Goldeneye

Relatively warm today and a few new birds at Bygdøy but Maridalen is still in winter modus and Fornebu is surprisingly devoid of passerines – a walk around Nansenparken revealed just one Great Tit!!

On Bygdøy there were now three Lapwings, over 200 Greylag, I heard a fly over Snow Bunting and there were 3-5 Stock Doves with two of them singing.

A visit to Østensjøvannet revealed no increase in the area of open water but there were a lot of birds with Goldeneyes and Tufted Ducks now back. Four Goldeneyes were also on the one small area of open water on Maridalsvannet.

male Goldeneye (kvinand) with Mallards

Goldeneye pair

 

female Goldeneye

here we can see the inner eye lid which is like a windscreen wiper

three Lapwings on Bygdøy. The left hand bird is a female and the other two males

a so-called "inter-sex" Mallard most likely a female with a lot of male hormones

the male Wigeon x Mallard hybrid

here the hybrid and the intersex Mallard. These intersex bird can often be suspected of being hybrids and the similarity in head pattern can be seen here

 

I normally don't spend time with plastic wildfowl but in the snow the Ruddy Shelduck made a nice subject

Wood Pigeons (ringdue) are nearly even better looking though

the Goshawk (hønsehauk) as perched up in the same tree in Maridalen where it was having  good preen. Note the huge talons