Dipp(er)ing

A leisurely days birding today under blue skies. I met up with Per B and we enjoyed a walk around an iced over Østensjøvannet. There are just two areas of open water which are kept ice free by about 400 Mallards (stokkand) that are keep going the winter due to people feeding them (despite the misguided advice that has recently been given to not do so). Amongst the Mallards were 5 Greylag (grågås), 3 Canada and 3 Barnacle Geese (hvitkinngås) and a nasty Greylag x Canada hybrid. Coot (sothøne) numbers have risen to at least 20 from the previous 14 (birds returning from the south or late birds fleeing the north?). Surprisingly there were also 9 Mute Swans (knoppsvane) (a lone pair plus a pair still with 5 young in tow which flew in whilst we were there). In previous winters they wouldn’t be here but with the increase in their breeding population on the lake (from 1 to 5 pairs in only a few years) and subsequent competition for the best territories it is easy to think that some are gambling that they will win if they stay here for the winter.

A Dipper (fossekall) on the very narrow stream that leaves the lake at the north end showed ridiculously well (although my photographic attempts were disappointing).

In Frognerpark I failed in my continued attempts to find a rare gull but did enjoy views of the wintering Teal (krikkand) and a couple of Herons (gråhegre).

In the garden there continues to be good numbers of Siskin (grønnsisik) and Blackbirds (svarttrost).

Norway's national bird: Dipper

adult (left) and 1st winter Grey Heron in Frognerpark

close up on the 1st winter

the adult

Mallards are quite colourful

queuing for bread