On Wednesday 4 October a Red-eyed Vireo had been reported simply to the north of the place I reside in south-west Norway and the birding blogs I comply with appeared to report an endless stream of scarce migrants and rarities. Meanwhile, all I had managed domestically was just a few Yellow-browed Warblers.
In the night I checked the climate forecast as typical and made some plans for the next day. On a Thursday the boat timetable works nicely for my native ‘rarity island’ and usually that is what I’d have achieved. However, I had birded there all day there earlier within the week with out something momentous and knew that another birders can be overlaying the island anyway. Nothing important had occurred with the climate and I had flights booked to the east of Norway later within the day so I made a decision to do my typical spherical on my native patch at Herdlevær, considering this may save time and that I’d get home with loads of time to pack and kind the home out earlier than I left.
The climate on 5 October was an ideal autumn morning, being crisp, clear and sunny – extra of a vis-mig day quite than circumstances prone to produce a fall. Herdlevær was fairly good with an apparent changeout having taken place in the previous few days. There was not an enormous variety of birds about however some good flocks of Goldcrests and enhance within the variety of thrushes and finches. A Ring Ouzel and two Yellowhammer had been native firsts for the 12 months for me and I picked up a Yellow-browed Warbler, so all in all I used to be fairly blissful. I used to be within the technique of heading again to the automobile after I met Øygarden common, Bert de Bruin.
We chatted about birds, about how sure individuals appeared to be on a fortunate streak and the way it will be our flip once more someday, little realising what was in retailer for us. In late June, I had discovered the primary Gull-billed Tern for the county however by now this appeared to be within the distant previous.
When I used to be almost again on the automobile I picked up a flycatcher, which I initially known as as Spotted however then instantly corrected myself, considering ‘no, it is not’. Although the preliminary view of the fowl was solely partial and really transient, one thing appeared ‘off’. It was simply too nicely patterned, mottled on the underparts and with lots of pale spots on the upperparts. Bert and I each realised that we would have liked higher views and hopefully additionally images.
The thriller flycatcher was initially distant and fairly elusive (Julian Bell).
After some nerve-wracking minutes, we managed higher views and obtained some report photographs earlier than it as soon as once more disappeared. The fowl was fairly cellular in a restricted space and continuously vanished, however we persevered and at last obtained significantly better views and a few extra pictures.
This didn’t truly assist an excessive amount of as we simply could not make it match any of the probably suspects – Asian Brown Flycatcher was probably not an possibility and not one of the ‘Yanks’ we might consider match both. We stored coming again to the concept that it is perhaps a freakish Spotted, however on the identical time realising that this was unsuitable. Bert stored mentioning Dark-sided Flycatcher however neither of us might imagine it. By now I used to be operating out of time and was blissful sufficient that we might determine issues out later, so we strolled again to the place we had been parked.
Dark-sided Flycatcher, Herdlevær, Norway, 5 October 2023 (Julian Bell).
Back on the vehicles we stated our goodbyes and I headed home, nonetheless not managing to get the fowl to suit something I knew. Bert, nevertheless, took one other have a look at his footage earlier than he left and accurately put the phrase out – one thing we had talked about however could not fairly truly deliver ourselves to do throughout the preliminary part.
As is common round right here, different birders weren’t far-off and turned up quickly after I left. After some hasty and mildly panicked phone calls and requests for footage which I frantically uploaded earlier than leaving for the airport, pleasure was building.
Those with literature at hand and time to peruse the pictures correctly started to converge on both Dark-sided Flycatcher. While they had been doing this, I had packed and pushed an hour to the airport. Sitting in a bar subsequent to the departure gate and gulping down a big beer, I additionally labored my manner by means of some ID literature. We had all come to the identical conclusion – this was Norway’s first and the Western Palearctic’s second Dark-sided Flycatcher.
As one of many county’s prime rarity finders stated, that is prone to be the rarest fowl we’ll see in our lifetimes.
