Gloom and fog and a couple of birds

There hasn’t been much activity on the blog lately although that doesn’t mean I haven’t been out. The problem is that the weather is so bad: fog and rain/sleet and occasional snow that it hardly gets light and there just hasn’t been much to see. I have been in Maridalen nearly daily and the two Hawk Owls are still present, a minimum of three Common Buzzards (although I suspect there maybe 4: 2 dark & 2 pale) show every now and again as does a Great Grey Shrike. Other than these birds though there is EXTREMELY little to see. In the forest a few Goldcrest are the commonest species although sometimes I see nothing! The lake is not yet frozen but even here there are only a handful of Goldeneye and Cormorants. Fornebu is also equally quiet and after having been ringed the Bearded Tits have become far less cooperative.

A trip to Maridalen today did have some excitement though. A single Hawk Owl showed well if briefly in the fog and the only other bird I saw during an hour of forest wandering was a male Three-toed Woodpecker! Two birds in one hour….. The pecker was picked up due to his pecking and as I approacked the sound I could ascertain that the bird was low down on the other side of a trunk. This low height plus the fact it did not stop tapping despite my noisy approach had me expecting it to be a Three-toe and it was a welcome sight in the dark forest when I peered around the trunk and saw its yellow crown shine brightly in the gloom.

Hawkie

male Three-toed Woodpecker (tretåspett)

The real excitement though was from a tit. I was hoping to see the Grey-headed Woodpecker again and as I waited by a feeder I heard a call that I couldn’t place. When I saw a Marsh/Willow Tit with a large white wing panel I assumed from the location and the wing panel that it was a Willow Tit but the call was so unusual that I recorded it. I also took a few pictures but due to the fog they were not very good. This had happened before my walk where I saw the owl and pecker and whilst walking I thought that I would be interesting to put the recording out on Facebook and see how many people recognised the call as Willow Tit. Something told me though that I should get some better pictures and I returned to the feeder afterwards where the bird was still present along with a single Blue Tit. Something spooked the birds and for 10 minutes they sat motionless. I was able to get quite a few pictures of the “Willow” Tit (granmeis) and they showed features that indicated it was actually a Marsh Tit (løvmeis) which would be only the second documented record in the Dale. The bill seemed to show the pale spot and the rear of the cheeks had a very slightly buffish tone compared to a white front and the underparts were very buffy. However the bird seemed very bull necked and what about that pale wing panel? The call was also not the typical “pitchoo” of a Marsh Tit although nor is it typical Willow Tit although there is one sound (the nasal chrrr) that does resemble Willow but  Marsh gives something similar. So what is it? It isn’t obvious to me. Maybe a hybrid is a possibility and this combo is mentioned in Handbook of Avian Hybrids of the World? I have reached out to Facebook but not many have been willing to stick their neck out although those that do say Willow Tit.

This video has the call

And here are some pictures

here we see that the chin is white at the front amd slightly buffy at the back which is pro Marsh

here the bird seems to show the pale mark on the upper mandible which is touted as a sure Marsh Tit feature but has a very large white chin and pale wing panel (both pro Willow)