The sunny Dale

Rain this morning turned into a sunny, warm afternoon and Jr needed little persuading that a walk in Maridalen would be good for the body and soul. We spied a few Egret twitchers and the egret itself which eventually allowed itself to be photographed through some bushes. I saw it catch a fish so it looks like it is thriving here and may well become a long-term fixture.

The warm weather led to a raptor bonanza with, in just over an hour, there being 20 Common Buzzards, 1 Rough-legged Buzzard, 3 Sparrowhawks and 2 Goshawks. In terms of quantity I think this must the most productive raptor session I have had in the Dale. The Buzzards were all heading south except for one of the Commons which seems resident in the valley at the moment. An adult Great Grey Shrike also showed plus a late Wheatear.

The sun also brought out butterflies with 4 Red Admirals, 3 Brimstones and an unidentified white. There were also a few dragonflies.

Great White Egret (egretthegre) with lunch. There was a lot of branches between the bird and I

swallowing lunch

the egret took a short flight to join this Grey Heron and called frequently whilst in flight

Great Grey Shrike (varsler) - looks like an adult (but subsequently I am not sure) due to the solid dark lores and jet black bill

Long-tailed Tit (stjertmeis)

Common Darter (Rødbrun høstlibelle)

black darter (svart høstlibelle ) I believe

Wheatear (steinskvett) and Tree Sparrow (pilfink)