quiet afternoon

Today's highlight (!) was a colour-ringed black-headed gull at Eskilstorpsstrand - I think white J63 will prove to be a Danish ringed bird.

Spent the afternoon birding today but things were quiet for me. Checked Klarningen first, arriving  just as a helicopter flushed all the geese! Chasing swans I strayed over the border into Laholm kommun and was immediately punished by three lapwing - a year-tick (but outside BK). Eskilstorpsstrand had a good-sized flock of gulls but no sign of the glaucous gull. Båstad had a surprise in the form of a male gadwall with no tail! Also here four long-tailed duck remain and a single oystercatcher was sitting out on the rocks. 

The lengthening days meant that Number 2 and I could check out Ranarpsstrand after school. Something she was not entirely pleased about. I am not sure the total of 23 shelduck and a rock pipit was worth the tears.

rOdotrip 2 - the Nehalennia gamble

With the window slowly closing on the Nehalennia season, I cracked and decided to try and find them on a warm but overcast day. A gamble that just paid off. It's a 3.5-4 hour drive up to Asby in Östergötland from my house, ie a lot further than I normally drive for a day out. But Nehalennia is a special species and a must-see beast. Believed extinct in Sweden until re-discovered in 2006, it is currently known from just five sites.

Arriving at 0930 I quickly located the site, a fantastic mire, quite an open 'sward' in places and a submerged aquatic macrophyte species (hornwort?) growing in amongst the sedge, bogbean and horsetail. I was surprised by it's heterogeneity and also it's accessibility. Sadly I do not think we have any habitat quite like this in BK but I live in hope of turning up a site nearer home. [That said, there is a site in Denmark which is nearer and I hope to visit it soon.] As I cleared the trees around the mire margin a Coenagrion flew up and was swiftly netted, as I expected it was a male johanssoni - a bonus species present here at the southern margin of it's range and only my second encounter in Sweden.

My first male Coenagrion johanssoni for at least five years, S2 in profile is just splendid.

All boded well, but it was some time before I coaxed out a single mature female Nehalennia. Tiny, short-winged, with a short, pale pterostigma, she fluttered up into the net like a teneral, it was sublime! Looking up for a change I noticed a goshawk flying by with what looked awfully like a red squirrel in it's talons.

If Odonata are your thing then it does not get much better than ticking Nehalennia. Nothing wrong with mature females either.

Nice!

Also here my first Aeshna juncea of the year, as well as Lestes sponsa, Coenagrion pulchellum (1), Erythomma najas, Leucorrhinia dubia and Libellula quadrimaculata. With no sign of any sun on the horizon I headed home at 1130.

A 'blue' female juncea, my first of the year.

Female johanssoni are as distinctive as the males.

No time for stopping on the way home and mostly grey and overcast anyway. Did stop at the Smedje near Skottorp hoping for a burst of river warbler, but no luck. Did get the Blyth's reed warbler again though at Dömestorp, which had added green sandpiper to it's repertoire since I last listened. By way of explanation the nearby eastern pools of Skottorps våtmark were crammed with waders. 'Management' is spot on here with a nice draw-down from bankful over the last week that has pulled in migrants. Totals included: wigeon (1), teal (25), shoveler (6), ruff (4), green sandpiper (10) , spotted redshank (4), greenshank (15) and massive 85 wood sandpipers. Along the river were at least four Sympetrum sanguineum, my first of the year. Had to check Klarningen after that just to compare; ruff (1), wood sandpiper (5) and redshank (2). Oh well!

My fourth Odo year-tick today was Sympetrum sanguineum, closer to home at Skottorps våtmark.

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.

Still lost it!

Nipped out before breakfast for a walk between Ripagården and Hovs Hallar. Best bird shot past the car park just after I arrived - a speeding female merlin. Otherwise a quiet session, three singing thrush nightingales at Hovs Hallar were nice though.

In the afternoon took the team for a short walk at Skottorps våtmark, quiet here too with just gadwall (pair), wood sandpiper (1), grey-headed wagtail (1) and three singing sedge warblers. Checked Klarningen and Eskilstorpsstrand on the way home with nothing of note at either.

Dawn patrol - 26/04/10

This is from yesterday, when we all stopped at Greviebackar to enjoy the spring show of pasque flowers.

Another early start saw me at Petersberg at 0530 hoping for an early Acro. Had to make do with a showy water rail, two displaying redpoll and a flyover green sandpiper. Klarningen next for grey partridge (pair), moorhen (pair and year-tick), wood sandpiper (3, ditto) and a superb pair of whinchat (another year-tick). With garganey just over the BK boundary, it was time for the first visit of the year to Skottorps våtmark. Had a good look around this time and found the garganey (pair), as well as whooper swan (1), goosander (2), ruff (1), redshank (1), wood sandpiper (3) and common sandpiper (2). It is a cracking site and hopefully in the future Klarningen will be as good.

In the afternoon we all went for a walk around Glimminge and Vasaltheden. Glimminge was rather quiet, although seven shoveler were nice and the woods were full of recently arrived migrants singing away. Vasaltheden had the best birds though with two more shoveler, whimbrel (1, year-tick), greenshank (1) and my first lesser whitethroat of the year.

Ringed plover clutch at Vasaltheden today. These guys have a chance, most of Klarningen has been harrowed (!) since my last visit which must have destroyed plenty of lapwing and skylark nests.

Birding - 08/05/09

Up at the crack of dawn this morning for a check around some likely firecrest spots on-patch. Some have been reported very close by along the Hallandåsen (the ridge I live on) recently. No joy with firecrest (a sporadic breeder in these parts) but did hear lots of wood warblers and goldcrests, as well as the first cuckoo for the year on the patch. I eventually slipped off-patch and tried at the site where firecrests have been reported this week. Nice walk, through fantastic beech forest dotted with small conifer plantations but no sign of any 'crests. Looking down from the ridge Skottorps våtmark glinted in the middle distance. I fancied checking out this site whilst I was here but I had a DIY appointment back at the house. Little did I know I would soon be there...

Chickweed wintergreen - just out and joining the abundant wood anemone and Oxalis in the forest floor flora

After DIY'ing, checked the computer to find that a black tern had been found at Skottorps våtmark. Bundled the kids into the car and we all headed out to check it out. Amazingly for a family trip we connected well. Nice site. We finished the day by trying for firecrest again but despite plenty of birdsong, no sign of the target.

Big news after DIY was this black tern, just off-patch at Skottorps våtmark

Number 1 pointed this green-veined white out to me and demanded that I take a photo