On the way to our residence in Southeastern Norway in Mid-November, we started attending a BirdLife- meeting at Sola near Stavanger in the southeast. And the following round-trip around the southern part of the country was quite a feast of rare birds!
To our big surprise a couple of Penduline Tits (pungmeis) was found in the marsh areas along the Sola beach on the first day of the meeting. This is only the 16th record for Norway, and a quite a sensation in Mid-November!
Then came the news of a Dessert Wheatear (ørkensteinskvett) a bit further south on the beaches of Jæren. Luckily, we managed to find the bird – a splendid male – that gave quite a show.
Rogaland county had more to offer. A young Rosy Starling (rosenstær) had found its favourite birdfeeder in Moi.
Then we spent a day at Lista, where a couple of Richard’s Pipits (tartarpiplerke) on the beach was one of the highlights.
A late Ring Ozel (ringtrost) was also a surprise.
Quite a few White Wagtails (linerle) was still around…
…and so was a late Northern Weathear (steinskvett).
There are always a variety of raptors wintering this far south, and a Hen Harrier (myrhauk) was a nice encounter.
On the way up to our winter residence in Vestfold, we did a stop at Børsesjø in Skien to see the young Caspian Gull (kaspimåke) that has been hanging around with Herring Gulls (gråmåke) the last weeks (the bird to the right in the photo)
Now we have sttled for the winter in Vestfold, and will follow the birdlife around the Oslofjord the coming months.