Yesterday I went to check
out Nordre Øyeren. Very high water levels have caused the whole of Årnestangen
to be under water although apparently we are still 1.3m below levels reached in
1995. The water has of course ruined nesting for any ground species that had
already laid eggs but will recede quite quickly so hopefully many species will
start again. All the fields which had held rodents on which Long-eared Owls,
Kestrels and harriers fed are under water as well and I wonder what this means
for the rodents and in turn the predators. Time will tell.
Although all the usual
areas for waders are under water, fields have also flooded and these now hold
some waders although not the huge numbers that would have been on Svellet.
In Maridalen I believe I
have found the nest hole of the Three-toed Peckers but will need to confirm
this over the coming days.
Today I was guiding Anne
Kari from Oslo and we had a goal of seeing raptors. With 3 Marsh Harriers, 5
Common Buzzards, 2 Ospreys, a Peregrine and a Honey Buzzard I think we did quite
well. We also had many warblers with Reed, Sedge, Icterine, Garden, Willow,
Whitethroat and Blackcap and also waders. At one stage we could see Wood Sand,
Dunlin, LRP, Oystercatcher and Lapwing in the same scope view and with 9 Temminck’s
Stint nearby!
It was very hot today with
temperatures reaching 26C and the sun being burning hot. I was therefore
expecting to see my first Honey Buzzard of the year and expect that if one were
to stare skywards in the next few days that there will be quite a few to see as
they return to their nesting sites.
There were a number of
Lapwings to see today which was a shame as they acted like they were failed
breeders probably as a result of famers only just having ploughed their fields
as a result of the late spring.
Two Swifts today in Maridalen were my first for the year as were the Honey Buzzard and Dunlin so there are not too many common summer migrants left to come.
Garganey (knekkand) yesterday in flood waters
and a male Shoveler (skjeand) on a flooded field
a flooded Årnestangen
a Crane (trane) panting in the heat today
first Honey Buzzard (vepsevåk) of the year. A issing tail feather seems to me to be a common feature of this species
I was not expecting to find a Dunlin here
there are 5 species of wader in this photo: a Little Ringed Plover (dverglo), 2 Wood Sandpipers (grønnstilk), an Oystercatcher (tjeld), a Lapwing (vipe) and the Dunlin
5 of the 9 Temminck's Stints which were very hard to find amongst the equally sized clumps of mud
3 of them a bit closer
male Marsh Harrier (sivhauk). We saw this bird bring food to his mate who flew up off the nest in the reedbed and we also saw him escort another male out of the area
Peregrine (vandrefalk) being angrily (and carefully) chased by a breeding Lapwing (vipe)
mating Green-veined Whites (rapssommerfugl). They actually flew which seems quite a feet given they are facing different directions
Well Cuckoo has fallen
with a rare singing bird in Maridalen but there is still a real dearth of many
migrants. Where are the Wrynecks? I haven’t heard Willow Warbler singing from the
house yet. I’ve read that GPS tagged Montagu’s Harriers and Ospreys are still
in Africa – what is going on?
Early yesterday morning I
was guiding as a birthday present and chose Fornebu as the perfect location for
a walk and a good variety of birds. We had lots of singing Warblers but 3
singing Thrush Nightingales at close range was the definite highlight. There
were surprisingly few people around despite sunny, windless conditions and many
birds showed well. The arrival of migrants that I had hoped for did not (as has
been the case this spring) materialise and there was only one obvious migrant
to see, but it was a good one with a Temminck’s Stints feeding alongside Little
Ringed and Ringed Plovers.
Temminck's Stint - a rare bird at Fornebu
both of these Common Terns (makrellterne) were ringed
most female Eiders (ærfugl) are already on eggs so this bird will probably not breed although the male was keeping close contact should her mood change
Three-toed Woodpeckers
have never been an easy species for me to tie down and the couple of occasions
when birds have hung around in Maridalen have never resulted in me having a
stake out. This may finally have changed with a pair now settled in an area
that is fairly well defined although I have yet to find the nest (if they have
indeed started breeding). Both birds drum which is not something that I think is
widely understood and it can be surprisingly difficult to tell them apart with
this male at least having a quite light-yellow crown that could only be appreciated
at certain angles. The birds are in an area with a lot of dead trees which
seems perfect habitat for them.
female Three-toed Woodpecker (tretåspett) with white crown
May, guiding and demanding
kids makes blogging difficult!
Yesterday I guided Gene
and Susan from Minnesota and we had a great day under a hot sun. Marsh Harrier,
Water Rail, Shoveler, Ruff, Wryneck, Osprey, Icterine, Reed and Sedge Warbler
plus all three flycatchers was a pretty good showing.
Today, as forecast, we had
rain in the morning and I had really high expectations such that I was out in Maridalen
before 6am. Lots of fogs mucked things up though and there was not a new
migrant in sight! I headed for Fornebu where I hoped the lack of fog would
result in all the downed migrants being here but that was not to either. However,
my best ever views of Thrush Nightingale more than made up for the lack of
migrants.
There are still a few common
migrants left to return: Swift, Marsh Warbler, Cuckoo and Common Rosefinch and
with the right weather there are still lots of interesting birds that can turn
up. I’m already looking forward to tomorrow…
Thrush Nightingale (nattergal) Fornebu. There were 2 singing males plus a third bird give alarm calls
this young male Sparrowhawk was causing consternation amongst the Nightingales and was possibly hunting them
Sedge Warbler (sivsanger) at Hellesjøvannet - a common species in Norway but very scarce in the Oslo area
Shovelers (skjeand)
Spotted Flycatchers (gråfluesnapper) are back
this Buzzard (musvåk) had intersting symmetrical moult of the inner primaries
I can't ever remember finding a Chaffinch (bokfink) nest before
Yesterday was hot and sunny but with southerly winds blowing new
birds were bound to turn up. I visited both Maridalen and Sørkedalen and
Wheatears, Whinchats and Pied Flycatchers were all in evidence plus the first
two Yellow Wagtails of the year in Maridalen. A pair of Pintail resting on
Maridalsvannet were also a clear sign of migration.
In Sørkedalen a fine male Red-backed Shrike was expected but not
expected yesterday was a singing Red-breasted Flycatcher which is very early
and bodes well for this species which seems to be establishing itself around
Oslo.
The Steller's Eider is still present and people have been able
to view it from the city waterfront and take pictures at a range of 1km!
The peak time to find a migrating Great Snipe is soon upon us and
hopefully one will grace Maridalen. Rain forecast on Thursday night may well do
the trick.
male Red-backed Shrike (varsler)
Camberwell Beauty (sørgekåpe)
this Pied Flycatcher had a song that had some elements of Red-breasted Flycatcher in it and also had very little white on its forehead
