Bearded Pygmy and winter

Winter has arrived! Yesterday I took the family up into Lillomarka and we ended up having snow ball fights! Today there has been a frost all day and all the shallow salt water bays at Fornebu have frozen over although the deep Maridalsvannet remains ice free.

The weather today was fantastic with the frost, blue skies and no wind. I went up into Maridalen determined to find a Pygmy Owl which seems to have settled down in a relatively small area. I searched and searched to no avail but as I was leaving I saw that others had found it (thanks Ellen). I got to enjoy it well but when I returned in the afternoon then I had absolutely cracking views!!

In between enjoying the owl, I visited Fornebu where some Bearded Tits showed very well but so briefly I hardly had time to steady the camera and a Common Scoter was diving for food at unusually close range.

The Pine Grosbeak invasion seems to have fizzled out with birds in mid and northern Norway but now hardly any being seen in the south. Waxwing numbers are also very low for some reason.

snow in Lillomarka on Sunday 

there were very few birds to see in Lillomarka but we did have a few Parrot Crossbills (furukorsnebb)

a singing Robin (rødstrupe) from last Friday

Today's Pygmy Owl (spurveugle)

it might be tiny but still manages to look very scary

my flight shots are never sharp!

this Blue Tit (blåmeis) tried to be a bit tought

but soon bugged out

female Bearded Tit (skjeggmeis) at Fornebu

and a male

1cy male Common Scoter  - the bird is aged and sexed due to the yellow on the bill