We have spent the first part of the Easter holiday
downhill skiing at Trysil. It was positively divine conditions with deep blue
skies, no wind, overnight temperatures falling below -10C but with the sun
making it feel warm. There was also loads of good snow, so skiing was a delight
especially after having got the ski prepped and the edges sharpened.
There were not many birds to be encountered but the
most numerous were 4 Siberian Jays and 3 Hawk Owls so I was a very happy skier.
We got very close to the birds but with only a lousy iphone camera the shots do
not do justice to the experience. I had taken my superzoom away with me but
chose not to have it with me whilst skiing in case I fell. I was less worried
for the camera than my ribs which came off the worse from a previous fall on
the ice. Given that I didn’t fall (bar one embarrassing dismount from a chair
lift) and the fact the owls were very stationary I do regret not having gone
back to the hotel and collected the camera because the light was great, the
trees not too tall and one owl in particular was very confiding.
me filming Hawkie
a Siberian Jay (lavskrike) honestly!
there were tracks from Hares all over the place but here we also saw where one had been gnawing on a tree either to eat the bark or maybe just to wear its teeth down
An unexpected sighting last week was a
Beaver at very close range in the middle of the day. I have seen a few signs
recently that Beavers are out and about despite the snow and ice (which must
make it difficult for them to come in and out of their lodges). Seeing the
animal today the reason would seem to be that they are clearly starving. With
this winter going on longer than expected they have probably used up the food
they stored for the winter so are forced out to look for new supplies. They
also have to use their teeth which are continually growing such that they wear
them down.
The sight of the beaver and of moose close to the
city is a reminder of how many animals are suffering this winter. Many birds
are also suffering with early returning migrants finding no food and signs that
many owls are having a really hard time. There are many reports of dead Tawny
Owls or Tawnies feeding in daylight in gardens which is a sure sign they are
having huge problems finding food. Great Grey Owls are also turning up along
the coast with very few records of singing birds suggesting that they are also
struggling to find food and have had to flee the deep snow in the forests in
their quest to survive (so breeding and all the use of energy that requires is
not on the cards).
Yesterday saw lovely blue skies, no wind, dry air and
temperatures just below zero whilst today was cloudy, misty, rainy and
temperatures were hovering just above zero. Neither day did much to encourage
migration but yesterday’s un and todays rain has caused the thaw to start
although temperatures are forecast to fall below -10C next week so we will
still have to be patient in our wait for spring.
Yesterday I returned to the Glomma River. Only 55 Taiga Beans
were now present, and I would not be surprised if the other 23 from yesterday
have returned to Denmark. There were now lots of droppings on the ice which
were absent yesterday and help confirm that the birds did arrive yesterday
morning. The geese were frequently up on the ice picking at something – whatever
it was too small for me to see and I wonder if they were eating insects. Whatever
it is they will surely lose weight until they can start feeding on the fields
which may be in over a week?
I visited other sites on the river and found
Slavonian Grebes, Long-tailed Duck and Scaup along with my first two migrating
Wigeon of the year but there was no viz mig to witness.
In the evening Per Christian and I went owling. It
was perfect conditions in that it was windless and with temperatures “only”
dropping to -4C it was actually quite comfortable to be out. We had a very good
start with 5 singing Tengmalm’s Owls in the first 2-3 kilometres but then after
this we had nothing. I had hoped to be able to get some good photos of a Tengmalm’s
but despite our best efforts we only observed one in flight in the light of our
torches and never managed to see it perched.
Today I visited Bygdøy and Fornebu where Greylag
numbers are slowly building up and a flock of 22 was on a snow-covered field
feeding under a large tree where the snow had melted. Small flocks of Starlings
at both sites were the only real sign of passerine migration and a couple of
birds were singing and mimicking other birds including Redwing which did
suddenly transport me into the spring until they flew off and I abruptly returned
to winter.
the sun was shining on the ice. The Taiga Beans can be seen on the ice
there were only 3 ringed birds. One had a neck collar : 7U who I first saw here in March 2014. One had a green leg ring having lost it GPS collar and can be identified as 10 who I also first saw here in March 2014. The third bird only has a metal leg ring having lost its neck collar and unfortunately cannot be identified.
what are they picking at?
"7U" can just about be seen in this picture
here is the single Pink-footed Goose (kortnebbgås) that is together with the Beans and which acted as those it maybe paired with one of the Beans
Whooper Swas (sangsvane)
three Slavonian Grebes (horndykker)
Greylag Geese that have found the only snow free ground at Bygdøy
Today offered a number of surprises. I was in a bit of despair as to
where to go. A sighting of a Stonechat in Østfold yesterday had me hoping that
there might be a chance of something turning up, but I had no intention of
driving all that way and conditions on the coast in Østfold must be much more spring
like than around Oslo. In the end I thought that a trip along the Glomma river in
Akershus would give me the best chance of finding something and it would also
let me check out the conditions on the Taiga Bean Goose fields so I could get
an idea on when they might be suitable for the geese.
My first stop was at Bingen Lenser and here the mighty Glomma river was
frozen over except for a couple of open patches which held a few Mute and Whooper
Swans plus single Canada Goose and Goldeneye so not exactly promising
conditions. The steep slopes down to the river which normally become snow free
early in the year were also covered in snow so there were no passerines to find
here which I had hoped for.
Moving up to the Taiga Bean fields they were covered in so much snow
that people were skiing on them and there was no stubble sticking out of the
deep snow. A Starling eating snow was a surprise though.
Moving to the church at Udenes I had a vague hope of maybe finding a
Smew on the river but with ice on the edges and snow of the fields I had no
expectation of finding geese. When I got out of the car at 0945 I heard
Whooper Swans which was expected as small numbers winter along the river but
the sound of geese was most unexpected. I set up the scope and unbelievably
there were 11 Beans on the ice edge. After a couple of minutes, I suddenly
counted 13 and thought that I must just have missed two but considering
subsequent events they may well have arrived there and then. At 0958 the geese
took flight and to be honest I expected them to head south and back to Denmark (as
a tagged bird did a few years ago) but the reason was actually that a young
White-tailed Eagle was hunting them! The eagle left empty talloned but split
the birds into groups of 8 and 5. When the birds returned after a few minutes
there were now 15 birds with another two having somehow materialised. Then at
1009 a single bird flew in calling and now I was sure that I was witnessing birds
arriving. At about 1020 I did something silly and drove a few miles to check
another bit of the river. When I returned a half hour later there were now 76
Beans plus a Pink-footed on the river – so I had managed to miss the big
arrival… Then at 1135 three geese flew in calling from the south and were a
pair of Beans (one ringed) and a Greylag.
I stayed until 1250 but no new birds arrived. Judging by a
lack of droppings on the ice I believe that all birds probably arrived today
and it is interesting how they arrived in different size groups. There were only
5 birds with neck collars. The only ones I read with certainty were the pair 3Y
and 7V. I had not seen these birds here last autumn so I was surprised to see
them with 4 young. There were hardly any young amongst the birds that passed
through here in the autumn so maybe more families chose another migration
route?
The three other collared birds were all paired with
uncollared birds and without young but I was unable to read their collars with certainty
as the 1km range was just a bit too far for my scope.
I have been following the weather forecast at the Danish
staging grounds and it has been so cold there that I was quite sure the birds
would not have moved on. In the last two days temperature have risen above zero
both day and night but the winds were not southerly so I was still expecting
them not to move on – but I was obviously wrong. I’m sure they are regretting
their decision though and would not be surprised if they move away to the south.
It will be a least a week before the snow melts on the fields and there seemed very
little vegetation for them to access by upending in the river so they will not
be able to put on weight very quickly (may even lose it).
In addition the 78 Bean Geese and single Pink-foot there was
also a mixed pair of Canada x Greylag Goose and the single Greylag which
arrived with the last two Beans.
The White-tailed Eagle was the only raptor and single overflying
Skylark and Parrot Crossbill were pretty much the only passerines in the air
but I could hear drumming Black and Great Spotted Woodpeckers and yaffling
Green Woodpecker though which was a very promising development.
The Glomma river was frozen at Bingen Lenser. The constructions in the river are from when they used to float timber down the river
a skier on the snow covered fields that the geese favour
same fields from a different angle
view from Udenes Church
here there was at least open water but the edges are still icy
some of the geese
the young White-tailed Eagle chasing 5 of the geese
The temperature reached a barmy +6C today (although
is still below zero at night) and at Bygdøy on south facing slopes there was
actually snow free ground at the base of trees – so there is hope! No new birds
have discovered this though as the cold northerly winds will put off any
thoughts of migration for a while yet.
The sun is still shining though so photo opportunities
are good when they arise. Today I had a young Sparrowhawk at close range which
resulted in a few photos worthy of sharing.
the brown plumage shows this bird to be a 2cy (born last year) and from size and structue I would say it was a male
We are experiencing some amazing weather at the moment.
Blue skies and little wind mean that the heat of the sun warms during the day
but nightime temperatures down to -10C mean that the thaw still isn’t happening
and won’t happen for a good while.
At the weekend a family cross country ski trip
resulted in close views of three moose feeding on hay that is put out for them
in an attempt to stop them moving into the city in search of food.
Today I thought I would make the most of the sun
and go back to Linnesstranda where the Glaucous Gull is back after having
eluded me whilst guiding on Wednesday. I invested in some frozen cod on the way
down in the hope of being able to lure close to me but despite me turning on
the heating to full in the car it was still a frozen block when I got out of
the car. The gull was present, but my frozen fish did not appeal to it (despite
the fact that it is only there as it feeds on titbits thrown out by the ice
fishermen). I think the problem was that the frozen chunks emitted no smell and
really didn’t resemble anything edible. I did get a couple of close flybys
though which resulted in some acceptable shots.
Back in Oslo there were three Parrot Crossbills in
Maridalen which gave no indication of being in breeding modus (often crossbills start breeding in Feb/March) and earlier on I
heard my first singing Yellowhammers of the day which was a very welcome sound.
2cy Glaucous Gull (polarmåke)
Parrot Crossbills (furukorsnebb). From this angle it is not sp easy to judge the bill shape
One of the birds I tried (and tried hard) to show
Ben on Wednesday was Pygmy Owl. After driving repeatedly around Maridalen for a
couple of hours without seeing one it was time to drop Ben off at his hotel. I
joked that I would be bound to find one the next day, and sure enough…
yesterday I found a/the Pygmy Owl in the expected area and one which we had
passed at least 5 times the previous day. But that is what birding and
especially guiding is like.
Photos are a bit distant as a metre of snow
prevented me from getting any closer!
I had no new spring migrants today but did see all four species that I have so far seen: Oystercatcher, Wood Pigeon, Greylag Goose and Stock Dove. I reckon the next species I will see will be Skylark but with Common Buzzard, Snow Bunting and Mistle Thrush other possibilities.
Yesterday was a marvellous day! It was so sunny
that it felt warm, birds sang, I was taken out for (a birding) lunch and guided
in the afternoon.
The lunch gave me views of a hunting Peregrine in
town, on the way to guiding I enjoyed a few minutes in the sun at Huk where a
flock of newly arrived Oystercatcher were calling and one pair even mating, a
fine Purple Sandpiper fed amongst them and my first Stock Dove of the year flew
over.
I was guiding Ben from Kent via Brussels and our
initial target was the Glaucous Gull near Drammen. Unfortunately, this was not
to be found despite there being gulls attracted to the ice fishermen but whilst
searching I heard a “kik kik” call that sounded a bit off for a Great Spot
Pecker and after a bit of searching I was able to confirm my suspicion that it
was the White-backed Pecker. We were able to watch it really well as it was
extremely focused on finding a grub in the bottom of a small trunk. It would
frequently stop and put the side of its head against the tree as though to
listen before hacking away, changing position a bit, listening again and then
hacking away again. It kept this going for 10 minutes whilst we were there and
was still going when we left. The rest of the short guiding session unfortunately
did not reveal many more species which is a bit of the problem just now with all
the snow and migration not having started – but that will soon change..
male White-backed Woodpecker (hvitryggspett) feeding just over the snow
look at those claws!
pausing to have a listen - "where is that bug?"
Oystercatcher (tjeld) - a true sight and sound of spring
and a Purple Sand (fjæreplytt) was amongst them
2cy Peregrine (vandrefalk) downtown Oslo
one of the two male Wigeon (brunnakke) that has wintered in Oslo and this one has paired up with a female Mallard which could have some interesting consequences
the Wigeon in habitat along Akerselva
on Wednesday, Jules Bell and I checked out the conditions at Årnestangen. Snow, snow, more snow and ice just about sums it up
