Waxwings

Next week temperatures are forecast to fall below -10C and will not rise above zero for the whole week so the spring migrants that have already arrived will probably have to head back south or perish.

Inspired by my success on Wednesday, I travelled up the Glomma River from Nordre Øyeren to the Bean Goose staging grounds at Udenes yesterday but there was less to see than on Wednesday. The Beans as expected are not back and the fields yet and will probably not be back for a couple of weeks with the forecast cold spell. There were no large gatherings of Whooper Swans either so their main migration has clearly not yet started.

Today I went to Østfold where I hoped the sunshine would give some good photo opportunities. Well you have to find some good birds first…. In the end three Waxwings (which have been very scarce this winter) were the highlight.

Waxwing (sidensvans)

Hooded Crow (kråke) and Buzzard (musvåk)

the broad black trailing edge to the wing and tail shows this bird to be an adult 

male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (dvergspett). In the field I did not notice the red which is quite restricted and possibly a sign of the bird being a 2cy male?

still lots of snow on the Bean Geeses favoured fields which will not melt quickly if the forecast cold spell materialises