2014 the year that was Part II

The second half of 2014 covers the summer holidays in the mountains and the north plus a relatively poor autumn which was only saved by storms in late October and then a quiet early winter with no invasive species to brighten the short dark days.

July

July is time for family holidays but there are always birds to see (isn't that one of the things that makes birding such a marvellous hobby?)

a pair of Redstarts (rødstjert) bred outside the cabin we were using in Beitostølen. The male is a truly beautiful bird

the second half of July was spent at our cabin near Bodø in the north of Norway and this Broad-billed Sandpiper (fjellmyrløper) was a rare record for the area. Here together with a Ringed Plover (sandlo)

August

The beginning of August still offers p some of the more exciting breeding species which are still feeding young

Icterine Warbler (gulsanger)

Marsh Warbler (myrsanger)



Red-backed Shrike (tornskate)

 And young and often confiding waders come through on migration

Spotted Redshank (sotsnipe)

Dunlin (myrsnipe)

Ruff (brushane)

and occasionally something really rare such as Norway's first Pallas's Gull (steppemåke)

September

 This is the month when migration is in full swing and one's thoughts turn to wind blown islands and rarities which in my case means the island of Værøy

Citrine Wagtail (sitronerle) one of the highlights in what was a quiet autumn on Værøy

the island's first Pectoral Sandpiper (alaskasnipe)

Barred Warblers (hauksanger) have proved to be regular here in September

the year's second close encounter with a Jack Snipe (kvartbekkasin)

Glaucous Gull (polarmåke) on Værøy

Sanderlings (sandløper) could be studied closely

October

October around Oslo often involves sea watching in southerly winds which can result in good birds but rarely good photos

the fact that I managed a picture of this Manx Shearwater (havlire) automatically makes it a good picture as there seem to be very few that have been photographed from land in Norway and this was only the second reported from Norway

this Short-eared Owl (jordugle) flew out of a neighbours garden and caused me lots of problems as I just assumed it would be a Long-eared despite the plumage telling something else

never a common sight in Norway: a Kingfisher (isfugl)

November

this Velvet Scoter (sjøorre) with some major pigment problems was an unusual sight

Whooper Swans (sangsvane) pass through the Oslo area in large numbers in November but despite searching I found no Bewick's (dvergsvane) amongst them

a rare, if plastic, Norwegian bird and refugee from warmer climes: an Egyptian Goose (niland)

I used a lot of time on a couple of late Chiffchaffs (gransanger) at the end of November and beginning of December. This one is a tristis

colourful wildfowl at Østensjøvannet

December

The tristis lasted into the first week of December but after some snow and constant freezing temperatures it was no longer reported and presumably succumbed to the elements



the Botanical Gardens in Oslo always offer many birds in December attracted to the many berry trees. Here a Waxwing (sidensvans)

and a Hawfinch (kjernebiter)

and something rarer: Two-barred Crossbills (båndkorsnebb)

I WISH EVERYONE A BIRD FILLED 2015