Follow The Norwegian Birding Route

 

Brian Unwin  - binoculars always at the ready

Brian Unwin is a well known UK freelance birding journalist, who makes regular contributions to national and regional daily newspapers and birding magazines. Read what he has to say about following the Norwegian Birding Route, mile after mile of ever changing scenery, choice birding habitat and a lifetime of memories.
Tekstboks: Every established holiday destination has special characteristics, but Norway is in a magnificence class of its own. For travelers hungry for scenery, history and culture, Europe's awesome north-west frontier is ideal. If birds fascinate them also, the potential for delight is even greater. The chain of Farm Holiday Homes in south-western Norway offers plenty of opportunities to enjoy a broad range of this region’s splendour – and not just in the main summer holiday season. Indeed, the most exciting bird-watching can be during spring or autumn when migrants are advancing towards, or departing from, breeding grounds in more northerly, easterly or upland locations. Our visit was during the second half of September, beginning in Jæren, south of Stavanger. This district is quite different to the country’s fjords and mountains image, but with its own most attractive personality. The landscape is gentle, low-lying and the focus of much agricultural activity, which is why it is known as the nation’s “food basket.” A series of lakes and associated marsh habitat provide considerable scope for wetland birds. Waders frequent sandy bays along the rugged coastline. A perfect start was ensured through the hospitality of Oddvar and Jytte Varhaug. Our first night was spent in their Eldhuset, a cosy one-up, one-down, compact, couple-sized cottage, our second in the more spacious, six-person Gurihuset next door. Their timber exteriors glowed with rustic charm while, inside, modern décor, furniture and fittings blended with a sense of the past through an array of antique features, such as an old harmonium – a keyboard instrument producing notes as a result of air driven through metal reeds by foot-pumped bellows - which produced a magical sound. There was a fine view across fields to the sea and it was a pleasure to relax in such a comfortable and warm atmosphere. We felt very much at home – and with breakfast arriving each morning in a large wicker basket delivered by either Jytte or Oddvar, we could not ask for more. This proved also to be an excellent base for touring the numerous local bird-watching sites. Just a few miles south down Highway 44, north-west of Ogna, reed-fringed Bjarvatnet Lake can be viewed from a bridge over its outlet stream. A telescope sweep across its surface revealed a pair of Slavonian Grebes among the scatter of Tufted Ducks and Goldeneye. Coal and Great Tits plus Goldcrests foraged through nearby trees, while a flock of about 30 Tree Sparrows chirped noisily from bushes beside the railway passing the lake’s edge. A saltmarsh between the road and the dunes bordering the seashore would have been worth checking for waders had it not been for water levels being too high following a recent extended wet period. Instead we back-tracked a little way up the coast to Kvalbein, where a male Steller’s Eider – an arctic tundra breeding species that normally overwinters off Norway’s most northerly coasts – has been a long-staying attraction. Pin-pointing this bird, a drake in rather anonymous eclipse plumage at this time, among 100-plus Common Eider gathered in a channel between the shore and Raunen Island was not easy in view of the heavy swell. However, its smaller size, more rectangular shaped head and the bold white wing panel contrasting with its otherwise dark brown colour, gave it away eventually. Other birds cropped up during the search process. Flocks of Wigeon and Teal passed along the coast, as did a few Red-breasted Mergansers and the occasional Red-throated Diver and Slavonian Grebe. Turnstones, Rock Pipits and Starlings busied themselves among the seaweed washed up along the boulder-strewn shore. Meadow Pipits and a Twite party were in the sand dunes and the presence of Swallow and Wheatear, lingering before their southbound migrations, served as reminders that we still weren’t all that far into the autumn. A pleasant and relatively short walk northwards up the coast brings one to Kvassheim, a fine location for viewing seabird and wildfowl movement. Activity was limited when we were there, but at one point 40 Brent Geese flew south over the sea. A small bay provided shelter for Wigeon, Teal and Mallard, while waders including Dunlin, Bar-tailed Godwits and Redshank probed muddy patches among the rotting seaweed mounds heaving with Starlings. Such a concentration makes this also a happy hunting ground for raptors; during our visit mass panics erupted in the face of separate Sparrowhawk, Merlin and Peregrine Falcon attacks. Birds of prey provided the main highlights as we completed the first day’s itinerary. Early afternoon was spent at Hatangen at the mouth of the Ha, a small river running high after all the recent rain. We reached it via a minor road branching from Highway 507 after it forks from the 44 north of Soyland. Along this country lane we had a fine view of a ”ringtail” Hen Harrier gliding elegantly over an adjacent field of crops. After trundling down a muddy track, we parked on the headland between the rivermouth and the little sandy bay to the north. Wigeon, Goldeneye and Goosanders were in the rivermouth and a Velvet Scoter and Red-breasted Merganser were in the bay, with flocks of 150 Dunlin and 50 Bar-tailed Godwits along with small numbers of Oystercatchers, Knot and Redshank on the shore. The waders were frequently in the air in response to a female Merlin’s repeated efforts to secure a Dunlin dinner. They weren’t able to relax in between as they nervously eyed a Peregrine preening on a nearby rock. Finally, we headed a few miles inland to check out Grudavatnet and Vasshusvatnet, two adjacent lakes set picturesquely among low wooded hills. At this time of year it came as no surprise that the woodland was comparatively quiet; apart from some Fieldfares feeding on rowan berries, a circular stroll around a waterside conifer wood produced just occasional Goldcrests and Willow and Coal Tits. However, Grudavatnet in particular was well stocked with waterfowl, mainly Canada Geese, Wigeon and Mallard, with a sprinkling of Teal, Tufted Ducks and Goldeneye, plus a few Grey Herons stalking the flooded marshes. Scanning more widely laid on the birding day’s grand finale. Atop the tallest conifer on the crest of a rounded knoll beyond the lake was a shape that demanded closer inspection. It was a large female Goshawk, struggling to hold its perch in the stiff breeze that was also ruffling its plumage, particularly its under-tail coverts; they were splayed out like a trailing brilliant white handkerchief. In good light, we had great views of the bold, horizontal barring across its white breast and underparts and especially the prominent chalky supercilium sandwiched between its grey-brown crown and ear coverts. Suddenly it took off and, after a few flaps of its broad-based wings, glided down to the lake. Instantly alarm flashed across the lake and hundreds of ducks leapt into the air and hurtled in every direction, as if to confuse the predator. However, although wildfowl figures in this species’ prey list, the hawk seemed more interested in finding a firmer, less windswept place to rest. At the end of its glide, it landed on the lake bank, only to be met with fierce hostility. The fear its presence sparked among the ducks was not shared by the local Hooded Crow population. Within minutes 30 Hoodies were gathered and their harassment led to the hunter’s hasty departure. We couldn’t have had a more exciting end to the day’s birding. One advantage of Farm Holiday Homes is the opportunity to gain a perspective of Norway’s rural scene. Jennifer and I were given much insight through spending a wonderful evening with our Jæren hosts. Three generations of Oddvar Varhaug’s family has been at this farm and his home is alive with heirlooms, memorabilia, photographs of past times and fine paintings of local scenes by his father Ola – who, as well as working the land, was a fisherman and raised a family of nine. Oddvar and Jytte, who has a social services job, working with old people, are no longer involved in farming; since 1994 they have concentrated on the holiday homes business. However, the 30ft fishing boast being restored in the huge barn opposite their home reflects Oddvar’s desire to resume the family’s fishing tradition. It is tempting to speculate that Oddvar and Jytte were destined for each other. That’s because the chances of them ever meeting would have seemed remote half a century ago. Jytte was born and spent her early years in Denmark, so initially the Skagerrak lay between them, but the gap broadened vastly when her family crossed the Atlantic to Canada in 1956 when she was eight. However, Oddvar has worked all over the world and a dozen years later just happened, by a remarkable coincidence, to be in the same corner of Alberta. They met at a dance – and were married in 1970. Next day we had to move to a totally different region but not before mopping up some remaining Jaeren sites. First stop was Søylandsvannet, a lake off Highway 44 south of Bryne. The now familiar range of wildfowl bobbed about the water, while more than 50 Swallows, along with the odd Sand Martin, skimmed about overhead. Our main focus, however, was on the substantial reedbed, which gives the lake special significance. Patience was required but eventually a distinctive “ching” call drew our eyes to the tawny, long-tailed shapes of Bearded Tits flitting over the phragmites. This must be among the world’s most northerly breeding sites for this species, which seems particularly out-of-place in view of its links with the babblers of mainly tropical Asia. Wet, misty conditions cleared while we were there so we returned to the coast to see what Nærlandstranda had to offer. This is a bay, just north of Håtangen which we visited yesterday, with a long sweep of white, sandy shore and sheltered at either end by rocky expanses. Wigeon and Eider rode the inshore waters, while flocks of Dunlin swarmed about the seaweed mounds along the high tide line, although the dominant sound came from the piercing piping of Oystercatchers and tri-syllabic cries of Grey Plovers, both considerably less represented. The Dunlin assembly meant it wasn’t long before bird of prey danger loomed. They looked vulnerable as the male Merlin swooped but immediately they deployed their defensive strategy, taking to the air in a tight formation, twisting and turning erratically. Unable to single out a straggler from the whirring mass, despite its aerobatic skills, the falcon eventually gave up the chase. No doubt before long it would be back, hoping for a better break next time. The clearance of the earlier murky weather meant we were able to make the most of Orrevatnet, a massive lake to the east of Highway 507, which we viewed from the side of a minor road between Orre village, on the 507, to Kleppe on Highway 44. Coating fields on the far side were hundreds of Greylag Geese. They were a long way off, underlining the value of telescopes. Without their greater magnification, we might not have picked out the dark heads and necks of four smaller Pink-footed Geese or even the black, grey and white finery of a couple of Barnacle Geese, heralds of the annual southward movement from the polar Svalbard islands that was due to be in progress soon. On the lake itself were the largest numbers of Great Crested Grebes and Mute Swans we saw during the tour. A lone Whooper was among the latter while a few Scaup augmented the standard range of ducks – Wigeon, Mallard, Tufted and Goldeneye – but the only waders on show in the area were Lapwing flocks and the occasional Ruff group. A smaller, reedier lake on the other side of the road is where 40 per cent of Norway’s miniscule Little Gull population nests. A couple of pairs of Marsh Harrier can be expected in this area during the breeding season, also. By the third week of September, however, they had already moved to milder latitudes. Next page Tekstboks: N B R Tekstboks: Bird And Drive

Sky Larks are well camouflaged so you have to check extra carefully

Gulls are usually in good numbers at Kvassheim, be on the lookout for both Glaucous and Iceland during spring and autumn.

One of the local Hoodies

Greylags feeding in the stubble fields at Jæren

The coast at Jæren can be a mass of colour at the right time of the year

Tufted Duck  -  one of the more commoner diving duck.

A Fantastic Journey

Northern Lapwings on the rocks at Håtangen

Common and Arctic terns can be seen along the coast