If only there was no Covid and I could be guiding overseas
birders who want to see some Scandinavian specialities then yesterday would
have been a good day…
Well, there is Covid and there is quarantine and
there are no tourists but the birds are still there, tourists will hopefully
return and every now and then a local birder or photographer wants my services
so I try to keep control of all the hard to find birds.
My “Fab Four” have been a bit difficult to find of
late with only Hawk Owl being easy (pretty much guaranteed) to find. My Facebook
feed recently though has been spammed 😊
by pictures of Hazel Grouse eating alder catkins(thanks Bjørn Einar) and this inspired me to
try again yesterday. It transpires I only needed to try an area a few hundred
meters away from my previously guaranteed spot. Here there were alder trees
with catkins and this is what Hazel Grouse love to eat in winter. I also heard
and then later saw a Pygmy Owl (almost certainly the same I regularly saw
earlier in the autumn) and with Hawkie in Maridalen in the afternoon I managed
a “Terrific Three”.
No Three-toed Woodpecker to make it the Fab Four but
you can’t always get what you want. Three Common Buzzards showed themselves in
Maridalen including one hunting from perches within thinned out forest in a
manner that was very reminiscent of Great Grey Owl. I heard another via via
report of GGO today and whilst it is very likely that there are GG in the area
I can’t help but think that there might also be some mis-identification going
on with Buzzards or Hawk Owls possible confusion species for someone without
binoculars.
male Hazel Grouse (jerpe)
First an extended video showing feeding and singing:
and here a 10 second video of it singing:
in the winter fresh alder catkins are their favourite food. I have seen them feeding in trees before but not as well as I did today although it didn't last as long as I hoped (there were clearly other suitable trees in the area that he knew of but not me)
here taking a catkin
singing
posing
I would normally be more than satisfied with this type of picture
Pygmy Owl (spurveugle) he sang very intermittently but showed little interest in my attempts to get his attention
Hawk Owl in a frame of natures making - their is an artist hidden deep within me :-)
just look at how dense the feathering is
attempt at art - spot Hawkie
back lit but a bit too distant
I went looking for GGO at dusk but just found this Hawkie that was still actively hunting
another addition to my collection of birds with Oslo landmarks in the background. Here the Common Buzzard (musvåk) that was hunting in the manner of a GGO
It was one of those lovely winter days with a
crispness due to an overnight frost combined with no wind and blue skies. Although
I think the overnight temperature only just nudged below zero it was cold and
windless enough that puddles and more surprisingly the salt water bay of Koksa
at Fornebu were frozen.
With such nice weather I knew that there would be a
large turn out of photographers today. I reckoned that they have still not
filled their boots with Hawkie so thought I would head instead to Fornebu. I
had not expected to have the place to myself but was indeed luckily enough to.
There are not a lot of birds there at the moment with this winter lacking any “invasion”
species and a flock of 25 Common Redpolls was the largest I have seen this
winter I think. I failed to find any Chiffchaffs (and their days must be numbered
if there are still any around) but all the other special winter birds were
present with Bearded Tit, Jack Snipe, Kingfisher, Little Grebe, Water Rail and
Reed Bunting noted.
Unsurprisingly I spent time with the Bearded Tits
seeing if I could improve on my back-lit photography skills. Early in the morning
on a sunny day there is little option other than to take back-lit photos due to
the geography of the site but I really think that with the right
skills/settings/equipment that some exceptionally cool photos could be taken. When
I read this I now can see that it sounds like I am becoming more togger than
birder and this may be confirmed by the fact that twice recently I have, after
5-10 minutes walk from the car, discovered that I only have my camera with me
and have forgotten my bins. An alternative explanation is that I’m losing it…
I did go into Maridalen on the way home where I had
good views of a Hawk Owl which had at least 15 socially distanced and well-behaved
camera toting admirers. Two Common Buzzards were up in the air together clearly
enjoying the weather and the chance for a bit of soaring and thermalling.
I heard a via, via report that a Great Grey Owl has
been spotted in the forest which isn’t surprising given the density of rodents
and with luck snow (whenever it comes) may make them easier to find.
Does it work?
I think this Blue Tit (blåmeis) does work well
the two Common Buzzards (musvåk) in Maridalen today - note their very different plumages
and Hawkie
my Jack Snipe (kvartbekkasin) photos are not improving
nor are my Kingfisher (isfugl) shots - can you find it?
My Covid quarantine has come to end and I was able
to extend the radius for today’s exercise/birding. In the end there was no
exercise as I just stared at the sea at Krokstrand and then took in some drive-by
sites on the way home. I knew that the wind wasn’t strong enough but I still
harbour a hope of finding a Leaches Petrel which remains the most glaring
absence to my Norwegian list and there have been some storm driven birds further
south in Sweden in the last few days. There was of course no petrel or
phalarope, or skua or shearwater and not even a Gannet or Fulmar but 11 Kittiwakes
allowed themselves to be blown north by the wind and made it feel a bit
seawatchy. When the 1cy birds go through at speed it is very easy to try to string
a Sabine’s Gull which is something of a popular pastime in southern Norway each
autumn. Documented flyby Sabines Gulls are an extremely rare occurrence in
Norway despite birds often being described as having flown past at "close range" or having been "seen really well feeding offshore" so it was very refreshing to
see nice pictures of an undisputed one recently.
Auks were the most numerous birds today with Guillemots in the majority along
with a few Razorbills and best of all I had a Puffin which flew north with a couple
of Guillemots. Despite being a common breeder along northern coastlines, Puffin
is nearly as rare as Sabines Gull in the Oslofjord. I did not get a photo… 😉
One entertaining sighting was a young Peregrine that
attacked a couple of flying Guillemots and when they flashed through the
telescope field of view I assumed I was watching a marauding skua. The falcon
was unsuccessful in his hunt and in the end flew inland. I also had a
Sparrowhawk flying low over the water and for not the first time it took quite
a few seconds to work out what I was looking at.
On the way home I added Common Buzzard and Kestrel
to my raptor tally.
I needed a change this morning and walked at Fornebu
before then taking in the sights in Maridalen.
The Bearded Tit pair showed exceptionally well in
their normal spot and are clearly looking for more of their kin although I
suspect it is now too late for any more to turn up. Otherwise there was
disappointingly little to see although a Little Grebe was new for me.
In The Dale I had no Buzzards but suddenly Great
Grey Shrikes were back with two sightings 1.7 km and only 25 minutes apart. One
of the Hawkies showed very well selling his wares by the side of the roads but
an hour and half wait did not reveal the Grey-headed Woodpecker. Close
sightings of Jays were a distraction but I kicked myself for not digitally
capturing the young male Goshawk who just failed to catch one of the Jays that
I was watching only 6 meters from me (in the car).
Bearded Tit (skjeggmeis) pair
both a mustache and a beard, or is it two mustaches?
Snow fell on Friday night and despite temperatures quickly
rising above zero the snow remained on the ground in Maridalen through the
weekend. Proper winters with lots of snow are one of the things I love about
living in Oslo and hopefully this winter will see lots of the white stuff.
Dog walking in The Dale and the incidental birding
that goes with it revealed the usual suspects with both Hawk Owls being on show,
two Common Buzzards in their usual areas and the Grey-headed Woodpecker again
turning up on the feeder. I saw him at a similar time to when I saw him on
Friday suggesting (hopefully) that he has a routine that will make him more
predictable to see.
Singles of Chaffinch and
Common Snipe were also noteworthy as these species normally disappear by the
end of October.
The pale and distinctive Common Buzzard (musvåk)
The male Grey-headed Woodpecker (gråspett) was shy
but this Jay (nøtteskrike) which is normally shy has got used to people at the feeders
socially distanced photographers filling their boots with Hawkie
I do sometimes take pictures of things other than birds...
