Maridalen Great Grey Shrike

Yesterday was blessed with an overnight frost that left frozen puddles and a fantastic warm sunlight in the morning. Birds though were not to be found and despite the perfect viewing conditions I found nothing of interest at Fornebu – no Beardies, no rare phylloscs, not even a Muckiminger.

Today was cloudy and windy and to be honest didn’t really have many more birds but a Great Grey Shrike showed very well in Maridalen and there were lots of birds on feeders both in the garden and in Maridalen.

I have never before noticed these"teeth" on the upper mandible of a Great Grey Shrike.

the black lores and bill seem very adult like but the barring on the underparts is a definite sign of this bird being a juvenile. Looking at pictures I see nothing to suggest that it has not been the same bird that has been seen on and off in MAridalen since 18 Sept even though when I saw it on 3 Oct I was sure it was an adult

the barring is very obvious here. Extreme  cases of barring can give the bird a pink look which might cause confusion

this bird has very little white in the secondaries (nearly none) which matches my pictures from 18 Sept 

the two Collared Doves (tyrkerdue) that are in the garden daily now

a curious female Teal (krikkand) at Fornebu yesterday. A Water Rail was calling right behind it but wouldn't show itself

and some grainy photos from the feeding station in Maridalen today

Crested Tit (toppmeis)

Nuthatch (spettmeis)

Willow Tit (granmeis) - compare ot the Marsh Tit from a few days ago

Willow Tit

a different Willow Tit (this one is carry bling) but note that it look to have a pale spot on the upper mandible which is supposed to be only a feature of Marsh Tit. I assume this is just a light effect but shows that this "foolproof" feature needs to be used carefully