Hytte birding

We have spent 3 days at the family cabin (or hytte as they say in Norway) near Naurstad which is 30 minutes inland from Bodø by a small fjord. The fjord had feeding pairs of Red and Black Throated Divers alongside more numerous Oystercatchers and Common and Herring Gulls. A lone Lesser Black Backed Gull was of the race fuscus and a Grey Heron, Redshank and Common Tern also put in an appearance. 2 Waxwings flying over were unexpected and perhaps indicative of local breeding. Redpolls were common including a fine male feeding om grass seedheads only yards away. A Woodcock flew over in the evening and nearby we had an elk and fox. A well worn animal track up from the fjord to the cabin which continued under the veranda was presumeably from an otter. Nearby farmland turned up a surprising flock of 13 Ruff which comprised both males and females all of which appeared to be juveniles. The size difference between the sexes was very obvious with the males appearing twice as large as the females. Also nearby a flock of 15 GoldenPlover and a single Shelduck, 3 Yellow Wagtails and a family party of Spotted Flycatchers.

A day trip to visit relatives at Røsvik (north of Fauske) had us passing Klungsevika which is a well known bay which often holds good numbers of duck, divers and waders. There were many duck but without a scope I had trouble identifying them at distance. There were definitely many hundred Velvet Scoter plus over 100 Goldeneye and Eider, 3Long Tailed Duck and small numbers of Wigeon, Tufted Duck and Red Breasted Merganser along with 7 Black Throated Divers. We also passed Kvittblikvannet where again a telescope would have come in handy. I did pick out a couple of Slavonian Grebes, a family party of Whooper Swans, Wigeon and Tufted Ducks. Røsvik is a small village by a bay in a fjord and we were greeted by glorious sunshine and 23 degrees. There were many hundreds of gulls here including Black Headed which must have bred nearby as there were many newly fledged young. Eiders, Goosanders and Red Breated Mergansers were on the see and waders were represented by Oysrtcathcer, Redshank and Curlew. 2 porpoises were also glimpsed. A Golden Plover in a small cemetry under large trees was an unexpected sight. 2 Reindeer along the road must have been tame animals but 3 elk by the road on the way home were definitely not and included the first horned male I have ever seen.