Little again

After Fornebu having given the impression of an improvement in affairs at the end of last week it was disappointing this morning to find a distinct decline in the number of birds. Despite it being warm and there being a number of insects there were very few insect eaters and Willow Warblers failed to make it into double figures. Four Redstarts though was a good count and I cannot remember ever having seen so many and so regularly here.

An hour and a half around noon in Maridalen revealed quite a few raptors. A Merlin and a Kestrel flew very purposefully south and at least 7 Sparrowhawks were thermalling or hunting around the valley and were probably local birds which was confirmed for one at least as a photo I took showed it to have been ringed in the nest in the Oslo area this summer. Of larger raptors I had 2 Honey Buzzards, a single Buzzard and an Osprey that flew north into the forest with a fish which may mean that it still has young in the nest.

1cy Sparrowhawk (spurvehauk) with colour ring. Another bird ringed in the nest this summer in Oslo has already made it to the west coast of Norway

 

the days Merlin (dvergfalk)

a resting Grey Heron. All the blacks spots in the picture are midges and not my mucky lens

juvenile male Redstart (rødstjert)

Spotted Flycatcher (gråfluesnapper)

juvenile Starling (stær) coming into adult winter plumage

13 Lapwings at Fornebu included many youngsters. One can hope they came from Maridalen