The arctic sends its regards once again

March is regarded as a quiet month, but it has proved to be eventful this year, though I suspect it can be ascribed to the fact that the amount of birdwatchers since beginning of 2025 has increased with 200%. #th March I finally struck gold at my local patch. From my apartment I have the view over the entirety of the sound between Nólsoy and Streymoy, the harbour of Tórshavn and some large salmon rings, which means that scoping from the apartment can yield some quite nice birds (and animals), with highlights being: Sandwich Tern (7th record for Faroe Islands), Common Pochard, Sooty Shearwaters, Iceland Gull, Glaucous Gull, Leach's Storm Petrel and a pod of 50-70 Risso's Dolphins, largest pod ever recorded as far as I know. But one species that I have always hoped to find was King Eider male, a very scarce species on the Faroe Islands, that I have seen four times up here. One was many years ago, a male, on Suðuroy, a female at Kirkjubø 5 years ago, a female in october 2025 at Nólsoy and an adult male at Sørvágar, december 2025. So when I for the umpteent time scanned the large flocks of eiders that frequent the salmon rings and was greeted with views of a smaller dark eider with pale blue head and bright bill, I was quite excited! I immediately called all the birdwatchers on Faroe Islands and told'em. In the dusk it was still quite the view and it ended up being around for three days, though it is probably still around, as the eiders move around a lot, following the currents and wind. Now the next bird must be an exciting Melanitta sp. or an Harlequin Duck!

First day photos

Now 500 meters closer

7th March I went to Eysturoy to check for gulls and ducks as the wind from SW meant that the eastern and northern parts of the islands would be in cover from the wind. Though all the good spots were checked, it didn't yield anything new, outside of 4 Fieldfares at Viðareiði and more arrivals of Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Though nothing new, doesn't mean nothing exciting, as I refound the Bonaparte's Gull at Syðragøtu and Lesser Scaup at Toftavatn. But the most exciting and bitter news arrived late sunday evening, when I received the news of a Beluga Whale sighting at Leynarsand! Holy shit, an absolutely insane animal and almost completes the run of arctic birds and animals that Faroe Islands have been on since november 2025, with Ivory Gull, Ross's Gull, King Eider(s), Walrus and now Beluga Whale, next must be Polar Bear? Or Narwhale??? I tried on monday after work to go look for it, but no dice and there has been no news of it since and with the wind picking up to a lovely 20 m/s, it's probably gonna be quite hard to refind it again, though it would be very nice if it were to happen, as this is the 4th record for Faroe Islands and first since 1996. Otherwise I had the fortune of spotting a pod of five Killer Whales outside my workplace while doing the dishes and eating a quesadilla.

Again with the strong westerlies hitting Faroe Islands, straight from Greenland, maybe there will indeed be more polar species landing on our shores.

It is slowly slowing down

 With only 5:30 hours of daylight nowadays birding is somewhat limited, but it is still possible to find some fun stuff. The gulls haven't really arrived in any substantial numbers yet, though 2 Iceland Gulls at Toftavatn was a nice reminder that winter is indeed coming. Duck-wise, nothing crazy has happened, except Goldeneyes have arrived in numbers now, with 1 at Vatn í Eiði and 4 at Sandsvatn and numbers of wigeons has also increased with minim. 125 at Sandsvatn, along with a day total of 7 Grey Herons and arrivals of Greater Scaups. 

But! There are still some fun birds around. 10/11, a visit at Viðareiði yielded 3 Siberian Chiffchaffs, 1 Fieldfare, 1 Woodcock, 1 European Goldfinch, 1 Barn Swallow and 1 Lesser Whitethroat. 

Still some of these pallid delights hanging around, I will eat my new adidas gazelle shoes if these aren't archetypical ssp. tristis

European Goldfinch, a rare bird on the Faroe Islands, but annual

13/11 yielded a Grey Wagtail, Velvet Scoter and a Common Scoter, which I think is one of very few occasions in Faroe Islands that more than one melanitta-species has been seen at one spot.

Double melanitta, Velvet Scoter top, Common Scoter bottom

14/11 yielded yet another Glossy Ibis flying over Sandsvátn, along with 125 Eurasian Wigeons and a long-staying Common Shelduck and Black Redstart at Skálavík, which is the 17th record for Faroe Islands, while the long-staying Little Egret is enjoying the sandy beaches of Tórshavn.

"Don't take too kindly to your kind around here"

Glossy Ibis - approx. 7th record this autumn for Faroe Islands

Black Redstart, it was exciting to that red tail flash across the beached kelp, surprising this is actually my second self-found record

Otherwise we are seeing Snow Buntings popping up, numbers of ducks are on the rise and now the it should be time for an arctic winter wonder in the shape of an Ivory Gull, Ross's Gull or something else.