OSLO BIRDER: No Hedmark and no dull mystery warblers :-)

I’m waiting with more Hedmark instalments and will instead have an update from some local birding and not a mystery warbler.

In Maridalen I saw at least one young Lapwing at Kirkeby along with both its watchful parents which was a real heart-warming sight – fingers crossed that it survives. A noisy group of 15 Long-tailed Tits seemed to be one family group (they can lay up to 15 eggs but this does seem extreme) and the only adult bird I saw looked to be the bird I have seen before with dark streaks in the head suggesting it is an intergrade with the European subspecies. It will be interesting to see if there are lots more similar birds once the youngsters have moulted out of the juvenile plumage. At the Goshawk nest I could see a single youngster (1-2 weeks old) being guarded by mum but there could well have been more lying down in the large nest.

The Great Tits in the garden left the nest this morning and a check of the box yesterday showed there to actually be five youngsters. At Jr Jr’s school a pair of Blue Tits have 4 young in the school building behind a ventilation grill. The adults entered the nest OK but upon leaving could see that they struggled to get out and I wonder how the youngsters will manage to leave which judging by their size will be any day soon. A Spotted Flycatcher had 5 eggs in exactly the same broken off tree as last year and Hawfinches were flying back and forth with food for youngster - I never had any interesting birds at my school!

Lapwing (vipe) mum and youngster

a tatty adult Long-tailed Tit (stjertmeis) with dark streaking in the head and probably the similar looking bird I have seen a few times earlier in the spring