Cruise Guiding

Yesterday I was guiding John, Dan, Debbie, Mike and Nancy from the USA who were in Oslo for a couple of days on a cruise.

We had a truly great days birding with Oslo birds showing off their best sides. Østensjøvannet had a lots of young birds and activity despite it being a warm day. Mute swans, Great Crested Grebes, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Coot, Moorhen and Black-headed Gulls all had young and we saw 9 species of warbler including two Marsh Warblers and an Icterine Warbler. A Pink-footed Goose was also an unexpected summer sighting.

The afternoon offered a truly memorable experience and was one of afternoons that leaves you in no doubt as to why birding is so cool. We were searching for Whooper Swans and found a pair with their 7 cygnets (correction - they have 8 young which Dan quite rightly noted). Whilst watching these we then had a Hobby – nice enough but then it mobbed a Buzzard and then there was another Hobby and then another. All three Hobbies then put on an amazing aerial display right over heads catching dragonflies. At one point we were able to follow a dragonfly and then see a Hobby stoop and take it. If that was not enough we could also hear a Black Woodpecker and then whilst watching a perched Hobby we saw the woodpecker going up the same tree and eventually had the side by side!

I’m stuggling to find the time to edit photos and videos at the moment but here are the highlights from today.

Hobby (lerkefalk) and Black Woodpecker (svartspett)

Two Hobbies

Pink-footed Goose (kortnebbgås)

Swallowtail (svalestjert) butterfly

female Tufted Duck (toppand) with 4 young

Whooper Swan (sangsvane) family

Great Crested Grebe 

life at Østensjøvannet