Tengmalm's Owl

I haven’t blogged recently because the usual mid-April lull has meant I haven’t had much to write about. There have been no new species for the year and just encounters with Common Buzzards and Three-toed Woodpeckers to get excited about. I have sky gazed hoping for migrant raptors and seen none although some have clearly been moving as a Spotted Eagle was seen yesterday not too far north of Oslo.

Everything changed today though with me being VERY lucky to be shown a nest of Tengmalm’s Owl (takk til Rune og Bjørn 😀). I have now been in Norway 19 years and this is the first time I have seen them nesting. Tengmalm’s is  difficult species with local populations swinging up and down in line with rodent numbers. In good years you can hear them singing and if lucky see them with a flashlight at night but there are astonishingly few sight records away from nest boxes and I have only once seen them outside of the breeding season although that was an unfortgetable encounter on Værøy. I have scraped on many trees under old Black Woodpecker holes hoping for a head to stick out but before today that has never happened. Now that I know about this nest I hope to be able to visit again in the evening or very early morning and see some activity and hopefully even the young when they leave the nest.

Tengmalm's Owl (perleugle) 

And here is what I would have been posting if I hadn't seen the owl...

Common Buzzard (musvåk) 

the pair in Maridalen. Both have full crops and had both flow up from within the forest where I assume there is a carcass that they are feeding on 

here are the two birds showing that they have a very similar plumage although the bird on the left has fresh looking flight feathers whereas the bird on the right has old and damaged feathers

Black-throated Diver (storlom) back on the lake

Chiffchaff (gransanger)