Unlucky 13

On Monday I had one of my best ever experiences with the GG. On Tuesday whilst guiding, we failed to see one… After a run of 12 succesful guidings for this species it was perhaps not a surprise that it was on the 13^th attempt that the inevitable miss happened. We really did try hard yesterday with over 10km walked and more than 5 hours dedicated to finding GG but sometimes the Bird Gods are just not pleased with us. Hawk Owl did show well but in windy conditions I had to work hard to find it as it was not sitting high and exposed as usual. Today, in an afternoon walk with the Beast it was perhaps also not a surprise that I bumped into a GG without really trying. I am guiding again tomorrow so I hope that we all make a sacrifice on the alter of the Bird Gods tonight 😊

Today, I followed up on a message from Angus that a tagged Bean Goose was back in Norway (extremely early) and went off in the morning to the Glomma River. The water levels are higher than I have ever seen in the spring perhaps as a result of recent warm weather and rain and the sand bank favoured by the geese for roosting on was under water. There were hardly any birds to see with no Whooper Swans and it really did not feel spring like at all despite the lack of snow and ice. Six Taiga Bean Geese (including one with a collar) had clearly thought it was spring like in Denmark though and had made the move north but it will be interesting to see whether they stay here for long with temperatures forecast to fall to -10C tomorrow.

I have had other signs of spring this week though with my first Skylarks and today the first Whooper Swan of the spring in Maridalen. There is also lots of actvitiy from Common Crossbills who are in full swing with breeding now.

female Common Crossbill (grankorsnebb). They visit an old ruin in Maridalen to lock salt from the mortar

here the tongue can be seen

male Crossbill

Tree Sparrows (pilfink) breed in holes in the ruins

male Great Spotted Woodpecker (flaggspett)

Two Mute Swans (knoppsvane) and 6 Taiga Bean Geese (taigasædggås)

digiscoped Hawk Owl from yesterday's guiding

GG from Monday

having a preen - just look at how thick the feathers are

it's tiring being so popular

a rare in-focus flight shot

this picture seems to show at least one secondary of a newer generation which can be used in ageing the bird (if that is your thing)

a successful hunt

from today. After looking closely at my pictures I am sure that this is not the same bird as I saw on Monday this despite being in same area. Not sure what the red on the bill is but I can only think it is blood from a recent kill

the alert posture is in response to the dog. The wink can only be because I am a handsome young man :-)