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Skogsøy - Extreme Seawatching
Skogsøy is
probably the best
place to seawatch in Hordaland. In 2006 I did what many seawatchers
dream of doing and went out there every single day for three months to
cover the spring migration. See link below for further details.
Gannet are one of the staple birds at Skogsøy and can be seen there all year round
The welcoming committee - Ravens often keep seawatchers company at Skogsøy
Here an adult with a recently fledged youngster, July 2017
Rock Pipit breed out at the lookout point and can be seen there all year round.
Here an adult collecting bugs for its young, July 2017
Gannet are one of the staple birds at Skogsøy and can be seen there all year round
The welcoming committee - Ravens often keep seawatchers company at Skogsøy
Here an adult with a recently fledged youngster, July 2017
Rock Pipit breed out at the lookout point and can be seen there all year round.
Here an adult collecting bugs for its young, July 2017
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Click on the picture to go to the species accounts |
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Click on the Great Northern Diver to go to downloads page |
| 2006 | Spring Migration 2006 pages |
| 2007 | Spring Migration 2007 pages |
| 2008 | Spring Migration 2008 pages |
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List of species observed at Skogsøy and Herdlevær |
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Seawatching nightmares |
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Seawatching Essentials - useful tips and hints |
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Seawatching junky |
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Seawatching hides |
I
Skogsøy is situated a little under an hours drive from Bergen on the west coast of Norway, after parking the car the walk to the lookout point takes approximately three quarters of an hour (although if one is fit and doesn't bird en route then half an hour is quite possible). The walk out can be very wet underfoot, and the rocks can be slippy so good waterproof footwear is essential.
White-billed Diver gulnebblom-a Skogsøy speciality
Pomarine Skua - another May speciality
This picture was taken in October 2010 on the Shtokman field in the Barent's Sea
A visit to Skogsøy is often combined with a look at the adjacent Herdlevær - a locality which is better suited to passerines than Skogsøy itself. These two localities compliment each other and can make for an excellent days birding.
Kollsnes gas processing plant viewed from the path en route to Skogsøy
Along with the rest of Øygarden, Skogsøy is grossly underwatched and for the majority of the time one has the place to oneself - and when it comes to seawatching this is not always an advantage. Attempting to cover the passage at all ranges and altitudes inevitably means that some birds are missed - espeically on days when a variety of species are passing, some very close, others further out, some overhead and yet others behind the observation point.
Cotton grass and Spotted Orchid along the trail at Skogsøy
Picture of the place most seawatching is done, March 2009
Northern Fulmar / havhest - a regular sight at Skogsøy
(click on picture for more images)
Northern Gannet / havsule
(Click on picture for more images)
White-tailed Eagle are a common sight at Skogsøy
Gyrfalcon, October 2009
Skogsøy is situated a little under an hours drive from Bergen on the west coast of Norway, after parking the car the walk to the lookout point takes approximately three quarters of an hour (although if one is fit and doesn't bird en route then half an hour is quite possible). The walk out can be very wet underfoot, and the rocks can be slippy so good waterproof footwear is essential.
White-billed Diver gulnebblom-a Skogsøy speciality
Pomarine Skua - another May speciality
This picture was taken in October 2010 on the Shtokman field in the Barent's Sea
A visit to Skogsøy is often combined with a look at the adjacent Herdlevær - a locality which is better suited to passerines than Skogsøy itself. These two localities compliment each other and can make for an excellent days birding.
Kollsnes gas processing plant viewed from the path en route to Skogsøy
Along with the rest of Øygarden, Skogsøy is grossly underwatched and for the majority of the time one has the place to oneself - and when it comes to seawatching this is not always an advantage. Attempting to cover the passage at all ranges and altitudes inevitably means that some birds are missed - espeically on days when a variety of species are passing, some very close, others further out, some overhead and yet others behind the observation point.
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| Early morning view from the "car park" | View of look out point from the south |
Cotton grass and Spotted Orchid along the trail at Skogsøy
Aerial
view of Skogsøy seawatching site. Picture from taken from Google Earth.
One must use the
rocks as shelter
as there is no seawatching hide -
there is somewhere to sit for almost any wind direction; a seat of some
sort is highly recommended - the extra weight is well worth the effort
during a protracted seawatch. As with any seawatching site wind-chill
is almost always a problem; sitting still for hours on end, especially
during high winds with rain can become pretty uncomfortable. Tactics to
deal with this is to take plenty of extra layers and either a sleeping
bag or a "bivvy" bag (or "fjellduk" in Norwegian) in order to keep the
heat in. Click here
for
more cold weather seawatching tips.
Some of the more
extreme seawatches
have led to mild hypothermia and on
one notable occasion the results really were worth it. On New Years day
2003 a seawatch during strong south westerly winds and driving snow
produced Gyr Falcon, Glaucous Gull and Little Auks during breaks in the
snowfall. Bonus birds seen on the way out that day included Two-barred
Crossbills and Eagle Owl. No excuses for staying at home -
whatever the weather!
During
the spring
and summer
there are often long spells of sunny weather and sun block is essential
- one can be sunburnt without noticing it - especially during a cooling
northerly breeze. Seawatchers often develop a one sided tan under such
conditions!
Pleasant summer weather can bring its own problems - during calm conditions hordes of tiny midges hatch from the many small pools and swarm onto hapless birders make it impossible to see and unpleasant even to breath. One could argue that seawatching during such nice weather is a waste of time but wader passage can be good under such condtions and the "real" migration of Great Skua often seems to take place on such days. Smoking helps to reduce the numbers but the idea of chain-smoking for a period of several hours does not appeal to everyone. Burning a fire with plenty of greenery is also quite effective, however, the tears produced by the stinging smoke prevent bird detection. So the best thing is to use a coat that can really lock you in, including a hood, put some gloves on and hunch down over the 'scope; sometimes ignoring them really does seem to make them go away.
Pleasant summer weather can bring its own problems - during calm conditions hordes of tiny midges hatch from the many small pools and swarm onto hapless birders make it impossible to see and unpleasant even to breath. One could argue that seawatching during such nice weather is a waste of time but wader passage can be good under such condtions and the "real" migration of Great Skua often seems to take place on such days. Smoking helps to reduce the numbers but the idea of chain-smoking for a period of several hours does not appeal to everyone. Burning a fire with plenty of greenery is also quite effective, however, the tears produced by the stinging smoke prevent bird detection. So the best thing is to use a coat that can really lock you in, including a hood, put some gloves on and hunch down over the 'scope; sometimes ignoring them really does seem to make them go away.
Picture of the place most seawatching is done, March 2009
For
a number of species Skogsøy is much better than many, if
not
most, bird observatories at comparable latitudes. Numbers
of migrating divers,
some
species of skua and many species of wilfowl pass
in markedly better numbers than at both Utsira and Fair Isle.
It is one of the best sites for watching Spring migrating White-billed Diver in Europe. Double figure counts are not unusual during the peak season in early to mid May. There are plenty of other birds to see too - a significant proportion of the Red-throated Diver population also passes during April and May. Counts of over 600 in a single day have occurred more than once! Great, Arctic and Pomarine Skuas are regular and a wide variety of waders and wildfowl pass.
Summer produces shearwaters and skuas under the right conditions, returning waders start passing from the end of June onwards.
It is one of the best sites for watching Spring migrating White-billed Diver in Europe. Double figure counts are not unusual during the peak season in early to mid May. There are plenty of other birds to see too - a significant proportion of the Red-throated Diver population also passes during April and May. Counts of over 600 in a single day have occurred more than once! Great, Arctic and Pomarine Skuas are regular and a wide variety of waders and wildfowl pass.
Summer produces shearwaters and skuas under the right conditions, returning waders start passing from the end of June onwards.
Northern Fulmar / havhest - a regular sight at Skogsøy
(click on picture for more images)
Northern Gannet / havsule
(Click on picture for more images)
White-tailed Eagle are a common sight at Skogsøy
Almost
anything can turn up in the autumn, although seawatching tends
to be more "hit and miss". During strong onshore winds and storms Sooty
Shearwaters are reasonably regular, along with a selection of other
seabirds. During light winds and calm weather visible migration of
southbound land and seabirds can be observed. In other words - there is
almost always something to see.
Winter is the best time to see number of seaduck on the sea, Great Northern Diver are regular visitors and Little Auk can be seen most days. Glaucous and Iceland Gulls and even Gyr Falcon have also been recorded.
Winter is the best time to see number of seaduck on the sea, Great Northern Diver are regular visitors and Little Auk can be seen most days. Glaucous and Iceland Gulls and even Gyr Falcon have also been recorded.
Gyrfalcon, October 2009
There
is more to
Skogsøy than just seawatching for passing birds, the
majority of
the speciality species in Øygarden can be seen here. The
bays to
the north and south of the seawatching lookout are well worth checking
out for seaduck and waders.
In December 2011 the first Lesser
Scaup
for the county of
Hordaland (and the first female for Norway) was found on the lagoons to
the south of the lookout. Skogsøy is right next to
Herdlevær, one of the prime rarity localities in
Øygarden.
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| Common Eider / Ærfugl,Øygarden, September 2008 | Feeding Purple Sandpiper / Fjæreplytt, |
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| Rock Pipit / Skjærpiplerke is seen year round at the look out point at Skogsøy. Digiscoped July 2003 | Raven / Ravn are another constant companion whilst seawatching at Skogsøy. Digiscoped March 2006 |
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| Lesser Redpoll /brunsisik is one of the commoner breeders in the woods at Skogsøy | Willow Warbler /løvsanger is one of the commmonest birds all over Øygarden during the summer months |
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Link to Norwegian introduction to Skogsøy |
View
to the south
from
the vantage point at Skogsøy
All content on this site, including Natural Born Birder logo, is copyright © 2005-2020.
High resolution versions of most pictures on this website are available for sale. Please contact me for further details or for other enquiries
All content on this site, including Natural Born Birder logo, is copyright © 2005-2020.
High resolution versions of most pictures on this website are available for sale. Please contact me for further details or for other enquiries