I have received some
rather direct feedback that I over did it on the Bar-tailed Godwit picture
front yesterday 😉
The feedback is fair enough but yesterday’s post was also a reflection of how
dire things were.
Today was equally dire
but was saved in the afternoon by a bird in the bush which definitely beat 10
in the hand. Proof of how dire things have become is the shocking news that we
did not have a single Yellow-browed Warbler which (without checking my records)
must be a first.
The bird in the bush was
an Olive-backed Pipit. It was ringed so was probably the bird I saw in the hand
on Friday. After such a resultless day though it was a kick to pick it up on
call in thick vegetation and then manage to see it very well. OBP is a classic
Værøy species but is one that I have never really had satisfying views of until
this year.
The sea provided some
good birds with Long-tailed, Pomarine and Arctic Skua and a Red-necked Grebe but
this is not why we come to Værøy. The skuas are attracted to many hundred Kittiwakes
that are feeding every day but we have only seen a couple of juvenile birds
amongst them showing what a bad breeding season this species must have had.
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| Olive-backed Pipit (sibirpiplerke) in a bush! |
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| Arctic Redpoll (polarsisik) - perhaps not the most classic individual but the rump was huge and white |
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| female Parrot Crossbill (furukorsnebb) |
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| the Rough-legged Buzzard (fjellvåk) is still going strong |
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| White-tailed Eagles (havørn) are a common sight on Værøy |
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| a younger bird, most likely a 2cy |
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