Svínoy

Svínoy

Today I finally got to do some birding on Svínoy – my favorite island for bird watching on the Faroes. As soon as I arrived it was obvious that warblers were present. But it was raining and windy all day long making birding a little difficult.

Chiffchaff

On my first walk through the village I found 3 Lesser Whitethroats, Garden Warbler, Yellow-browed Warbler, 3 Chiffchaffs, 2 Chaffinches and 3 Willow Warblers. Then I went into a house to shelter a bit from the rain and wind.

Red-breasted Flycatcher

Around 11:00 I made my second round and found 2 Yellow-browed and a Red-breasted Flycatcher fresh in from the ocean. The flycatcher was very shy and as soon as it located a dense garden it disappeared. So I didn’t get as good looks as I could have wished for – but it didn’t smell too much like a Taiga anyways.

Red-breasted Flycatcher in the rain

As the day progressed warblers can in from the ocean and it was truly amazing to witness. This place has sooo much potential. But I only found more of the previously mentioned species and 11 Blackcaps.

Lesser Whitethroat – fresh from the ocean and soaking wet

Lesser Whitethroat

In late august I found the first breeding Tree Sparrows for possibly 100 years or so. Back then I only found two birds – an adult feeding a young. Today I found 5 Tree Sparrows together – probably the entire Faroese breeding population.

Tree Sparrow – all 5 of them

I also had the chance to check Viðareiði briefly. Quite surprisingly a Barred Warbler, 5 Yellow-browed Warblers and a Great Spotted Woodpecker were found within 30 minutes.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Imagine what 20 birders would come up with if they checked more hot-spots today? For me this day had all the excitement I could wish for except a true rarity. Where is that Lancey hiding?

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Silas Olofson