Darters

Since my last post I have had a few outings to Maridalen and Fornebu mostly with either dog, kids or both in tow but a couple of short outings with just me and my optics.

In Maridalen I have hoped to get better views of the Honey Buzzards but have failed to see a single bird but have instead seen lots of Common Buzzards with 12 leisurely heading south in a short period of time including 8 together.

Dragonflies have also been in focus with one small area at Fornebu holding all 5 of the Norwegian Darter species which was very educational.

a Yellow-winged Darter (gulvingehøstlibelle) Sympetrum flaveolum

a Ruddy Darter (blodhøstlibelle) Sympetrum sanguineum

a Black Darter (svarthøstlibelle) Sympetrum danae

a Vagrant Darter (sørhøstlibelle) Sympetrum vulgatum

a pair of Common Darters (senhøstlibelle) Sympetrum striolatum

my first Migrant Hawker (septemberlibelle) aeshna mixta of the year. This species flies around much slower and hovers a lot more than the other aeshna species allowing itself to photographed far more easily - which is an ID character in itself

adult Common Buzzard (musvåk) - note the obvious moult and broad band at the end of the tail

juvenile Common Buzzard - note the fresh plumage, no terminal tail band and also some vertical streaking on the breast. The black band at the back of the wing is also less noticeable

a distant view of a Hobby (lerkefalk) in Maridalen which was catching dragons very high up

White Wagtail (linerle)

Green-veined Whites (rapssommerfugl)