A New Hope - 2015 the year that was part IV

October begun with Long-tailed Tits being quite numerous which was surprising given how bad the breeding season for other tits and warblers.

And Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers turned up in a few places

The autumn had few storms to push seabirds up the Oslofjord although there were a few auks to be seen. I had Puffin and Brunnichs Guillemot but these were not photogenic unlike their commoner cousins

Guillemot

Razorbill

Waxwings moved through Oslo in enormous numbers at the end of November and stripped all berry trees bare before moving on

This Arctic Tern at Fornebu became seemingly the latest record of the species and nearly made it into December.

A young rubbish eating Glaucous Gull was a good Oslo record but didn't hang around (or at least didn't get pinned down)

Fornebu had some good birds on offer in November with Bearded Tits showing ridiculously well at times although a Kingfisher was always a lot more difficult

This Meadow Pipit perched up nicely at Fornebu one frosty morning

Maridalen is not usually very exciting in the autumn but an at times confiding Great Grey Shrike added some spice this year

Østensjøvannet offers a few wildfowl during the winter which are sustained by bread. This December there was an interesting Wigeon x Mallard hybrid amongst them

There were some signs that owls were moving in December but it probably never got cold enough or enough snow to force many of them out of the woods but this Hawk Owl warmed the heart one day


I sign off the summary of 2015 with a green-eyed stare from a young Cormorant that was finding fish in the Akerselva River in downtown Oslo