Walkabout around Sandneset

It was a Sunday, a sunny Sunday at that so we decided to do some walking around Sandneset near Lundsvagen, a nice spot with gravel trails all around. We were there the day before briefly. It's a nice quiet area not 10 minutes drive from the house, when we arrived, there weren't any other cars parked at the parking bay other than those belonging to several residents in the area.

The walk was pleasant enough especially when we were in the sun out in the open path. And the view was stunning to say the least. From where we were standing we could clearly see the mountains and the folks who were already out hours before us in their boats, kayaks or just simply doing the same as us, walking or jogging while taking in the fresh air.

There were birds too. Grey Heron were the first the make their presence heard, there was actually a colony high up in the pines, and they were noisy. Their croaking can be heard from a fair distance away. Then there were the Oystercatchers, sounding off their loud alarm calls whenever disturbed by trailwalkers or their dogs. On warm sunny days like this there were quite a few people out in the open, quite a din in the meadows. Northern Lapwing were happily foraging in the pastures together with the Rook, Blackbirds and White Wagtails.

In the water were a couple of skittish Mallards, though slightly larger than your park variety. The seagulls were aplenty (I'm still not conversant with seagulls, definitely a species requiring some time to get familiar with) and among them were the now familiar Black-headed Seagull. The best had to be my first sighting of the Common Eider, one of the marine ducks. I saw them first on my initial pre-move visit back in September last year but only of a couple females at the port in the city.

A calming mid morning vista towards the fjords, I could almost see myself paddling a kayak to explore the nook and crannies in the area.

Mallard flying away.

Northern Lapwing in the pasture.

Oystercatcher.

White Wagtail chasing insects.

My first male Common Eider.

The folks at the Lundvagen Nature Skole were out early for their kayaking lessons in the waters nearby.

Sandneset looks like a great place to chill out with the family on sunny days, biking, walking, and perhaps even fishing looks like a possibility in the area. We are definitely coming back to this spot, it's literally in our backyard. When the Gitzo arrives in our air-freight, I hope there'd be enough sun and birds for the 600mm here at this very spot..