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RARE BIRDS IN SWEDEN October 2004

 

Compiled by Erling Jirle  3 Nov 2004.

 

Source: Club 300 Rix-larm, the Swedish minicall system. Datafile provided by Pierre Unge.

Most of the rarities listed below are not official Swedish records until accepted by national or local rarities committees.

 

Shortenings: m=male, f=female, 2y=second calender year age, w = winter plumage etc.

 

English name, scientific name (Swedish name)

Number, sex/age, place (Province) day.month


October had a fairly good influx of eastern and northern specialities, like the 3rd  Swedish record of  Eastern Olivaceous Warbler (Hippolais pallida) (eksångare) , 3-4 Surf Scooters (Melanitta perspicillata) (vitnackad svärta), and lots of  Pallas’s Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus proregulus) (kungsfågelsångare), also Radde’s Warbler (Ph. schwarzi) (videsångare), Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus) (blåstjärt) etc. In the end of the month high numbers of Bohemian Waxwing, Bombycilla garullus (sidensvans) and also other northern species like Pine Grosbeak, Pinicola enucleator (tallbit), Arctic Redpoll, Carduelis hornemanni (snösiska) and Siberian Tit, Parus major (lappmes) showed up in middle or south Sweden. The latter has been discussed if some of them can be foreign races of Willow Tit, Parus montanus (talltita).
The major event in northern Europe is probably the unusual high number of Pallid Swifts, Apus pallidus. The debate has been intense whether they are Pallid Swifts or if some of them might be an eastern race of Common Swift, Apus apus, but at least some are most probably Pallid.


 

SWEDISH RARITY REPORT 1-31 OCTOBER 2004

 

Red-breasted Goose, Branta ruficollis (rödhalsad gås)    About 10

 

King Eider, Melanitta spectabilis (praktejder)   About 8

 

Surf Scooter, Melanitta perspicillata (vitnackad svärta)

Unusually easy to see this autumn;

1 ad m Skummeslövsstrand (Halland) 28.9 -17.10. 1 ad m Rörö and Hönö (Bohuslän) 9.10, 1 f Simrishaamn (Scania) 12.10, 1 ad m Rönnen (Scania) 12.10 – still there 3.11.

 

Little Egret, Egretta garzetta (silkeshäger)

1 Scania West coast (Löddenäs, Salviken, Saxån) 3-9.10.

 

Great Egret, Egretta alba (ägretthäger)

1 Lake Krankesjön area (Scania) 31.10.

Great Northern Loon, Gavia immer (svartnäbbad islom)        About 7

 

Yellow-billed Loon, Gavia adamsii (vitnäbbad islom)  About  12

 

Glossy Ibis, Plegadis falcinellus (bronsibis)

Löddenäs (Scania) 1-7.10.

 

Pallid Harrier, Circus macrourus (stäpphök)   

About 4 juv and 2 ad (Scania, Närke, Västmanland and Öland).

 

Greater Spotted Eagle, Aquila clanga (större skrikörn)

1 subad Utlängan and Utklippan (Blekinge) 19-27.10.

 

Steppe Eagle, Aquila nipalensis (stäppörn)

1 juv Pålstorp (Östergötland) 10.11, 1 subad Ottenby (Öland) 11.10.

 

Eastern Imperial Eagle, Aquila heliaca (kejsarörn)

1 subad Lake Havgård and Näsbyholm (Scania) 12-31.10.

 

Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Tryngites subruficollis (prärielöpare)

1 Torhamn (Blekinge) 3.10.

 

Red Phalarope, Phalaropus fulicarius (brednäbbad simsnäppa)

1 juv Resö (Bohuslän) 5.10.

 

Great Skua, Catharacta skua (storlabb)

About 8 in Scania, Halland and Öland.

 

Yellow-legged Gull, Larus michahellis (medelhavstrut)

Over 10 reported, from Scania, Öland, Blekinge, Halland and Gästrikland.

 

Sabine’s Gull, Larus sabini (tärnmås) 

1 juv Stensån (Halland/Scania) 1-3.10, 1 Ripagården (Scania) 8.10.

 

Glaucous Gull, Larus hyperboreus (vittrut)

1 Ottenby (Öland) 4-9.10, 1 Hammarö (Värmland) 14.10.

 

Great Grey Owl, Strix nebulosa (lappuggla)

1 Uppsala (Uppland) 13.10.

 

European Turtle Dove, Streptopeliaa turtur (turturduva)

1 Sollerön (Dalarna) 5.10, 1 Holmsund (Västerbotten) 12-24.10.

 

PALLID SWIFT, Apus pallidus (blek tornseglare)

A small ”invasion” in Northern Europe it seems to have been, several records in Finland and elsewere. In Sweden birds that probably belong to this species was seen first at Segerstad and Mellby (Öland) 25.10 and probably(?) the same bird at Grönhögen 31.10 during the whole day. More reports;

1 Bredmar (Södermanland) 22.10, 1 Hammarö (Värmland) 27.10, 1 Vårbergstoppen (Södermanland) 28.10.  Only 5 accepted records previously in Sweden.

 

Eurasian Hoopoe, Upupa epops (härfågel)

Seen i Dalarna, Lapland, Halland and Småland.

 

Greater Short-toed Lark, Calandrella brachydactyla (korttålärka)

1 Högby (Öland), 1 Långviksskatan (Västerbotten) 16-17.10.

 

Richard’s Pipit, Anthus richardi (större piplärka)

Reported from Halland, Öland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Småland, Scania, Uppland, Gotland and Västerbotten.

 

BLYTH’S PIPIT, Anthus godlewskii (mongolpiplärka)

Skillinge harbor - Morfarshamn (Scania) 15-19.10.

Second for Scania, and fifth for Sweden.

 

OLIVE-BACKED PIPIT, Anthus hodgsoni (sibirisk piplärka)

1 Björn (Uppland) 6.10.

 

Water Pipit, Anthus spinoletta (vattenpiplärka)

The first for the aautumn reported 16.10 from Löddenäs (Scaania). About 15 in total in south Sweden.

 

RED-FLANKED BLUETAIL, Tarsiger cyanurus (blåstjärt)

1 ringed Bredmar (Södermanland) 4.10. Record 25.

 

Common Stonechat, Saxicola torquatus (svarthakad buskskvätta)

1 Abbekås (Scania) 5-6.10, 1 Ottenby (Öland) 22-23.10, 1 Delsjö (Västergötland) 24.10, 1 Rörö (Bohuslän) 31.10.

 

Desert Wheatear, Oenanthe deserti (ökenstenskvätta)

1 f  Trödjehällan, north Esköklubb (Gästrikland) 9.10, 1 m Sandhem (Västergötland) 30-31.10.

 

EASTERN OLIVACEOUS WARBLER, Hippolais pallida (eksångare)

1 Stora Fjäderägg (Västerbotten) 9-10.10.  Third record for Sweden (there is also one accepted record of Western Olivaceous Warbler, H. opaca) (see Holarctic List part 5).

 

Pallas’s Leaf Warbler, Phylloscopus proregulus (kungsfågelsångare)

104 alerts, in total about 60-70 birds all over Sweden, the whole month. A typical sub-rarity...

 

Yellow-browed Warbler, Phylloscopus inornatus (taigasångare)    About 15.

 

Radde’s Warbler, Ph. schwarzi (videsångare)

1 Utklippan (Blekinge) 12.10, 1 Ottenby (Öland) 12-16.10.

 

Dusky Warbler, Ph. fuscatus (brunsångare)

1 Björn (Uppland) 2-4.10, 1 Össby (Öland) 3.10, 1 Strandtorp (Öland) 16.10, 1 Segerstad (Öland) 17-18.10, 1 Faludden (Gotland) 17-19.10.

 

Siberian Tit, Parus cinctus (lappmes)

1 flock at Sönnerstagrundet (Västerbotten) 2-3.10, 1 Älvdalen (Dalarna) 4.10, 1 ringed Boden (Norrbotten) 11.10, 1 Skatön (Hälsingland) 15.10, 1 Åstholmen (Medelpad) 17.10, 1 ringed Hammarö (Värmland) 18.10 and 26-27.10, 1 Piteå (Norrbotten) 24.10, 1 Lulnäsudden (Norrbotten) 25.10.

 

Lesser Grey Shrike, Lanius minor (svartpannad törnskata)

1 Näsudden (Gotland) 9.10.

 

Rose-coloured Starling, Sturnus roseus (rosenstare)

The juvenile from September still seen in West Halland 1-23.10.

 

Two-barred crossbill, Loxia leucoptera (bändelkorsnäbb)  Over 20 observations.

 

Pine Grosbeak, Pinicola enucleator (tallbit)   About 20 observations, often small flocks.


The English / scientific / Swedish bird names in the reports follows the Swedish Holarctic list, version 2, 2004 (also on this web site).
For the whole list incl. explanations, start at Holarctic List, English intro

To read earlier rarities reports, from 1996 and onwards, go to reports


Erling Jirle,
Swedish coordinator, EuroBirdNet, e-mail

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