Temperature check

Day 2 of May and things should be hotting up. Timing is of course key and what for some people will go down as hot day will go down as luke-warm for others.

I awoke (no alarm needed) just after 5am and got into Maridalen around 0540. No snow or cloud today and it felt very birdless. I only gave it half an hour before deciding to get to Svellet before the sun and heat had a chance to ruin the viewing conditions. As I left Maridalen I saw Halvard driving in and it doesn’t look like I made the wrong decision this time. There were a LOT more birds on Svellet than yesterday and most encouragingly the water level has not been raised at all the last 4 days – this year has the chance of being absolutely epic and rivalling 13 & 14 May 2010 when there over 2000 waders were counted on Svellet (normally by this date there is no mud left).

Today Greenshank had risen to 261 up from 35 at the same time yesterday and Wood Sandpipers to 40 from none. Also present were 10 Oystercatcher, 4 Ringed Plover, 8 Whimbrel, 25 Curlew, 5 Redshank and 3 male Ruff in resplendent in their breeding plumage. Teal numbers had also increased to 253 and with them were a pair of Pintail and 13 Wigeon.

I then went to Snekkervika where I positioned myself for good views out over Årnestangen where I hoped to pick up raptors. That was not to be the case with only singles of Osprey, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel. After an hour of watching I decided it was time to be a family man and head home at around 9am. When I got home my phone plinged and there was a picture of a male Pallid Harrier from Årnestangen. As I said luke-warm for some and boiling hot for others!

Whilst not seeing any raptors I did have a couple of singing Whinchat. One was occasionally sounding like a Rosefinch (as they often do) and they really do sound similar so it is easy to be fooled. It is however two weeks until Rosefinches turn up so absolutely nobody should be so foolish as to allowed themselves to be fooled just yet…  There was also a nice male Redstart and a female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and male Great Spotted Woodpecker took turns drumming from the same metal top to a telegraph pole. The Lesser had initially been calling and I had to go and find it as I find separating the call from that of Wryneck to be all but impossible – I still have to look forward to finding my first Wryneck of 2020.

First a video the two 'peckers:

Male Redstarts (rødstjert) are really rather nice

one of the Skylarks (sanglerke) hanging on at Fornebu

and a Wheatear (steinskvett) also at Fornebu whilst out with the family this afternoon

and the might Svellet