OSLO BIRDER: Maridalen at its VERY VERY best.

Just a short post now and a few pictures but I will add some video tomorrow.

Maridalen really delivered the goods today. A singing Grasshopper Warbler (gresshoppesanger) was found last night (not by me) so I was keen to hear and hopefully see this bird which would be a patch tick although a very short visit at 9am in wind and rain unsurprisingly did not reveal it.

Around 5pm I took the whole family in to look at the Tawny Owls (kattugle) as I suspected that they would be leaving the nest any day soon. As we walked into the wood we heard an adult and then saw this.

I only had the mobile with me so had to take the picture with it.

Nearby a red male Rosefinch (rosenfink) was singing, the Wryneck (vendehals) was singing and a Common Tern (Makrellterne) was feeding over the lake.

Returning with camera between 1900 and 2200 I had even better luck. The Grasshopper Warbler was heard, seen and photographed as was the River Warbler (elvesanger). The male Red-backed Shrike (tornskate) was seen, Osprey (fiskeørn) and Kestrel (tårnfalk) flew over and Icterine Warbler (gulsanger), Whitethroat (tornsanger) and Garden Warblers (hagesanger) were singing. In the Tawny Owl wood there was a heck of a commotion with an adult calling continually and thrushes scolding. When I walked in there was a fledged youngster clinging to a tree (it then proceeded to fall off) and another sticking its head out of the nest hole. The youngster that had come out did not look able to fly but can I assume climb up trees using its claws. Quite why they leave the nest at such an undeveloped stage I don’t know.

On the lake a late Whimbrel (småspove) was resting on an island, 3 adult Black-throated Divers (storlom), a female Goldeneye (kvinand) with 3 ducklings, the pair of Greylag Geese (grågås) still with 3 young and the pair of Canada Geese (kanadagås) which seem to have lost their young.

A fantastic set of birds and a double rainbow to top it all off!