Grey phalarope visit

A Grey Phalarope from some arctic shore landed on a tiny islet in the inland lake Hjälmaren and spent at least 4 days. We got lucky to see it on it´s last evening present. It´s very unusual that rare waders in summertime spend more than one or two days. Inland finds of this bird are extremely rare and it was only the 2.nd record for the county Västmanland. The bird was moulting from summer to winter plumage and seemed to loose it´s color day by day. On monday evening it was less active than in the mornings and we only saw it resting on the same rock all the time, allowing quite close approach (by boat). The tiny reef Nyckelgrundet in the middle of Hjälmaren is a bit of a bird magnet and we also enjoyed Caspian Terns (5), Red Knots (5), Black Terns (12), Little Gulls (13), Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Oystercatchers, etc. When an Osprey flew past, the Phalarope made itself flat, pressed on to the rock for a while. A great bird to see and a great excursion in good company this beautiful summer´s evening.