more ouzels

Just ten in one flock today at Dagshög!

Nipped out fairly early for a sniff around after more ring ouzels and perhaps a wryneck. Walked the stretch of coast between Rammsjöstrand and Dagshög and was not too disappointed. Rammsjöstrand produced little out of the ordinary but it was a different story at Burensvik. Here I heard a ring ouzel call and tracked it down to the lawn of one of the holiday homes along the shoreline. Glancing up I noticed another sitting on juniper to the north and walked up to it flushing a total of nine from the bushes in the end. How many there really were is anyone's guess but it was great to see so many in one place. The bushes here held good numbers of redstart (9), lesser whitethroat (8) and whinchat (4)

On the way home I stopped briefly to scan Lönhult damm and picked up a cheap year-tick - a pair of moorhen.

In the afternoon we headed down to Båstad hoping for terns and were rewarded with a single Arctic tern, sitting on the rocks offshore with a brace of commons. Next stop Klarningen where nothing inspiring seemed to be occurring. Trönninge ängar just to the north is currently hosting a blue-winged teal, pink-footed geese and Bewick's swans and had a black tern yesterday and a pair of Med gulls recently... The fact that the blue-winged teal has been present since I got back from Crete and I have yet to surface a need to see it, suggests that my detwitchification is complete!

Last stop of the day was Älemossen where three kestrels were knocking about and a cursory glance around produced three whinchat. Number 1 and I searched hard for adders but dipped.

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.

Home, sweet home

After four weeks away it was fantastic to get back out on the patch this morning. The weather was equally enthusiastic with a brisk westerly whipping in some spiteful little wet squalls in the first few hours after dawn. Nice!

Kicked off at Klarningen where water-levels have dropped considerably since my last visit. The wind pump has yet to be connected up and I suspect that some former field drains still need disabling... But, maybe it has just not rained much or the site is being managed low for some reason? A few noteworthy birds here; crane (at least three calling early on from Eskilstorpsdammar but they slipped away unseen somehow), little ringed plover (1), redshank (2 pairs), green sandpiper (3) and my first chiffchaff at the site.

Torekov next, Flytermossen produced a calling water rail, and two barn swallows here were a hint of spring. The rev was quiet, just one purple sandpiper briefly (no doubt more were hunkered down in the rocks) and a splendid little tern (my earliest date on the patch). Just had time for a quick look at Ripagården, the westerly wind did not seem to be producing much in the way of passage but I was not concentrating too hard. Did see red-throated diver (2), little tern (2 south) and razorbill (2). On land things were quiet with blackcap (2) and brambling (heard) being the best of it.

Ten minutes at Hålehallstugan on the way back from the shops produced the bird of the day, a stonking ring ouzel.

A quick session at Hålehallstugan in the afternoon produced a big flock of thrushes by the pond (which had three vocal red-necked grebe). At least one ring ouzel present, as well as mistle thrush and song thrush.

Patch tick - ring ouzel at last!

A dawn session before working on the house finally produced a ring ouzel! Hurrah! I was starting to get a bit depressed thinking I had missed it again this spring...

Drove into the car park at Ripagården, got out of the car and heard a ring ouzel straight away in nearby scrub. It flew and perched well nearby and I was chuffed. Fantastic view of a female - best look I have had for years. Next on the patch 'most wanted'-list is short-eared owl...

Walked around Ripagården in a daze but could not fail to notice the other year-ticks on view - a huge influx of house martin had obviously occurred overnight (seen at several sites during the day), wood sandpiper (1, fly-by) and a single whinchat (cracking singing male).

Checked out Flyttermossen (Torekov) on the way home and had a superb flyover 2K hobby. In the afternoon we went to grill sausages on the beach at Stora Hultstrand and had the first little terns of the year. Six year-ticks and not a cloud in the sky - nice one.