A little bit of Maridalen

Back for a few days in Oslo I paid my first trip in a while to Maridalen. The hot weather we have had most of this spring and summer seems to have resulted in a very good breeding season for Swallows (låvesvale) and White Wagtails (linerle) with many youngsters to be seen. A single Common Rosefinch (rosenfink) showed itself and two singing Lesser Redpolls (brunsisik) are an indication of breeding which would be the first time here. I saw a single beaver and more disturbingly a family of mink which showed no fear of me – will it be ever possible to get rid of this disastrous introduced species?

Five adult Black-throated Divers (storlom) together on the lake were probably a group of failed breeders but a Red-throated Diver (smålom) that flew off with a fish is most likely breeding nearby.

Signs of a good breeding season can also be seen in the garden where broods of Greenfinch, Tree Sparrow, House Sparrow, Blue Tit, Great Tit and Fieldfare were being fed by parents today.

Mink: an unwanted species in Maridalen and Norway