Birthday guiding

Well Cuckoo has fallen with a rare singing bird in Maridalen but there is still a real dearth of many migrants. Where are the Wrynecks? I haven’t heard Willow Warbler singing from the house yet. I’ve read that GPS tagged Montagu’s Harriers and Ospreys are still in Africa – what is going on?

Early yesterday morning I was guiding as a birthday present and chose Fornebu as the perfect location for a walk and a good variety of birds. We had lots of singing Warblers but 3 singing Thrush Nightingales at close range was the definite highlight. There were surprisingly few people around despite sunny, windless conditions and many birds showed well. The arrival of migrants that I had hoped for did not (as has been the case this spring) materialise and there was only one obvious migrant to see, but it was a good one with a Temminck’s Stints feeding alongside Little Ringed and Ringed Plovers.

Temminck's Stint - a rare bird at Fornebu

both of these Common Terns (makrellterne) were ringed

most female Eiders (ærfugl) are already on eggs so this bird will probably not breed although the male was keeping close contact should her mood change

Thrush Nightingale (nattergal)

Black Woodpecker (svartspett) in Maridalen