Tuesday 18 October 2011

Seawatching


Little Gull

Kittiwake

Little Auk

Razorbill


There were strong southerly winds last night which is normally ideal for pushing seabirds up the Oslofjord. I decided therefore to watch from Krokstrand this morning which is where the Oslofjord narrows and is therefore a good place to watch but best of all you can watch from the comfort of your car which is quite important in the cold and rain!
I arrived just before 9am (an hour after sunrise) and immediately picked up a Kittiwake very close in. During the next 40 minutes there was a steady trickle of birds heading south at close range. These were birds that had been pushed up the fjord during the night and were now making there was out (south) and the now SW winds were pushing them very close to the eastern shore. Unfortunately after around 0940 things dried up (what did I miss in the hour before I arrived?).
In total I had 16 Kittiwakes of which 4 were adults and 12 1st 1K, a single 1K Little Gull that came very close and really tested my photographic skills (and the autofocus on the camera), 3 Fulmars, a single Little Auk and a handfull of Guillemot, Razorbill, Common and Velvet Scoter plus singles of Red-throated and Black-throated Diver.

Driving back through farmland at Pytt (where I had 4 Quail in the summer) I had a single Great Grey Shrike plus a few flocks of Fieldfare, Redwing and Yellowhammer,

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