May 2013, this far.

May is a wonderfull month when it comes to birds, amd here are some of the more interesting birds that I have had the pleasure of seeing this far in may.

May 11th:

The first goose of the year had arrived at Hotellneset. This was a Canadagoose, ssp. parvipes (Kanadagås, underarten parvipes). We were not expecting it to be this species, so both Vegard and I were surprised when the "Pink-footed Goose" (Kortnebbgås) showed a clear white cheek.......

May 13th:

One of the first unusual gulls that I have gotten to see this year. A Black-headed Gull (Hettemåke) spent a few days in the delta before disappearing again.

May 18th:

Another interesting gull up here in the High Arctic, a Common Gull (Fiskemåke) was seen for only one day before it had disappeared again.

May 19th:

American birds are a rare treat in Svalbard, and after the Canada Goose on the 11th of May, a sighting of a Pectoral Sandpiper (Alaskasnipe) was very nice.

And to make it even better, just next to it a Lapland Longspur (Lappspurv) was feeding at the edge of the pond.

May 20th:

Another bird from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean showed itself in Adventdalen, a Greater White-Fronted Goose, subspecies flavirostris (Tundragås, underarten flavirostris) was sitting in between a flock of Pink-Footed Geese (Kortnebbgås).

May 21st:

A total of three good birds photographed this day. The first is a Pectoral Sandpiper (Alaskasnipe) male that chased of a second male, and then kept displaying on the tundra. This is not a species that should be breeding on this side of the Atlantic, so there could be something really interesting going on here.

A Great Black-Backed Gull (Svartbak) was sleeping next to a little flock of Gaucous Gulls (Polarmåke).

 

And finally a pair of Long-Tailed Ducks (Havelle) were resting in the harbour on my way back home. 

 

 

May 22nd:

A male Tufted Duck (Toppand) was the highlight of this day.

May 23rd:

A Taiga Bean Goose (sædgås, underarten rossicus) gave great views for when sat in the car only 25 meters away from it.

May 25th:

Another sighting of the Viking Gull (Vikingmåke) was a cery nice experience. It came in to eat bread together with the Galucous Gulls (Polarmåke). This hybrid between Herring Gull (Gråmåke) and Glaucous Gull (Polarmåke) is very little described in the litterature, so pictures like these are very good to have for future ID-ing of individuals.

Looking very much like a Herring Gull.

Very little markings on right underwing and left upperwing.

Very little markings on right upperwing and left underwing.

May 12th

Today became a pretty good day! It started with two pairs of Northern Pintails (Stjertand), three male and one female Tufted Ducks (Toppand) and a 1 cy/2k Herring Gull (Gråmåke). These were all seen when I set up the second of my gull-traps, and hopefully I will be trapping gulls there on Saturday. These were all seen in the delta, and I continued out towards the mouth of the fiord to look for more birds. At Hotellneset I first came to see a 3cy/4k Herring Gull roosting with Glaucous Gulls (Polarmåke). Further along there were five Barnacle Geese (Hvitkinngås) feeding, and on the other side of the road were two pairs of Pink-footed Geese grazing on the dead vegetation. Other thanthese there were quite a lot of Kittiwakes (Krykkje) and Glaucous Gulls flying along the shore, and Common Eiders (Ærfugl) and King Eiders (Praktærfugl) were all over the fiord. When I drove home I went by the harbour to take some shots of the Bearded Seal (Storkobbe) that was lying there. It did not care that there was a tiny human stood some meters away taking photos of it. As a matter of fact it was so calm that I did not get the pictures I wanted, but thats how nature is. You cant decide how it is to act.


Northern Pintails grazing in the shallows

Tufted Ducks relaxing alongside Nrthern Pintails

1cy/2k Herring Gull along with Glaucous Gulls

3cy/4k Herring Gull roosting with Glaucous Gulls

Barnacle Goose

Bearded Seal relaxing on the ice

June 19th

Today I got to photograph a few different birds. A pair of Long-tailed Ducks (Havelle) were lying in one of the ponds vlose to the dogyard, along with three male Tufted Ducks (Toppand).

I also found a male Red (Grey) Phalarope (Polarsvømmesnipe) in one of the small ponds in the valley which was more than pleased to show off its beauty to me.

May 27th

Today I got to photograph quite a few nice birds. I found several young Kittiwakes (Krykkje) at Hotellneset, and among them were one which had very red legs. I used all my books before I finally could put any doubts away, and it was clear that it was just a Kittiwake with strange colour on its feet.

Two-year-old with reddish legs

Two-year-old who wants a nesting-partner

Two-year-old showing off its wings

The Dunlin (Myrsnipe) was still wandering around in the middle of the approximately 50 Purple Sandpipers (Fjæreplytt) at Tuedammene, and in Lomdammen the first pair of (Great) Ringed Plovers (Sandlo) had arrived.

Alongside the Ringed Plovers a few pairs of King Eiders (Praktærfugl) were resting and swimming, and they were an irresistible target for my camera.

When I came back to the private dogyard a male King Eider in amongst all the Common Eiders (Ærfugl). What intentions he had in there I dont know, but I do know that he looked stunning where lay.

Driving out of town again I spotted two male Tufted Ducks (Toppand), where one of them had some strange coloration on the bill. The black spot on the tip of the bill was prolonged backwards onto the top of the bill.

May 23rd

This day started off with an adult Common Gull (Fiskemåke) again. As this is an unusual bird up here its almost strange to have seen the species this frequent these last days. I also got to see the male Goldeneye (Kvinand) again together with a male Tufted Duck (Toppand). At Lomdammen I got some ok photos of a pair of Long-tailed Ducks (Havelle) which were half-sleeping on the little pond.

May 21st

The fun birds just keep on coming, and some of them are showing off well too. On the 21st I first got the chance to photograpg a lovely couple of Long-tailed Ducks (Havelle). The male really showed off his long tail as to display why they have got their english name.

As I drove towards Bjørndalen, two little dots on a pond caught my attention. There were the first pair of Tufted Ducks (Toppand) of the season. They were not afraid of me when sat inside the car, so they gave me a good opportunity to photograph them.

When I had photographed the Tufted Ducks I drove back into town, and drove down to LOFF-huset, the viewpoint over the Adventvalley Delta, as I usually do. At first there were no special birds to be seen, but after a while I got aware of a sound that I had heard a couple of days earlier. I lifted the camera, and just managed to get a few pictures of an adult male Common Teal (Krikkand) as it flew by.

As I stood there, hoping for the Teal to come back so that I could get some better photos of it, I heard a strange, Black-headed Gull-like (Hettemåke) sound. I took up my binoculars and tried to see what bird was coming, but I was not able to see anything against the white mountains. And then, suddenly, out of nowhere came two Ivory Gulls (Ismåke). the binoculars were quickly swapped for the camera, and I managed to get a quick picture of the last bird flying past me.

I then continued my drive up the valley, towards Lomdammen and Mine 6. When I thought I had seen the birds that were of interest I turned around to go home again, and then I got to see a little gull that was sat on the wet tundra. There a Common Gull (Fiskemåke) was sitting all on its own. This was the two-year-old that I had seen earlier outside my house and in the delta.