In Norway, Easter begins the Friday afternoon before Palm
Sunday and lasts a whole 10 days! People evacuate the towns and cities
traditionally for cabins in the mountains but more and more also go to their
cabins by the coast. It is also a time for family which for my part means less
birding. We did visit family in Tønsberg on Sunday which gave me the chance to
visit Presterødkilen and Ilene but a biting northerly wind meant there was very
little to see. On the drive down we had seen six Buzzards of which two were
definitely migrating so I had hoped there may have been some raptor action at
Ilene (despite the winds being all wrong) but I was mistaken. I did come across
this pale Herring Gull at Vallø (where I was hoping to relocate the Iceland
Gull I found a few weeks ago). It looks like a 1st winter but I am
not sure whether the paleness is due to it being very faded or leucistic.
Looking at variants of Herring Gull is just another sign of how little there is
to see!
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| Leucistic ? Herring Gull |
This morning I was woken by a singing Chaffinch which I have
to admit was a wonderful start to the day. I have previously been woken by
singing Willow Warbler and Pied Flycatcher in the garden but this Chaffinch was
just as good.
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