The weather was nice today, we actually had some sun and even a bit of bluesky was visible. The past 2-3 weeks have been miserable to say the least. Cloudy, wet, windy and foggy most days. So when the sun came out this morning, I thought I'd head out and check out the usual haunts.
First stop was Sandness Havn. It was not so lively just yet but there were the usual swans and mallards. Scaups, Golden Eyes and the other winter refugees haven't quite made it down here just yet, only 9 deg C at the moment.
There were a pair of Merganser and an unexpected winter plummage Razorbill and a juvvy Long-tailed Duck. I managed to capture both rather close with 400+2xTC on the Canon 7DII. The merganser shots weren't in very good lighting unfortunately.
I'm sure by wintertime this place will be as lively as it has ever been with travellers piling in to the fjord to escape the cold of winter.
I passed by my intended second stop near Three Swords (Lyse power exchange), they've put up a new "Parkering Forbud" sign at my usual spot so I left the place in a hurry. Three Swords itself was packed with people chasing the sunshine after 3 weeks cooped up in crummy weather, so I didn't bother stopping however I noticed the sea ducks have made an appearance. Common Widgeons, Scoter and Common Eider are swimming along on the water in small flotillas.
I drove by Risavika, hoping to give it a quick scan but after seeing the packed small parking lot I decided to skip it altogether and eaded over to the Flymuseum.
It's still early in the season to expect the seaducks at this location. The bay was full of the regular resident Mallards. They were some Scoter around, but further away from land. I decided to call it quits for the day and drove home.
Razorbill (Wikipedia):
The Razorbill or Lesser Auk (Alca torda) is a colonial seabird in the monotypic genus Alca of the family Alcidae, the auks. It is the closest living relative of the extinct great auk (Pinguinis impennis). Wild populations live in the subarctic waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
Razorbills are primarily black with a white underside. The male and female are identical in plumage; however, males are generally larger than females. This agile bird, which is capable of both flight and diving, has a predominantly aquatic lifestyle and only comes to land in order to breed. It is monogamous, choosing one partner for life. Females lay one egg per year. Razorbills nest along coastal cliffs in enclosed or slightly exposed crevices. The parents spend equal amounts of time incubating, and once the chick has hatched, they take turns foraging for their young.
In 1918, the razorbill was protected in the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Presently, the major threat for the population is the destruction of breeding sites
IUCN Redlist Near Threatened Species.
