The last two weeks of October was spent on Røst with a few days trip to Lofoten, with a short stop-over at Værøy on the way.
The most surprising bird of this period was a Little Egret (silkehegre) reported from Ørsnes in Eastern Lofote. We were lucky to get some great views of this beauty, as it was only present for one day.
The second half of October has been dominated by strong westerly winds, and another white bird was a highlight on Røst, when a Snow Goose (snøgås) showed up near the airport and stayed for a couple of days. Snow Geese in Norway are regarded as birds of unknown origin, as it is a large free-breeding population of this North American species in Europe. But time and place and the current weather situation makes this a good candidate for a true vagrant.
Another guest from the west was a highly appreciated American Golden Plover (kanadalo) present at Røst at the end of October. This American shorebird is very rare in Norway, but a speciality for Røst; out of 33 Norwegian records no less than 11 are from Røst!
At one occasion it showed up with an European Golden Plower (heilo), and it gave good opportunities for comparison of the two species.
A good number of Greenland Arctic Redpolls (grønlandsk polarsisik) also turned up with the westerly winds, both on Røst and Værøy.
Among songbirds, an increasing number of Blackcaps (munk) have arrived.
A late Lesser Whitethroat (møller) was found at Røst…
…while a late Barn Swallow (låvesvale) where still at Værøy.
Other typical passerines this late in October are Chiffchaffs (gransanger)…
…Wrens (gjerdesmett)…
…and Goldcrests (fuglekonge)
Our local celebrity, the Rosy Starling (rosenstær), has now been present at Røst for two months. Over the last weeks it has acted more “normaly”, roaming around the fields with European Starlings (stær). But the last days of October it was back occupying its favourite bird feeder.
The last days of October was dominated by a huge migration of Redwings (rødvingetrost), and several hundred stopped over at Røst, accompanied by a handful Fieldfares (gråtrost) and a few Song Thrush (måltrost).
Most migratory shorebirds are long gone, but a few Bar-tailed Godwits are still feeding on the shores at Røst.
