sylvias (20150505)

Hit the coast today trying to catch up on the flush of migrants that have come in whilst I was away. First up was a wander around Öllövsstrand, where I quickly mopped up the three common Sylvia warblers and got a bonus pair of grey partridge to boot.

Påarps mal next and the expected pair of little tern were available and a greenshank flew past. Also here a few yellow wagtails and a common sandpiper.

In the afternoon either side of a meeting with my accountant I checked Klarningen (nice female merlin and 13 wood sandpipers in 15 minutes) and Petersberg (low water here produced a single green sandpiper and the what's left of the reedbed had a singing reed warbler).

hot and windy

 Dragonflies were the order of the day, despite the windy conditions and the fact that I would probably of been better off birding! My first Coenagrion puella were on the wing at a number of sites.

Out and about again today in the hot sun and windy conditions. Hit Drängstorp first hoping for Coenagrion armatum but instead had to settle for a huge emergence of Coenagrion lunulatum and my first Leucorrhinia rubicunda for the Atlas square.

 Coenagrion pulchellum

Next stop was Boarp, which was disappointing as the  water level in the ordinarily shallow and very good fourth pond was way up. Did get more puella here though and Coenagrion pulchellum, but very small numbers and no sign of any emergence at the site.

 Hovs Hallar produced at least seven migrating honey buzzards in a one-hour watch

Hovs Hallar for an hour in the middle of the day was good for honey buzzards (seven through) but the hoped-for rosefinches failed to sing. After lunch I had a quick look at the pool at Lönhult but it was too exposed for a reasonable odo-survey.

 Mute swan

Last stop of the day was another speculative listen for rosefinch at Öllövsstrand, again no joy, just a noisy thrush nightingale. The stars here though were two territorial map butterflies.

 Map butterfly

Driving out I glimpsed a male black redstart around the farm buildings at Öllöv and Number 1 and I returned later finding the nest-site and watching both adults shuttling to-and-fro with food for the hungry chicks. Nice find.

Last bird of the day was perhaps the best find, a breeding pair of black redstarts feeding young at Öllöv

osprey!

Today's highlight was this hunting osprey found in the afternoon at Stora Hultsstrand and drifting it's way north.

Had a walk in the morning around Öllövsstrand and Vasaltheden. The easy highlight being my first whimbrel of the year, hugging the coast as it flew north silently. Also here grey partridge (pair) and a few wheatears, including a female.

Later we checked out Ljungbyholm for nine ruff and nearly 40 shelduck on the flooded bits of the big field. Nearby Stora Hultsstrand produced an osprey drifting north and looking for food on the go.

red-backed shrike

Common lizards appeared today and I even had a brief glimpse of an adder. It remains rather cool though and we had frost overnight. We still have a long way to go before it feels like spring.

Had a busy morning in Ängelholm, tree pipits notable migrating overhead early on and two grey partridge at Barkåkra on the way home. Driving back into BK after lunch I headed straight for Vasaltheden where Kent had just located BK's first red-backed shrike and thrush nightingale for the year. I walked the site and nearby Öllövsstrand picking up the red-backed shrike - a lovely male. Throughout the walk I was struck by how much this spring feels like autumn, birds are coming through but not singing. Normally migrants go straight onto territory and get busy but this year birds are too busy feeding it seems. I pished a likely spot at Öllövsstrand and was rewarded with an hitherto undetected common whitethroat, my first of the year. Normally you would find these birds singing...

Other notable birds during the session were whimbrel (1) and three sand martins.

all white? yeah I'm all white!

The great white buzzard of BK. This bird has been around for over 12 years now and it always amazes me how seldom I see it!

Worked quite hard today with little reward. Kicked off near Grevie kyrkby by having a look at the splendid leucistic buzzard that lives in these parts. Just a little brown on the nape, otherwise clean white. 

Spent two hours working the woods along the shoreline at Segelstorpsstrand. Bumped into a big flock of 40+ goldcrests and had one chiffchaff. Plenty of tits about too with 8+ long-tailed tits indicative of some movement (457 through Kullen this morning!!) and a few thrushes around too including my first redwing of the season. But I could not find anything good, just two grey wagtails to write about.

Tried Öllövsstrand next but same result here, the best bird a male blackcap, although a flock of 60+ tree sparrow, with a good number of chaffinch and brambling was nice to see.

After lunch I decided to try the stubble south of Klarningen, but a good boot around reveal a dearth of birds, just a few meadow pipits, reed buntings and skylarks. The flooded pools had ruff (1) and golden plover (2) and these attracted the attentions of a peregrine at one point, resulting in a tense three minute chase that had me on the edge of my seat. From the tower things looked quiet with wigeon (55), teal (55) and shoveler (3) the best of it. The lone shelduck remains on station, must be damaged.

Last stop of the day was a sunny Eskilstorpsstrand which produced four white-fronted geese and two long-tailed ducks. Winter is upon us...

One of two grey wagtails at Segelstorpsstrand this morning.

bits and bobs

Exit stage left.

Yesterday, I managed a fit in a little birding into the working day. A quick look at Båstad harbour produced very little - six goosander. Spent my lunch break at Klarningen where there were quite a few passerines around; wheatear (5), whinchat (14) and reed bunting (3). A few waders around too, six ruff being the highlight. Later in Båstad a honey buzzard snuck through. Not seeing HB's in any numbers in BK so far this autumn.

Today I spent the hour after dawn at  Öllövsstrand, a few waders were present in the bay by the harbour, including 8 greenshank and there were a few common passerine migrants about. Later we all went to Sandön, a trawl through the available waders here produced little of note but we all enjoyed watching the fishing osprey here.

02062012

Portrait of the author as a pissed-off, soaking wet and cold birder. Will summer ever actually arrive?

Spent two-and-a-half hours tramping the coast between Öllövsstrand and Mäsinge strand during the late morning. Almost nothing to show for it, bar a couple of singing thrush nightingales and a ton of rain. 

In the afternoon the whole team accompanied me to Sinarpsdalen and we had a good look at the valley mire. The sun came out but it was still windy and not much was showing on the Odo front. We were greeted by a trio of raptors at the car park though - red kite, buzzard and honey buzzard. Sweet.

a walk in the woods

A flock of 60+ waxwing in the Lindab carpark at Förslöv kicked off the day. The men from Glimminge found a pygmy owl at Killeröd yesterday, which prompted a long morning walk around the area. No sign of the owl, but a lot of agitation amongst the local tits and goldcrests when they were played the 'bicycle-pump' call. Highlights included a total of 29 two-barred crossbills and at least five crested tits.

In the afternoon I suddenly found out that there had been a Siberian chiffchaff at Öllövsstrand yesterday, so off I went late in the day for a fruitless search of the coastal scrub. Vasaltheden produced the only good bird of the afternoon, a 1K peregrine flying past south.

Hard work

As Mrs B will tell you I do love a bird with a sense of porpoise.

A mild, calm, perpetually grey day. I was out all day getting some walking in ahead of an upcoming panda thrash in China. I hope I will be fit enough, bamboo always grows on such steep slopes... and pandas only grow on bamboo!

Effectively covered the stretch of coast between Vejbystrand and Glimming plantering today. That's a lot of mileage and with minimal return today sadly. Highlights were the long-staying 1K great skua (still happily married to his porpoise corpse) at Stora Hultstrand, nine twite at the same location, two redshank, a wheatear and a Lapland bunting at Ranarpsstrand and a curlew at Segelstorpsstrand. At the turning point at Glimminge I bagged a chiffchaff. Still plenty of invertebrates about and a good show of late migrants, but nothing to compare with the isabelline wheatear on nearby Kullaberg.

Pallid falls in BK!

Raptors very much on the menu today, this 2K male marsh harrier went south through Vasaltheden in the morning.

This morning I went out with the intention of bagging a BK pallid harrier and guess what, I actually did! Sweden is groaning under an unprecedented invasion of mostly 1K birds at the moment, incredibly there have been 27 pallid harriers through Falsterbo to date this autumn! The chances of finding one yourself have never been better and I got the ball rolling by finding one off-patch last week.

I started off just after dawn at Ljungbyholm. Two kestrels in the air here and quite a few more were noted during the morning at various sites, a definite influx. A merlin was still dashing about here but and hour here failed to produced any harriers, other than a single 1K marsh. Ranarpsstrand next for a quick look, two grey wagtails were nice, they seem scarce this autumn.

Last but not least I headed for Öllövsstrand and walked into Vasaltheden. A marsh harrier migrated through straight away and there was an osprey on the deck eating a fish. More kestrels (2) here and at one point a merlin dashed south with a crow in hot pursuit. The heavens opened and I just had to stand there and take it as the lightning streaked about. Afterwards I watched a great grey shrike dry himself off and start hunting - BK's earliest autumn record and a hideous reminder that winter is next.

Walking back I was dragging my heels when I was overtaken in Öllövsstrand by a superb 1K pallid harrier. Apart from the 'thing' I saw at Falsterbo I have been really lucky with my views of ringtails this autumn and this bird was very close but heading southwards on a mission. Short but sweet. Result!

Osprey south through Klarningen in the afternoon.

After lunch some of the team accompanied me to Klarningen, water levels are higher than I have ever seen them but there is little use of the site, just two pintail, one teal, three wigeon and a handful of mallard today. Overhead was better with a sub-adult white-tailed eagle and an osprey through together during the hour long watch. At least 20 whinchat on site and the fields along the access track had a dozen wheatear. A great day.

The mental weather continues

Out and about before breakfast again this sunny morning, this time walking the stretch of coast between Öllövsstrand and Mäsingestrand. Quieter than yesterday but the walk produced some good birds. My main aim was to finally find a whimbrel for the year and one duly obliged at Glimminge. Other notable birds included a flock of ten shoveler flying south, three common sandpipers, two little terns and best of all a male whitethroat, happily building a nest at Vasaltheden for a female that has yet to arrive. My earliest whitethroat by five days, this settled high is producing lots of early records and the trees are leafing up nicely. It will be a shock if the temperatures drop back to what you can normally expect at this time of year!

Redstart!

Nipped out in the morning before breakfast for a walk between Öllövsstrand and Glimminge. This was rather a quiet affair until I turned south to head home at Glimminge and a female hen harrier migrated past overhead - amazingly my first of the year. Before leaving the plantation I tracked down my first redstart of the year too - a singing male.

Back at home 13 redwing passed low over the house, reminding me that I must get out after ring ouzels soon.

In the afternoon we all went for a walk up past Bösketorp pools. Plenty happening here with six cranes stealing the show but also four green sandpipers, four little grebes and 13 tufted duck. An evening drive through of the Sinarpsdalen circuit produced a pair of curlew at Salomonhög

Last day of thaw

The ten-day thaw has put lots of water on the fields and roads. This flooded former beet field at Öllövsstrand attracted a big flock of mallard along with whooper swans and the first Canada geese in BK this year (maybe). Good to see wildfowl looking relaxed but the weather is set to go sub-zero again from tonight for at least the next ten days...

A game of two halves today with sort session in the morning and afternoon. Checked out Axeltorpsravinen in the morning picking up a dipper year-tick, as well as siskin (2) and treecreeper (heard). Driving over the top to Klarningen I had my first grey heron of the year at Tvehöga - there are few on the coast at the moment and this bird was feeding in a very small stream. My first look at Klarningen for 2011 was predictably quiet - two mute swans were feeding in the large amount of ice-free water and a black woodpecker called from the riverside trees. A quick look at Eskilstorpsstrand rounded off the morning but the foggy conditions were not ideal and I left with just 23 tufted duck in the notebook. Still no scaup for me this year.

In the afternoon I decided to try for redshank at Segelstorpsstrand but skunked out. Did find a nice flooded field at Öllövsstrand though which had whooper swan (16), Canada goose (13) and mallard (200), as well as one grey heron. Looking south I could see a large falcon on Grytskären and so motored south to confirm that it was a peregrine. One day I will get a gyr...

It's all gone a bit finchy

It's pretty and it's got wingbars but I am sadly no closer to my dream Sibe.

In a rare gap in the rain this morning, I did a four-hour walk between Ranarpsstrand and Öllövsstrand. BK has gone a bit quiet lately but I managed a few good things. Ranarpsstrand was quiet, duck numbers are up though with 85 wigeon, 150 mallard and eight teal about. Six snipe flushed as I walked. Segelstorpsstrand was a bit more interesting with 40 waxwing charging about, four redshank hiding out and five parrot crossbills south.

It had been finchy so far, plenty of greenfinch and siskin about but Öllövsstrand was excellent. The weedy beet field had a flock of 35 mealy redpoll, which included one twite and two goldfinch. Following 'Stoddart's Rule' there should have been 3.5 Arctic redpolls too. Sadly the 'polls were feeding in weeds being thrashed about by the strong southerly wind. But I do not think any Arctics were present; but this winter looks like it could be good for this species. Lots of mealy's are on the move. I need it for the patch list...

Thrashing back to the car I had time for the now obligatory flock of long-tailed tits at Segelstorpsstrand and managed another flock of 40 waxwing at Förslöv.

Chuffing freezing

Had a waxwing in the garden briefly this morning. After dropping everyone at school-work I went ot Segelstorpsstrand and had a kick about. Still two chiffchaff here, despite the sub-zero temperature, but my Sibe hopes are receding as the winter seems to be taking an early grip on the land. Vis mig was apparent this morning with plenty of chaffinch on the go, also a few skylark, brambling, greenfinch and yellowhammer in the mix. When it's cold like this morning you really get a feeling that these migrants are fleeing ahead of something bad, occasional hordes of jackdaw going south looked panic-stricken. The beach had one curlew and five redshank (the latter have been scarce in BK this autumn and this is the largest gathering I have seen for some time). Looking north on to Öllövsstrand produced one sorry-looking barnacle goose. Walking back to the car I bumped into another autumn flock of long-tailed tits (10).

Dodging the hail squalls I drove up to Torekov for a quick look at Påarps Mal. Had a great flock of 120 brambling on the ground feeding in a recently harvested maize field. They stuck close to the car and were spooky but still one managed to get taken by a sparrowhawk... Påarps Mal produced no shag, my main reason for going, but a black guillemot (1) and a black woodpecker (heard only) made the trip worthwhile.

Back on the school-run I had a blackcap at Förslöv (my latest patch bird but with me at home all autumn, I am sure I can do better).

Hard work!

Did plenty of walking along the coast today hoping for a Sibe - no joy. Still confident, goldcrest numbers are climbing and there are a lot of chiffchaff around...

Kicked off the day with a little light garden work, repaid with a lesser spotted woodpecker nearby. Light movement of fieldfare and redwing evident too.

Took Mrs B and Number 2 out for a quick walk around Glimminge and Vasaltheden in the morning. We were hoping to cosh off the black redstart reported yesterday but my relationship with this species on the patch remains poor (yet to be self-found, miss half the ones I twitch). At Glimminge, greylags were still on the move and curlew (1) and redshank (1) were on the shore. The cover at the edge of Vasaltsheden had three jays and a chiffchaff and a lone crossbill flew south. Back inside the plantation we found a big flock of 30 goldcrests.

In the afternoon I was dropped off for a four-hour walk between Segelstorpsstrand and Rammsjöstrand. Segelstorpsstrand produced a huge total of nine chiffchaff, as well as one blackcap and another party of long-tailed tits. Öllövsstrand had four chiffchaff, a few goldcrests but was swarming with finches and sparrows. A flock of 50 brambling were feeding along the shoreline here, also big flocks of greenfinch (50) and tree sparrow (200). But the best was a flock of 40 twite feeding on weeds in a crop of beet. Vasaltheden was hosting some thrushes with plenty of blackbirds and fieldfares and a few song and mistle thrushes. A second look at Glimminge produced a jay and two bullfinches. Finally I found a good flock of tits near Rammsjöstrand but the best it could come up with was one coal tit. Walking out I discovered a small, newly-created wetland just back from the coast. Might pull in birds but is sure to be interesting for dragonflies when it matures.

Bawling bairns

Had a noisy and wet hour and a half at Klarningen with a disgruntled and rather stroppy child (Number 2) this morning. When things returned to calm, normality we had a pleasant time watching a small flock of golden plover (60) wheeling in the air above the car, our only refuge from the rain. Also on the ground here were; wigeon (70), teal (60), ruff (2) and snipe (at least 10). You do not have to spend too long at Klarningen before something flies in or past and this morning we were rewarded with 10 white-fronted geese which pitched into the stubble just north of the wetland.

On the way home we stopped off at the top end of Eskilstorpsstrand for red-necked grebe (2), common and velvet scoters and three cracking black-throated divers.

The kids kicked up a rumpus in the afternoon too, so I packed them in the car and we headed out for a walk around Öllövsstrand. This is a lovely bit of countryside, coastal and packed with cover and one day I will find something good here! This afternoon's highlights included fourteen grey partridge, a redstart and a flock of 50 linnets.

Grey day

Took the kids to Klarningen this morning for a walk round. The highlight was an early hen harrier (1K), Also here; teal (17), ruff (4), snipe (4), curlew (3), wood sandpiper (2) but no sign of yesterday's bar-tailed godwit (nice one Jens!). A quick feeding of the ducks at Båstad produced three goosander, the sea surprisingly bare of birds.

A dull evening walk from Öllövsstrand to Glimminge in showers and a strong southerly produced a 1K red-backed shrike, a couple of goosander and a smattering of waders. Hope this weather changes soon, it is starting to feel really autumnal.

Rosy morning

Decided to find out if last year's immature male rosefinch had returned to Öllövsstrand this year and guess what. It had. This year sporting a bit of red and still desperately wolf-whistling for a female. Marsh warblers, icterine warblers and thrush nightingales in full song. Walked up to Glimminge, plenty of breeding activity, but the only other bird of note was a spotted redshank at Vasaltheden that came high and vocal from the east and landed on the seashore.

After breakfast took the team for a swim in the sea at Segelstorp, two more spotted redshank south were the highlight here.

Happy Birthday Mrs B!

Dawn saw me stumbling around in the garden, a lesser whitethroat was rattling away on territory. Before breakfast I nipped out to Öllövsstrand which had a good selection of the migrants that are readily available at the moment, including my first patch thrush nightingale and a singing whitethroat.

The rest of the very wet morning was spent walking the beech woods at Dömestorp with the family celebrating Mrs B's birthday, hard to see or hear anything in the rain so we stuck slugs onto Number 1's face. Very fetching. We ate our picnic in the car on the beach at Mellbystrand but remained undisturbed by birds.