Long-billed Dowitcher!

Svellet and Årnestangen always receive my attention in the beginning of May but this year they are getting more than ever before. This is because water levels are so perfect at Svellet, whereas water levels are high in Maridalen and without rain there is not likely to be much exciting turning up there and thirdly there is a competition this year to find the most scarce or rares in Oslo and Akershus with an original Øivind Egeland painting as the prize – no greater incentive exists to leave Oslo and search for birds 😊

 

Svellet almost seems to be over the top at least in terms of quantity with numbers of Wood Sandpipers and Greenshank noticeably down and on Friday morning when I arrived there were just a few Oystercatcher and a single Greenshank to be seen. I must have just missed a raptor that scared everything off as over the next half an hour small groups reappeared but only 174 birds in total which is only 10% of what one can hope for at this time of the year. Still no calidris but when they start turning up next week then we can start talking quality over quantity. Quantity was not far away though…

I walked the long 3km walk out to the end of Årnestangen with little to show for my efforts but there were often the sound of waders in the air so there was clearly some birds around although I rarely saw them (one aspect of age and its effects on eyesight is that I now struggle to focus on distant birds flying over me). I did see a few Redshank roosting on exposed mud but not much else. I only spent around 20 minutes on the platform right at the end where all the exposed mud is so dry that there is nothing there even on the wet edges. Getting back to the old viewing tower I could see that there were some waders now on mud about 500m out. In the scope I saw a small flock of Ruff and something a bit smaller that was red. Nice I thought, my first Knot of the year. Continuing to look at the birds which were sleeping the red one briefly lifted its head and the bill was too long for a Knot. I immediately thought dowitcher but then it hid its head again and for the next hour I grappled with its identity. Because of the distance and heat haze and the fact it was mostly asleep I began to have doubts and spent a long time convincing myself that it wasn’t a Bar-tailed Godwit. Even though its small size was obvious it wasn’t until I saw it flap its wings and could see the pattern on the back and wings that I felt confident enough to share the news. At this stage it was just a dowitcher sp although in Norway Long-billed is by far and away the most likely one. A bit later a Crane scared the flock up and amongst the silent Ruff I heard a single syllable call which would seem to match Long-billed and rule out Short-billed..

Documenting the bird was not easy due to distance, heat haze, a camera lens that is constantly going on strike but perhaps most importantly a tripod that really is no good and needs to be replaced with something that actually keeps the camera steady or doesn’t decide to just fall over and damage the telescope… Also the tower where I stood to get a better elevated view and less heat haze is so old and rickety that it would shake every time I took a breath. Luckily though I did have my glasses with me though so could see the camera screen when I was filming. Over 90% of my pictures and film were deleted and I flet sea sick looking at the shaky videos and you can decide yourself what adjectives can be used to describe my attempts at digital documentation.

 

After I put the news out the first birder (or should I say twitcher) turned up on a bike 80 minutes later with the first walkers arriving in a sweat just after. I also met a few more birders hastily on their way out as I walked the now not so long walk back to the car. About an hour later though it was seen to fly north and I have no idea how many were walking out when they got the news. Luckily though it was then refound at, yes you’ve guessed it, the MIGHTY Svellet where many could enjoy it in the evening sunlight but at usual Svellet distances…

 

I don’t have time to write anymore or mention any other species as I am now on my way to airport to pick up some of my fellow Englishmen for some guiding to owling delights.

when I found the bird it was "just" a red wader with some male and female Ruff (brushane)

later some Redshank (rødstilk) joined them and the bird fed a bit but it slept most of the time

Long-billed Dowitcher (langnebbbekkasinsnipe) - now that's what I call a record shot

viewing and filming from the shaky tower on an even shakier tripod

Two videos. The first and shorter one concentrates on the ID features (although the call cannot be heard) and the second is the Director's Cut so you can feel some of my pain