From Mid-February to the start of March we spent three weeks in Lofoten and Vesterålen.

The star of the region was no doubt a Eurasian Bittern (rørdrum) that spent the winter in a small, open stream at Bø in Vesterålen – far from its normal wintering grounds. Very exposed in the open landscape and with harsh weather conditions, the chances were small that it would make it through the winter. But as it was able to feed on small fish in the stream, it was in good shape, at least throughout February.

A trip to Andenes in February is always exciting, as the harbour here is a hotspot for “white gulls”. Not many this year, but both Glaucous Gulls (polarmåke)…

… and Iceland Gulls (grønlandsmåke) were present.

Two Glaucous Gulls (upper) with Herring Gulls and an Iceland Gull (lower right)

In Lofoten we got very spring-like conditions, with all the snow gone. White-tailed Eagles (havørn) were already preparing the breeding season.

We were also lucky to encounter a few Golden Eagles (kongeørn).

Black Grouses (orrfugl) have been regular around Kabelvåg all winter. Here a young male feeding in a birch tree.

A female Grey-headed Woodpeckers (gråspett) was spotted near Svolvær.

Three Redshanks (rødstilk) had challenged the winter at Vestvågøy.

The Rook (kornkråke) that was first seen in Svolvær and then in Henningsvær last fall, had eventually ended up in Kabelvåg, where it hung around the feeders with Hooded Crows.

The last days of the trip was spent at Røst. Here a three-figured number of Glaucous Gulls (polarmåke) where roosting on the far side of the island…

… while a single Iceland Gull (grønlandsmåke) was feeding in the harbour.

The first Shellducks (gravand) arrived the first week of March.

Unusually many Starlings (stær) spent this winter on the island.

A Raven (ravn) inspects the surroundings for food.

On the way back and forth we always check out interesting spots in Trøndelag. A small pond outside Trondheim held a nice selection of ducks, like this pair of Eurasian Wigeons (brunnakke).

More surprising was a young male Shoveller (skjeand) – a rather uncommon winter bird in the region. The two photos are taken four weeks apart, and show how fast the drake moult into mating plumage!

The real mega of the trip was a drake Siberian Scoter (sibirsjøorre) reported near Trondheim. After patient search we eventually found it feeding with Velvet Scoters (sjøorre).