stage. Spring has begun though and hopefully we will soon be back in the thick of it.

White out

Went to see BK's long-staying rare again today. He is sporting a new ring and is apparently in good shape, despite the weather.

Had just half an hour in the field this morning, before the fog and snow sent me scuttling home. Spent my time watching the eastern black redstart at Rålehamn, it was feeding together with a number of pipits, a wren, and some robins and blackbirds. These birds have excavated a number of tunnels into the bank of seaweed and seem to be thriving. Checked Torekov rev briefly on the way home, it was completely iced up.

A casual glance along the beach at Rålehamn revealed no birds, but closer inspection showed that they were all under the seaweed in small feeding tunnels!

Back in time for BK MEGA

Despite very cold temperatures overnight, this eastern black redstart made it onto my BK list this morning. This race has an excellent chance of being split I reckon. Last autumn produced a bumper crop of this subspecies, with seven here in Sweden (if you include this individual) and the UK had it's first record too.

Tanzania was great but it caused not a little alarm when I realised just before I got home that BK was hosting a huge bird - Sweden's seventh eastern (phoenicuroides) black redstart! I need not have worried though as this morning it was behaving impeccably at Rålehamn to a small but appreciative audience. I checked out Torekov afterwards hoping for purple sandpipers, but came away empty-handed. Just white-tailed eagle (1) over on Hallands Väderö, two oystercatchers, a flyby black guillemot and a 2K shag.

Kattvik was devoid of gulls and I could not find the over-wintering chiffchaff. Last stop was Båstad where I watched with a certain amount of horror as an adult white-tailed eagle dispatched a male eider over 15 long minutes. The eagle kept harrying the eider, hooking a talon into it's head or neck whenever it could, until the blood loss and continual diving ensured an unpleasant drowning... At least 44 whooper swans sheltering here and the sea is starting to freeze already!

This white-tailed eagle killed a male eider at Båstad this morning. Killing the bird over 15 minutes and then waiting patiently for the corpse to drift into the shore.

Quiet wildfowl count - Torekov to Hovs Hallar

Spent the best part of the day walking the coast between Torekov and Hovs Hallar doing the mid-January wildfowl count. It started well with a quick look at the rocks south of the harbour where two shags were resting, further offshore on Vinga was a nice white-tailed eagle.

The count proper though was rather quiet, low numbers of most species and no surprises. Highlights were few and far between but I did see two gannets and a red-necked grebe. Very few passerines encountered, with just five rock pipits and four meadow pipits of note.

Waterfowl Census Part 2 - Torekov to Hovs Hallar

Kicked off the day's birding at Förslöv with a single flyover two-barred crossbill. Just wish I could see some at the coastal sites I frequent before they vanish back where they came from.

Today was my chance to finish my survey work and I could not have picked nicer weather, constant drenching drizzle throughout the morning, although it did clear up in the afternoon I was pretty wet. Started at Torekov rev which typically produced the best of the birds; two brent geese, a shoveler and four 1K grey plovers. The walk northwards produced little of note but did include a total of nearly 100 dunlin. Ripagården produced a nice adult peregrine ripping up a small bird (starling?) and I saw the presumably the same bird perched close to the road and looking fantastic against the newly-tilled soil later at Vråen. Shame my camera was drying out in the back of the car!