Holiday update

Time for a blog update!

We are now at our cabin near Bodø, north of the Arctic Circle. It is sunny at times and 15C feels nice here but we came a week late for the really good weather although it may get up to 20C next week.

Birding wise our trip up was uneventful although the lack of raptors was noteworthy with just 3 Kestrels and a Peregrine noted on the whole 1200km trip!

I did have a some good butterfly action at one stop and have also had a good session today near the cabin. I have plans (weather permitting) to have a trip to search for some of the northern specialities that can be seen in the mountains on the Swedish border.

I made trips to the fjord near Fauske yesterday evening and very early this morning but was a bit disappointed. There were over 1000 ducks (500 each of Velvet Scoter and Common Eider with a few Common Scoter and Long-tailed Ducks) but this year nearly everything is very distant. I did find the male Surf Scoter which was discovered a couple of weeks ago but for the second year running I can’t find Knobby. A female King Eider was a new bird (normally there are 1-2 males) but there were no interesting divers or grebes.

I am blogging from my phone so apologise for any formatting issues. I also can’t embed videos so you will have to clink on the links.

I have also spent some time looking at orchids and as usual when I am here just get confused. I’ve definitely seen 4 different species/hybrids/forms/morphs but maybe as many as 9. Maybe this year I’ll get to the bottom of it and maybe even blog about it.

A video of the Surf Scoter https://youtu.be/Wa_R4NJSMm8

And of a Musk Ox we saw on the drive up https://youtu.be/PnQIyHs9KkM

Male Surf Scoter (brilleand) probably a returning bird (although not seen every year)

For the first time Pied Flycatchers still have young in one of the nest boxes rather than them already having fledged by the time we get here

Not often I see a male Moose

And now some butterflies...and a dragonfly...and a moth

Mountain Burnet (Fjellbloddråpsvermer)

Brilliant Emerald (Glansmetallibelle)

Cranberry Fritillary (myrperlemorvinge)

Northern Brown Argus (sankthansblåvinge)

Moorland Clouded Yellow (myrgulvinge)

Purple-edged Copper (Purpurgullvinge)

Dewy Ringlet (Fjellringvinge)

Another Moorland Clouded Yellow that has survived an encounter with a bird

Godbye to the Cabin and the long drive home

The drive home from Bodø to Oslo is long but there are plenty of birding opportunities along the way

the fox seemed to sense that we were leaving and came to say goodbye to us as we packed up to leave the cabin

a railway runs across Saltfjellet and this Bluethroat used the rails as a vantage point to watch my progress and scold me if I came too close

this Redpoll was attracted by the scolding Bluethroat and also followed me from the train tracks

 

Long-tailed Skuas are one of those mountain species that do not seem to view humans a threat and allow very close approach

 

 

 

this male Red-necked Phalarope clearly had young nearby but I never saw them

Redshanks breed up on Saltfjellet but I had to look twice at this individual and when it flew....

it revealed it was a Spotted Redshank and a very early juvenile

the type that breeds up there: Common Redshank

A stop at Dovre on te way back gave me my first ever Muskox but they were no more than dark blobs that moved very slowly along the mountainsde

female Redstart

my attempt for Siberian Tit in Southern Norway produced, yet again, just Willow Tits

and another video