Beardless

Yesterday just saw me doing some incidental birding around chores in Oslo. At Frognerpark there were no rare gulls but a dark eyed Herring Gull (gråmåke) had me interested for a bit but it was just that and not a Caspian Gull (kaspimåke).

Today there were blue skies, an overnight frost and no wind so I thought it would be a good chance to see if any Bearded Tits (skjeggmeis) have attived back at Fornebu for the winter. Unfortunately they seem not to despite there being records from other placesd showing that the autumn dispersal from the breeding sites has started. There was little to see generally although I did scare up a Jack Snipe (kvartbekkasin) which for the first time that I can remember made a noise as it flew up – it was a very quiet call similar to a Common Snipe and only audible due to it being just a couple of metres from me.

I hoped that with the fjord being calm that I would be able to pick out some lingering rare seabirds but apart from Guillemots (lomvi) everything has left. There were quite a few ducks though including a flock of 64 Goldeneye (kvinand) that appeared whilst I was there so the overnight frost may have been the motivation needed for birds to move off from inland lakes.

Treecreeper (trekryper) today at Fornebu - the first one I have seen there this year, although it is probably more a reflection on me than the scarcity of the bird

the bird had walked the whole length of the branch clinging on to the underneath - its claws must be incredibly strong

Goldfinches (stillits) were probably the most numerous bird at Fornebu - this one is a youngster acquiing its adult plumage

a Goldfinch in adult plumage although a couple of white feathers on the cheek may indicate it is a bird of the year

prizing out the seeds from within the thistle head

I had this Dipper (fossekal) on Akerselva yesterday