Had an hour in the field on a brutally cold morning during a busy day with Mrs B. We tried to locate the big finch flock at Lönhult but somehow we could not find it (hard to miss a flock of 300+ goldfinch but we did). We did find the female-type merlin that has been attending to the flock for the last few weeks though, my first in December. Merlin is a rare winterer here. Also in the neighbourhood were a white-tailed eagle and a rough-legged buzzard.
The low sun made working the circuit north to south rather hard work and once again we failed to find a golden eagle. We ended up near the farm at Västraby going through a good-sized flock of Canada geese (350); a few greylag (50) and just one taiga bean goose. Driving south we had a flock of at least 10 waxwing at Fleninge.
Showing posts with label Västraby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Västraby. Show all posts
Monday, December 13, 2010
Monday, September 7, 2009
Double dip Monday
Spent the day birding off-patch with the kids. Kicked off at Västraby - which hosted up to nine dotterel over the weekend. It was clear overnight so I should have known better than to get my hopes up. On arrival at the field there was a fat looking adult peregrine sitting right in the middle. Feathers strewn everywhere! Tried a few ploughed fields thereabouts but I think the birds had flown. Migration going on this morning though with the air filled with the calls of tree pipit, yellow wagtail and the first real numbers of siskin.
Next up was Sandön, where we were greeted by a throng of geese. Checking through for colour rings, I found birds ringed in Sweden and the Czech Republic. Also had a nasty encounter with a horrible hybrid - Emperor x barnacle or bar-headed x barnacle. More siskins and five crossbills over here. Two ospreys hunted in front of us.
Yesterday Rönnen had produced broad-billed sandpiper and a couple of little stints and a large number of commoner waders. Today it felt pretty empty (if you discount the 2000-odd barnacle geese). We did get redshank (10), spotted redshank (1 adult), greenshank (5), common sandpiper (3), ruff (2), dunlin (3), bar-tailed godwit (4) and ringed plover (10).
In the evening nipped out to Glimminge but things were very quiet here too. The big surprise was 200 barnacle geese heading north. Otherwise just redshank (1), oystercatcher (2) and snipe (5). Yesterday there was yet another red-necked phalarope here apparently.
Next up was Sandön, where we were greeted by a throng of geese. Checking through for colour rings, I found birds ringed in Sweden and the Czech Republic. Also had a nasty encounter with a horrible hybrid - Emperor x barnacle or bar-headed x barnacle. More siskins and five crossbills over here. Two ospreys hunted in front of us.
Yesterday Rönnen had produced broad-billed sandpiper and a couple of little stints and a large number of commoner waders. Today it felt pretty empty (if you discount the 2000-odd barnacle geese). We did get redshank (10), spotted redshank (1 adult), greenshank (5), common sandpiper (3), ruff (2), dunlin (3), bar-tailed godwit (4) and ringed plover (10).
In the evening nipped out to Glimminge but things were very quiet here too. The big surprise was 200 barnacle geese heading north. Otherwise just redshank (1), oystercatcher (2) and snipe (5). Yesterday there was yet another red-necked phalarope here apparently.
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