Photobirder: American Pipit in Vestfold, Norway on 7/12-2022

Friday 9 December 2022

American Pipit in Vestfold, Norway on 7/12-2022

At around 09:00 on 7th December 2022 a birding friend and I were first to arrive at Pirane nature reserve, Hvasser south, Færder in Vestfold where an American Pipit Anthus rubescens rubescens had been found two days earlier. Hvasser south in Færder municipality is almost the furthest southeasten point of Norway and an ideal place to find migrating birds. It was a cold -5 C morning with a clear sky but with a wonderful orange sunrise promising a fine chilly day. After searching the beach path it was clear that almost no passerines were yet active and only a single male Blackbird was seen feeding in some berry bushes. At around 09:45 several more birders arrived and it was not long before the American Pipit was found at its apparently favoured seaweed feeding spot. At first it was difficult to observe as it kept mostly out of sight behind rocks and clumps of seaweed, but as the sunrise warmed the seaweed and presumably awakened the few insects present, the pipit became more active in searching for food and occasionally even possible to photograph. A series of images were taken although not in the best lighting conditions by most of the visiting birders. At one point the pipit flew off and returned soon afterwards with a Rock Pipit which it fed eagerly alongside until that flew off again. We left the area at 10:30 as had most others, although more birders began arriving to see this popular bird.

This American Pipit observation constitutes the 9th for Norway and the first for Vestfold county. Eight of these, including the first in 1997, have been of the nominate subspecies rubescens and just one of japonicus in 2008.