Well that’s it for this year - Værøy 2026 and my chance for a major rarity or two is over. I am writing this at Bodø airport as I wait for my flight to Oslo having had a final morning’s birding on the island and then the ferry ride back to Bodø via Moskenes.
The morning gave me three Yellow-browed Warblers which was my highest count of the trip and felt like a good way to say au revoir to the island. The ferry ride started less vomit inducing than I had feared but that was because the first leg to Moskenes was with a tail wind. When we headed to Bodø it was a different kettle of fish and was a roller coaster at times and the spray and wet windows meant I could see very little with a handful of Fulmars being the best.
So, how would I rate this year’s trip which is my 10th (annually 2012 to 2019, 2023 and 2026)? Weather (wind direction) wise it was not conducive to rare birds arriving but I was able to be out every day with winds not being a problem (despite forecasts saying otherwise) and no rain until the last hour of the last day. Not surprisingly then the birds did let us down. No national rarities or lifers for me and my only new Værøy (and Nordland county) species was the Hoopoe. Little Bunting, Common Rosefinch and Barred Warbler were good enough birds but nothing to really get the pulse racing. The fact that I didn’t see Yellow-browed Warbler every day and that three was my max day count sort of sums up the mediocrity of this year’s trip. BUT I wouldn’t be anywhere else🤩.
A video from today of a young White-tailed Eagle (havørn) featuring first the call of a Chiffchaff (gransanger) and then a Yellow-browed Warbler (gulbrynsanger) followed by footage of all three of today’s YbW.
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| The place we call Svingen due to it being by a swing in the road. Kjell can be seen in the waist high vegetation trying to locate a skulky warbler he had previously found there that was probably a Blyth’s Reed Warbler (busksanger). This area has previously held Savi’s and Lanceolated Warblers but is an incredibly infuriating place to bird as you normally just get a two second flight view of a bird and I prefer to leave it to Kjell as he finds it enjoyable |
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| A lone Barnacle Goose (hvitkinngås) was flying around calling clearly feeling lonely and lost |
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| Værøy Bird Obervatory aka Kjell’s holiday home is in the middle with the red roof |
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