Last year, part 2

Last post left off at late April, so on we go to May, this month where we try to combine exams with rarity influx! May is probably my favourite month when it comes to birding, a very exciting time. And this year was no exception!

It all started on the 11th, with a right corker indeed. A Sociable Lapwing was found just putside Uppsala! Had to chosse between it and a maths lecture, what an easy choice! The bird was somewhat distant, but unmistakable. The fact that the weather was great, the setting next to a beautiful castle and all the birders there happy and friendly made this a wonderful twitch. Didn't get any photos that were any good, but took this small film. Hey, at the end you can see what it is! ;-)


Adult Sociable Lapwing (Vanellus gregarius), Salsta, 11 May 2010

My mom was away when the bird was discovered, and two days later when she got home we went for the bird again. Sadly, by then it was gone, but instead we drove to Vendelsjön where we got the information that a Marsh Sandpiper had not only been seen, but seen displaying on the other side of the lake! To cut a long story short, got there, saw (and heard!) the bird, and got some MORE information about a Great White Egret at Årike Fyris, what could be called my local patch. This bird was obliging indeed, staying for a few days and being so obvious one did not need any binos to pick it out.


Great White Egret (Ardea alba), Årike Fyris, 13 May 2010

May kept on giving, as news broke only a few days later of a Short-toed Lark at Ledskär. Nice little bird, albeit a little distant with heat haze making it difficult to see well at times.

The month ended with a young Pallid Harrier at Lövstaslätten, and a Golden Oriole heard singing (could not see it despite trying hard) at Tämnaren. Not bad since I never even left the province of Uppland!


Pallid Harrier (Circus macrourus), 2cy male, Lövstaslätten 29 May 2010

In early June I went to Öland, a nice trip even though we only saw the usual suspects.

On the 4th of July I found my first ever Red Kite for Uppland, really nice since it's pretty rare up here with only a few seen every year. Sadly I only saw it briefly from the car, and mom who was driving didn't see it at all.

July also brought a Yellow-legged Gull to Stockholm, a first for Uppland. People up here are starting to look through the gulls in Stockholm more and more, and with the help of the gull experts in southern Sweden now both Caspian and Yellow-legged have been added to birds found in Stockholm. Anyway, on the last day of July I got there to see the bird. Was a bit hard at first despite me reading up on how to ID it, but since me and mom where the only people there we were a bit unsure at first that the gull we had picked out was the right one. Luckily more people arrived and the ID was confirmed. It's a bit odd twitching in the middle of Stockholm, with tourists walking by wondering what the hell we're doing! Also feels a bit odd to throw out bread to get a rarity within meters of us...


Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis), 1cy, Skeppsbron, Stockholm, 31 July 2010

After that everything seemed to die down, and we got an autumn without any real rarities. Well, not in Uppland at least, die-hard twitchers went to Holmögadd for the White-winged Lark and to Ottenby for a very confiding Black-throated Accentor... too far for me, I stayed at home.

A Buff-breasted Sandpiper was nice to see in Ledskär, and a Little Bunting during a field trip to Björn, other than that the months were mostly spend watching geese in Hjälstaviken or walking in the forests. The last year tick I got was a Short-eared Owl at Kungsängen, very good views as it sat on a pole next to the road, lit by our car lights...

And that was it for 2010. Let's hope 2011 will be as exciting!

Last year, part 1

The weather here is ghastly (first cold, then warm, then cold again!) and the roads outside town were pure ice today. Not kidding at all, they were the worst mom had ever seen and she said it was a good thing I was driving as I have taken the ice test for my license... it was not fun though, especially since our car does not have studded tires. I think this is the first time that I've really wished for those! Didn't even see any birds, and that's not kidding either. One of those days when the forest is completely silent, absolutely nothing could be heard or seen.

So, let's take a look at last year's best birds instead!

Year started with a bang, as a Black-throated Thrush was found on the last day of 2009. Went there on January 1 2010, and saw the bird. It was either a young male or an old female, I'm not sure if the experts ever came to a conclusion on that. Feeding at a marvelous feeding station in a garden with a most friendly lady who let us all into the garden to see the bird.


Black-throated Thrush (Turdus atrogularis), Duvbo, 1 January 2010. I had just gotten my new camera so the setting where all wrong... oh well.

Next bird up for grabs was this beautiful Iceland Gull just outside Gävle. Normally a bit far for me to twitch, but since my family hails from Gävle it could be nicely combined with visiting relatives. Always good to have an excuse! ;-)


Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides), 4cy, Bönan, 8 January 2010. By now I had started to get to know the camera better!

Only a few days into January yet, and more was to be seen. On the 17th I finally got away to see the Hawk Owl in Burunge. Very distant views (I've had better of this species), but a nice bird anyhow.


Very distant Hawk Owl (Surnia ulula). Some english-speaking birders had gotten hold of snow shoes and skis and were trying to get closer to the bird which was seen across some fields. I don't think they'd ever used that equipment before to judge from their falling... but I was impressed that they went for it! I really hope they got great views as they were trying so hard.

In February I saw my first ever Glaucous Gull in the middle of Stockholm, and the month also brought some other good species such as Two-barred Crossbill, Jack Snipe and Shore Lark.


Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus), Stockholm, 6 February 2010.


Shore Lark (Eremophila alpestris), Ullnatippen, 14 February 2010.

March is a month for listening to owls, and clocked up Eagle, Ural and Tengmalm's Owls, all heard really well nearby. No rarities this month though, but it doesn't really matter as spring birds start to trickle in.

In the shift March-April I went to Landsort in the southern-most Stockholm archipelago. Brilliant place, loads of great birds. Days were mostly spend counting Eiders, but we walked around the island a lot as well, seeing loads of migrating passerines. Bushes were full of Robins, Chaffinches, Goldcrests and it was fun studying the Dunnocks feeding next to the bird observatory; normally they're very shy and hard to see.

April is a wonderful month with more migrants arriving all the time, and often a few rarities. It was a real bonus finding my first ever Wryneck while just taking a small stroll in the local woods before uni. Not a rare species here, but I'd had problems connecting with one, so it was brilliant to find one myself!
Late April also brought a Hoopoe to Älvkarleby, so up we went to see it. Wasn't able to go until dusk, so it was a bit dark, but not to bad since the bird showed brilliantly. Great, since my only other sighting (on Öland) of this spectacular bird was very brief and only in flight.




Hoopoe (Upupa epops), Älvkarleby 26 April 2010.


Will stop there since I am tired and want to go to bed. Next part tomorrow... hopefully!

I give up

Four times I have visited Kälsta now. Four times going to this place where (supposedly) a Lapland Bunting can be found. Pretty much everyone else has seen it, but not me. Hours spent there have turned up nothing but Yellowhammers, and no matter how people say the Lapland shound be amongst them... it simply isn't. Not when I'm there. Now I give up. I won't see that one.

A White-tailed Eagle on the way back was a poor consolation.


Adult White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Österunda

Yesterday I went to Stockholm, to Råstasjön where Water Rails can be seen in winter. This lake is situated in the middle of Stockholm suburbs, and is a popular place for people to walk. The rails can be found in a small area in the north, just by the walking path, making it a lot of fun to watch them since they're so close. Yesterday we only saw one (there's supposed to be two this winter), but as it showed down to a metre I won't complain! It's also fun there since ordinary people stop to look at them, and I always feel it is a great thing that they get to see some unusual birds. Especially kids, which is why I lent two kidsmy binos yesterday, so they could see the rail better. (It was a few meters away, hiding behind some bushes at the time.) It just makes me happy seeing those kids being amazed by the bird. Maybe some future birders? Who knows?

There's also a large flock of Grey Herons at the lake, being fed by the municipality. Apparently the story goes that an old man started giving them herrings every day in the winter many years ago, and when he couldn't do it any more the municipality stepped in and continued the tradition. Also very popular with the public, I mean, herons are impressive birds seen up close!


Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Råstasjön

Snow snow snow

The last few days have been characterised by snow and clouds. The kinds of weather where everything looks grey and it feels dark even in the middle of the day. It's not the most pleasant weather to be out birding, but out we went anyway! Found a few new year species, such as a group of six Snow Buntings and today a wonderful Golden Eagle soaring by the road as we came driving. It circled for a few minutes at close range, letting us see all the characteristics of a fourth winter bird, ie a 5cy now. I'm really thankful to an article in the latest issue of the local birding magazine about how to age Goldies. Lots of fun being able to age them!


Snow Buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis). Didn't take any photos this time, so the photo is of some I saw last year. Also a few Tree Sparrows in the photo. Lövstaslätten, 19 December 2010.

Also payed a visit back to Storvreta and the finches, and got a little film of them. Uploaded on Youtube, which as usual destroyed the quality of the film. It looked much better in the camera... note the Sparrowhawk entering at 0:33.

Sunny day

Started today by going past the cathedral, and today the Peregrine was sitting there. Such a beautiful bird! I'm assuming it is the same one that's been here earlier winters, this being the third, which means it's three years old now as it was in juvenile plumage the first winter. Would be really fun if it could find a partner here and breed in the city and not just winter here!


Peregrine (Falco peregrinus) on Uppsala Cathedral.

Well, failed finding any Golden Eagles, Grey Partridges or Lapland Buntings on the plains today, but saw some other nice birds such as a female Black Grouse in the forest on the way and a small flock of Long-tailed Tits. The tits especially made me very happy since they're my favourite bird, and I rarely see any. They're just so sweet, looking like fluffy snowballs on a stick, and I also like their calls.

Not much more to say, got some pictures I'm rather happy with today though.


Yellowhammers (Emberiza citrinella), Kälsta


Low sun and old barn, Kälsta

New year!

New year, and it could have started better... heavy snowfall during the night made us all wake up to loads more snow and many unploughed roads. Strong northern winds did not make the thing better, as it blew the snow onto the roads again when they had been ploughed, creating large barriers of snow to drive through.

Which turned out to be bad for our car. Somehow a belt connected to the engine came loose, and hence the battery didn't charge and the car died. Yay. It had to be towed off. Not a good start when you want to go birding a lot! The thing is also that the same car broke down almost exactly a year ago, on January 3, when we were out looking for owls, and had to be towed. Bad tradition.

Anyway, before stupid car problems we saw a few species during that first day, with White-tailed Eagle, Dipper and Collared Dove as highlights.

Today we rented a car and went back once again to Storvreta, to get the Goldfinches & Co on the year list. Saw all the usual suspects there, and managed to find two Arctic Redpolls myself in amongst the Common ones. Even got a photo of one!


Slightly better photo than the last of the Merlin (Falco columbarius). Storvreta, January 2 2011.


Very bad photo of an Arctic Redpoll (Carduelis hornemanni), Storvreta January 2 2011.

Tomorrow we hope for sunny weather, as we're going out on the plains to search for Golden Eagles, Grey Partridges and Lapland Buntings. Should be fun!