Corncrake

Willow Warbler – Hvalvík

There seem to rarities all over – except for the Faroes. Yesterday I checked Eysturoy and Streymoy. I only saw a Pochard, some Barn Swallows, a Garden Warbler, some Wood Pigeons, Blackcaps, Willow Warblers… but nothing rare.

Today I first went to Viðareiði, where I saw my first House Martin og the year. The Mallard x American Black Duck was also present at gave very good views. Normallly it is rather shy.

Mallard x American Black Duck – Viðareiði

Mallard x American Black Duck – Viðareiði

Mallard x American Black Duck – Viðareiði

Then I went to Vágar, where I saw a pair of Gadwalls, some Barn Swallows and nothing more. Where are the rare birds? They are there… let me go back to yesterday. I checked the plantation in Hvalvík. When I walked in the plantation I heard two crex-sounds – what? A Corncrake? I listened for another 30 minutes but didn’t hear it again, so it was probably just a starling… or so I thought.

The Corncrake place

I passed the same place at about 23:00 this evening. It was 10 C and almost no wind. The place is a delta with large hay fields. So I stopped and after 10  minutes I heard the crex-sound. Wow, it surely was a Corncrake, but it was reluctant to say much – only a few crex’es now and then quite far away. But after a while I finally managed to get a very poor quality sound recording of the bird – the bird can be heard here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6y2ghHC2jI&feature=youtu.be but you need some good speakers!

But well, a good record in deed! Corncrake has bread on the Faroes until 1938, but todays bird was the first in 24 years!

SiO

Spring has arrived

Willow Warbler at Svínoy

They’ve been predicting southeasterly winds several times during may – and finally they came! Temperatures around 12 C and sun – it had to contain some birding surprises. And the first one came two days ago. A woman called me. A weird bird was in her garden. It had hit something so it was in bad shape. So I went to her house and it turned out to be a Red-throated Diver. It was rather confused and the bill had obtained a minor injury – but otherwise it seemed ok. So I released it in Borðoyavík and it seemed like it would manage.

Red-throated Diver

Along with the wind migrants started to arrive. Yesterday 3 Barn Swallows were in Klaksvík and Rodmund also saw a few in Sørvágur. So I took the ferry to Svínoy. But it turned out that the ferry was going to dock, so I only got 40 hectic minutes on the islands before I had to leave. Another 3 Barn Swallows, more than 10 Willow Warblers, Brambling and two Long-tailed Ducks was all I managed to see – but I didn’t have time to check the island or the gardens properly at all. There probably was much more to be found…

All the birds on Svínoy made me go back today. This time for 7 hours. It was obvious that many birds had already departed, but I managed to find 5 Willow Warblers, 1 Chiffchaff, the years first Redstart and Common Whitethroat and a few Barn Swallows.

Tree Sparrow – the first in 28 years on the Faroes!

But after spending 3 hours on the island a sparrow flew over my head. It sat down and revealed a uniform brownish head – YES – my first Tree Sparrow on the Faroes. Arguably you have to be locally oriented to be happy to see Great Tit and Tree Sparrow – but that’s what I am.

Tree Sparrow – the first in 28 years on the Faroes!

Tree Sparrow bred at Tórshavn in 1888 and on Skúvoy from 1888 to about 1910. After that 10-15 birds were seen in Sumba in 1960, where they might have bred. The latest sighting was in 1984, where Søren Sørensen saw one in Sumba. So todays bird is the first one in 28 years – and naturally a new faroese tick for me. So all in all it was a good day even though it looks like Utsira and Shetland currently are hitting the Jackpot big time with Isabelline Shrike, Thrush Nightingale, Bee-eater and Subalpine Warblers…

SiO

Mykines

Fulmar – Mykines

On friday morning we left Suðuroy and went birding on Streymoy for some hours before taking the small ferry to Mykines. The weather was really nice, but there were almost no migrants around. The best birds were a pair of Gadwalls and a Barnacle Goose at Vestmanna.

We went to the ferry and started sailing out to Mykines. In Sørvágsfjørður we got a surprise as a summer plumaged Brunnich’s Guillemot gave good views to all three os us. But besides that we “only” saw hundreds of Gannets, Fulmars, Puffins and a few Great and Arctic Skuas.

We arrived in Mykines at 17:20 and went to Kristianshús, were we had rented two rooms. After getting setteled we checked the village, but we didn’t find anything beyond the ordinary. SEP and PJP went early to bed, because we were going out to look for Storm-Petrels at midnight.

So went it got sufficiently dark I woke up the others and we went out into the bright night. After walking about 20 minutes up to the ridge – where the memorial stone of those who have died on the sea and during bird hunting is located – we soon heard the first European Storm-Petrels and half and hour later we started to see the first birds. But admittedly it is hard to see them – ’cause all you see is a white flash on most occasions. But we counted 11 birds and PJP got himself a lifer! So it was nice and the effort paid off.

Puffins – Mykines

After a good nights sleep we woke up and after breakfast we went out to Mykines Hólmur. On the way there you pass by the largest Puffin-colony on the Faroes. I don’t know the numbers of Puffins breeding there, but in the good old days at least 100.000 birds were caught each year – and the swarms had such a size and density that they had the same effect as a cloud shadowing the sun… But next to zero chicks have been raised for about 7 years and the numbers of birds caught has gone down from 100.000 to zero last year – the people of Mykines have decided to protect the Puffins from hunting until the situation changes.

Puffins – Mykines

But there still are a lot of Puffins. And for people who do not seen large numbers of birds every day about 10.000 Puffins really is a stunning sight. And yesterday was a photographers dream with good weather at tons of birds present. When sitting down the birds get really close ’cause they’re occupied by other activities like diggins holes, fighting and mating.

Great Skua (Bonxie) – Mykines

While I was watching the Puffins a Long-eared Owl flew by – not exactly the bird I would expect out there.

Hopefully this will be a succesful breeding year, but it is still way to early tell. But the Gannets seem to do well, and the colony expands a bit each year. Mykines contains the sole faroese colony and seeing thousands of these marvellous birds really is amazing. Other birds seen regularly were breeding Fulmars, Razorbills, Kittiwakes, Arctic Skuas and the Great Skuas were constantly hunting the Puffins. A few Ravens were present near the lighthouse – but no rarities were seen. Not ok – just being there on Mykines is enough excitement in itself.

Fighting Puffins – Mykines

We left the island at 17:30 and went to Sørvágur. Janus Hansen had just send me a picture of a Queen Eider that we had found in Vestmannasund. We went there and PJP located the bird within a few minutes – a nice surprise and a scarce migrant.

“Queen” Eider – Vestmannasund.

Today SEP and PJP went home and I’m back in Klaksvík after an action packed week – but a week with no rarities. But now the wind has turned from north to southeast – the rarities will come soon!

SiO

Fulmar – Mykines

Puffins – Mykines

Puffins – Mykines

Great Skua (Bonxie) – Mykines

Fighting Puffins – Mykines

“Queen” Eider – Vestmannasund.

Grind and stuff

Mandarin Ducks in Tórshavn

 

It seems like a lot of stuff is going on in the countries around the Faroes. But we haven’t got much to report. Visiting birders SEP and PJP and I have been on Suðuroy during the last few days. The weather has been calm, but the wind still comes from the north and it is very cold – just above freezing temperatures. That is not a good thing when it comes to migration, and we really haven’t seen much.

The best birds have been about 15 Great Northern Divers including a summer plumage bird, a few Glaucous and Iceland Gulls, Snow Bunting – it all sounds pretty arctic, right?

Pied Flycatcher in Sumba

Well, especially today a few migrants have been around including 7 Pintails, 1 Tree Pipit, 1 Pied Flytatcher, 2 Blackcaps, a handfull of White Wagtails and a Gadwall.

Tree Pipit in Sumba

Most visitors wish to see the Grind – the hunt which has been going on for maybe a millenia for the non-threatened Long-finned Pilot Whale. We got the news about a pod of whales when we were in Hvalba, so we drew right to the chase in Tvøroyri.

Grind – Long-finned Pilot Whales

Grind – a risky buisness

It might look very dramatic, but the harvesting happens very fast.

We came in time to see the end game – 62 whales were quickly harvested and the killing went very well. The meat was giving the inhabitants in the perishes of Hvalba, Sandvík and Fámjin – a very welcome addition to the household economy.

Red Knot with metal ring – come on… there’s no way to read these!

Just after this I found 3 Red-necked Phalaropes and the beach of Trongisvágur, but nothing else of interest was found except for a Pomarie Skua.

Visit

Svend Erik, Peter and I

While Iceland has Slaty-backed Gull and Tree Swallows there isn’t really nothing much to report for the Faroes. Two danish birders, the brothers Svend Erik and Peter Petersen, are currently visiting. We’ve been birding for the last two days and we’ve seen about 60 species so far.

The best birds have been Slavonian Grebe, Shelduck, Garganey and Pintail at Sandoy, Hawfinch and two Mandarin Ducks in Tórshavn, Sooty Shearwater and European Storm-petrel at Æðuvík… We’ve only had northwesterly winds, so it is cold – about 2 C. And european spring overshooters like Subalpine Warbler or Wryneck seen almost ridiculous even to think about.

Knots in Árnafirði

The real highlight came yesterday when one of my brothers in law called me to say that there were a lot of red birds on the beach of Árnafirði. I went there and found about 1000 Knot on the beach. They gave amazing views and really gave colour to an otherwise rather dark day – enjoy the images!

Svend Erik, Peter and I

Knots in Árnafirði

 

 

Exotic surprise

Siskin in Árnafirði

A calm and sunny day has ended. When I drove the kids to the kindergarten this morning it was cold – about 2 C. But cold weather often equals sunny days. So after finishing work I went out for a few hours to enjoy the sun.

My brother-in-law found a male Pochard at Árnafirði two days ago, so there is something happening. And today was the best day so far this spring when it comes numbers.

Chiffchaff in Hvannasund

First I checked Hvannasund, where I found a few Chiffchaffs. But I soon headed north to Viðareiði. There were Meadow Pipits and Wheatears all over the place – and about 50 White Wagtails. So it was actually quite exciting. I decided to take a long walk around the village.

Great Skua in Viðareiði

After 5 minutes the years first Spotted Flycatcher sat of a fence – and I managed to get some photos, but it was chased around by Wheatears all the time.

Spotted Flycatcher in Viðareiði

All of a sudden two small ducks flew over my head. Hm… it took a few seconds to process the impression, but well – it were two male Mandarin Ducks. I’ve never seen them on the Northern Islands before, so it was a nice and exotic surprise. They landed in an area with no public access, so I didn’t get any good pics.

Mandarin Ducks in Viðareiði

A few moments later an American Black Duck x Mallard hybrid flew over – it has been seen now and then during some years now.

Mandarins with Fugloy in the background

A few Dunlins and about 50 Golden Plovers provided a little more excitement, but no rarities were among them. In Klaksvík a single Iceland Gull is still present.

SiO

 

Nothing to report

David vs Goliath

During the last week it has been cold. Snow has covered the country, but the temperatures have increased a bit during the last few days – so now it’s only freezing during the night. Today the weather was calm and nice – and that is the irony of the Faroes. Bright sunny weather is most often associated with cold northerly winds, while southerly winds give a rise in the temperatures, but often it is rainy and cloudy (and birds arrive).

Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits at Viðareiði

Migration has been on a halt during the last week. But today good numbers of Wheatears, White  Wagtails and Meadow Pipits were arriving. But I didn’t manage to find anything rare. Hopefully something good will turn up soon.

Great Northern Divers at Skálabotn

I went sailing with my brother-in-law and we managed to get rather close to some Red-throated Divers in Àrnafirði…

Red-throated Diver

Puffins have started to arrive in numbers

Harbour Porpoise

SiO

Norðoy – cruise

Slavonian Grebe at Árnafirði

The Great Tit inspired me to check my local area. The islands Kalsoy, Kunoy, Borðoy, Viðoy, Svínoy and Fugloy are called Norðoyggjar – or the northern islands. That’s where I do most of my birding.

Yesterday I checked Viðoy and Borðoy. The best birds were a Chaffinch in Viðareiði, the first Sylvia-warbler for the year – a Blackcap – at Hvannasund and a Slavonian Grebe at Árnafirði.

Blackcap at Hvannasund

Today the sun was shining from a blue sky. So I decided to go to Svínoy, which is my favourite location on the Faroes. It is simply a magnet for rare birds. If that island was covered daily I can only imagine what would be seen. Since 2009 I’ve found Arctic, Subalpine, Melodious, Palla’s Grasshopper, Lesser Grey Shrike along with tons of Yellow-browed and Barred Warblers, Arctic and Lesser Redpoll and Common Rosefinches.

Brambling at Svínoy

On the way out to Svínoy I looked for Puffins and Guillemots. There were scattered flocks of both. All of a sudden a Brunnich’s Guillemot appeared just 25 m from the boat. It was in summer plumage as most of the Guillemots and the two key features – the white stripe on the bill and the pointed rather than rounded limit between black and white on chest – were seen well. It actually gives the feeling of a hybrid Razorbill x  Guillemot in my opinion. But well, as often when taken by surprise the camera was not at hand – and after 15 seconds we had passed the bird.

Brunnich’s Guillemot is not a rarity on the Faroes, but there is almost nobody looking out for them. Most of the birds recorded are birds that are shot during the winter months – as both Razorbills and Guillemots are regularly hunted for food.

Drake Gadwall at Svínoy

When I came out to Svínoy I found a male and a female Gadwall. I’ve never seen them there before and they are rather uncommon on the Faroes.

Brambling at Svínoy

I was really nice to be able to go birding in a T-shirt as the sun was shining from a clear sky. But there were not many migrants around. Two Bramblings, two Chiffchaffs, two Black-tailed Godwits, one Whimbrel, two white Hooded Crows, good numbers of Golden Plovers and two Long-tailed Ducks were the best birds.

Starling

But the day offered great opportunities to get some low-iso photos, so I exploited that opportunity.

Purple Sandpiper

Purple Sandpiper

Purple Sandpiper

Purple Sandpiper

Purple Sandpiper

SiO

Great!!!

The temperature has reached 11 C and the snow is gone from the vallies. It’s feeling more and more spring-like. Several Long-eared Owls have been reported during the last few days, so I guess there are many of them scattered around the islands.

Today I was out for about 1½ hours. I went directly to Toftavatn where I found about 10 Tufted Ducks, 1 Common Goldeneye, two Red-throated Divers and 6 Wigeons. So I hurried to Rituvík. In the bay I found 5 Great Norhtern Divers and two Teals.

I had to be a Gøtu a little before 18:00, so I had to choose between checking the gardens at Rituvík or Æðuvík. Æðuvík is smaller and the gardens are easier to overlook. I’ve found birds like Melodious Warbler there, so it surely is a nice spot. But today I decided to check Rituvík.

I went straight to the biggest garden. As soon as I came I heard a Great Tit-call. But after 5 minutes with no further calls and no bird seen I was sceptical – it was probably just a Starling or something making a weird call. I was just about to leave when I had one last look into garden. WHAT??? A nice Great Tit was posing on the fence. But after 1½ second it disappeared into the garden.

Great Tit at Rituvík - 4th record for the Faroes

I had to leave in 10 minutes in order to get to Gøtu and as time passed by I was convinced that I had to get this one accepted by the RC on a description. But as always a picture says more than a thousand words – and reality says more than a thousand pictures. So I was delighted when the Great Tit finally gave good views and was documented properly.

Great Tit at Rituvík - 4th record for the Faroes

Great Tit is just one of those birds… There have been 3 records of 6 individuals including some birds being present for almost 5 months. But all the recent sightings of Great Tit (and the sole faroese record of Blue Tit) were kept secret, so I didn’t get to see any of them. But well, now I’ve found my own, so I’m happy.

The weather look almost ideal during the next few days for migrants arriving, so a visit to Svínoy in the coming days could produce something good.

SiO

 

Poem

Snow in Klaksvík

One of my faroese facebook friends had a very accurate update yesterday:

Spring is over. Summer never came.
Autumn is howling: It’s winter again.

Snow… Yes, yesterday and today it’s been snowing. It’s cold. It feels like winter – except for the fact that days are much longer. Not ideal conditions for migrants. But some have come non the less. Yesterday a male Pied Flycatcher was in Klaksvík, a Mandarin Duck has been seen in Leirvík and today Rodmund found a Hawfinch in Sørvágur.

Siskin and Bramblings at Árnafirði

And actually there are quite a few migrants around. Yesterday I checked Árnafirði. There were a few Redwings, a Sisken and 3 Bramblings. Nothing much, but at least it was something.

Dark eyed Herring Gull

Today I went birding on Eysturoy and Streymoy. The first good bird was a 2cy Iceland Gull in Klaksvík along with a dark eyed 4cy and a pale 2cy Herring Gull.

Lesser Black-backed, Herring and Iceland Gull in Klaksvík

In Leirvík a striking drake Pintail was a nice surprise. They’re not uncommon, but you just gotta love these beauties. Especially when they give superb and close views. I didn’t relocate the Harlequin Ducks which were last seen on the 17th of april in Syðrugøtu – but I’ve probably seen more Harlequins than Pintails on the Faroes, so it didn’t matter that much.

Star bird of the day - drake Pintail in Leirvík

In Syðrugøta there were four Great Northern Divers including an adult in summer plumage, a few auks and two Red-throated Divers – and a few more Great Northern were at Skálafirði.

In Hósvík four Great Cormorants were present and about 20 Tufted Ducks were at Eiði along with a few Common Goldeneyes and some Whooper Swans.

Great Cormorant at Hósvík

In Tórshavn I found a male Chaffinch, 2 Norhtern Wheatears, 3 Wood Doves and several Robins – but nothing unexpected. But taking the cold northeasterly winds into considerations it wasn’t bad – something is happening. So hopefully the warmer weather in the days to come will bring a few good birds.

SiO