Just before midnight we tape-lured a Boreal Owl (Tengmalm's Owl) at Fedje, a small island on the coast of Western Norway. The bird was the first ever for Fedje, and also the first in Hordaland county in 2011.
Note the transparent nictitating membrane on the birds left eye. For predators such as owls this membrane is crucial for maintaining visibility while cleaning the eyes during hunting.
The species is a rarity in this region, but every third year or so they obviously wander a bit, and may show up at isolated places like Fedje. At Lista bird-observatory (Southwestern tip of Norway) lots of Boreal Owls have been ringed this autum. Some of these have been controlled at Revtangen bird-observatory (about 150 km. north of Lista) only days later, showing that birds migrate towards the North after they have met lands end at Lista.
I spent the weekend at Fedje together with colleagues in the board of the Norwegian Ornithological Society, Hordaland. Only Saturday (yesterday) produced weather suitable for birding. Today we experienced a gale and heavy rain. Yesterday was really fruitful despite the windy conditions. The long-staying adult Rose-colored Starling gave excellent views all day. What an incredible bird. The last rarity of the day was a first-winter male Red-breasted Flycatcher - not an annual visitor in the county.
Full species list (in Norwegian)
Full species list (in Norwegian)
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