Today ended up being THE day but it took a bit of time. There were
no birds in the air in the morning but we slowly started realising that a lot
of Yellow-browed Warblers had arrived. Six here, 10 there, 30 in the nests gave
a day total of over 70. But where were the other birds? An OBP that had been
ringed two days ago fell into a net again but was not seen or heard in the
field and otherwise there was just a couple of Redstarts and Garden Warblers
that were new. A flyover Common Buzzard that was later seen on Røst looked like
it was going to be bird of the day (less than annual in Nordland and a new
species for Værøy) but things changed after I had given up for the day.
It had gone 6pm and after 11 hours in the field I was already in
the house and washing up (I am VERY domesticated) when Kjell came in, changed
the lens on his camera to 50mm and said “I know something you don’t know” or
words to that effect. Geir also came with a smile on his face and I worked out
that John had apparently caught something and was bringing it back to the house
but they wouldn’t tell me what it was and made me guess. I eventually came to Siberian
Thrush after a game of rarer/commoner but they then told me it was a joke and
went outside. When I heard the car pull up I looked out the window and Kjell
and Geirs actions made it clear that it was no joke! John had indeed caught a
SIBERIAN THRUSH!
After that it was all a bit exciting with us fighting for the best
photos and selfies but the bird was quickly ringed and released and flew
straight into the closest tree where it then sat motionless high in a tree did
its best Jack Snipe impression and was still there when we went inside (maybe we will
find it again tomorrow).
What a bird and one that qualifies for the good old tag of Cosmic
Mind F*cker and so good that I will temporarily put my ringing scruples (and
principles) to one side. The ringing that the guys have carried out on Værøy
the last few years has revealed few surprises in terms of rare birds (just
about all the real rarities such as White’ Thrush, PGT Tips, Lancy and Pechora
have been found in the field) but the information on Yellow-browed Warblers has
been very interesting with hardly any retraps of birds both within the same and
on subsequent days and also very few field sightings of ringed birds showing
that there is very high turnover of this species but also begging the question
as to where they go right after they are ringed (is there a rare bird paradise
on the island that we haven’t found?).
I’ve spent enough time blogging now so enjoy the pictures whilst
we celebrate and look forward to what tomorrow (my last day) will bring J
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| Siberian Thrush Værøy! |
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| Kjell hardly had time to enjoy the bird with all the messages that needed sending! |
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| after release - I resorted to flash on the superzoom |
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| with blue eye |
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| pre release |
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| and the only flight shot I managed |
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| post release with the bazooka - it was already quite dark |
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| selfie 1 |
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| selfie 2 |
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