wader go

 My first grey plover of the year...

With rain forecast for most of the day I stayed off the roof and went birding instead. Been a while. Torekov was the obvious location as a number of potential wader year-ticks have been recorded there recently, the best of it being two broad-billed sandpipers. It took me a while to nail the main flock of waders down but I found a couple of sanderling on the beach and had three curlew sandpipers briefly whilst I was searching. The wader flock also contained a grey plover, a little stint, two broad-billed sandpipers and three knot. Ended the session with six year-ticks!

Nearby at Norra Ängalag it was pretty quiet, just 8 dunlin but evidence of passerine migration with showy redstart and spotted flycatcher available.

Nice

 Needed

more broad-bill

In the afternoon I engineered some time at Klarningen. Waders here too with spotted redshank (1), ruff (3), dunln (1), wood sandpiper (2) and green sandpiper (1) being the best of it.

sun and plovers

  Golden plover

The sun was shining so I got out during the morning. Walked around in the woods at Segelstorpsstrand searching yet again for a stray yellow-browed warbler but failing. One day... Plenty going on overhead though, with skylark, reed bunting, brambling/chaffinch and siskin obvious and perhaps I should have paid more attention to the vismig instead of going for glory! On the ground a count of five great spotted woodpeckers suggested movement too and a crested tit was hanging about. The best birds were on the beach though, seven spanking new grey plovers.

 Seven grey plovers at Segelstorpsstrand this morning, all immatures.

Checked out Ranarpsstrand on the way home and bumped into Mikael Olofsson. We had a good old natter, apparently Siberian tits are on the move up north, which is unusual. I think it is going to be a cold winter... Ranarpsstrand was quiet but I kicked up a jack snipe along the shoreline and offshore there were three Slavonian grebes.

Jack snipe plummeting back to earth.

One of two red squirrels at Segelstorpsstrand this morning.

Birding - 23/05/09

The consolation prize at Trönninge ängar was this spectacular male grey plover - they do not come better than this

Up and at it again this morning, with rain interfering with play so much during a tour of Eskilstorp and Petersberg (thrush nightingale and icterine warbler singing at the latter site) that I eventually sacked it off and went on another abortive spoonbill twitch to Trönninge ängar. The peripatetic little bugger had flown again overnight. Did get a brace of Temminck's stints, dunlin (1) and the grey plover pictured above. On the way home drove back through Sinarpsdalen and picked up a pair of grey wagtail. Black redstart may be breeding up here I am told, so will have to look for them soon.

Leucorrhinia rubicunda - one of four seen at acidic pools located near the E6 this afternoon

In the afternoon took the family for a walk in the woods and we found a number of small pools that were good for Leucorrhinia rubicunda. Listened out hard for firecrest but no cigar.

Leucorrhinia rubicunda again - note the costa colouration