Lista 2025

 So, what are my thoughts and observations after a long weekend in Lista for the annual bird race and festival?

First I have remembered why I did not visit again sooner after my one and only previous visit in 2017 - it is a bloody long drive from Oslo! What on paper will take just over 5 hours ended up taking closer to eight due to Friday afternoon rush traffic and roadworks.

Secondly, even though Lista might be Norway’s premier birding location when the weekend list of 126 species didn’t include either Redwing or Fieldfare then it is clear Maridalen ain’t that bad either.

Third, I haven’t quite lost the edge yet and again bagged the title of Norway’s second best birder😉 in the evening quiz.

Birds of the weekend were Pallid Harrier, Red Kite, Great White Egret and a Barred Warbler (in the hand) and a 50 minute drive gave me a Norwegian tick in the form of a long staying and blinged up Ring-billed Gull.

We had three mornings of migration watching around the lighthouse and each was different. On the first two days there were lots of tits wanting to migrate with Coal the most numerous and also good numbers of Willow. There were also Nutcrackers on the move and a flock of 19 flew high out to sea towards Blighty. Siskins, Chaffinches, Swallow and Meadow Pipits were perhaps the most numerous birds but there were also good numbers of raptors with Sparrowhawks and Kestrels particularly numerous. On our last morning the easterly wind was quite strong and there was less viz mig but there were suddenly Wheatears everywhere.

Lista Lighthouse at 0607 on Saturday

The Bird Race results. We (myself, Anders Braut Simonsen and Hans Petter Rømme) were Team Tringa and were very happy with our second place, especially as we lack local knowledge and because we were also way behind at the half way mark

Great White Egret (egretthegre)

Barred Warbler (hauksanger) that had been caught in the observatories nets and was ringed

A selfie with my 326th Norwegian species

This Ring-billed Gull (ringnebbmåke) turned up in Norway in March 2023 and received its bling shortly thereafter. It has been seen regularly (at different times of the year at 2 sites 200km apart although also goes missing for months on end and has only been reported at one other location

It looks like it has a black rubber band on its bill