Skiing Hawkie

Saturday gave me my 7^th spring migrant with Oystercatcher falling so now it is only Shelduck that I missing from the first wave of migrants.

Bird of the day though was a Hawkie seen whilst skiing at Oslo City’s own downhill slope at Wyllerløypa/Tryvann. We saw it first from the ski lift when it was sat quite close although the picture I managed with my mobile phone hardly shows it. When I skied down it had moved position and was now sitting at the top of a tree right next to the café at the bottom of the piste. The only thing that could beat that would be finding a Russian Dunnock in my garden (which another lucky birder did less than an hour and a half’s drive north of Oslo).

Two of the tagged Taiga Beans left Denmark on Friday but got only as far as the Norwegian / Swedish before deciding Norway was a far too hostile winter land and returning to Denmark but will probably make another and successful attempt to make it through Norwegian immigration control within a few days. These reconnaissance trips that they make are fascinating and it is only through the use of technology that we are aware of them. The single bird that had been stranded alone on Orkney has also made it to Denmark and flew via SW Norway where it spent the afternoon and night of 2 March at Lista (apparently unnoticed by birders) – yet another amazing journey.

Hawkiw from the ski lift

selfie with Hawkie :-) 

The recent wanderings of the tagged Taiga Beans. The green bird came from Orkney where he had been alone and met up with the rest of the flock in DK after a brief stop in Norway. And the Blue and Yellow birds (a pair) made an exploaratory run towards Norway before turning around!