I went to Sandoy to looks for waders and ducks, though none of those would be the one to steal the headline. I started the day by checking the waters, Sandsvatn and the beach nearby. It held a Grey Heron, Common Shelduck and a swimming Manx Shearwater. Other plenty of ducks, but a quick call with Silas, changed my mind and I went to the three smaller villages towards south to check them for passerines. Skálavík had 1 Willow Warbler, 1 Goldcrest and 1-2 Blackcaps, Húsavík had a tick-bunting sp., 1 Reed Warbler and 1 Chaffinch. A call with Bartal ended with him driving to Sandoy, so I drove to Dalur, where Bartal would be joining me. Dalur held more birds, probably due to them being new arrivals, the village held 1 Pied Flycatcher, 2 Garden Warblers, 3 Blackcaps, 3 Lesser Whitethroats and 2 Goldcrests, which Bartal also saw.
After some rechecking of the gardens, me and Bartal agreed to split up, he would check Húsavík and Skálavík, while I checked the lakes for ducks and waders. I found nothing new and drove to Skópun, where there, again, was nothing to be found. While walking back to the car, thinking about checking Skálavík and Húsavík, when Bartal called and told me he had found a Blackpoll Warbler in Skálavík! I immediately jumped into the car and broke the record for fastest island travel, and after 10 minutes of looking it was riiiiight there! Holy shit what an insane bird and insane find by Bartal!
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| What a stunner! |
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| Almost every single birder on Faroe Islands is on this picture |
Four people ended twitching the bird after me, which is probably the biggest same day twitch ever on the Faroe Islands. After enjoying lovely views of this insane bird, I drove to Sandur and Sandsvatn to once again the lakes. While checking the lakes, I noticed how the amount of gulls had increased and they were flying around behind the harbour, so I drove there and walked out on the fjord-side. Quick scan of the rocks revealed a lovely Mediterranean Gull 1cy, the 4th record for Faroe Islands. Silas, Barbara and Bartal managed to twitch it and all was well in the world. I drove back home, and what a day!
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| Another rare gull, next one is hopefully something more extravagant... |
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