Minke Whale

This summer a Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) decided to swim trough a narrow inlet into a tiny fjord near Svolvær and stay there for a while. It is a lot of fish in the fjord, and the whale seems to like it in this new summer resort. We are excited to see how long it will stay.

Minke Whale near Svolvær - vågehval

Late summer birds in Southern Norway

In early august is dominated by the new generation of birds that have left their nests during the summer. Here are some of them that I met at Tjøme in Vestfold County in Southern Norway.

 This young Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Picoides minor) where captured
and ringed at Hvasser - dvergspett

A family group of Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) where merrily
flying and singing at the island Sandø - låvesvaler

Family group of Red-backed Shrike (Lanus collurio) - an adult male
and two young birds - tornskate

Young Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio) - tornskate

Family group of Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima) - ærfugl

Birding in Finnmark

In June-July my son and I did a two week birding road trip to Finnmark. We started with four days in The Pasvik Valley, continued with the coastal road on the Varanger Peninsula to Hamningberg, before we spent a night at the Hornøy Lighthouse.
From Vardø we took Hurtigruten to Kjøllefjord and spent a couple of days at Slettnes, before we returned via Stabbursneset i Porsanger.
Here are some of the birding highlights from the trip.
A thousand THANKS to Arnt Wiseth at Nikon Norway, who helped me out with equipment when my faithful old tele zoom had to go to the lens doctor...

Juvenile Siberian Tit (Poecile cinctus), Nilasmyra, Pasvik - lappmeis

Siberian Jay (Perisoreus infaustus), Pasvik - lavskrike

Male Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula), Melkefoss, Pasvik - dompap

Singing Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus), Skrøytnes, Pasvik
- sivsanger

Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus), Vadsø - svømmesnipe

Male Steller's Eider (Polysticta Stelleri), Vadsø harbor - stellerand

Temminck's stint (Calidris temminckii), Skallelv - temmincksnipe

Portrait of Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis), Hornøy - toppskarv

Feathers of Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis),
Hornøy - toppskarv

Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica), Hornøy
- lunde 

Common Guillemot (Uria aalge), Hornøy - lomvi

Common Guillemot (Uria aalge), Hornøy - lomvi

Rock Pipit (Antus petrosus), Hornøy - skjærpiplerke

Female Lapland Bunting (Calcarius lapponicus), Slettnes - lappspurv

Female Lapland Bunting (Calcarius lapponicus), Slettnes - lappspurv

Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cervinus), Slettnes - lappiplerke

Røst - part II (from late July)

After a day at sea, I spent the next days on the Røst "mainland", checking for breeding birds and early migrants. Many passerines, like Twite, Wheatear and Lapland Bunting, seems to have had a good breeding season.

Some adult sandpipers where already on migration, Knot, Sanderling, Dunlin and Little Stint. And an alarming Red-necked Phalarope in one of the ponds indicates successful breeding.

Juvenile Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) - steinskvett

Juvenile Twite (Carduelis flavirostris) - bergirisk

Pullus of Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) - dununge av rødnebbterne

Second calendar year Arctic Tern (Sterna paradise). A few of these
young birds follow the adults all the way from the far south winter quarters
to the breeding grounds in the arctic - ett år gammel rødnebbterne

Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) - steinvender

Red Knots (Calidris canutus) stop over on the way south - polarsniper

Red Knots (Calidris canutus)  - polarsniper

Male Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus) - svømmesnipe hann