Good Guiding

Yesterday saw a welcome day back in the guiding saddle and I had a successful and thoroughly enjoyable day showing some of my favourite birds to Christine and Maria. Temperatures ranged between -16C and -8C so it was a cold but quite beautiful day.

Maridalen gave us both Hawk and Pygmy Owl although both were at annoyingly long range and very tiring trudges through knee deep snow to try to get closer just resulted in looking at tree tops from new angles and not finding the birds…

A young Goshawk provided an unexpected identification challenge for me. When I originally glimpsed it gliding through some trees I assumed it was a Hawk Owl. When we refound what I assumed to be the same bird I identified it as a Buzzard based on rear views perched in a tree. When it flew off I saw nothing to make me change my mind. When I reviewed my pictures in the evening though I saw what it actually was…

We also enjoyed a 5 species of Tits although as is typical for this winter Greenfinch was the only finch we saw.

Water Rail was an exciting way to end an enjoyable day.

Hawk Owl (haukugle) at too long range

an attempt to get closer resulted eventually in losing sight of where it was

This Pygmy Owl (spurveugle) also evaded out attempts to get closer which involved crossing a train line..

Is it a Hawk Owl, is it a Buzzard, no it's a Goshawk

Water Rail (vannriske)

the view over Maridalen 

and here is the moon from the afternoon of the 27th. Full moon was the 28th so this moon should be missing something although I am not sure where