The nest

A variation on the theme today with guiding in the middle of the day and then a check on the Red-breasted Flys in the afternoon.

I was guiding Russ and Gail from Florida who were in Oslo for the day on a cruise. I guided them for a few hours around lunch and we visited Østensjøvannet and Maridalen where the usual species showed well. There is little song at this time of the year especially in the middle of the day but there are many young birds begging to be fed which makes finding them easy. Østensjøvannet is full of life at the moment with young of many species and literally thousands of birds to be seen. An overflying Peregrine looked like he was viewing the lake as an appetizing buffet table.

I managed finally to find the Red-breasted Flycatcher nest which was as predicted just a few metres from the Robin’s nest and I had probably stood under it yesterday. It was about 4 metres up and in a very old woodpecker hole which had gone through the tree so had openings on two sides. The female was sitting in the nest when I arrived and it was half an hour before the male brought food. I think that my presence, even though I thought I was as a safe distance, prevented the male coming earlier as I had seen him in the area with a beak full of insects soon after I arrived so I left straight after witnessing the food drop. When the male arrived the female then flew off the nest and the male fed the young. I was unable to see how many young there were and the fact that the female had been brooding them means they can only be a few days old. In a weeks time the young should be visible in the nest begging for food.

 

the Robins nest on the left and the Red-breasted Flycatcher on the right

the tree

the female brooding the young

a blurred male in a dark forest with a mouthful of food

three shots showing feeding time. On the left the female is sitting on the nest and the hole on the other side can be seen. In the middle the male arrives and the female is still on the nest. On the right the female has flown off and the male is in charge

this Moorhens nest at Østensjøvannet was a couple of metres up in a tree. Two youngsters had clearly just hatched and it appeared there were still unhatched eggs in the nest. One youngster jumped out of the nest and was perched 30 cm below the nest.