Beans r back

If there was any doubt that autumn had arrived then a message that the last working GPS sender on one of the Scottish Bean Geese had just phoned home from Akershus (after having been silent for over a week and having last sent from the Swedish breeding grounds) was proof. I made my way up there this morning and had a flock of 98 birds on perhaps the most used autumn field. Amongst them were only 5 ringed birds: 30 (the GPS sender), 04, 6U, S8 and 3Y. All of these are birds I have seen before and 6U is one of the original birds I first saw in 2012. There seemed to be a good number of families in the flock but I find it difficult determining which birds are juveniles.

On the other side of the track I was standing on was a turf field with lots of puddles and mud were turf had been removed and this attracted a lot of wagtails, a few waders and Sparrowhawks. I had 2 Ruff, 2 Lapwing, 7 Snipe, 1 Ringed Plover and a Golden Plover which was nearly more than I had at Årnestangen on uneventful visits on both Monday and yesterday!

One hope of today was to find Red-footed Falcon or Pallid Harrier. Of course I didn’t but 5 Kestrels and 3 Hobbies kept me on my toes.

Always alert and close to woodland - Taiga Bean Geese (sædgås) are truly wild geese

this bird has an old GPS collar with no markings but the yellow ring on the left leg identifies is as 04

It is getting late for Lapwing (vipe) and these are both young birds with the one on the right looking particularly young (must have been born late) 

there were quite a few Yellow Wagtails (gulerle). The top left bird is a typical autumn individual but the other bird was very bright

Common Buzzard (musvåk)

This adult Little Ringed Plover (dverglo) was along the path at Årnestangen on both Monday and Tuesday. September is late for this species and one would normally expect late birds to be youngsters.

a Common Hawker /starrlibelle / aeshna juncea