Little Grebe

Fog hung over Oslo again today and looking at the weather forecast might do so for the next week (we are forecast to have plus temperatures and rain next week – winter my *rse!). In Østfold though there was no fog but it wasn’t exactly bright and sunny either. I paid my first visit of the year to Kurefjorden and although there was only ice in the bay at Rosnesbukta there were fewer birds than I had hoped for. There were good numbers of Velvet Scoters and Goldeneye but the scarcest (winter) birds I had were a couple of Red-throated Divers and 7 Great Crested Grebes. A Peregrine was the only raptor with no over wintering Rough-legged Buzzards in their usual place.

Heading back towards home I had two Great Grey Shrikes less than 800 metres from each other in the exact same place as I also had two separate wintering birds last year (without seeing them immediately after each other one would assume that it was the same bird moving around). A Little Grebe in Drøbak showed very well from the car but the light left a lot to be desired for photos. The Kingfisher also showed very briefly and a flock of 120 Waxwings feeding on apples by the road in Oslo was a good mid winter count.

Little Grebe (dvergdykker)

Spot the Kingfisher 

The Maridalen Great Grey Shrike (varsler). My assumption is that this is the same bird that over-wintered in Maridalen last year. However this bird seems to have a much less prominent white bar on the secondaries than last years individual although this picture is not particularly good (and therefore not show it properly) and it might also be that this is a feature that changes with age.