An update from Oslo

Autumn has arrived. The end of July and beginning of August is a very quiet period as breeding birds are all undergoing post breeding or post juvenile moults and almost disappear from view. Now though moult is finished and suddenly there is a lot of activity from the local birds plus obvious migrants are now turning up. I have now found Red-backed Shrikes with young in three locations in Maridalen pus the unpaired singing male which means it has been a record year for the species (never more than one pair before and it isn’t every year I find them breeding). Spotted Flycatchers and Tree Pipits also seem to have had a good year. The first (obvious) migrants that are turning up are Yellow Wagtails, Meadow Pipits and Whinchats.

Raptors are also becoming more visible and a morning visit to Maridalen today revealed Honey and Common Buzzard, Hobby and Osprey.

adult female Honey Buzzard (vepsevåk) with prey (presumably a wasps nest). She gained height and flew a few kilometres to the east towards an area where they have been a number of records of the species this summer and where there must be a nest

here with a Swallow

and a Swift

a Painted Lady (neslesommerfugl)

Red-backed Shrike (tornskate) - here the male and a youngster from the third breeding pair I have found in Maridalen this year

and here mum

There are a lot of flycatchers in Maridalen at the moment. On the left are two Spotted Flycatchers (gråfluesnapper) and on the right a Pied Flycatcher (svarthvit fluesnapper). I belive all to the 1cy birds with the bottom left bird still in juvenile plumage whereas the other two have moulted to 1st winter.

Queen of Spain Fritillary (sølvkåpe)

Whooper Swans (sangsvane)

I child and dog walking trip to Fornebu this afternoon did not reveal many birds but there were a few dragons and butters to see

This is yet another new species of dragonfly for me: a Migrant Hawker / septemberlibelle / aeshna mixta. This species was first noted in Norway as recently as 2004 but has established itself including at Fornebu

there were quite a lot of small red dragonflies and I would normally assume they were all the same species but the all black legs show this one to be a Ruddy Darter / blodhøtlibelle / sympetrum sanguineum 

and the pale backs to the legs plus black mark on side of eye show this to be a Vagrant Darter / sørhøstllibelle / sympetrum vulgatum although this species is very similar to the Common Darter / senhøstlibelle / s. stroilatum

and here a Common Ble Damselfly /innsjøvannymfe / enallagma cyathigerum

and a female Emerald Damselfly / nordmetallvannymfe / Lestes sponsa

and here a male

and finally a Common Blue (tiriltungeblåvinge) which is unusual in that it doesn't have any large spots (showing) near the base of the upperwing