Kolka Point Latvia May 2016 (1 Viewer)

It was time for what is fast becoming a pilgrimage to watch migrants passing over Kolka point. I was going later this year , partly due to a freind hoping to join me and partly due to the guesthouse being booked by other birders. In the end I was alone as I drove North from Riga on Tuesday evening.

The weather was much warmer than I had previously experienced with clear skies and a light WNW breeze. I did not think this was ideal but, oh boy was it better than a light NE breeze that developed a couple of days later.

Anyway I set myself two challenges to spur me into action. 1. To try to find three specific migrants, Bluethroat, citrine wagtail and pallid harrier within 100m of the guesthouse ... and 2. to finish one of Dzeneta's famously filling meals.

The journey was quiet but its always good to reconnect with a few cranes, storks and the odd fly over harrier. A brief stop also turned up what was bizzarly the only great spotted woodpecker I encountered. This is normally the easiest species of woodpecker in the area so I have no idea why I could not find another.

Day 2 saw me out in the garden with coffee in hand at 6.00 flushing a group of dark-headed wagtails from the bushes at the door as I stumbled out.

There was a steady trickle of birds overhead, mostly siskins, chaffinches and tree pipits while a quick check around nearby areas suggested a fall of lesser whitethroats and a few redstarts (the latter all males)

So into breakfast and my resolve wilted rapidly. The picture below shows the size of the task that I had taken on but I thought it just possible , until the 4 slices of cheesy toast arrived.

A hoopoe calling from outside had me giving up on any gustatory ambitions and heading back into the field.

The tower hide was a good spot for a couple of hours without any special numbers. Just 33 sparrowhawks, 2 rough-legged buzzards, a flock of 80 cranes and 11 whitefronts of note

I bought a couple of local pastries and headed to a roadside pool to eat them, this time a few miles inland for a change of scene.

In the past I had seen Golden Eagle here but was still delighted to find a pair calling to each other. What appeared to be a snorkel moving through the pond turned out to be a swimming grass snake and to cap it off a smart male red backed shrike hunted caterpillars over the other side of the road.

For the evening I stayed back around the garden seeing 3 ring ouzels fly over and the hoopoe did a quick fly past. A redstart came to within 3 feet until spooked by a hobby .

Then I picked up a harrier. Typically for me it flew directly in line with the sun as I scrambled to switch on my camera and was some way off before I relocated it. Still the pics I managed suggested pallid and I missed having someone with me to discuss it. Then I heard that a British tour group were staying in the village so I sought them out and showed the pics to Karlis their Latvian guide who also felt it was more pallid than monts.

All in all a decent start to the week... but much less was to come !

Day three set the tone for the rest of the trip with one exception.

Early mornings around the garden revealed decent numbers of common migrants, especially lesser whitethroats and wood warblers with a constant jangle of siskins overhead and in the trees.

However I did have the best moment of the trip when my 5th check of a short ditch turned up a male bluethroat. Every one of these is still special to me and this was one of the best I have found. I think its the combination of anticipation and sheer dogged persistance. I had checked this ditch precisely for this species two to three times a day on all of my trips and it had finally paid off. I took a few photos and then sought out the tour group to let them know. They were moderately interested and spent about an hour surrounding the bird. I never saw it again after they left.

I think I forgot the breakfast photo so here it is.... I know you were just dying to see it

I wont bore you with the details of the rest of the days which followed a pattern of fewer migrants each day.

Nevertheless I still enjoyed seeing numbers of tree pipits and trying to work out the wagtail races. I was expecting just grey headed but some looked blue headed, some darker and many had thin white supers

I spent a fair amount of time at the point after learning of a brief citrine there but without luck.

I did have a dotterel fly by one morning but got onto it late. It looked from behind like a dotterel, flew like one and called exactly like one but I have learned from the Latvian records committee that it wont be accepted. This is similar to a red necked phalarope found by a friend who had just completed his PhD on (you guessed it) only to have the wise committee members reject his description so it happens to better people than me.

I then tried for local butterflies and dragon flies. Too early it seemed for the latter but a selection of my favourite butterflies and my one damselfly below.

Map, camberwell beauty, siberian winter damseland for good measure an adder

To finish this short report. I had a few other surprises that I dont often see near Bristol,
Spot crake and 4 savis at a wetland I was directed to by Karlis a few miles down the road

A male red breasted fly near the house, a hawfinch under a tree in the garden, a grey seal on the beach and as always the constant background of calling long-tailed ducks so it was not really too dreadful.

To close a few of the wagtails I saw for those with an interest in subspecies

At least I avoided the rain my friends were experiencing during the same week in Bulgaria.

I also try to keep remembering how fortunate I am to be able to do this at all and who knows I might just do it again.

Finally thanks to Neil a Norfolk birder who happened to stay for a couple of days. The company was appreciated

Hi there

I am planning to spend a few days at Kolka from 19th - 22nd May. Do you mind me asking where you stayed and if you would have contact details?

Many thanks

Graham

Hi Graham,
I always stay at Usi guesthouse which is easy to book through booking.com. Its at the very top of the village just a few hundred yards from Kolka point itself. Put Kolka Latvia into booking.com and it should come straight up. Going that late you should have a great chance of river warbler and blythes reed . Not sure what other migrants may still be moving but apparently rare birds of prey keep turning up into June

regards Howard

Glad you had a good time Howard, Kolka is superb, hopefully be going back next year.

looking forward to your trip report esp two barred crossbill. An excellent find

Howard