A day for photos

If yesterday felt quiet in Maridalen then today was silent. It was a lovely day to be out with sun and little wind although after an overnight frost it never got that warm (8C). During the course of yesterday afternoon the ice broke up and melted and today I was greeted by an ice free but also pretty much bird free lake. It wasn’t just the lake that was bird free, the fields were too and there was no viz mig that I noticed. It is on days like this that I go on the less trodden paths and search out some of the Dales harder to find birds plus take photos of the more photogenic ones.

So today saw me taking photos of Black-throated Divers and Long-tailed Tits and then seeking out woodpeckers with both Lesser Spotted and Three-toed found.

Oslo #133 was also noted with my prediction for once being correct and a singing Blackcap heard from the front doorstep as I got home from walking the Beast.

when I saw that the Black-throated Divers (storlom) were swimming my way I found a good, concealed spot and waited for them to come closer

which they thankfully did

male Three-toed Woodpecker

female

male spitting out a piece of wood

I don't think this is the start of a nest hole but rather an attempt to reach a tasty bug

a Great Spotted Woodpecker (flaggspett) caused a bit of consternation

male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (dvergspett). There were 2 birds "singing" but not drumming in the same area although I could not determine whether it was a pair or two rival males

Long-tailed Tit (stjertmeis). This bird has some dark marks on the head suggesting a southern influence (and I have seen such birds in the area in previous years)

whereas this bird is a proper white headed one

female Black Woodpecker (svartspett). She spent a lot of time in the hole and could be heard banging away. This is, surprisingly, the third year running that this hole is used

there were only four species of duck on Maridalsvannet and all of them posed for a group photo. Can you see what they are?

this Greylag (grågås) has had to raise its nest to deal with the very high water levels

Mid April lull

In my last post I wondered what my next Oslo species would be and I didn’t have to wait long as the first Red-throated Diver turned up in Maridalen. In hindsight this was a no brainer but I am still unsure as to what the next one will be. Blackcap?

The ice is breaking up on Maridalsvannet now as we have not had frost for a while but water levels are very high as the rivers and streams feeding it are full of melt water. Unless they drop off quite soon then there will be wader season this year.

As is usual in mid-April we are going through a bit of a lull with the fields very quiet and few new birds turning up on the lake. The flocks of Pink-footed and Greylag Geese that have been a feature of the last couple of weeks are also gone. There is one species that is around in huge numbers though and that is Brambling whose migration is peaking now. There is a giga flock in Maridalen of way over 1000 bird which is not just a sight to behold but also produces a deafening amount of noise. Cranes are also being very noisy there were a couple of pairs on the fields this morning.

Rarest species in the Dale over the last three days is a pair of Pintail which are not annual.

part of the giga flock of Bramblings (bjørkefink) in Maridalen

they have also been in the garden where this male allowed itself to be photographed. It is still to come into full summer plumage but the pale tips to the black feathers on the head and back will soon wear off

a male Goosander (laksand) caught a large perch and was immediately chased by another male. To my surprise the perch went down easily and whilst the bird was moving

there are still a few Ring Ouzels (ringtrost) to see but we will probably get a new wave soon

my first Small Tortoiseshell (neslesommerfugl) of the year. My first butterfly was Brimstone which I saw on 1 April.

Cranes (trane)

there s lots of display from Goldeneyes (kvinand)

the male Lesser Spotted Woopecker (dvergspett) was drumming this morning but does not seem to have attracted a mate yet

this Pink-footed (kortnebbgås) and Greylag Goose (grågås) seemed to be paired with the Pink-foot being the gander

Pintails (stjertand)

Some medium sized raptors at last

The last two days have started with low cloud and then ended up being gloriously sunny and the birdlife really changes with the weather. I have visited Østensjøvannet both days following the ducky bonanza on Tuesday but the variety of ducks has declined inversely with the amount of ice cover. On Tuesday there was 75% ice, yesterday 50% and today none. Yesterday I found a new, female, Pochard who was choosing to keep the company of displaying Tufted Ducks instead of the male who was only 100m away. Today I had really high expectations as last night had seen clear skies and southerly winds until 2am when it started raining and I felt certain there would be big arrival of waterfowl. Well, all this weather had done was to cause a big clear out and there was nothing of interest and very few birds generally on the lake.

Yesterday I spent a long period staring skyward in Maridalen and finally saw those larger raptors I was longing for with first Rough-legged Buzzard, Oslo #129, and then Osprey, Oslo #130. Today in a short visit in the morning #131 came in the form of Black-throated Diver and I am now a bit unsure as to whether I will see any new species for a few days.

Today I gave up on Maridalen quickly as it was too foggy and decided to head for Nordre Øyeren. Here there was no fog but disappointingly few birds. Water levels are unusually high for the time of year but there was still a good amount exposed at Svellet. 24 Oystercatchers and 2 Curlew were the only waders though. Snekkervika also had mud and shallow water but only moderate amounts of dabbling duck.

I then decided to head south east and do Aurskog-Høland again with the hope that raptors would finally show. They did show but there wasn’t the variety I hoped for. 16 Marsh Harriers was undoubtedly a record count for me with seven showing simultaneously as one spot but where were the Hen or Pallid Harriers or Red Kites?

A single adult Bewick’s Swan was not one of the birds I had seen previously and I thought I had found a new bird but I now see that it has been seen on and off at the same time as the pair were being seen regularly.

There is still lots of flood water at Kjelle but maybe too much as it was almost birdless. Hopefully though there will be very good conditions there later in the month.

adult male Rough-legged Buzzard (fjellvåk). These dark birds can be tricky to tell apart from Common Buzzards

male Marsh Harrier (sivhauk)

adult Peregrine (vandrefalk) stooping

male Kestrel (tårnfalk) hovering

female Pochard (taffeland) at Østensjøvannet

the male

the female again who seemed to like the male Tufteds (toppand)

yesterday in Maridalen there were three species of corvids together when 2 Rooks (kornkråke) dropped in and briefly perched with Hooded Crow (kråke) and Jackdaw (kaie)

this Rook was at Østensjøvannet today in what must already be a record year for the species in Oslo

adult Bewick's Swan (dvergsvane)

these Curlew (storspove) flying over Østensjøvannet this morning had me thinking there would be lots to find at Nordre Øyeren, but there wasn't.

an unusually photogenic male Teal (krikkand)

female

my first frog and spawn of 2024