Sometimes happiness is a little, brown bird! This week ended with a blast, when we found a tiny, dark bird under the fish racks. It was behaving very suspiciously, sneaking in the grass like a mouse, but when it was exposed for a few seconds, we managed to get a few photos. They revealed the mega of the season so far: a Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler (starrsanger).

A mist net was erected, and after a few minutes the guest from Siberia was caught. Details were studied before the bird was ringed and released.

The week has been a mixture of days with excellent weather for passerine migration, and windy days. During the week a new bunch of Yellow-browed Warblers (gulbrynsanger) reached the Island, and four individuals were ringed.

A Lapland Bunting (lappspurv) has found its favourite patch and showed very well throughout the week.

A rather late Common Rosefinch – the fourth for the season – was found midweek.

Redpolls (gråsisik) have increased in numbers, and they come in all shapes and forms! After heavy westerly winds some large, dark and heavily streaked individuals was ringed – clearly of the Greenlandic subspecies rostrata. A huge «snowball» of a Greenland Arctic Redpoll (polarsisik) of the subspecies hornemanni was also ringed.

The guests from the west mix and travel around with our local redpolls, and among them also a Lesser Redpoll (brunsisik)…

… and an Arctic Redpoll of the European subspecies exilipes. 

Another western guest was the first Icelandic Redwing (rødvingetrost) for the season; the large and very dark subspecies coburni.

Our regular bunch of long-staying celebrities have been around throughout the week. The Rosy Starling (rosenstær) holds fort at the local feeder.

The ringed Olive-backed Pipit (sibirpiplerke) has been at its local patch for the second week…

…and the ringed Barred Warbler (hauksanger) has been showing well in our garden.

The windier days were spent seabird-watching, but not giving much of interest. However Gannets (havsuler) travelling close to the shoreline is always a thrill!

They come in different year-classes, both immature birds…

… and juveniles from this summer

Now we take a break to spend a week in Lofoten, before returning to Røst in week 42.