Mid-week update

Time for a mid-week update, not because I have seen anything particularly special but because I have time to sit in front of the PC.

We are enjoying very summery weather at the moment with temperatures in the twenties but as soon as the calendar shows it is September then there is a real autumnal feeling to the birding - on this morning’s dog walk close to the house I heard Brambling and Dunnock and Fieldfares were flocking and feeding on apples.

My birding has been quite urban recently with trips to Østensjøvannet and Frognerparken where a Shoveler was a very unusual guest.

In September I would normally be checking out the Taiga Bean Geese and looking forward to my trip to Værøy. I fear that for the second year running that I will not be able to travel to Værøy and I have yet to find the time to visit the geese (and try to read collars) although the first GPS bird arrived there on 18 August which is a very early date.

Shoveler (skjeand) in Frognerparken

this Sedge Warbler (sivsanger) at Østensjøvannet

another acro warbler then turned up in exactly the same place. My gut feeling was Marsh Warbler (myrsanger) but the pictuers give me more of a Reed Warbler (rørsanger) feeling

Ruff (brushane) and Teal (krikkand) on the floating mats of water weed

a Migrant Hawker (septemberlibelle)

and a Vagrant Darter (sørhøstlibelle) with lunch

Barnacle Geese (hvitkinngås)

Østensjøvannets leucistic Coot (sothøne)

Great Crested Grebe (toppdykker)