OSLO BIRDER: Same, same but a little brighter

It was back to Fornebu today in the hope of sunshine and better photo opportunities. The sun did shine at times and the birds showed and the photos are probably a bit better than yesterday but it still smells a bit of same, same but different.

A Little Grebe was a new bird for me (although had been seen already on Saturday) and a Water Rail actually showed itself, albeit distantly. The Jack Snipe continued to fly up from the same place so I might be able to view it on the deck if I have some luck. The three Snow Buntings were still present and equally confiding. It is quite possible that I am the first homo sapien that these birds have seen and as is often the case with birds of the high mountains they foolishly do not associate the most vicious species on the planet with danger. A Skylark and Linnet were late birds but as usual these days Nansenpark was otherwise devoid of birds.

The Beardies were still present in the same reedbed as yesterday. I had a group of at least 6 birds which seemed quite settled and then a group of 5 that were making a lot of noise and moving around. These birds showed at close range although never moved into a patch of reeds with sunlight to give me an ultimate photo opp. This group eventually flew high and off to the south. As I wrote yesterday, one can really wonder how many Beardies have been through Fornebu this year. One can also wonder how this species manages to find its way to these small reedbeds more or less every autumn.

There are lots of Redpolls around at the moment but they never really show very well. Based on other observations there appear to be a few northern/Arctic birds among them and hopefully as winter progresses the flocks will become easier to view.