A building of Rooks: 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.