Shaking it up...

Since my last post I have shaken things up a bit and left the Dale on two, yes two, occasions! On Wednesday I walked along the waterfront in Oslo with the main aim of seeing the Iceland Gull. After seven previous unsuccessful attempts to see this bird I had decided I wouldn’t try again but after it was seen two days in a row along the waterfront downtown I thought that it had settled down. Maybe it has but I still couldn’t find it… There was very little of interest otherwise although the young male Pintail (with very delayed moult) was on the fjord with some Mallards and has now been seen at four widely spread localities in the city in January.

On Thursday night most of Norway was hit by a big storm and with the winds forecast to reach up to 25m/s and directly from the south I headed out on Friday morning to my favoured sea gazing location of Krokstrand. Well the wind was not even 10m/s and there weren’t even with tops to the waves so unsurprisingly there were few birds. Lots of Common Gulls heading south were perhaps birds displaced overnight by the storm, but the only seabirds were a single Kittiwake, Red-throated Diver and three Guillemots.

I have of course visited the Dale as well and here the birding has been hard at times. Temperatures rose mid week and there came first lots of new wet snow and then rain and wind. This must create very difficult conditions for the rodent eaters but the two Common Buzzards are both to be seen as are a couple of Hawk Owls and the Great Grey Shrike. The Pygmy Owl only gave up its presence by singing unseen in the distance one day.

Yesterday the weather turned again and we have glorious blue skies. Mrs OB and I took the Beast for a walk and sat down in a clearing to eat clementines and enjoy the view when suddenly a Hawk Owl appeared in front of us! It was glorious light and the moon was even up in the sky allowing me to take that clichéd shot of an owl in front of the moon although admittedly they look better in silhouette at night.

1st winter male Pintail (stjertand) in very delayed moult

the localities where it has been seen in 2021

a Guillemot (lomvi) with a very dark face (for mid Jan). Such birds are often mistaken for Brunnich's Guillemot which is a real rarity in Southern Norway

the pale Common Buzzard (musvåk) that is still in Maridalen. This bird superficially resembles a Rough-legged Buzzard (fjellvåk)

same bird - note how white it is on the body

caught in an unusual position

the darker bird

Hawkie in the sun

I was waiting for the bird to fly when I noticed the sun in the background and changed my photo plans

Jays (nøtteskrike) often discover owls and give them grief although it is rare that I manage to capture it